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

December 1, 2020December 4, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 35 Comments

NanoPi R4S SBC launched with optional metal case for $45 and up

We found NanoPi R4S board in a work-in-progress Wiki last month. The tiny single board computer is designed for headless applications but comes with much better specifications compared to similar boards with a Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with up to 4GB RAM, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and USB 3.0 ports. At the time we had limited information, but FriendlyELEC has now started selling the board for $45 and up, together with an optional metal case for a fanless operation that should ensure very good cooling. Here’s a reminder of NanoPi R4S specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa-core processor with dual-Core Cortex-A72 up to 2.0GHz, quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.5GHz, Mali-T864 GPU with OpenGL ES1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OpenCL, DX11, and AFBC support, 4K VP9 and 4K 10-bit H265/H264 60fps video decoder System Memory – 1GB DDR3 or 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – MicroSD card slot Networking – 2x GbE, including one native Gigabit Ethernet, and […]

November 30, 2020November 30, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Fanless Linux embedded system makes a compact IoT gateway

Mitac ME1-108T Linux imx8mm embedded system

ICP Germany has recently introduced the MiTAC ME1-8MD series family of compact, fanless Linux embedded systems powered by NXP i.MX 8M processor and designed to be used as IoT gateways, data acquisition and processing systems, and mini servers. Three models have been launched with a choice of dual or quad-core processors, up to 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, and 32GB eMMC flash storage. The embedded computers also come with up to two Ethernet ports, support up to two displays, and include an internal Raspberry Pi compatible 40 pin GPIO header. MiTAC ME1-8MD specifications and key features: SoC – NXP i.MX 8M Dual or Quad with two or four Cortex-A53 @ 1.3GHz, Cortex-M4 MCU, Vivante GC7000 Lite GPU, and 4K video processing unit System Memory – 1 to 4GB LPDDR4 800 Mhz RAM Storage – 8, 16, or 32GB eMMC flash, 1x MicroSD card slot up to 256GB Video Output HDMI 2.0 Optional […]

November 30, 2020November 30, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Official Raspberry Pi 4 case fan adds cooling to Raspberry Pi 4 case

When the Raspberry Pi Foundation first introduced the Raspberry Pi 4, they claimed the board would work just fine under most cases without a heatsink, and the latter was only really needed under load. That may have been true when using the board in a temperate climate like in the United Kingdom, but then Raspberry Pi 4 met Thailand with some benchmarks results lower than on a Raspberry Pi 3. People using plastic enclosures had even more troubles. It’s only when I installed a heatsink on Raspberry Pi 4 that the board could really shine. The company also provided some firmware optimizations later on to further cool-down the board. But you can only do much with software, and many third-party cooling solutions such as fansinks or metal cases have been introduced for the popular SBC. But it appears the Raspberry Pi Foundation is now taking cooling into account, and I […]

November 30, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Pi-oT 2 IoT module adds 24V digital inputs, RS-485, and UPS to Raspberry Pi (Crowdfunding)

Pi-oT was launched last year as a Raspberry Pi add-ons designed for commercial and industrial IoT automation. It features 5V I/Os, relays, and ADC inputs suitable for light-duty projects and prototyping. The company, called Edge Devices, has now launched an update with Pi-oT 2 adding optional support for 24V digital inputs, RS-485, and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Pi-oT 2 comes in three variants with the following key features and specifications: SBC support – Raspberry Pi model B boards with 40-pin I/O header Connectivity – Ethernet access via extra port 6x digital outputs 8x analog inputs (0 to 5V), 10-bit precision for Pi-oT 2 and 2 +Plus models, 10-bit precision for Pi-oT 2 Precision variant Model specific features Pi-OT 2 4x GPIO 5V power supply Pi-oT 2 +Plus 4x GPIO 5V power supply + UPS Pi-OT 2 Precision 4x 24V digital inputs, compliant with IEC-61131-2 standard (instead of 4x GPIO […]

November 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

IKOULA hosts Raspberry Pi 4 “micro server” for 4.99+ Euros per month

Hosting services for Arm single board computers where you pay a monthly fee for a board, and have it hosted in a datacenter with Internet access and easy provisioning have been around for over six years. Last summer, we reported that Mythic Beasts and mini Nodes had added Raspberry Pi 4 hosting plans to their offerings, and others commented there were also other companies. But I’ve just been informed IKOULA, a hosting company based in France, had introduced Raspberry Pi 4 “micro server” hosting plans starting at just 4.99 Euros ex. VAT per month. The hosting plans include the following: Micro server – Raspberry Pi 4 SBC with 4GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 16GB SD card (optional 120 GB SSD) Connectivity – IPV6 only, with IPv4 as an option Bandwidth – 1 Gbit/s Availability – 99.95 % The company offers Raspbian (Raspberry Pi OS), Ubuntu 20.04 32-bit or 64-bit for […]

November 27, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ASRock Mars 4000U could be the world’s thinnest AMD Ryzen 4000 mini PC

We’ve already written about AMD Ryzen 7 4800 mini PC‘s such as ASROCK 4×4 BOX-4800, but if you’d like something slimmer with the processor, nothing beats the company’s Mars 4000U series mini PCs with a 26mm height. Despite its slim body, the mini PC packs up a lot of processing power and features, with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 4800 processor, up to 64GB RAM, support for a 2.5-inch SATA drive and M.2 NVMe/SATA SSD, as well as HDMI and VGA video outputs and more. ASRock Mars 4000U mini PC specifications: SoC Mars 4300U model – AMD Ryzen 3 4300U quad-core processor up to 3.7GHz with 6MB cache, 5-core Radeon graphics; 15W TDP Mars 4500U model – AMD Ryzen 5 4500U hexa-core processor up to 4.0GHz with 11MB cache, 6-core Radeon graphics; 15W TDP Mars 4800U model – AMD Ryzen 7 4800U octa-core/16-thread processor up to 4.2GHz with 12MB […]

November 27, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ASUS Chromebox 4 features Intel Comet Lake processor, WiFi 6, up to 16GB RAM

Chrome OS devices, be it Chromebook laptops, Chomebox mini PCs, or Chromebit PC sticks, used to be relatively low-cost devices designed to run the Chrome browser. But over the years. the versatility of the platform has increased with more powerful, yet still with low-power consumption, hardware, and improved software with support for Android apps, the Google Play Store, and even Linux programs. ASUS Chromebox 4 mini PC should be able to handle all those tasks pretty well, thanks to a choice of Intel Comet Lake processors ranging from a dual-core Intel Celeron 5205U to a quad-core Core i7-10510U with up to 16GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash, and an M.2 socket that will be fitted to either 128GB or 256GB SATA SSD. The device offers Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi 6 connectivity, also has the ability to drive up to three displays thanks to two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a USB 3.2 […]

November 26, 2020February 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

MorphESP 240 ESP32-S2 board integrates a 1.3-inch color display (Crowdfunding)

MorphESP 240 ESP32-S2 board with color display

We’ve already seen ESP32 platforms with a color display such as M5Stack, but MorphESP 240 is kind of cute with a 1.3-inch color display, features the more recent ESP32-S2 WiFi processor, and supports battery power & charging. MorphESP 240 specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-S2-WROOM with Espressif Systems ESP32-S2 single-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microprocessor up to 240 MHz with 128 KB ROM, 320 KB SRAM, 16 KB SRAM in RTC, 4MB SPI flash, 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity Display – Onboard 1.3-inch ST7789 display with 240 x 240 resolution, connected over SPI USB – 1x Micro USB port for power/charging and programming Expansion – 16-pin and 24-pin headers with GPIO, I2C, UART, SPI, USB, and power signals Misc – WS2812B RGB LED connected to IO16, Reset button, boot mode switch, battery on/off switch Power Supply 5 V to 3.3 V regulator to feed additional modules JST connector for a battery […]