Mediatek Wi-Fi Category - Page 8 of 16 - CNX Software

May 22, 2018June 29, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

RAK833 is an Industrial Grade mini PCIe LoRaWAN Gateway Card

The most obvious way to setup your own LoRAWAN network is to get an off-the-shelf Gateway such as MatchBox, which can be easily installed, and configured using the built-in web interface. But if you need something more flexible, Rakwireless RAK833 could be an interesting option, as an industrial grade LoRaWAN gateway that you can just insert into an advanced router or computer’s mini PCIe slot. RAK833 card specifications: LoRa Connectivity Semtech SX1301 Digital Baseband Chip for outdoor LoRaWAN macro gateways 2x Semtech SX1255/7 Tx/Rx front-end 49x LoRa demodulators, 10 parallel demodulation paths Frequencies – 433 MHz, 470 MHz, 868 MHz, and 915 MHz Tx Power – Up to 25 dBm Rx Sensitivity – -140 dBm Host Interface – 52-pin mPCIe edge connector with USB and SPI (via FT2232H) signals; Supply Voltage – 3.3V compatible with 3G/LTE mPCIe cards Dimensions – 50.95 x 30 mm The card ships with an external […]

May 15, 2018May 15, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

MT3620 Development Board for Azure Sphere is Up for Pre-order for $84.90

Microsoft unveiled Azure Sphere solutions last month in order to provide a complete secure IoT solution from the hardware to the cloud with three main components: a secure MCU, Linux based Azure Sphere OS, and Azure Sphere Security (Cloud) Service. The company already stated Mediatek MT3620 would be the first Azure Sphere compliant MCU, and today Seeed Studio has announced MT3620 development board for Azure Sphere is up for pre-order for $84.90 with a $5 deposit, and shipping scheduled for the end of September. Preliminary specifications of MT3620 development board for Azure Sphere: WiSoC – Mediatek MT3620AN single core Arm Cortex-A7 processor @ 500 MHz, dual core Arm Cortex-M4F real-time core, Pluton security sub-system, and WiFi. System Memory – Over 5MB of embedded RAM, split among the various cores (4MB for Arm Cortex A7 core) Storage – 2x 8MB dual channel quad SPI (16MB in total) Connectivity – Dual band […]

May 7, 2018May 7, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X is a $60 Gigabit Ethernet PoE Router Supported by OpenWrt

Stanislav needed a Gigabit Ethernet router to run OpenVPN, and after some research he settled on Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X router with 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, PoE in and pass-through, with a decent 256 MB RAM and 256MB flash, and a $49 MSRP, although I’ve only seen it for $60 and up. The router is not a new product, as it has been out for a few years (since 2015), and it’s also officially supported by OpenWrt, which makes it even more interesting. Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X (ER-X model) specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7621AT dual core MIPS1004Kc processor @ 880 MHz System Memory – 256MB RAM Storage – 256 MB NAND flash for firmware 5x Gigabit RJ45 ports Ports configurable for line-rate, Layer-2 switching 260 kpps for 64-byte packets 1 Gbps for 1518-byte packets Passive PoE passthrough option Power – 24V via passive PoE or power adapter There’s also a ER-X-SFP model […]

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

My Experience with Dodocool AC750 WiFi Repeater

A while ago, I tested Dodocool DC30S USB type C Hub with HDMI, USB port, and a card reader, and recently the company asked me whether I wanted to review another of their accessories. My ISP has recently taken the habit of being down several hours each month, so I rely on my neighbor’s WiFi (with he’s permission) in those case, but since the signal is too weak, I’m using a wireless audio streamer and a power bank to extend the signal and connect it to my router using WDS Bridging. Then I saw Dodocool DC24 802.11ac WiFi repeater, so I decided to give it a chance. Dodocool DC24 A750 Repeater Unboxing I received the device is a cardboard box with some specifications. It’s an AC750 router/repeater with 300 Mbps @ 2.4 GHz + 433 Mbps @ 5 GHz. The product page linked above has some more details with the […]

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Microsoft Introduces Azure Sphere OS Linux Operating System for Certified Microcontrollers (MediaTek MT3620 for now)

Last year, Microsoft announced they were working with Mediatek on Project Sopris Secure WiFi MCU, based on Mediatek MT7687 MIPS microcontroller with 7 properties enhancing security (Hardware-based Root of Trust, failure reporting etc…). The company has now unveiled a complete secure IoT solution with Azure Sphere comprised of three main components: Azure Sphere certified secured MCUs which combine real-time and application cores with built-in Microsoft security technology and connectivity. The first compatible MCU will be Mediatek MT3620, which differs from MIPS based Project Sopris, as it features one Cortex A7 and two Cortex M4 cores as well as WiFi connectivity. Azure Sphere OS that provides four layers on top of the hardware: security monitor, custom Linux kernel, on-chip connectivity services to Azure Sphere Security Service, and app containers for computer (A7 core) or/and real-time I/Os (M4 cores). Azure Sphere Security Service, a secure cloud service for Azure Sphere device that […]

January 30, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Linux 4.15 Release – Main Changes, Arm and MIPS Architectures

Linus Torvald has released Linux 4.15 last Sunday: After a release cycle that was unusual in so many (bad) ways, this last week was really pleasant. Quiet and small, and no last-minute panics, just small fixes for various issues. I never got a feeling that I’d need to extend things by yet another week, and 4.15 looks fine to me. Half the changes in the last week were misc driver stuff (gpu, input, networking) with the other half being a mix of networking, core kernel and arch updates (mainly x86). But all of it is tiny. So at least we had one good week. This obviously was not a pleasant release cycle, with the whole meltdown/spectre thing coming in in the middle of the cycle and not really gelling with our normal release cycle. The extra two weeks were obviously mainly due to that whole timing issue. Also, it is […]

January 9, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Android Things is Finally Getting into Products: Smart Speakers, Smart Displays, and More

Android Things was first introduced as Brillo in October 2015, before being renamed to Android Things the following year when a developer preview was released with support for Raspberry Pi 3, as well as Intel and NXP development boards. But if you can’t remember the last time you’ve purchased a device running Android Things that’s normal, because so far, there was none. Google announced this is going to change as the first set of Android Things products have been announced at CES 2018. The first category of devices to run Android Things will be Google Assistant enabled smart speakers with the launch of products such as iHome iGV1 and LG ThinQ WK7. ODM partners have also created full speaker reference designs based on certified Android Things and Cast System-on-Modules (SoMs) powered by Rockchip RK3229, Mediatek MT8516, or based on Qualcomm SD212 Home Hub Platform. NXP i.MX 8M solutions are also […]

November 30, 2017August 26, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

MatchBox LoRaWan Gateway Review – Part 1: Unboxing and Teardown

Last spring, I wrote about MatchX.io MatchBox LoRaWAN gateway with GPS, WiFi, and Ethernet connectivity. The gateway is equipped based on a Mediatek WiFi module running Linux (OpenWrt/LEDE), Semtech chips for the LoRa part, and support up to 65,535 nodes, such as the as well as MatchStick, MatchModule, and MatchCore sensors provided by the company. I’ve just received MatchBox gateway for review, but I’m still waiting for 920-925MHz LoRa nodes as they are going through the FCC certification process, and I also have to wait for clarifications regarding local regulations. So in the meantime, I’ll check out the gateway hardware. MatchBox LoRaWAN Gateway Unboxing The gateway is shipped with a power supply, power cord, two antennas, an installation guide,… as well as three screws and pegs to wall mount the gateway and power supply, and in case you want to install the gateway on a pole, as shown below, for […]