PineTab Linux Tablet Coming Soon for $100. Watch an Ubuntu Touch Demo in the Meantime

PineTab Linux Tablet with Detachable Keyboard

People have been trying to launch Linux tablets for years from PenPod 700 to Jolla Tablet, or more recently NTablet. You may not know or remember about those, as Linux tablets that actually shipped never really gained traction. But in early 2019, Pine64 started to mention development work on PineTab, an Allwinner A64 powered BSD/Linux tablet, and the company/community is really good at developing low-cost hardware and providing decent firmware support, so hopes were high. After COVID-19 related delay, Pine64 has now announced the first PineTab tablets would go for pre-order at the end of the month for $99. PineTab specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor with Arm Mali-400 MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, MicroSD card slot, M.2 slot for SATA SSD Display – 10″ MiPi 720p Capacitive LCD Video output – Mini HDMI up to 4K @ 30 Hz […]

Bluetooth USB PD Tester Connects to Windows and Android/iOS Apps for Data Logging

Bluetooth USB PD Tester

We’ve written about USB-C PD power meters in the past such as Satechi USB Type-C power meter. Those allow you to measure (charging) voltage and current displayed on the screen part of the meter. But thanks to Bluetooth and USB connectivity, Riden TC66C USB PD tester allows you to capture and log data over a period of time by connecting to a Windows program or Android/iOS mobile app. There’s also a version without Bluetooth – TC66 – that only works with the Windows program over USB. Riden TC66C/TC66 Bluetooth USB PD tester specifications: Display 0.96″ color IPS display with 160×80 resolution Auto screen off time – Adjustable up to 9 minutes Measurements Voltage Range – 0.005V-30V +/- 0.1mV; accuracy: ±(0.5%+10digits at 23℃) Current Range – 0 to 5A +/- 0.01mA; accuracy: ±(1%+20 digits, at 23℃) Power Range – 0-150W Temperature Range – 0 to 80°C Load impedance range – 1Ω to 9999.9Ω Charge […]

MNT Reform Open Source Hardware Laptop Launched for $999 and Up (Crowdfunding)

MNT Reform Open Source Hardware Laptop

MNT Reform DIY Arm Linux laptop has been in the works at least since 2017. The open source hardware laptop is also fully modular with Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M SoM featuring NXP i.MX 8M quad-core Cortex-A53 processor and 4GB RAM, M.2 NVMe SSD storage, and standard, replaceable 18650 batteries. The good news is the laptop is now almost ready for prime-time and has been launched on Crowd Supply with price starting at $999 in DIY kit form without storage, and $1,300 for a complete, assembled system with 256GB NVMe storage. If you don’t have that amount of money to spend, but would like to support the project, a $40 MNT Reform T-shirt is also offered. Alternatively, the motherboard only goes for $550. Here’s a reminder of MNT Reform specification: SoM – Boundary Devices Nitrogen8M SoC – NXP i.MX 8MQuad quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.5 GHz, 1x Arm Cortex-M4F real-time core Vivante […]

Skytraq PX1122R Tiny Multi-Band RTK GNSS Module Offers Centimeter Accuracy

Skytraq PX1122R Multi-Band RTK GNSS Module

Several years ago Skytraq introduced NavSpark mini, a tiny (17x17mm) GPS module, that sold for $6. I got one and wrote a post explaining how to get started with the GPS module using GNSS viewer program. The company contacted me again today, as they’ve now launched an even smaller module Skytraq PX1122R measuring just 16x12mm, supporting GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and Beidou signals, as well as Real-time Kinematic (RTK) relative positioning technique that allows for 1-3cm positioning accuracy. Skytraq PX1122R RTK GNSS module key features & specifications: Chipset – SkyTraq PX100 Phoenix GNSS chipset Supported GNSS standards & bands – GPS L1/L2C, Galileo E1/E5b, Beidou  B1I/B2I, GLONASS L1/L2, QZSS L1/L2C Integrated RTK with 1cm + 1ppm RTK accuracy in seconds (under 10 seconds) Up to 10Hz quad-GNSS RTK update rate Base or rover mode configurable Serial Interface – 3V LVTTL level 24x castellated holes with UART, RF input, 1PPS, Reset, 3.3V, […]

ANAVI Fume Extractor Comes with ESP8266 WiSoC, MQ-135 Gas Sensor (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Fume Extractor

Last year, I played with ESP8266 based ANAVI Gas Detector Starter Kit reporting air quality via an MQ135 sensor on an OLED display, and integrated it with Home Assitant to monitor air quality from a neat web dashboard. The developer, Leon ANAVI, has now adapted the design to create ANAVI Fume Extractor by basically adding a relay to control a control. The fan can be turned on/off manually, or automatically upon detecting bad air quality. ANAVI Fume Extractor key features and specifications: Fan – 80 mm, 5 V DC, 0.25 A with replaceable filter SoC – ESP8266 Tensilica L106 32-bit wireless processor Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 Display – Mini OLED display Sensors – Optional MQ-135 for air quality or any other 5V MQ analog gas sensor Expansion – 3x headers for I²C sensors Debugging / Programming – UART pins for flashing custom firmware, Misc – Button, WiFi on/off […]

Gole11 Mini PC with 11.6″ Touchscreen Offered for $119 and Up (Crowdfunding)

HiGole F11APL

Earlier this year, we wrote about HiGole F11APL mini PC with a built-in 11.6″ touchscreen, an Intel Celeron N3450 Apollo Lake processor combined with 4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash storage, and equipped with four DB9 connectors exposing RS-485/RS-232 interfaces. At the time, the company would offer the “basic version” for $199 on their Alibaba store, but now GOLE has launched the device under the name Gole11 on Indiegogo where rewards start at $119 (there was a $99 reward, but all perks are gone) HiGole F11APL / Gole11 specification: SoC – Intel Celeron N3450 quad-core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.2 GHz (Turbo) and 12 EU Intel HD Graphics 500 @ 200 MHz / 700 MHz (Turbo); 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage – 64 GB eMMC flash,  micro SD slot up to 256 GB Display – 11.6″ capacitive touchscreen display with 1920 x 1080 (FHD) […]

Connect up to 32 Relays to Raspberry Pi with a Stackable 4-Relay Board (Crowdfunding)

Stackable Relay HAT Raspberry Pi

People have been playing with off-the-shelf relays on Raspberry Pi boards ever since it was released in 2012, and over the years, some companies have maybe Raspberry Pi-specific relay boards such as Strawberry4Pi and Pi-OT. Two years ago, Sequent Microsystems introduced a stackable 8-Relay board enabling up to 64 relays to be connected to a single Raspberry Pi board. The 8-relay board only supported 24V/2.5A, and the company is now back on Kickstarter with a 4-relay board with 250V/10A line-switching relays that can offer up to 32 relays by stacking 8 boards connected to one Raspberry Pi board via the 40-pin I/O header. The board comes with four Songle 250V/10A relays, 3-pin pluggable connectors that accept 18 to 22 AWG wires, and a 5V/3A power supply is recommended. If you stack multiple relay board a beefier power supply may be required. Here are some power consumption numbers provided by the […]

$50 ODROID-C4 Raspberry Pi 4 Competitor Combines Amlogic S905X3 SoC with 4GB RAM

ODROID-C4

Hardkernel has just launched an update to its ODROID-C2 board, with ODROID-C4 SBC equipped with a 2.0 GHz Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor combined with up to 4GB RAM, four USB 3.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0 video output, and the usual 40-pin I/O header. That makes it a worthy competitor to Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB RAM, especially since it supports Ubuntu 20.04, CoreELEC, Android 9, and LineageOS operating systems, and comes with a proper heatsink for cooling for just $50 plus shipping. ODROID-C4 specifications: SoC – Amlogic S905X3 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ 2.0GHz with Arm Mali-G31MP2 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.2, Vulkan 1.0 and OpenCL 2.0 System Memory – 4GB DDR4 Storage 1x eMMC connector (8/16/32/64GB modules available) 1x Micro SD slot with support for DS/HS mode up to UHS-I SDR104 Video & Output – HDMI 2.0 port up to 4K@60Hz with HDR, CEC, EDID Audio – Digital […]

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