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

April 30, 2015April 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Windows 10 IoT Preview for Raspberry Pi 2 and MinnowBoard Max

When Raspberry Pi 2 Model B was released, we were promised a Windows 10 image for the board, and today, Microsoft released “Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview” for both the Broadcom BCM2836 based Raspberry Pi 2 and Intel Atom E3800 series based Minnowboard MAX boards. To get started with either board, simply go to Windows IoT – Getting Started page. I’ll quickly go through the instructions for Raspberry Pi 2. Beside the board, you’ll also need a PC running Windows 10 Insider preview (Virtual machine not supported), a 5V power supply, a HDMI cable (optional but recommended), an Ethernet cable, and a 8GB micro SD card, class 10 or better. The you’ll need to configure a connect account, where I had to accept two EULA including “Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview EULA”, and once this is done the area of the page for EULA should just be blank, […]

April 29, 2015June 8, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 102 Comments

How to Install 64-bit BIOS on Sunchip CX-W8

Sunchip CX-W8 is an Intel Atom Z3735F TV box running Windows, but I’ve been informed that originally Sunchip designed it for WeTek in order to manufacture a Linux based mini PC. Unfortunately, they finally gave up once they discovered Intel had no intention to work on HDMI audio support in Linux for their Atom Z3700 series processor despite it working on Android… Intel Compute Stick will apparently use a separate DSP to handle that part (TBC). Nevertheless, when WeTek saw I had Wintel W8, they decided to share the 64-bit “BIOS” they had worked on for the Linux port. By the way, Wintel W8 and Sunchip CX-W8 allegedly come from two different factories / design houses, so although they look alike, the hardware might be different, and the UEFI firmware / BIOS, I’m about to share may or may not be compatible with Wintel W8, so you may brick it […]

April 29, 2015September 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ventana GW5220 ARM Linux SBC Supports WiFi, Wimax, 3G Cellular Connectivity & PoE

Gateworks recently launched another Freescale i.MX6 board part of theur Ventana family with Ventana GW5220 single board computer with Freescale i.MX6 dual processor, HDMI out, Ethernet, and a PCIe slot that takes modules adding WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/a, 4G Wimax, and 3G (CDMA/GSM) connectivity, as well as other compatible PCIe modules. Gateworks GW5520 board specifications: SoC- Freescale i.MX6 Dual with 2x Cortex A9 core @ 800MHz and Vivante GPU System Memory – 512 MB (default) to 2GB DDR3-800 SDRAM Storage – 256 MB (default) to 2GB Flash, micro SD slot, serial configuration EEPROM Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet port (RJ45) Video Output and Input – HDMI 1.4 out, CVBS, Y/C, and YPbPr inputs, LVDS output (TIA/EIA 644-A) Audio – HDMI, analog stereo Line In/Out, or Headphone/Mic Expansion – 2x Mini PCIe sockets including one supporting USB and SIM socket, and the other supporting PCIe, mSATA and USB signals. Other I/O ports: […]

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

USBminiPower USB Power Supply Delivers 3 Outputs: 5V, 3.3V, and a Variable Output up to 14.3V (Crowdfunding)

Yesterday, I found out about a cheap 5V/3.3V USB power supply board, YwRobot MB-102, selling for $1 shipped on Ebay, but one person lamented the lack of 1.8V output, which may be required for example for modules like AsiaRF AWM002 that takes both 3.3V and 1.8V. One way is make your own power board, and get an expensive lab power supply, but I got a solution in my inbox this morning, with USBminiPower, as tiny USB power supply board with three output: 5V, 3.3V and a variable pin between 1V and 14.3V, as well as a 4 digit LED display showing the voltage and intensity just like Charger Doctor. USBminiPower specifications: MCU – Microchip PIC16 MCU (several are supported) Voltage outputs – 5V (from USB port), controllable 3.3V, and controllable & adjustable 1V … 14.3V Display – 4 Digit red LED to display intensity and voltage Max Power – 2.45 […]

April 28, 2015April 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Intel Atom Z3735F mini PC Power Consumption in Android

I’ve already measured power consumption running Antutu and playing a 4K video on Rockchip RK3288 and Amlogic S812 platform, as described in “Power Consumption of Amlogic S812 and Rockchip RK3288 TV Boxes“, and now that I have an Intel Bay Trail-T mini PC running Android 4.4 with Wintel W8, I was interested in comparing its power consumption to the ARM platform. [Update: I forgot to mention measurements have all been done @ ~5V.] The test normally consists in several steps: Boot the device Run the latest Antutu benchmark Connect a USB hard drive Play a 4K video in Kodi from the hard drive Diconnect the hard drive Power off the device But since the current draw was a little to high at times, I got a few issues with my setup. First, I had to boot twice hence the “Power On 1” and “Power On 2” strings on the chart, […]

April 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Ottobox Smart Wi-Fi Electric Socket Learns Your Schedule to Save Electricity (Crowdfunding)

There are already quite a few smart Wi-Fi electric sockets like Kankun KK-SP3, Broadlink SP2, or Orvibo Vivo S20 among others that cost between $20 and $45 shipped. They can all be controlled via an Android or iOS app either via the touch of a button, or by setting schedules, and some can also measure power consumption. But what they can’t do, is to automatically learn your schedule or habits, and detect whether you are at home or not, and that’s exactly what Ottoxbox has been designed to do. Ottobox hardware specifications: MCU – Unnamed ARM based micro-controller Connectivity – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 Sockets and charging ports 1x 3-pin power socket 2x USB port to charge devices Misc – Multicolor LEDs Mains Voltage – Supports 120V / 220V / 230V and US & UK plug types, and possibly EU too (TBC) Dimensions – 10.80 x 3.8 x 3.8 cm […]

April 28, 2015April 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ZTE ZX296702 Dual Core Cortex A9 SoC Boots Android in 10 Seconds with TuxOnice

ZTE XZ296702 is a dual core Cortex A9 processor with a Mali-400 GPU that targets Android set-top boxes and media players, and while Charbax filmed a video with ZX296702-AD1 development board at Linaro Connect HK, initial patchsets were recently submitted to the Linux ARM Kernel mailing list for XZ296702 SoC and the development board. There aren’t any product page for ZX296702 processor, so instead let’s have a look at the board’s specifications: SoC – ZTE ZX296702 dual core ARM Cortex A9 processor with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB flash + micro SD card Video Output – HDMI + AV (RCA) Audio Output – HDMI + Stereo audio (2x RCA) Connectivity – Ethernet and Wi-Fi USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Power Supply – 5V Considering the board is running Android 4.4, the specs are quite low end, however the developers claim to have […]

April 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Marvell Introduces ARMADA 1500 Ultra SoC for 4K STB with Vivante GC7000XS GPU

Marvell has just unveiled another STB SoC with ARMADA 1500 Ultra (88DE3218) with four ARM Cortex A53 cores, and instead of using Mali or PowerVR GPUs like many competitors, they integrated an octa core Vivante GC7000XS 3D GPU anda Vivante GL520 2D GPU into the chip. The SoC is designed for 4K Android set-top boxes from PayTV operators and STB manufacturers, supports 4K UHD 10-bit HEVC and VP9 video codecs, and embeds a security processor supporting conditional access systems (CAS) solutions from Verimatrix, Widevine, PlayReady, and DTCP-IP. Key features listed for ARMADA 1500 Ultra: 2160p60 10 bit HEVC & VP9 Video Decode + 1080 PiP + Trancoding concurrently Quad Core ARM A53 64-bit CPU @ up to 1.5 GHz (Up to 14K DMIPs) with 1MB L2 Cache 8 core GPU, 8 shader Vivante GC7000XS supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0/3/.1, OpenCL 1.2 and DirectFB. Includes HW tessellation and geometry shaders, optimized for […]