Audio Category - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

April 13, 2026April 14, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Trail Mate open-source firmware leverages Meshtastic and MeshCore for ESP32 off-grid handhelds

vicliu624’s Trail Mate is an open-source firmware for off-grid communication and GPS coordinates sharing, leveraging the Meshtastic, MeshCore, and other projects, and designed for ESP32 handhelds such as LILYGO’s T-LoRa Pager or M5Stack’s Tab5 with a LoRaWAN module. The Trail Mate firmware provides a fixed north-up GPS map, direct LoRa text messaging through Meshtastic or MeshCore mesh networks without relying on a smartphone, and prioritizes stability, efficiency, and interoperability over feature density. Trail Mate user interface highlights: Simple main menu with four icons: GPS, LoRa chat, tracker, and system utilities. GPS map Fixed North-Up map orientation (no rotation) Fully offline map rendering from SD card tiles (png/jpg files) Three switchable base layers: OSM / Terrain / Satellite Optional contour overlay for terrain shape awareness Real-time position marker for the current GPS fix Discrete zoom levels optimized for embedded systems Simple breadcrumb trails for path awareness Fast in-page layer switching via […]

April 10, 2026April 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Raspberry Pi SBC gets (analog and) digital radio HAT with AM, FM, DAB, DAB+, HD radio

Yesterday, I wrote about a 2-year-old open-source hardware ESP32-based DAB+ receiver project, but it turns out there’s also a digital radio project for the Raspberry Pi that was released about three weeks ago. Raspiaudio’s Digital Radio V1 HAT adds AM/FM, DAB/DAB+, and HD Radio support to any Raspberry Pi SBC with a 40-pin GPIO header and is supported by CLI or web-based software for configuration and control. Digital Radio V1 HAT specifications: Supported SBCs – Raspberry Pi Zero 1/2, Raspberry Pi 4/5, etc… Digital radio receiver chip – Skyworth Si4689-A10 (see product brief) Worldwide FM band support (76 to 108 MHz) Worldwide AM band support (520 to 1710 kHz) DAB, DAB+ Band III support (168 to 240 MHz) Advanced RDS/RBDS decoder FM HD Radio support with on-chip IBOC blend (note from Raspiaudio: subject to licensing. Please verify that you are legally allowed to use it in your country and […]

March 30, 2026March 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

DIY ESP32-S3 Internet radio features Winamp-styled user interface

Volos Projects recently showcased an easy-to-reproduce, inexpensive DIY ESP32-S3 Internet radio based on a Waveshare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.54 development board and an Arduino sketch with a Winamp-styled user interface. As its name implies, the hardware is based on the ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC, connected to a 1.54-inch 240×240 color display and a speaker that delivers better-than-expected audio quality, according to Volos Projects. Waveshare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.54 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh connectivity Storage 16MB NOR flash MicroSD card slot Display 1.54-inch IPS display with 240×240 resolution, 262K colors 4-wire SPI ST7789 driver Optional CST816 capacitive touch controller (not used by the DIY Radio project) Audio Speaker 2x microphones NS4150B audio amplifier ES8311 low-power audio codec ES7210 AEC (acoustic echo cancellation) chip USB […]

March 27, 2026March 27, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESP32-P4-Pi-VIEWE – A Raspberry Pi-inspired ESP32-P4 + ESP32-C6 board with Ethernet, USB, 40-pin GPIO header, and more

ESP32-P4 ESP32-C6 Raspberry-Pi sized SBC

The ESP32-P4-Pi-VIEWE is a Raspberry Pi-inspired development board equipped with a VIEWE ESP32-P4C6-Core module, combining a 400 MHz ESP32-P4 dual-core RISC-V MCU with an ESP32-C6 chip for Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity, as well as 32MB PSRAM and 16MB NOR flash. The board also offers 10/100Mbps Ethernet connectivity, MIPI DSI, and CSI connectors for display and/or camera, two onboard microphones, a speaker output, a USB 2.0 port, a micro SD card slot, and the usual 40-pin GPIO header, all in a familiar 85 x 56 mm credit card form factor. ESP32-P4-Pi-VIEWE specifications: Main module – VIEWE ESP32-P4C6-Core Microcontroller – ESP32-P4NRW32 MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 360/400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – 768 KB HP L2MEM, 32 KB LP SRAM, […]

March 19, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Avaota F2 – Allwinner V861 RISC-V SBC targets AI cameras with PTZ and audio support

Avaota F2 is the first SBC based on an Allwinner V861 dual-core 64-bit RISC-V SoC with 128MB on-chip DDR3 memory, support for 4K cameras, a H.265 video codec, and a 1 TOPS AI accelerator. It’s an update to the earlier Avaota F1 camera board based on an Allwinner V821 SoC. The new open-source hardware F2 SBC offers several benefits, including support for both Full HD and 4K camera sensors, motor control for the PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) feature, and improved audio support through speaker (one) and microphone (two) connectors. However, the F1 also included WiFi, which the Avaota F2 lacks. Avaota F2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner V861M2-XXX CPU Dual-Core RISC-V XuanTie C907 (RV64GCBV/RV32GGCBV) clocked up to 1.4GHz with RVV 1.0 extensions Single-core RISC-V XuanTie E907 (RV32IMAFC) clocked up to 800MHz VPU Video Encoder H.264/H.265 up to 4K @ 25fps (M)JPEG up to 8192×8192 Video Decoder – (M)JPEG up to 1080p60 AI accelerator […]

March 18, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Review of Open Nextion ESP32-S3-based HMI displays with the Arduino IDE and the ESP-IDF framework

ITEAD has sent us samples of the Open Nextion ONX3248G035 and ONX2432G028 ESP32-S3 HMI displays for review. Open Nextion is a new product line that differs from the original Nextion HMI family, which relies on the Nextion Editor for UI design and UART communication for control. Instead, the Open Nextion features an ESP32-S3 wireless microcontroller handling logic processing, display control, and wireless connectivity, all in one integrated package. ITEAD fully supports the ESP-IDF framework and the Arduino IDE with LVGL graphics library support. The ONX3248G035 model features a 3.5-inch screen, while the ONX2432G028 variant has a 2.8-inch screen. The Open Nextion HMI wireless displays also take accessories such as a dual-microphone array, a speaker, and an I/Os adapter. The new Open Nextion product line is especially well-suited to embedded developers/makers who want an all-in-one board with HMI and wireless capabilities, IoT terminal and Smart HMI panel prototyping, students interested in […]

March 14, 2026 by Debashis Das - 7 Comments

Esparagus Audio Brick ESP32-based DIN-rail 65W Hi-Fi amplifier supports Home Assistant and Squeezelite (Crowdfunding)

Sonocotta (Andriy Malyshenko), the developer of Esparagus “Media Center”, HiFi-Amped, Louder Raspberry Pi, and Louder Raspberry Hat Plus, has returned to Crowd Supply with the Esparagus Audio Brick, a compact ESP32 or ESP32-S3-powered Hi-Fi Class-D amplifier with Home Assistant support. With support for Music Assistant, Snapcast, and Logitech Media Server (LMS), the module can be used to build whole-home audio setups, retrofit vintage speakers with modern streaming features, or power custom speaker configurations such as subwoofers or bi-amp systems. The board is built around an ESP32 or ESP32-S3 dual-core microcontroller with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM, and features Wi-Fi with optional W5500 SPI Ethernet for connectivity. Audio is processed via a Texas Instruments TAS5825M stereo I²S DAC with an integrated 65 W Class-D amplifier, and includes a DSP for a 15-band equalizer and hardware fault management. Other features include a USB Type-C port with a CH340 chip for […]

March 6, 2026March 8, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Echo Pyramid enables smart voice interaction applications on M5Stack Atom ESP32 IoT controllers

Designed for M5Stack Atom, AtomS3, and AtomS3R series IoT controllers based on ESP32 or ESP32-S3 wireless SoC, the Echo Pyramid base enables smart voice interaction applications such as far-field voice recognition, voice assistants, voice control, and more. The device features a built-in speaker, a MEMS microphone, an ES8311 HD audio codec for playback and capture, and an STM32 MCU for touch areas and RGB LED management. It’s powered via a USB Type-C port and can be expanded through a 4-pin connector for I2C modules. Echo Pyramid specifications: Supported IoT controllers – M5Stack Atom, AtomS3, and AtomS3R Microcontroller – STMicro STM32G030F6P6 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0+ CPU @ 64 MHz with 8KB SRAM, 64 KB flash Audio HD Codec – ES8311, handles playback and recording Microphone – LMA3729T381-0Y3S MEMS microphone ADC – ES7210 for microphone input Built-in speaker on the bottom of the pyramid Amplifier – AW87559 Class-D speaker driver for the speaker […]