battery News - Page 3 of 21 - CNX Software

November 13, 2025November 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

The PV PI HAT adds 10A true MPPT solar charging to the Raspberry Pi (Crowdfunding)

PV Pi A Solar Charging Hat for Raspberry Pi

Developed by Luke Ditria and his team at AutoEcology, the PV PI is a plug-and-play MPPT solar charging HAT designed for Raspberry Pi and other SBCs like the Orange Pi, Banana Pi, and NVIDIA Jetson. Designed for outdoor and remote projects and built around TI BQ25756 charge controller and STM32F103 MCU, it supports LiFePO4 management, true MPPT charging, power monitoring, and automation over the RS-232 UART interface. It also produces 5V output via a high-current buck/boost converter, supports watchdog-based power cycling, RTC wake-up scheduling, and automatic restart at safe voltage levels. With XT30 connectors, stackable headers, and RTC backup, the PV PI HAT is ideal for solar-powered IoT like AI-based wildlife monitors, environmental monitoring, and remote data logging applications. PV PI HAT specifications Compatibility – Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, Banana Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, etc… Main MCU – STmicro STM32F103 Arm Cortex-M3 microcontroller @ 72 MHz Charge controller – BQ25756 I2C […]

November 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo – A dual-band WiFi 6, BLE, and 802.15.4 IoT board with battery support, UEXT connector

Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo is a compact ESP32-C5 board with dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and a 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity with support for LiPo battery for a charging circuit. It follows the company’s ESP32-C5-EVB board with isolated inputs and relays launched in September 2025, and offers a minimal design with two USB-C ports, a UEXT connector for expansion module, the usual breadboard-compatible GPIO headers, and not much else, which makes it ideal for space-constrained applications and prototyping. Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, support for external PSRAM Storage – 320 KB ROM, support for external flash Connectivity Dual-band 802.11ax WiFi 6 in the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz bands, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi […]

November 11, 2025November 16, 2025 by Kumpee Teeravech - 1 Comment

LattePanda IOTA review – An Intel N150 + RP2040 SBC tested with Windows 11, UPS expansion, PoE, NVMe SSD, and more

I’ve received a review sample of the LattePanda IOTA single-board computer (SBC) from DFRobot. It is a compact, palm-sized SBC powered by an Intel Processor N150 quad-core Twin Lake CPU, and featuring 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 64 GB of onboard eMMC storage. It also integrates a Raspberry Pi RP2040 co-processor for handling I/O operations, providing greater flexibility for embedded and automation applications. LattePanda IOTA unboxing The parcel was shipped from China and arrived safely in a standard cardboard box. Inside were several smaller boxes containing the following components, with foam padding that was slightly loose but still provided adequate protection. All components arrived in good condition. I received a total of seven items from DFRobot, which are listed below. LattePanda IOTA (8GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash) Smart UPS Expansion Board: A plug-and-play UPS module for the LattePanda IOTA that provides stable, continuous power with intelligent management and supports […]

November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

This battery-powered NB-IoT/LTE-M industrial data logger is designed to run for years

IP67 Battery Powered NB IoT Cellular Data Logger

NORVI EC-M12-BC-C6-C-A (or EC-M12 for shorts) is a battery-powered cellular IoT industrial data logger offering NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity, 2G fallback, two 4-20mA sensor inputs, an RS485 interface, and two 3.6V/19,000mAh non-rechargeable Lithium batteries for up to 5-7 years of operation. The IP67-rated data logger is built around a low-power STM32L072 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, and features a SIM7070 cellular IoT modem, a microSD card slot for data storage, and a single 8-pin M8 connector carrying analog input and RS485 signals. NORVI EC-M12-BC-C6-C-A specifications: Microcontroller – STMicro STM32L072 Arm Cortex-M0+ MCU clocked at up to 32 MHz with 20 KB of RAM, 192 KB flash with ECC, and 6 KB of data EEPROM with ECC Storage – MicroSD card slot up to 128GB Wireless Connectivity Multi-band 2G, Cat-M1, Cat-NB1 (NB-IoT) via SIMCom SIM7070 module Optional LoRaWAN support RP-SMA male antenna connector Sensor interface via 8-pin M8 female connector 2x analog Inputs […]

October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

M5Stack Cardputer-Adv ESP32-S3 computer gains improved antenna, larger 1,750 mAh battery, ES8311 audio codec

In 2023, M5Stack introduced the Cardputer, a mini portable computer based on an ESP32-S3 module and equipped with a display and a keyboard. The Cardputer-Adv is an update based on the Stamp-S3A core module, with the same 1.14-inch LCD and 56-key keyboard, but featuring a range of upgrades. These include enhanced audio with an ES8311 audio codec, a high‑SNR MEMS microphone, an NS4150B amplifier, a 1W speaker, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack, an improved antenna design, a larger 1,750 mAh battery, and a built-in BMI270 6-axis IMU. M5Stack Cardputer-Adv specifications: (bold highlights show improvements/changes over the original Cardputer) Wireless MCU module – M5Stack M5Stamp S3A with SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3FN8 CPU Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz RISC-V ULP co-processor Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh 2.4GHz 3D antenna USB […]

October 10, 2025October 10, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

FoBE IDEA Mesh Tracker C1 – An nRF52840-based LoRa GPS tracker with sensors, OLED, knob, and more

Designed by FoBE Studio in China, the FoBE IDEA Mesh Tracker C1 is a LoRa-powered off-grid communication device designed for outdoor GPS tracking, sensor data exchange, and mesh networking in remote environments. Built around the Nordic nRF52840 MCU, it integrates LoRa, GPS, BLE, and motion sensors, making it suitable for location tracking, environmental monitoring, and off-grid communication projects. The device integrates a GPS module, LoRa transceiver, 0.96-inch OLED display, buzzer, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis gyroscope. Other ports include a USB-C port, reserved SWDIO/SWCLK headers, an 8-pin GPIO expansion header, and dual IPEX connectors for LoRa and GPS antennas. There is also a rotary encoder and two user buttons, and two indicator LEDs for controls and status feedback. Power input is provided via a 2-pin MX1.25 battery interface for portable, battery-powered outdoor IoT applications. FoBE IDEA Mesh Tracker C1 specifications: SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 CPU – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4F […]

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Using an overpowered vape as a secondary display

Last week, we noted that it was possible to run a web server on a disposable vape through its USB-C port, and now I’ve been shown DOOM on an even more overpowered vape acting as a secondary display, which is a bit larger in size than the WeAct Display FS 0.96-inch USB display we just covered. Perhaps I should add a ‘vaporware’ category on CNX Software… The new hack was done by Aaron Christophel (ACT1441) using an Aspire PIXO Vape with a Cortex-M4F MCU, a small color LCD, a USB-C port, Bluetooth LE connectivity, and a battery. Aspire PIXO vape hardware specifications: MCU – Puxa PY32F403XC Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller @ 144 MHz with 64KB RAM, 256KB Flash Storage – External 16MB SPI Flash Display – 323 x 173 LCD Wireless – WS8000 BLE chip USB – 1x USB Type-C port Misc Heating Coil Vape microphone (designed to detect airflow from […]

September 16, 2025September 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Converting a disposable vape into a web server

People have been recycling batteries in disposable vapes for a while, but BogdanTheGeek has gone a lot of further, converting a specific model of disposable vape into a web server. How is that possible? Vapes have apparently become a bit more sophisticated in recent times, and some integrate an Arm Cortex microcontroller with a USB-C port that can be used to bring a network interface and run a web server. The specific disposable vape (exact model not provided, but Grok thinks it may be from Bang King. Update: Wrong!) used by BogdanTheGeek features one of the ultra-cheap Puya PY32 microcontrollers, namely a 24 MHz PY32F002B Cortex-M0+ MCU with 3 kB SRAM and 24 kB flash. The web server hack here involves using the SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) through a /dev/tty device to bring up a network interface, along with uIP lightweight TCP/IP stack. The first implementation was really slow […]