CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

May 7, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

HackerGadgets NVME HAT+ for Raspberry Pi 5 fits in the official case, keeps the fan

HackerGadgets has launched a few Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe HAT+ boards including one M.2 NVMe 2230/2242 HAT+ that fits into the official Raspberry Pi 5 case with proper cooling. We’ve seen many M.2 PCIe HAT+ boards of the Raspberry Pi 5 boards from companies such as Pineboards, Waveshare, or Geekworm, but none of them won’t fit in the official red and white case, at least if you’re not ready to sacrifice active-cooling, but HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” keeps the fan by simply allowing users to mount it on the bottom of the board. HackerGadgets “NVME Hat for Raspberry Pi 5” specifications: Compatible SBCs – Raspberry Pi 5 and other compatible SBCs with a 16-pin PCIe connector and mounting holes PCIe interface – 16-pin PCIe FPC connector up to PCIe Gen3 speeds M.2 socket – Support PCIe Gen2/Gen3 x1, M.2 2230 and 2242 SSDs Cooling – PWM fan […]

May 7, 2024May 6, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Loongson 2K1000LA dual-core LoongArch processor powers industrial SBCs and IoT gateways

Banana Pi BPI-5202 Loongson 2K1000LA SBC

Loongson 2K1000LA is a 1GHz dual-core 64-bit LoongArch processor designed for industrial applications with gigabit Ethernet, SATA, two PCIe interfaces, two digital video outputs, audio interfaces, USB 2.0, and others all in a 1 to 5W power envelop. It is found in Loongson’s own development board and Banana Pi BPI-5020 2K1000LA SBC. The LoongArch architecture was first introduced in 2021 as an alternative to Arm, x86, and RISC-V, and heavily inspired by MIPS with extra instructions. Some of the first LoongArch processors were the Loongson 3A5000 and 3C5000 SoCs for desktop computers and servers respectively, and now, the company has launched a lower-power processor for industrial applications, such as IoT gateways, with the 2K1000LA. Loongson 2K1000LA specifications We only have some basic specifications from the product page on Loongson’s website.; CPU – 2x 64-bit LoongArch cores clocked at 1GHz FPU – 128-bit vector unit Cache 32KB L1 instruction cache 32KB […]

May 6, 2024May 9, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U mini PC goes for $177 with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

Among all the inexpensive Intel Alder Lake-N mini PCs, ZXIPC is selling a no-name AMD Ryzen 5 5500 mini PC for $177 with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, or $143.03 as a barebone system. This weekend, I compared the benchmarks of various Intel Alder Lake-N processors using results from our mini PC reviews, and one user asked me whether I could do the same for AMD systems: It would be interesting to compare the performance on these to similarly priced AMD offerings. I’m specifically thinking here of Mini PCs based on the Ryzen 5560U and the Ryzen 5800U/H Since we haven’t reviewed this type of mini PC, I won’t be able to do such a comparison, but I was still intrigued, as most AMD mini PCs I had seen sold for at least $300. So I went to Aliexpress and found a few AMD Ryzen 5/7 mini PCs […]

May 6, 2024May 6, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment

SparkFun RTK Torch is a compact and waterproof GNSS surveyor with RTK functionality

SparkFun’s RTK Torch is a real-time kinematic (RTK) surveying device that offers tri-band reception, tilt compensation, and millimeter accuracy in a portable, waterproof enclosure. It features an ESP32-WROOM module with 16MB flash and 2MB PSRAM, providing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality. The onboard RTK-capable Unicore UM980 module receives various GNSS frequencies with high accuracy and supports all available constellations and frequencies. Also included is an STMicroelectronics STM32WLE5CCU6 MCU for obtaining corrections via LoRa radio. The RTK Torch builds on the earlier RTK Facet, adding improvements such as wider reception, higher precision, and a more portable form factor. Like the Facet, the RTK Torch comes in a bundle that includes a carrying case, a 3m USB C-to-C charging cable, a 65W PD wall adapter, and a 1/4in. to 5/8in. antenna thread adapter. It supports several operating modes including GNSS Positioning (~800mm accuracy) – also known as ‘Rover’ GNSS Positioning with RTK (8mm […]

May 6, 2024May 5, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Review of CrowVi 15.6-inch portable USB-C and HDMI touchscreen display with Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, and Raspberry Pi 5

Elecrow CrowVi VF156T – or just CrowVi for shorts – is an ultra-thin 15.6-inch portable touchscreen display with mini HDMI and USB-C input ports making it suitable for a wide range of devices from Windows 11 and Linux mini PCs or laptops, SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi 5, and smartphones featuring a USB-C port with DisplayPort Allt. mode. The display supports 10-point multitouch, offers a 1920×1080 “Full HD” resolution, and includes stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack. Besides the USB-C input, it also comes with an additional USB-C PD port for power in case the host does not provide enough power or only HDMI input is used without the touchscreen function. There’s also a “smart case” acting as a foldable stand on the back so you don’t need to bring your own stand. Elecrow sent us a sample of the CrowVi 15.6-inch portable monitor for review and we […]

May 6, 2024May 5, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Nano-ITX motherboard is powered by Intel Atom x7000RE Series “Amston Lake” SoC

NANO 6064 ASL An Intel Atom x7000RE Series SoC based NANO ITX Board with Triple Display, 2.5GbE LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, M.2, SATA III

Portwell NANO-6064-ASL is an Intel Atom “Amston Lake” x7000RE-powered Nano-ITX motherboard. The board looks very similar to the Portwell Nano-6062 and features an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C. The motherboard can support a max of 16GB DDR4 memory and features triple display output, dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet, USB, M.2, SATA, GPIO, and more, and takes power from a 12V external power input. Previously, we’ve written about a range of Nano-ITX boards and SoMs with Amston Lake SoCs, including the ASRock SBC-262M-WT, conga-SA8 SMARC modules, ADLINK Atom x7000RE & x7000C COM Express and SMARC 2.1 modules and others. If you’re looking for similar options, feel free to check out those articles. Portwell NANO-6064-ASL Specifications SoC (one or the other) Amstom Lake Intel Atom x7211RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP Intel Atom x7213RE dual-core processor with 6MB cache, 16EU Intel UHD graphics; 9W TDP Intel Atom x7433RE […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

May 6, 2024May 5, 2024 by Dennis Mwihia - 9 Comments

Android no longer supports RISC-V, for now…

Google dropped RISC-V support from the Android’s Generic Kernel Image in recently merged patches. Filed under the name “Remove ACK’s support for riscv64,” the patches with the description “support for risc64 GKI kernels is discontinued” on the AOSP tracker removed RISC-V kernel support, RISC-V kernel build support, and RISC-V emulator support. In simple terms, the next Android OS implementation that will use the latest GKI release won’t work on devices powered by RISC-V chips. Therefore, companies wanting to compile a RISC-V Android build will have to create and maintain their own branch from the Linux kernel (ACK RISC-V patches). These abbreviations can be confusing, so let’s focus on them starting with ACK. There’s the official Linux kernel, and Google does not certify Android devices that ship with this mainline Linux kernel. Google only maintains and certifies the ACK (Android Common Kernel), which are downstream branches from the official Linux kernel. One of the main ACK branches is the android-mainline […]

May 5, 2024May 22, 2024 by Sponsored Post - 2 Comments

Save up to $75 on Rockchip RK3588-powered Mixtile Blade 3 SBC and Core 3588E module (Sponsored)

Mixile has launched a promotion that could save you up to $75 on the company’s Rockchip RK3588-powered devices, namely the Mixtile Blade 3 SBC that can be used standalone or integrated into a cluster and Core 3588E SO-DIMM system-on-module that follows the NVIDIA Jetson Nano, TX2 NX, Xavier NX, and Orin Nano form factor and will work with most carrier boards designed for those. The first part of the “Lucky Offer” promotion is a $50 discount coupon code (cnx50off) applicable to the Mixtile Blade 3, Mixtile Blade 3 Case, and Mixtile Cluster Box. The Mixtile Blade 3 is a pico-ITX SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3588 octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor, with up to 32GB RAM, up to 256GB eMMC flash, three display interfaces, an HDMI input port, dual GbE, a 30-pin GPIO header, and a U.2 connector carrying 4-lane PCIe Gen3 and SATA 3.0 signals and specifically designed for cluster applications. […]