Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software

June 12, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

RasPad 3 Review – Part 1: Raspberry Pi 4 “tablet” specs, unboxing and assembly

RasPad tablet kit for Raspberry Pi 3B+ and other SBC’s was introduced in 2018, but Sunfounder has recently introduced an update, RasPad 3 that supports the more powerful Raspberry Pi 4 SBC. After seeing my review of CrowPi2 Raspberry Pi 4 education laptop, the company asked me whether I’d be interested in reviewing Raspad 3 as well. So here we are, and I’ve received a sample of the tablet kit. As usual, I’ll do a two-part review, with unboxing and assembly of the kit. Since I previously missed the RasPad 3 announcement, I’ll start by listing some of the specifications. RasPad 3 specifications Compatible board – Raspberry Pi 4B with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A72 processor, up to 8G RAM Storage – MicroSD card socket Display – 10.1-inch touchscreen IPS display with 1280×800 resolution, 10-point touch Video Output – Full-size HDMI output Audio – 3.5 mm headphone jack, stereo speaker Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, and 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 + […]

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Timesys Embedded Board Farm enables remote access to hardware for software development & QA

When you design a new board with an international team working in multiple locations, there may only be a couple of boards available for testing, and that’s mean some members of the team may not have access to the hardware. The same problem can be true for test farms with a larger number of boards. So it would be good to have a solution to remotely access and control the hardware to speed up development. A few years ago we wrote about MuxPi board using NanoPi NEO SBC to enable remote testing of development boards, but now Timesys has come up with a more advanced solution with the Embedded Board Farm (EBF) capable of sharing multiple boards across teams spread around the world. The solution is comprised of three main components besides the target boards: The Master Server integrated with LAVA test automation framework – It handles docker images, firmware/file transfer, access control, and so on. A Zombie connected to […]

June 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 45 Comments

How much do you pay for cellular data plans?

I’m mostly working from home using a broadband “Fiber-to-the-home” monthly subscription, with a router handling the connection to computers and devices through Ethernet or WiFi. So I’ve very seldom used cellular data plans since I don’t exactly need to be connected each time I get out. But recently, I’ve been to places for around one or two weeks at a time without WiFi, and my ISP has gotten into the habit of disconnecting for several hours once a month, so I’ve started to connect to 4G cellular networks more often. So far I had purchased daily or weekly plans from my bank app depending on my need for under two dollars a day or $10 per week for a 10 Mbps “unlimited” connection. Unlimited here means the company will not throttle the connection to lower speed after reaching a cap. I had some problems with excessive packet loss (> 70%) from time to time on my computer while using my […]

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

BastWAN Feather-compatible LoRaWAN board features RAK4260 Microchip R34 module

We’ve previously written about a Feather-compatible LoRaWAN board equipped with RAK4260 module based on Microchip R34 LoRa SIP called Penguino Feather. It appears somebody, namely Electronic Cats based in Mexico, decided to design an almost identical board with BastWAN. Let’s see if there are any differences besides the cheaper price. BastWAN specifications: LoRa module – Rak wireless RAK4260 module with: SiP – Microchip SAML21 Arm Cortex M0+ MCU @ 48 MHz, 32 KB RAM, 256 KB Flash, Semtech SX1276 LoRa Connectivity Frequency Range – 862 to 1020 MHz High level of accuracy and stability (32MHz TXCO) Max Tx Power: 20dBm; Max Sensitivity: -148dBm; Rx Current: 17mA (typical) Compliant with LoRaWan 1.0.2 Antenna – SMA and u.FL (IPEX) antenna connector I/Os – Feather headers with 20x IO pins including PWN, serial, I2C, SPI, 6x 12-bit ADC, 1x 10-bit DAC HW security – ATECC608A crypto authentication chip Programming and debugging 10-pin 4-pin SWD programming header Micro USB port for power and debugging […]

June 10, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

ClearFog CN9130 networking boards deliver 10GbE through a tiny Octeon TX2 module

SolidRun has designed and manufactured ClearFog networking boards ever since the introduction of the Marvell ARMADA 380/388-based ClearFog Pro in 2015. Since then, more powerful models have been launched including the ClearFog GT 8K based on Marvell ARMADA A8040 quad-core Cortex A72 processor with support for 2.5GbE and 10GbE, and the ClearFog CX LX2K equipped with a 16-core Cortex-A72 NXP capable of 100GbE networking. The Israeli company unveiled its first Octeon TX2-based design last fall with ClearFog CX CN9K, a full-featured networking SBC fitted with CEx7 CN9132 COM Express Type 7 module. But now the company has launched the more compact ClearFog CN9130 Pro/Base networking boards equipped with a tiny 50x30mm Octeon TX2 module still enabling 10GbE connectivity. SolidRun SOM 9130 system-on-module Specifications: SoC – Marvell OCTEON TX2 CN9130 quad-core Cortex A72 processor @ up to 2.2 GHz (commercial) or 2.0 GHz (industrial) System Memory – Up to 8GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, 64Mbit SPI flash 3 […]

June 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Intel Core i7-1165G7 barebone mini PC sells for $455

Intel Core i7-1165G7 is one of the most popular Tiger Lake UP3 processors. It’s found in ASRock NUC 1100 BOX Series as well as Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C which Ian (Linuxium) reviewed for us both with Windows 10 and Linux (Ubuntu 20.04). If you’d like a cheaper mini PC with the processor, TOPTON has just launched an Intel Core i7-1165G7 “Mini PC Box”, model number V320, that’s sold for $454.67 with free shipping in barebone configuration. TOPTON V320 mini PC specifications: SoC – Intel Core i7-1165G7 quad-core/octa-thread Tiger Lake UP3 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz / 4.7 GHz (Turbo) with 96EU Iris Xe Graphics; 15W TDP (Configurable between 12 and 28W) System Memory – 2x DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM sockets for up to 64GB RAM Storage – 2x M.2 2280 sockets for two SSD’s, including one PCIe 3.0 x4, and the other with SATA? Video Output HDMI 1.4 (TBC, since it would mean 4Kp30, no 4Kp60) DisplayPort up […]

June 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Arm/Intel Windows systems-on-module come with modular eMMC or/and RAM modules

am335x system-on-module replaceable emmc & ram

It’s been a long time since I’ve written about a Windows CE (WinCE) compatible module, but apparently, those are still being developed with China-based UNERON offering eSOM335x Windows CE system-on-module based on Texas Instruments AM335x Arm Cortex-A8 processor, and eSOM3735z Windows 10 module equipped with an Intel Atom Z3735G processor. What’s even more intriguing is that the company relies on replaceable & upgradable eMMC flash and RAM modules for the Arm SoM, and while the 1GB RAM is soldered on the Intel module, it’s still possible to upgrade the eMMC flash that way. We’ve seen eMMC modules on several single board computers in the past including ODROID-C4 or Renegade SBC, but I think it’s the first time I see this option on a system-on-module. UNERON eSOM335x AM335x system-on-module Specifications: SoC – Texas Instrumentx Sitara AM3358BZCZA100 Arm Cortex-A8 up to 1GHz with PowerVR SGX530 3D GPU (optional AM3359, AM3354, or AM3352) System Memory – 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, or 1024MB DDR3L 16-bit […]

June 9, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

IZIRUN open-hardware STM32 development boards expose GPIOs through M.2 connector (Crowdfunding)

IZIRUNF7 STM32F7 MCU board with M.2 socket

M.2 sockets are typically used to connect wireless or storage expansion boards to laptops, computers, and SBC’s. But nothing precludes them from being used for another purpose, and earlier this year we wrote about Sparkfun MicroMod MCU boards with an M.2 connector for GPIOs, I2C, SPI, etc… IZITRON has expanded the concept with three slightly larger (IZIRUN) STM32 boards routing more IOs to the M.2 connector, and additional features such as built-in EEPROM and buttons. IZIGOBOARD carrier board is then used to host the STM32F0, STM32F4, or STM32F7 board in order to ease development. IZIRUN STM32 development boards IZIRUN boards specifications: Microcontroller IZIRUNF0 – STMicro STM32F030CCT6 Cortex-M0 MCU @ 48 MHz with 256KB flash, 32 KB SRAM IZIRUNF4 – STMicro STM32F407VET6 Cortex-M4 MCU @ 168 MHz with 512KB flash, 192KB SRAM IZIRUNF7 – STMicro STM32F769NIH6 Cortex-M7 MCU @ 216 MHz with 2MB KB flash, 532KB SRAM On-board RAM – IZIRUNF7 only – 8MB SDRAM Storage 16KB EEPROM IZRUNF0/4 – 512KB […]