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Pico 2G Expansion adds GSM/GPRS & GNSS to Raspberry Pi Pico (Crowdfunding)

You may have heard about the 2G/3G sunset with the older cellular networks being phased out in many countries. But it’s not always straightforward, as telecom operators may have to obtain regulators’ permission for the shutdown notably because of the eCall emergency services integrated into cars in Europe. Eventually, eCall will be migrated toward IMS Voice and 2G M2M services to 4G LTE IoT and 5G LPWA, but in the meantime, 2G networks are still operating in parts of the world, and UK-based SB Components has just introduced the Pico 2G Expansion board for Raspberry Pi Pico based on the SIM868 module. Raspberry Pi Pico 2G Expansion specifications: Compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico board Display – 1.14-inch LCD Cellular & GNSS Connectivity SIM868 module with GPRS multi-slot class 12/10, mobile station class B GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GNSS – GPS/GLONASS/BDS Bluetooth 3.0 with audio support SIM card holder 2x SMA antenna […]

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Tiny Seeeduino XIAO board gets Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU

Seeeduino XIAO is a tiny Arduino Zero compatible board with battery support that was launched last year with Microchip SAMD21G18 ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller at up to 48MHz. Seeed Studio has now launched the XIAO RP2040 board with the same form factor but upgrading to a more powerful Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller clocked at up to 133 MHz. XIAO RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex M0+ up to 133 MHz, or even 252 MHz (48MHz default) with 264 kB SRAM Storage – 2MB SPI flash USB – 1x USB type C port for power and programming Expansion I/Os 2x 7-pin headers with 11x 4x analog inputs, 11x digital I/Os / PWM, 1x DAC, SPI, UART, and I2C; 2.54mm pitch 3.3V I/O voltage (not 5V tolerant) Misc – 1x user LED, power LED, 2x LEDs for serial port downloading, Reset Button/ Boot Button, RGB LED, SWD pads […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
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MagikEye Developer Kit enables 120 fps 3D sensing on Raspberry Pi

MagikEye ILT001 developer kit (DK-ILT001) is a low-latency 3D sensing kit that connects to the Raspberry Pi’s MIPI CSI camera connector and features the company’s Invertible Light Technology (ILT) module with an infrared laser and a CMOS image sensor. The company says a “unique algorithm” developed in-house can generate 3D point cloud datasets acquired at high speeds (up to 120 fps) and with very low latency using simple hardware configuration. The kit targets researchers, students, and hobbyists working on machine vision, robotics, automated carriers, and other projects that can benefit from low-latency 3D sensing. MagikEye DK-ILT001 kit key features and specifications 850nm infrared light laser CMOS image sensor Range up to 1.5 meters (15 to 80 cm recommended) Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Zero W/3B/3B+/4 Power Supply – 3.3V (via MIPI Interface on Raspberry Pi) Power Consumption – 0.6W (average) Dimensions – 44 x 24 x 16 mm (within enclosure) Weight […]

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ROCK 3A SBC brings M.2 slots for NVMe SSD, WiFi 6 to Raspberry Pi form factor

Radxa ROCK 3A is a single board computer powered by Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor that closely follows Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor like the early Rock Pi 4 SBC, but with a twist. By switching from a Rockchip RK3399 to a Rockchip RK3568,  the board loses some CPU and GPU performance, but gains extra I/Os with enabled the company to add an additional M.2 slot with PCIe to ROCK 3A board, meaning it’s now possible to attach one NVMe SSD and another M.2 module like a WiFi 6 M.2 card. ROCK 3A preliminary specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex A55 processor at up to 2GHz, with Mali G52 GPU, 0.8TOPS NPU System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, 8GB LPDDR4 3200MT/s, up to 1560MHz Storage Pluggable eMMC module MicroSD card slot M.2 M key socket for NVMe with PCIe 3.0 x2 lanes 4MB SPI flash with support for […]

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DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server includes UPS and OLED information display

While the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC has greater multimedia capabilities, it can also be used for headless projects like mini servers or networked access storage (NAS). Michael Klements’ DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server is especially interesting as it’s cute, and includes a UPS to handle power failures, plus an OLED display to show information. Here’s the final result. Ideally, you’d need a laser cutter and a 3D printer like the Ender 3 Pro to make the case, but most of the parts are off-the-shelf components including: A Raspberry Pi 4 SBC together with a 32GB MicroSD card for the operating system 52Pi/GeeekPi UPS Plus module (about $25) plus one or two 18650 Lithium-Ion Cells A Low Profile Ice Tower for cooling, but you could probably switch to your own (passive) cooling solution and make the device slightly more compact A 128×64 I2C OLED Display A 5V/3A Power Supply Accessories […]

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PiSugar S and PiSugar S Pro – Lower cost batteries for Raspberry Pi

PiSugar battery for the Raspberry Pi Zero was introduced around two years ago, followed the next year with a 5,000mAh PiSugar 2 battery for Raspberry Pi 3/4 which is currently sold for $49.99. But the company has now designed lower-cost versions of the batteries with PiSugar S for Raspberry Pi Zero board, and PiSugar S Pro for Raspberry Pi 3/4 single board computers. PiSugar S Pro – Battery for Raspberry Pi 3/4 PiSugar S Pro offers a 5,000 mAh battery capacity with up to 3A output current for a typical battery life of 8 to 10 hours. A micro USB port and a USB Type-C port can be used for charging. The board also adds a GPIO button to turn on and off the Raspberry Pi board cleanly, or alternatively can be used as a custom button when the board is running. The battery module also supports the UPS function […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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Relay expansion board for Raspberry Pi includes 4.3-inch touchscreen display (Crowdfunding)

There are plenty of multi-relay boards for Raspberry Pi, but since those are often combined with an HMI for control, SB Components decided to offer an all-in-one solution with an expansion board equipped with eight relays and a 4.3-inch touchscreen display connected to a Raspberry Pi via HDMI and USB. PiRelay 8 specifications: Relays 8x relays with 3.3V/5V trigger signal Input – 250V AC/7A, 30V DC/10A Screw terminal blocks NO (Normally Open) and NC (Normally Closed) modes available Isolation – EL357NC optocouplers with current transfer ratio (CTR) of 50-600% at IF=5mA, VCE=5V Display support – Optional 4.3-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, HDMI input for video, USB for touchscreen support. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI audio output, a speaker connector, and mounting holes for the Raspberry Pi. 40-pin GPIO header to connect a Raspberry Pi SBC (Pi 4, Pi 3B+, Pi 3, […]

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Custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC with eMMC flash powers gateway for washing machines

As I was browsing some group on Facebook, I noticed somebody had bought a custom Broadcom BCM2837 SBC that looks very much like a Raspberry Pi 3 board, and that thing was apparently bought from a Saleng, a three-wheeled motorbike with a side cart where people can buy and sell old/second-hand items. All good fun… So without further ado, here’s what the board looks like… Click for higher resolution photos. Both MIPI CSI and DSI connectors are gone, and so is the AV jack. Two of the USB 2.0 ports have made place for a micro USB port and some headers. Looking at the bottom of the board, the MicroSD card slot is gone, because there’s a 16GB Kingston eMMC flash for storage in that location. At first, I was quite confused, first because the Raspberry Pi logo is nowhere to found, then it’s the first “Raspberry Pi” SBC I […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC