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iMX6 TinyRex Module and Development Board Support HDMI Input in Linux (Video Demo)

A couple of years ago, I wrote about iMX6 Rex open source hardware project combining a Freescale i.MX6 SoM and baseboard that aimed a teaching hardware design (schematics and PCB layout). I had not followed the project very closely since then, until I watched a video showcasing HDMI input capabilities in Linux using the new version of the module and baseboard called i.MX6 TinyRex. i.MX6 Tiny Rex module specifications: SoC – Freescale iMX6 processor up to 1.2GHz and 4 cores System Memory – Up to 4GB DDR3-1066 (533MHz) Storage – EEPROM Connectivity – 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet PHY I/Os via 3 board to board connectors: Display / Video Output 1x HDMI (up to QXGA 2048×1536) 1x LVDS (up to WUXGA 1920×1200) 1x 20-bit parallel LCD display (up to WXGA 1366×768) or 1x Video Input (CSI) 1x MIPI DSI differential display output (up to XVGA 1024×768) Video Input 1x 20-bit parallel video input […]

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$5 Add-on Board for Raspberry Pi Supports Arduino Shields and Grove Modules (with Caveats)

If you have several Arduino shields, you can use them on your Raspberry Pi B+/ Pi 2 board with Cooking Hacks’ Raspberry Pi to Arduino shields connection bridge supported by arduPi library to control I2C, SPI, GPIO, analog inputs, etc.., and sells for $65 on Amazon. Seeed Studio Grove modules have also become more popular, with several new boards integrating 4-pin Grove connectors such as Beaglebone Green. Raspberry Pi boards also support Grove modules, up to 15 of these!, using Grove Pi+ add-on board which the company sells for around $30. But I’ve just discovered a Raspberry Pi to Arduino Expansion Board V2.0 on DealExtreme, selling for $7.97 that’s allows the latest Raspberry Pi boards with a 40-pin headers to take both Arduino shields and 2 Grove modules. After some investigations, I found out it was made by ITead Studio, where they sell it for $5 + shipping. The Wiki […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
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Qualcomm DragonBoard 410c Board Now Supports Windows 10 IoT Core

Microsoft announced Windows 10 IoT Core for Raspberry Pi 2 and Minnowboard MAX boards a few months, and now the company has added a new ARM board to their Windows 10 IoT program with the soon-to-be-available Qualcomm DragonBoard 410c development board compliant with 96Boards specifications. Windows 10 IoT Core for DragonBoard 410c adds support for onboard WiFi and Bluetooth, as well as DirectX graphics on top of features already supported on the Raspberry Pi 2. To get started, you’ll need a computer running Windows 10, and follow DragonBoard’s Winfows 10 IoT Core guide. I assume most people familiar with Linux operating systems won’t suddenly jump ship to run a Windows operating systems, but Windows developers who got used to work with Visual Studio may be more comfortable with Microsoft’s environment. Out of curiosity, I’ve checked out if anybody had done any project with Windows 10 IoT core, and was surprised […]

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Status of Orange Pi Boards GPIO Support

Yesterday, one person asked me to make a video showing GPIO control on Orange Pi 2 mini on YouTube, and since I have just completed a post about Orange Pi camera, I thought it might be fun to check GPIO support too. This post focuses on Allwinner H3 boards, but the instructions and status should be very similar for Allwinner A20 and A31s versions. One of the first things you want before starting playing with GPIOs is the expansion header’s pinout chart, and I could not find any until I had the idea to check for schematics, which are available on Orange Pi resources page. I downloaded the schematics for Orange Pi 2, which should be the same as for Orange Pi 2 mini as the only difference is the lack of WiFi module. Orange Pi PC is a little different, and the schematics are nowhere to be found, but […]

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LeMaker Hikey 96Boards Development Board Comes with 1 to 2GB RAM, Sells for $75 and Up

Hikey was the first 64-bit ARM development board compliant with 96Boards specifications, and supported by Linaro. Availability always seemed to be an issue however, and pricing was set to $129. But Lemaker, the makers of Banana Pi boards, recently joined Linaro, and they’ve built a lower cost version of the Hikey board, still featuring Hisilicon Kirin 620 octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, but with 1GB and 2GB RAM versions, priced respectively at $75 and $99. LeMaker Hikey board specifications: SoC – HiSilicon Kirin 620 octa core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with ARM Mali-450MP4 GPU System Memory – 1 or 2 GB LPDDR3 @ 800 MHz Storage – 8GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output / Display – HDMI up to 1080p, MIPI-DSI interface Connectivity – 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 LE (WL1835MOD module) USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG Camera – MIPI CSI […]

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HummingBoard Gate Boards Add a mikroBUS Socket to Support MikroElektronika Click Boards

SolidRun already released HummingBoard-Base, HummingBoard-Pro, and HummingBoard Edge previously, but the company has now launched another version of their Freescale i.MX6 based boards with HummingBoard Gate that adds a mikroBUS socket to support over 150 add-on boards – called Click Boards – made by MikroElektronika. HummingBoard Gate specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX6 Solo, Dual Lite, Dual, or Quad with Cortex-A9 cores @ 1 to 1.2 GHz System Memory – Up to 4GB DDR3 Storage – Micro SD slot Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (limited to 470Mbps), optional WiFi/Bt module Video Output – HDMI output, MIPI-DSI connector Camera – MIPI CSI-4, parallel camera USB – 4x USB 2.0 ports Expansion mPCIe slot with SIM card holder 36-pin GPIO header mikroBUS click interface Misc – Reset button, RTC with battery Power – 7-36V, 5.5mm jack Dimensions – 102 x 69 mm As usual, the board is comprised of a baseboard and a microSOM, […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
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Allo SPARKY Board Supports Raspberry Pi HATs for Multimedia, IoT and VoIP Applications

Allo is a company based in Bangalore, India specializing in VoIP hardware solutions, but they’ve recently developed a single board board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core processor that supports various Raspberry Pi HATs and can be used for multimedia, IoT, and Telecom application such as Asterix or Freeswitch PBX. Allo SPARKY board specifications: SoC – Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9r4 processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU @ 500 MHz Memory – 1 or 2GB RAM Storage – Socket for 8, 16, 32 or 64GB pluggable eMMC modules,  micro SD slot up to 32GB, optional NAND flash Video Output – HDMI,  34-pin LCD connector Audio – HDMI, Headphone jack, built-in microphone Video Codec – H.265 (HEVC) and Ultra HD (4K*2K) video playback. Encoding up to 1080p@60fps. Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x USB 3.0 (OTG) port Camera –  24-pin camera interface (Up […]

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WRTnode2P, WRTnode2R and WRTnodeHi OpenWRT Boards to Feature M.2 & mini PCIe Edge Connectors, H.265 Camera Support, and More

WRTnode is a small and low cost development board powered by Mediatek MT7620N and running OpenWRT. The developers have been working on three new OpenWRT boards based on Mediatek or Hisilicon processor and featuring either an M.2 connector, a mini PCIe connector, or support for H.265 camera. The first board is WRTnode2P with the following specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT7628an MIPS 24KEc processor @ 575 MHz System Memory – 256 MB RAM Storage – 32MB Flash Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi @ 300 Mbps (2T2R) I/Os via NGFF M.2 connector: PCIe X1, USB 2.0 host, SD-XC 5x 100M Ethernet switch I2S up to 192K/24-bit 2x UART, SPI, I2C 20x GPIO Dimensions – 42 x 22mm The second board, WRTNode2R, features a processor and a micro-controller, and can be connected to a mini PCIe port: SoC – Mediatek MT7688an MIPS24K Processor @ 580 MHz System Memory – 256 MB DDR2 Storage […]

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