Hands-on experience with StarFive VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC using Debian 12

VisionFive 2 Serial Console

StarFive sent me one of their VisionFive 2 RISC-V SBC for evaluation and review. I got the model with dual Gigabit Ethernet and 8GB RAM, and I’ll report my experience with the Debian 12 “bookworm” image. But note that won’t exactly be a review since the board is unreviewable at this time. It’s really for early adopters and there are many issues to solve, and in this post, I’ll report what works and what doesn’t, and some of the challenges I encountered just to install the OS… VisionFive 2 unboxing The board comes in a package that reads “Embrace change, embrace the future”. The bottom side has some useful links and QR codes, and what you’ll want is the GitHub repository with the source code and instructions to build the image from source (Note: Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, or 20.04 x86_64 recommended), as well as the RVspace forum section for the […]

9Tripod Pico Pi V2.0 SBC features Rockchip RK3588S SoC in Raspberry Pi 4 form factor

9Tripod Pico Pi V2.0 SBC

9Tripod Pico Pi V2.0 is the third Rockchip RK3588S SBC offering a powerful alternative to Raspberry Pi 4 while keeping the same form factor. It follows the Cool Pi 4 and Radxa ROCK5 Model A single board computers introduced in the last couple of months. The Pico Pi SBC, not to be confused with the Raspberry Pi Pico :), comes with 1GB to 32GB RAM, 4GB to 128GB eMMC flash, and pretty much the same port layout as the Raspberry Pi 4, except for one of the micro HDMI ports being replaced by a USB Type-C port with support for DisplayPort. 9Tripod Pico Pi V2.0 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to 2.2-2.4 GHz, 4x Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.8 GHz GPU –  Arm Mali-G610 GPU with OpenGL ES 3.2,  OpenCL 2.2, and Vulkan 1.2 support VPU – 8Kp60 video […]

Raspberry Pi CM4 based 7-inch industrial Panel PC takes IO board with RS232, 12V-24V inputs and outputs

Raspberry Pi CM4 industrial panel PC

The ComfilePi CPi-C070WR4C is a 7-inch industrial Panel PC powered by a Raspberry Pi CM4 module with GPIO, RS-232, RS-485, and I2C interfaces as well as the ability to add two more RS232 interfaces and several 12V-24V DC inputs and outputs through an I/O board connected to the GPIO port of the panel PC. The new panel PC is an update to the ComfilePi Industrial Touch Panel PC introduced with a Raspberry Pi CM3 module in 2017. Besides upgrading to a more powerful Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4,  COMFILE also makes use of an RS-485 port that utilizes a full UART interface that does not exhibit the limitations of the mini-UART interface, and also added the CP-IO13-4C I/O board for even more expansion capabilities. ComfilePi CPi-C070WR4C specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Arm Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5GHz with VideoCore Vi GPU supporting […]

VAR-SOM-AM62 System-on-Module features TI AM625x Cortex-A53/M4 SoC

Texas Instruments AM625x development board

Variscite VAR-SOM-AM62 is a System-on-Module (SoM) powered by a Texas Instruments Ti AM625x quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.4 GHz with a 400MHz Cortex-M4F cores and 333MHz PRU real-time co-processors to control I/Os. The module also supports up to 4GB RAM and 128GB eMMC flash, features a single or dual-band WiFi + BT/BLE5.2 module, and offers up to 3x CAN Bus, dual GbE, audio, camera in, and dual USB, among other interfaces. It is designed for industrial applications with a -40 to 85°C operating temperature range. VAR-SOM-AM62 specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM62x (AM6252 or AM6254) with Up to 4x Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.4 GHz 1x Ar, Cortex M4F up to @ 400 MHz 1x PRUSS up to @ 333 MHz (only in industrial-grade modules) GPUs – 3D GPU with OpenGL ES 3.1 & Vulkan1.2, 2D graphics engine System Memory – 512MB to 4GB DDR4-3200 RAM @ 800MHz […]

EDATEC CM4 Industrial – An Raspberry Pi CM4 computer for IIoT, automation, and industrial control

EDATEC Raspberry Pi CM4 Industrial Computer Carrier board

EDATEC CM4 Industrial is both a Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board and a computer for industrial IoT, control, and automation that expands on the company’s CM4 Sensing and CM4 Nano solutions with more features and interfaces. The system notably offers two RS485, one RS232, three analog inputs, two digital inputs, and one relay output through terminal blocks, as well as optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE + GPS connectivity, and a wide DC voltage range of 8V to 36V. EDATEC CM4 Industrial specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 module with SoC – Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Arm Cortex-A72 processor @ 1.5GHz with VideoCore Vi GPU supporting OpenGLES 3.1, Vulkan 1.x, H.265 (HEVC) (up to 4Kp60 decode), H.264 (up to 1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode) System Memory – 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM Storage Optional 8GB/16GB/32GB eMMC flash for system boot MicroSD card slot for booting the system on a Raspberry […]

Robustel R5020 Lite 5G router targets industrial applications

Robustel R5020 5G Lite Router

Robustel R5020 Lite is an industrial 5G router with 4G LTE Cat 18 fallback, two Gigabit Ethernet ports and WiFi 5 connectivity, as well as features such as an RS232 or RS485 serial port,  wide 12-36V DC power input, and support for an extended temperature range. The company says the R5020 Lite is especially well suited for “Enterprise / SD-WAN applications as a ‘5G managed modem’”, and it can also be used as a backup for fixed line broadband, for primary broadband access, as well as for Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications like industrial automation, autonomous robots, and Smart Transportation applications. Robustel R5020 Lite 5G router specifications: SoC – Undisclosed System Memory –  “Available for SDK”: 128MB RAM Storage – “Available for SDK”: 5MB flash Connectivity Cellular – 5G/4G/3G Global frequency bands 5G: NR SA/NSA: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n12/n13/n14/n20/n25/n26/n28/n29/n30/n38/n40/n41/n48/n66/n71/n75/n76/n77/n78/n79 4G LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B66/B71 LTE TDD: B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B43/B48 LAA: B46 (only supports 2 x 2 MIMO) […]

Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 review – HDR, autofocus, wide angle, and NoIR camera

Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 review

A few days before launching the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 with HDR and autofocus, Raspberry Pi Trading asked me whether I would be interested in reviewing the new modules, and sent me three samples: the standard module, the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 Wide, as well as the NoIR version that lacks an IR filter and is better suited for night shots. It took a full week for DHL to send the package to my house, but I’ve now had time to review the new Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, mostly with libcamera, but also Picamera2, focusing on the new features such as HDR, autofocus, and wide angle. I also had a quick try at the Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 NoIR but without IR lights. Regular readers know I had already made some DIY camera mounts using empty gum bottles, and I just replaced the Lotte XYLITOL stickers […]

Radxa ROCK 5A SBC – A Raspberry Pi 4 lookalike with up to 16GB RAM, Rockchip RK3588S SoC

Radxa ROCK 5A SBC

Radxa has just unveiled the ROCK 5A single board computer (SBC) following Raspberry Pi 4 form factor and powered by a Rockchip RK3588S octa-core Cortex-A76/A55 processor coupled with up to 16GB of RAM as a way to celebrate Chinese New Year 2023. The Radxa ROCK 5A (aka ROCK5 Model A) closely follows the Raspberry Pi 4 layout, including two micro HDMI ports, a 3.5mm AV port, a microSD card, a 40-pin GPIO header, four USB ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The MIPI DSI connector is there too, and so is the MIPI CSI camera connector, but in a different location. Radxa also added some features such as an M.2 socket for a wireless module (since there’s none on board) and eMMC flash module connectors, among other smaller changes (e.g. Power button!). ROCK 5A specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3588S CPU – Octa-core processor with 4x Cortex-A76 cores @ up to […]