CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 28, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

T-Nixie Tube is an ESP32 based Nixie Tube lookalike

I tend to see Nixie Tube projects regularly as I spend my days going through the news, and the projects, usually some sort of clock, typically look pretty neat. But although Nixie Tubes can still be purchased online, they are not mass-produced anymore, which may explain why LilyGo decided to create a “fake” Nixie Tube, or let’s call it a lookalike, with T-Nixie Tube that comes with an IPS LCD display driven by an ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth WiSoC. T-Nixie Tube specifications: Wireless Module – TTGO T-Micro32 module with ESP32 V3 Bluetooth and WiFi processor, 4MB Flash Display – 1.14-inch IPS LCD display covered by glass tube USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion – 4-pin I2C/UART Grove? connector for T-WATCH sensor kit or T-FH interface sensor modules Misc – PCF8563 RTC, IR receiver, TTP223 touch button, Reset button Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port Dimensions […]

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-M2 Pro compact Amlogic S905X3 SBC launched for $61

Banana Pi has already designed an Amlogic S905X3 SBC with Banana Pi BPI-M5 that closely follows Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor, but they’ve now launched a more compact model with Banana Pi BPI-M2 Pro that follow the design of the company’ earlier BPI-M2+ SBC powered by the good old Allwinner H3 processor. BPI-M2 Pro comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC storage, HDMI video output, Gigabit Ethernet, Wifi & Bluetooth connectivity, as well as two USB 3.0 ports. Banana Pi BPI-M2 Pro specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex A55 @ up to 2.0 GHz with an Arm Mali-G31 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR4 Storage – 16GB eMMC flash, microSD card slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI 2.1 up to 4Kp60 with HDR, CEC, EDID support Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 1×1 and Bluetooth 4.2 via Realtek RTL8821CU module USB – 2x USB 3.0 […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

May 27, 2021June 4, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

CatsPi Industrial Lite RPi CM4 carrier board features GbE, RS485, Watchdog MCU

We’ve seen a fair deal of Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier boards, and here’s another one courtesy of QwaveSystems with CatsPi Industrial Lite board following Raspberry Pi SBC form factor/dimensions, and equipped with Gigabit Ethernet, RS485, USB ports, as well as a watchdog MCU among other interfaces and features. Contrary to what the name implies, CatsPi Industrial Lite only works with Raspberry Pi CM4 with eMMC flash, but not the CM4 Lite module since there’s no MicroSD card on the baseboard. It’s not the first Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 carrier board with RS485, however, as we previously covered CM Hunter also including CAN and 1-wire interfaces, but QwaveSystems’ solution is more compact and mostly mechanically compatible with Raspberry Pi model B SBC’s. CatsPi Industrial Lite board specifications: Compatible SoMs – Raspberry Pi CM4 with eMMC flash only Video Output – Micro HDMI port Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, optional 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi […]

May 27, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

USB Type-C Specification 2.1 allows up to 240W Extended Power Range (EPR)

Many devices have switched from a Micro USB port or a power barrel jack to the USB-C port in recent years, as the latter allows for higher currents, and up to 100W power input in USB PD (Power Delivery) compliant systems. While 100W will be more than enough for most devices, more power-hungry devices or systems still need a power brick, for example, gaming laptops and mobile workstations. But the USB Type-C specification 2.1 aims to change that by upping the maximum power to 240W. As noted by Benson Leung in a Reddit Thread the part of the specification that handles the 240W power is the EPR (“Extended Power Range”) that defines requirements for cables, chargers, and devices: 3.11 Extended Power Range (EPR) Cables 3.11.1 Electrical Requirements Extended Power Range cables have additional requirements to assure that these cables can deliver the full defined voltage and current range for USB […]

May 27, 2021May 31, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

QMiroPlus-201W – Arm router and Intel NAS in one device with Qualcomm IPQ4019 & Celeron J4125

QNAP QMiroPlus-201W is an unusual networked storage device that’s acting both as a 2.5GbE & WiFI 6 router and NAS combining Qualcomm IPQ4019 Arm SoC for the router functions, and an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake processor for the NAS functions. Usually, you’d get the choice of either an Arm or Intel processor, but here QNAP decided to use both to keep the same performance as having separate Arm-based router and Intel-based NAS, but in a much more compact form factor. QNAP QMiroPlus-201W hardware specifications: SoC/memory/internal storage For router SoC – Qualcomm IPQ4019 quad-core Arm Cortex A7 @ 716.8MHz Memory – 512MB DDR3 Internal Storage – 4MB SPI NOR Flash & 4GB eMMC flash For NAS SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake processor @2.0 GHz Memory – 4GB DDR4 Internal Storage – 4GB eMMC flash Data Storage – 2x 2.5-inch SATA 3Gb/s (Compatible with 6Gb/s SSD/HDD) bay Networking […]

May 27, 2021May 30, 2021 by Sponsored Post - Comments Off

How to get Windows 10 cheaply & legally at $6.84 per PC!!! (Sponsored)

Windows and Office have become part of our career and digital life. Windows 10 and Office 2019 are commonly used but considered their hefty price, some free alternatives like pirated copies and activator software have become alternative choices to consumers. For many years, manufacturers have been allowed to sell their equipment without Windows 10 OS, and the difference of price between a laptop or desktop with Windows 10 or with FreeDOS is approximately 100 Euros. However, there are also inevitable weaknesses of these free solutions: the lack of support, potential malware in activator software, and security problems. Actually, there is a safe way to get a Windows 10 key at a much cheaper price, which takes into account both safety and budget. So let’s get into the further step and show you how to get Windows 10 Key economically. Types of Windows product keys The keys can be classified by […]

May 26, 2021May 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

JTAG Hat for Raspberry Pi eases debugging with OpenOCD

Low-level debugging can be performed with a JTAG debugger and OpenOCD open-source software, but since not everybody may have a JTAG debugger at home, some have reverted to using the Raspberry Pi as a JTAG debugger, and you’ll find instructions for cabling and installing the software on the Internet. Matt Mets of BlinkinLabs have been using the Raspberry Pi SBC and OpenOCD to debug Arm-based microcontroller boards for a while, but found it to be a pain to find jumper wires and look up the pin-outs manually each time. So he designed a JTAG Hat with properly labeled 20-pin .1″ and 1.27mm Cortex debug connectors to speed up the process. The expansion board also adds level-shifting buffers to interface with targets running at 1.8-5V, transistor-based power reset pins, a power switch for optionally supplying 3.3V to the target, a voltage/current sensor for measuring the target power consumption, and a buffered […]

May 26, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

CANPico open-source board adds CAN Bus to Raspberry Pi Pico

Canis Labs’ CANPico board adds a CAN bus to the Raspberry Pi Pico. The open-source hardware board can then be used as a CAN adapter connected to a host computer The company also provides an open-source MicroPython SDK, as well as a pre-built firmware image to quickly make it started, making it possible to easily control or monitor the CAN bus using Python. CANPico specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi Pico with RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller CAN interface through 3-pin terminal block implemented via: Microchip MCP2517/18FD (SPI) CAN controller with 2Kbyte buffer space Microchip MCP2562FD CAN transceiver. Misc Jumpers to connect a standard 120Ω CAN bus termination resistor and for disabling transmit access to the CAN bus 6-pin header for a logic analyzer or oscilloscope to see what’s happening on the bus Dimensions – Approx. 75 x 24mm The MicroPython SDK for CANPico contains two major APIs with CAN and CANHack. […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications