WM1302 LoRaWAN gateway mini PCIe module works over SPI or USB

WM1302 LoRaWAN Gateway Module

Announced in 2019, Semtech SX1302 LoRa transceiver is designed for cheaper, and more efficient LoRaWAN gateways, and we’ve seen it in mini PCIe concentrator cards such as nFuse SX1302 and Rak Wireless RAK2287 using USB or SPI host interfaces. Seeed Studio adds another option with WM1302 LoRaWAN gateway mPCIe module using either SPI or USB interfaces and supporting 868 or 915 MHz frequency bands. WM1302 module specifications: MCU – STMicro STM3L412 Arm Cortex-M4 microcontroller @ 80 MHz with 40KB RAM, 64 or 128KB flash LoRa Connectivity Semtech SX1302 LoRa Transceiver with 2x SX1250 Tx/Rx front-ends Tx power – Up to 26dBm @ 3.3V Rx sensitivity – Down to -139dBm @ SF12, BW 125 kHz; -125dBm @ 125K/SF7 LoRaWAN 1.0.2 compatible. LoRa band coverage – EU868, US915, AS923, AS920, AU915, KR920, and IN865. u.FL antenna connector Misc – Power, Config, and Tx/Rx LEDs Host Interface – SPI or USB interface on […]

Raspberry Pi CM4 boards offer dual Ethernet, 4G LTE

Raspberry Pi CM4 Dual Ethernet

Since the launch of Raspberry Pi CM4 and CM4Lite systems-on-module last October, we’ve seen carrier boards bring their own set of features including industrial communication interfaces, a stereoscopic camera, four SATA ports to build a NAS, a DIN-rail based industrial controller, and more. But so far, I have not seen a Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier board with dual Ethernet ports. Seeed Studio’s “Dual Gigabit Ethernet Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4” was brought to our attention this morning, but there’s another one with 4G LTE connectivity, Fast+Gigabit Ethernet ports, and extra I/Os courtesy of MCUZone’s CM4-4G IO board. Let’s have a look at both of them. Dual Gigabit Ethernet Carrier Board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 Specifications: Supported SoMs – Raspberry Pi CM4 and CM4Lite with up to 8GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash, optional WiFi & Bluetooth Storage – MicroSD card slot to load OS on CM4Lite […]

STM32WL based LoRa-5E development kits go for $19.90 and up

LoRa E5 development board

The LoRa-E5 STM32WL module we covered last month can now be found in two LoRaWAN development kits from Seeed Studio with the ultra-compact LoRa-E5 mini board, and the Arduino UNO shaped LoRa-E5 board with more I/Os. Both boards support the LoRaWAN protocol with global frequencies and can achieve a transmission range of up to 10 km with ultra-low power consumption. LoRa-E5 and LoRa-E5 mini specifications: LoRa connectivity LoRa-E5 modules based on STM32WLE5JC SoC with Arm Cortex-M4 MCU @ 48 MHz with 256 KB flash memory, 64 KB SRAM, SX126x LoRa radio Modulations – LoRa, (G)FSK, (G)MSK, BPSK Operating frequencies – 868/915MHz (EU868, US915, AU915, AS923, KR920, IN865) Output power – up to +20.8 dBm at 3.3V Rx sensitivity – -116.5 dBm to -136 dBm Protocol – LoRaWAN SMA-K and IPEX antenna connectors USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming I/Os LoRa-E5 mini – 2x 12-pin through-hole and […]

$10 LoRa-E5 STM32WL module offers LoRaWAN networking in a 12x12mm package

LoRa-E5 STM32WL Module

Over the years, we’ve seen many LoRa modules combining STM32 microcontroller with Semtech SX12xx wireless transceivers, so that’s probably why STMicro decided to create the first LoRa SoC with STM32WL that was launched last year. I’ve just been informed a tiny (12x12mm) LoRa-E5 module based on STM32WL LoRa SoC working with 868 MHz and 915 MHz bands had recently launched on Seeed Studio for $9.90. LoRa-E5 key features and specifications: SoC – STMicro STM32WLE5JC Arm Cortex-M4 MCU @ 48 MHz with 256 KB flash memory, 64 KB SRAM, SX126x LoRa radio LoRa connectivity Tx power – 22dBm @ 868/915MHz -136.5dBm sensitivity for SF12 with 125KHz BW 158dB link budget Embedded LoRaWAN protocol, AT command Frequency ranges – EU868, US915, AU915, AS923, KR920, IN865 I/Os – 3x UART, 1x I2C, 1x 12-bit ADC, 1x SPIO Supply Voltage – 3.3V Power Consumption As low as 2.1uA sleep current in WOR mode Tx […]

Picovoice supports custom wake word, offline voice recognition on Raspberry Pi

PicoVoice custom wake word Raspberry Pi

ReSpeaker 4-mic array is a Raspberry Pi HAT with four microphones that can work with services such as Google Assistant or Amazon Echo. It was launched in 2017. So nothing new on the hardware front. What’s new is the expansion board is now supported by Picovoice that works much like other voice assistants except it allows people to create custom wake words and offline voice recognition. Picovoice is described as an end-to-end platform for building customized voice products with processing running entirely on-device. It is cross-platform, is said to be more resilient to noise and reverberation, and thanks to running offline, it offers low-latency and complies with HIPAA and GDPR privacy regulations. The platform is comprised of two main engines: Porcupine lightweight wake word engine that supports custom wake words trained through PicoVoice console. The engine can listen to multiple wake words and is cross-platform with support for Raspberry Pi, […]

Jetson Mate Cluster box takes four Jetson Nano/Xavier NX modules

Jetson Mate Cluster Box

While we’ve seen plenty of cluster boards based on Raspberry Pi SBC or Compute Modules, I had never seen clusters of Jetson modules. Those already exist, and PicoCluster has a few, but what made me write this post today is Seeed Studio’s Jetson Mate cluster box equipped with a carrier board taking up to four NVIDIA Jetson Nano or Xavier NX modules, an enclosure covered with a largish cooling fan with RGB LED for good effect… Jetson Mate specifications: SoM compatibility – Jetson Nano or Jetson Xavier NX via four SO-DIMM sockets Video Output – HDMI 2.0 Networking Gigabit Ethernet (RJ45) port Microchip KSZ9896CTXC 6-port GigE Managed Switch for internal networking between the modules and to the outside world Camera – 2x MIPI CSI connectors USB – 4x USB 3.0 ports (one per module), 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB-C port for power Debugging – UART debug pins (4x pairs, […]

Arduino Sensor Kit Base is a large shield for Arduino UNO with 10 modules

Arduino Sensor Kit Base

Earlier this year, Seeed Studio introduced the Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino that included the Arduino UNO compatible Seeduino Lotus board placed at the center and ten pre-wired and detachable Grove modules to get started with sensors on Arduino with no cabling whatsoever apart from the USB cable. Arduino must have seen and liked the design, and Seeed Studio has collaborated with the Italian company to create the Arduino Sensor Kit Base with a very similar design, but with a twist as instead of an all-in-one platform with modules and an Arduino board, it’s a very large shield that seats on tops of Arduino UNO. The Arduino Sensor Kit base includes the following: Base shield with 16 Grove connectors, instead of just 12 Grove connectors on the Beginner Kit, including 7x digital connectors, 4x analog connectors, 4x I2C connectors, and one UART connector; A 3.3V/5V voltage switch is also included […]

Black Friday 2020 International Deals and Coupons

Aliexpress Black Friday Fest 2020

Singles Day 2020 is now behind us, but just like every year, international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupons are coming, and even already launched over one week before the actual events. And CNX Software will link to promotions from Chinese online websites that offer such deals with Aliexpress, Banggood, GearBest, GeekBuying, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday Fest will start on November 23, 12:00 AM PT, and last till November 27, 11:59 PM PT with up to 70% discounts. But you can also browse the website to find discounts, and add products to your cart before ordering during the event. There will also be $20 and $40 coupons for orders over $40 and $100 respectively, but conditions are unclear at this time. Banggood’s Crazy Friday event takes place during an even longer period between November 2nd and December 6th. There are special sitewide coupons for PayPal payments with […]