bluetooth

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Microflex MCUs – Tiny USB development boards based on ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6, or Raspberry Pi RP2040 (Crowdfunding)

Microflex MCUs – Tiny USB development boards based on ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, ESP32-C6, or Raspberry Pi RP2040 (Crowdfunding)

Microflex MCU board with ESP32 and RP2040 microcontrollers

SB Components is back with yet another crowdfunding campaign this time with the Microflex MCUs USB development boards all with the same tiny form factor and offered with a choice of five microcontrollers namely Raspberry Pi RP2040, ESP32-S3, ESP32-S2, ESP32-C3, or ESP32-C6. Microflex MCUs share the same layout with a USB-C port for power and programming, a built-in RGB LED, two buttons for Boot and Reset/User, and two rows of 10-pin with through and castellated holes to access the GPIOs and power signals such as 5V, 3.3V, and GND. But they differ in terms of the processor used, wireless features, and available I/Os as shown in the table below which sadly lacks any information about the flash and eventual PSRAM… The illustration below includes some more details for the Micro-C6 with the main components, ports, and a pinout diagram. Programming the firmware for the ESP32-series can be done through the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments on Radxa Zero 3W SBC – Rockchip RK3566 SoC, 8GB RAM, WiFi 6 in Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

Radxa Zero 3W SBC – Rockchip RK3566 SoC, 8GB RAM, WiFi 6 in Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W form factor

RADXA Zero 3W

More Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W lookalikes are coming to market, as after the Allwinner H618-based Orange Pi Zero 2W, the Radxa Zero 3W has now been introduced with a 1.6 GHz Rockchip RK3566 processor and up to 8GB RAM, plus WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, which makes it one of the most powerful Arm Linux SBCs in the compact Raspberry Pi Zero form factor. The board also comes with an optional eMMC flash with up to 64GB capacity, a microSD card, a micro HDMI port, two USB Type-C ports, a MIPI CSI camera connector, and of course, the usual 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO header. Radxa Zero 3W specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.6 GHz (Note the RK3566 is usually clocked at up to 1.8 GHz but may have been underclocked here due to heat issues at the higher frequency as the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on ESP32 may soon get an open-source WiFi MAC layer

ESP32 may soon get an open-source WiFi MAC layer

ESP32 open-source WiFi MAC driver

Most, if not all, WiFi hardware relies on closed-source binary blobs including ESP32 wireless MCU, but there’s now work underway to reverse engineer a WiFi MAC layer for the ESP32 to make it a truly open-source platform. Espressif ESP32 wireless microcontrollers already have an open-source framework (ESP-IDF) and toolchain, people can customize the code to some extent, but this excludes the wireless bits (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, low-level RF functions) that are distributed as closed-source precompiled libraries integrated into the firmware. There were some efforts to provide an open-source stack for the BL602 chip but it never went anywhere, and the ESP32 may become the first target with an open-source driver without any blobs, excluding FPGA-based projects such as OpenWiFi. The early-stage implementation currently supports the following features: Sending WiFi frames Receiving WiFi frames Send an ACK packet as a reply to packets that are sent to the ESP32 Connect to an […]

Posted on by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 13 Comments on Review of SONOFF BASICR4 Smart Switch and S-MATE2 Smart Remote Control

Review of SONOFF BASICR4 Smart Switch and S-MATE2 Smart Remote Control

Sonoff SMATE-2 + BASICR4 automation demo

We’ve received two new devices from SONOFF for testing, namely the BASICR4 Smart Switch and the S-MATE2 Smart Remote Control. For those familiar with SONOFF devices, the Basic series is well-known as it was one of the initial products SONOFF introduced to the Smart Home market. It’s a Wi-Fi switch that can be used for various purposes, including controlling lights, fans, and other electrical devices. The BASICR4 model enhances capabilities while reducing costs compared to its predecessor. The S-MATE2, on the other hand, is the second version of a simple Remote Controller powered by batteries. It wirelessly connects to other SONOFF devices that support the eWeLink Remote Gateway feature, enabling full control within the same ecosystem. This expands its usability across different devices. Let’s delve into the details. SONOFF BASICR4 Introduction The Basic series has been a long-standing Wi-Fi Switch family allowing control of electrical devices through the eWeLink app […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Adafruit Metro ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT board comes in Arduino UNO form factor

Adafruit Metro ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT board comes in Arduino UNO form factor

ESP32-S3 Arduino UNO board

Adafruit Metro ESP32-S3 is an IoT development board with ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth wireless SoC, 8 MB PSRAM, and 16 MB Flash that follows Arduino UNO – or Adafruit Metro – form factor. The board also comes with two STEMMA QT I2C connectors for further expansion, comes with a microSD card socket for storage, a JTAG header for advanced debugging, and supports various power options with 6-12V DC via a DC jack, 5V DC via a USB-C port, and a 2-pin connector for a LiPo battery plus the board integrates charging and battery monitoring chip. Adafruit Metro ESP32-S3 specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh PCB antenna Certifications – FCC/CE certification Storage – MicroSD card slot USB – 1x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on T-Display-S3-Long board features ESP32-S3 WiSoC, a wide touchscreen display

T-Display-S3-Long board features ESP32-S3 WiSoC, a wide touchscreen display

T-Display-S3-Long

LILYGO has designed plenty of ESP32 boards with an integrated display, but the new T-Display-S3-Long may be suitable for different applications since the ESP32-S3 board comes with a wide 3.4-inch touchscreen display with 640×180 resolution. The WiFi and Bluetooth wireless display board is powered by an ESP32-S3R8 WiSoC with 8MB PSRAM, and comes with a 16MB SPI flash, two Qwiic connectors and a 30-pin header for expansion, a USB Type-C port for power, charging, and programming, and a 2-pin connector for an optional LiPo battery. T-Display-S3-Long specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3R8 dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration, 512KB RAM, 8MB PSRAM, wireless connectivity Storage – 16MB flash (W25Q128) Connectivity via ESP32-S3 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 with 40 MHz bandwidth support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0 connectivity with long-range support, up to 2Mbps data rate. Bluetooth Mesh 3D antenna […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on WeAct ESP32H2-N4 – A $6 Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread development board

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 – A $6 Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread development board

WeAct ESP32-H2 development board

WeAct ESP32H2-N4 is a low-cost ESP32-H2 development board with Bluetooth 5.2 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and Thread connectivity with a design very similar to the one of Espressif Systems’ ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 development board, but sold for just $5.70 plus shipping. The ESP32-H2 wireless microcontroller is basically the little brother of the ESP32-C6 without WiFi and aims at low-power nodes in short-range IoT networks. We have previously seen it in Espressif hardware like the aforementioned ESP32-H2-DevKitM-1 and the ESP Thread Border Router board combining ESP32-H2 & ESP32-S3 wireless chips, but so far not in third-party boards, and WeAct ESP32H2-N4 changes that. WeAct ESP32H2-N4 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-H2-MINI-1 MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-H2 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller at up to 96 MHz with 320 KB SRAM, 128 KB ROM, 4 KB LP memory, Bluetooth 5.2 LE/Mesh and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) radios. Storage – 4MB flash storage PCB antenna Dimensions – 13.2×16.6×2.4 mm USB – 2x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on u-blox MAYA-W3 industrial wireless module supports WiFi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5.4 with LE Audio

u-blox MAYA-W3 industrial wireless module supports WiFi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5.4 with LE Audio

u-blox MAYA-W3

We’ve also covered two IoT-focused WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE chips in the last week with Synaptics SYN43711 chipset and Gigadevice GD32VW553 RISC-V WiSoC, but there’s more and u-blox has recently introduced the MAYA-W3 WiFi 6/6E and Bluetooth 5.4 module with LE Audio support and designed for industrial applications. The MAYA-W3 module offers some flexibility as it’s designed on the upcoming Infineon AIROC CYW5551x WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4 chip family supporting 2.4 GHz only (CYW55511), 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (CYW55512), and a 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz with the tri-band CYW55512 chipset. u-blox also provides three antenna options for each model with two U.FL connectors, two antenna pin connectors, or an embedded PCB antenna. u-Blox MAYA-W3 specifications: Chipset – Infineon AIROC CYW5551x CYW55511 for 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 CYW55512 for 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi 6 CYW55513 for 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz WiFi 6E Wireless […]