Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on 19-inch rackmounts support up to 16 front-removable Raspberry Pi SBC’s

19-inch rackmounts support up to 16 front-removable Raspberry Pi SBC’s

rackmount front-removable Raspberry Pi

We previously covered Myelectronics’ 19-inch rackmount taking up to 12 Raspberry Pi boards. The solution is nice to keep a bunch of Raspberry Pi 4 in a small space and expose the HDMI ports as full HDMI ports. But what happens if you need to replace a Raspberry Pi board, or simply change the MicroSD card? Yes, you’d typically need to turn off all boards, remove the rack mount, replace the board/install the MicroSD card, and reconnect everything. That’s probably why the company has now launched two new 19-inch 2U and 3U rack mounts respectively supporting up to 16 front-removable Raspberry Pi (model B) single board computers. That works a bit with a typical NAS, where you insert or remove a hard drive by pulling it out and back. The 2U rackmount pictured above comes with front-removable brackets where you can install the Raspberry Pi, as well as mounting screws, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments on Tool-free industrial RJ45 connector speeds up cable assembly by up to 2514

Tool-free industrial RJ45 connector speeds up cable assembly by up to 25%

Tool-free RJ45 connetor

You’d normally need a crimp tool to make or repair your own RJ45 Ethernet cables. The process is split into two parts with cable preparation for straight or crossed cables, and then assembly with the crimp tool, before testing your cable. Harting RJ Industrial Multifeature is an RJ45 connector that is described as “tool-free”, and “robust and reliable: with integrated cutting tools for fast and easy assembly. So the crimp tool is not needed anymore. The company explains it typically takes 50% of the time for the preparation of the cable and another 50% for connecting it to a traditional RJ45 plug. But the RJ Industrial Multifeature is said to save around 25% of the assembly time, by making the second part faster. You’d still need to prepare the cable in the traditional manner, but then the second part of the assembly should be quite faster and less prone to […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Jasper Lake Mini PC offered with up to Celeron N5095 processor

Jasper Lake Mini PC offered with up to Celeron N5095 processor

Jasper Lake Mini PC

Intel officially launched the Jasper Lake processors at the beginning of the year. The new family provides an upgrade to the Gemini Lake processors that have been found in low-cost low power mini PC in the last few years. While there have been some leaks of the ASUS PN41 Jasper Lake mini PC a couple of months ago, no manufacturer has officially introduced this type of computer so far. But Newsmay Technology has now started to promote its AC8 mini PC with a choice of the six 6W/10W Celeron/Pentium processors previously announced, as well as a 15W Celeron N5095 processor that I had never heard of. AC8 mini PC specifications: Jasper Lake SoC (one or the other) Intel Celeron N4500 dual-core processor @  1.1/2.8GHz with UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Celeron N5100 quad-core processor @  1.1/2.8GHz with UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Pentium Silver N6000 quad-core processor @ 1.1/3.1GHz with […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on SiFive Intelligence X280 64-bit RISC-V processor integrates AI extensions

SiFive Intelligence X280 64-bit RISC-V processor integrates AI extensions

Sifive intelligence X280

The last RISC-V core announced by SiFive was the U8-Series out-of-order RISC-V Core IP that aims to compete against Arm Cortex-A72 Core. But in their latest announcement, the company built upon the 64-bit RISC-V U7-series with the SiFive Intelligence X280 multi-core, Linux capable RISC-V processor adding vector extensions and SiFive Intelligence Extensions, and optimized for AI/ML compute at the edge. SiFive Intelligence X280 key features: 64-bit RISC-V ISA with 8-stage dual-issue in-order pipeline,  coherent multi-core, Linux capable based on U7 series core. SiFive Intelligence Extensions for ML workloads – BF16/FP16/FP32/FP64, int8 to 64 fixed-point data types 512-bit vector register length – Variable-length operations, up to 512-bits of data per cycle High-performance vector memory subsystem Memory parallelism provides cache miss tolerance Virtual memory support with precise exceptions Up to 48-bit addressing SiFive Intelligence includes software solutions to leverage the X280’s features and provide “great AI inference performance” using TensorFlow Lite. No […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on SGET OSM (Open Standard Module) compliant SoM features NXP i.MX 8M Mini SoC

SGET OSM (Open Standard Module) compliant SoM features NXP i.MX 8M Mini SoC

Open Standard Module (OSM) i.MX 8M Mini

The SGET (Standardization Group for Embedded Technologies) non-profit organization ratified another system-on-module standard last November, with the “Open Standard Module” (OSM) standard that instead of relying on edge or board-to-board connectors is meant to be soldered on the carrier board as a solder-on module LGA package. F&S Elektronik has unveiled one of the first SGET OSM compliant SoM with “FS 8MM OSM-SF” equipped with an NXP i.MX 8M Mini processor, up to 8GB DDR4, 32GB eMMC flash or 512MB NAND flash on a 30x30mm “Size-S OSM” form factor. FS 8MM OSM-SF system-on-module FS 8MM OSM-SF module specifications: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Mini single, dual, or quad-core Arm Cortex-53 processor @ 1.8 GHz with real-time Cortex-M4 core @ 400 MHz,  Vivante 2D & 3D GPU, 1080p60 H.265, VP9, H.264, VP8 video decoder System Memory –  Up to 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – Up to max. 512MB SLC NAND flash or up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 32 Comments on MeLE Quieter2 is an ultra-thin fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 processor

MeLE Quieter2 is an ultra-thin fanless mini PC powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 processor

MeLE Quieter2 mini PC

Intel Celeron J4125 Gemini Lake Refresh is found in several interesting hardware platforms include Chuwi Larkbox and Beelink Gemini M mini PC’s, as well as the just-announced ODYSSEY-X86J4125 SBC. There’s now another option with MeLE Quieter2 mini PC, that is even smaller than the Gemini M mini PC, albeit slightly thicker, and more important does without the fan, as a completely fanless, silent design as the name implies. MeLE Quieter2 specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core Gemini Lake Refresh processor @ 2.00 GHz / 2.7 GHz (Turbo) with Intel UHD Graphics 600; 10W TDP System Memory – 8GB LPDDR4 Storage – 128GB or 256GB eMMC flash, M.2 2280 SATA/NVMe socket, MicroSD card reader Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports up to 4K @ 60 Hz Audio – 3.5mm headphone+mic jack, digital audio output via HDMI Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet port, dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and  Bluetooth 4.2 USB […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Quad GPIO Expander for Raspberry Pi Pico adds battery, display module, sensors, etc…

Quad GPIO Expander for Raspberry Pi Pico adds battery, display module, sensors, etc…

Raspberry Pi Pico with OLED display, 18650 battery

People are normally using MCU boards for their low cost, low-power consumption, low price and/or real-time ability. The Raspberry Pi Pico is no exception, but if you don’t care about using a large board, Waveshare created a 177 x 62 mm “expander” board for the Raspberry Pi Pico that can take four modules. The company’s Quad GPIO Expander board includes a set of female headers for RPi Pico, and four sets of 2×20 male headers for extra modules that bring support for 14500 batteries, OLED displays, RTC, relays, and other compatible modules. The expansion board also has a Micro USB port for power, and to leave the Micro USB OTG port on the Raspberry Pi Pico for other purposes. Each header pin is clearly labeled, which could be useful if using some of the pins with jumper wires instead of modules. Waveshare has hundreds of different modules and somehow decided […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on M5Stack UnitV2 Linux AI camera features Sigmastar SSD202D SoC

M5Stack UnitV2 Linux AI camera features Sigmastar SSD202D SoC

M5stack UnitV2 AI camera

We’ve written about SigmaStar SSD201/SSD202 processors several times now. The low-cost dual-core Cortex-A7 processor comes with 64MB or 128MB built-in RAM, and so far has been found in modules, smart displays, an SBC, and a gateway only available from China via stores like Taobao. But with mainline Linux support progressing nicely, it was only a matter of time until others make a product based on the processor, and M5Stack Unitv2 is an “AI” camera combining SSD202D processor with 128MB DDR3, and a  GC2145 2MP camera sensor. M5Stack UnitV2 specifications: SoC – SigmaStar SSD202D dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with 128MB on-chip DDR3 Storage – 512MB on-chip NAND flash with around 100MB free space, MicroSD card socket Camera GC2145 1080p color sensor with USB UVC support 68° FoV, 60 cm to ∞ depth of field (DoF) Audio – Built-in microphone Connectivity – 2.4GHz WIFi 4 up to 150 Mbps USB […]

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