CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by Sponsored Post - No Comments

PCBWay: Your One-Stop Shop for Electronics Manufacturing from Design to Production (Sponsored)

PCBWay, founded in 2013, is a global electronics manufacturing services company driven by customer value. With 5 factories in Shenzhen China (2 offering PCB services, 2 offering PCBA services, and 1 offering CNC machining, sheet metal, and injection molding services), we are able to leverage advanced electronics technology, component resources, experienced technicians, and more. We also work with a number of manufacturers in Shenzhen and other cities to support products beyond our own capabilities. PCBWay has a long history of providing manufacturing support and design advice based on our customers’ products, and we continue to provide our customers with printed circuit boards, components, PCB assembly, molding services, electronic assemblies, contract manufacturing, etc. from design to mass production. Today, multiple technology trends are driving PCB adoption. The Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), combined with the development of 5G systems, have opened up a whole new level of connectivity […]

November 21, 2024November 20, 2024 by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments

ESP32 Rainbow is an open-source, ESP32-S3-powered ZX Spectrum single board computer (Crowdfunding)

Retrocomputing enthusiasts will be delighted to learn that a new ZX Spectrum replica is on the market: the ESP32 Rainbow. The single board computer swaps the Zilog Z80 for an ESP32-S3 microcontroller chip running an emulator, bringing the classic 80s computer back to life with a modern twist. It features a built-in color display, a microSD card slot for storage, a built-in touch keyboard in the ZX Spectrum style, and a USB Type-C port for power and data. The keyboard was recreated using full-color UV printing and is the most true-to-life component of the ESP32-S3-based ZX Spectrum single board computer. The touch keys won’t likely offer the best typing experience but that is reminiscent of the original ZX Spectrum. A lovely cherry on top is that the onboard USB-C port supports HID and the device can be used as a keyboard on another computer. The ZX Spectrum is one of […]

ArmSoM CM5 - Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by Debashis Das - No Comments

SolidRun unveils HummingBoard i.MX8M IIOT SBC and the IIOT-200-8M Gateway for Edge AI and industrial IoT applications

SolidRun has recently introduced HummingBoard i.MX8M IIOT SBC and IIOT-200-8M Gateway built around the NXP i.MX 8M Plus Edge AI processor. Designed for IIoT and HMI applications the SBC hosts the NXP i.MX 8M Plus SOM which gives access to various connectivity options, including dual Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, CAN-FD, RS232/RS485, and audio. Additionally, it has support for industrial protocols such as Modbus and MQTT, making it suitable for factory automation and smart energy projects. Based on the HummingBoard i.MX8M IIOT SBC, the IIOT-200-8M Gateway features a DIN-rail mountable design, which sacrifices some I/O interfaces to meet the demands of harsh deployment environments. Both products support Industrial temperature ranges, fanless construction, and compact dimensions, making them reliable choices for demanding applications like industrial automation, predictive maintenance, and remote monitoring. HummingBoard i.MX8M IIOT SBC Specifications SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Plus AI SoC CPU Quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.6 GHz […]

November 20, 2024November 20, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 – International deals and coupons

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be a US-only event, it changed many years ago, and we’ve been writing about international Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and coupon codes since 2014, since a large portion of our audience cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events that will take place from November 21 until December 2 this year. So I’ve gathered some international Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 deals and discount coupon codes from relevant manufacturers and popular online stores such as Aliexpress, Banggood, and others. Aliexpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday event Aliexpress’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024 event has already started. There are three periods: Nov 19-21 PST – Warm Up event where users can find and add items to the cart before purchasing during the main event. Nov 22-30 PST – “On Sale” event with discounts up […]

November 20, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

The first Android 16 developer preview is out (much) earlier than expected

Google releases a new Android version every year, and while the first Android 15 developer preview was released this year in February, the company has already announced the first Android 16 developer preview just a couple of months after the official release of Android 15 on AOSP in an “effort to drive faster innovation in apps and devices”. More specifically, Google plans to release two Android APIs next year: a major SDK release in Q2 2025 instead of Q3 followed by a minor SDK release in Q4 2025 that won’t include behavior changes that may require changes in apps, but only pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes. The change was mostly made to better accommodate the device launch schedule of smartphone manufacturers. That almost means many more changes are expected between the preview and the beta release. As of now, Google has only announced a few new features […]

November 20, 2024November 19, 2024 by Sayantan Nandy - 2 Comments

DFRobot EDGE102-DMX512 lighting controller combines ESP32-S3 MCU and DMX512 protocol chip

EDGE102 DMX512 Lighting Programming Controller

DFRobot’s EDGE102-DMX512 is a DMX512 lighting programming controller based on ESP32-S3 wireless MCU designed for efficient management of stage, theater, and venue lighting. With integrated WiFi and Bluetooth, the controller supports wireless programming and control, simplifying the setup of advanced lighting systems. It offers RS485 (master/slave modes) interfaces, I2C, UART, and GPIO pins for compatibility with a wide range of sensors and boards. This controller enables automation through sensor integration, supporting devices such as infrared detectors, sound level meters, and laser sensors. Its eight optically isolated industrial switch inputs ensure seamless compatibility with PNP sensors, allowing lighting effects to respond automatically to environmental inputs. By reducing dependence on manual DMX consoles, it is well-suited for automated lighting in theaters, stages, and commercial venues. EDGE102-DMX512 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512 KB of internal […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

November 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

UP 710S – A slim, credit card-sized Intel N97 development board with M.2 E-Key WiFi socket and GPIO, I2C, SPI, and COM wafers

AAEON’s UP 710S is a credit card-sized Intel N97 SBC and development board with an M.2 E-Key socket for a WiFi and Bluetooth module, and similar interfaces such as gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and HDMI outputs as found in Raspberry Pi boards. It’s very similar to the UP 7000 SBC with Intel N50, N97, or N100 CPU, but it’s designed to be slimmer so the 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible header has been replaced by 1mm pitch wafers exposing GPIO, I2C, SPI, and serial (COM) interfaces. UP 710S specifications: Alder Lake-N SoC Default – Intel Processor N97 quad-core processor up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD Graphics Gen 12 @ 1.2 GHz; TDP: 12W Options – Intel N50, N100, N200 System Memory – Up to 8GB LPDDR5 Storage Up to 128GB eMMC flash 256Mbit flash for the BIOS/UEFI Video Output – HDMI 1.4b video output up to 4Kp30 […]

November 19, 2024 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Raspberry Pi SSD Kit and Class A2 microSD cards review with Raspberry Pi 5

Raspberry Pi SSD Kit Class A2 MicroSD card review

Selecting a microSD card, and to a lesser extent an SSD, for your Raspberry Pi may feel like walking through a landmine field with fake microSD cards that may perform poorly and severely impact the performance and/or reliability of your Raspberry Pi, and you’ll find plenty of articles helping you select a good microSD card for your Raspberry Pi. That’s probably why Raspberry Pi Holdings decided to launch its own Raspberry Pi-branded class A2 microSD cards and NVMe SSDs, so users can be sure they got a certified storage device that should perform as advertised as long as they purchase those from some authorized resellers. The company sent me 32GB and 64GB Raspberry Pi microSD cards and a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD kit for testing, so I’ll test those in this review and compare them against other SSDs and microSD cards I’m currently using. Since we’ve not covered the new […]