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June 19, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

HackLED Pro LED controller – An Adafruit Sparkle Motion alternative with WS2812 and RGBCW LED support

HACK Lab HackLED Pro is an Adafruit Sparkle Motion-like LED controller that runs a custom version of WLED and supports both WS2812 and RGBCW LEDs, making it ideal for DIY lighting projects, smart home setups, and audio-reactive light displays. Built around an ESP32 MCU, this board includes 2-way WS2812 LED outputs, 5 PWM channels (RGBCW), and an onboard silicon microphone for music reactive LED setup. Like the Sparkle Motion, the outputs of this board are level-shifted, and there’s also a power switch that toggles the output power between 5V and 12V. The board features a USB-C port with a PD controller, with which you can power and program the board. The controller is housed in a thermally protected 3D printed case and is also compatible with the generic version of the WLED firmware. HackLED Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E-N4 WiFi and Bluetooth module with 4MB Flash LED Control 2x […]

June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

$3.50 nanoCH57x CH570/CH572 RISC-V development board offers USB-C port, 2.4GHz radio/BLE, and GPIO pins

Designed by MuseLab, the nanoCH57x is a WCH CH570/CH572 development board with a 2.4 GHz proprietary radio (CH570) or Bluetooth LE (CH572) that only costs $3.50 and is more compact than the official CH570 Basic Evaluation Board. We first came across this low-cost MCU back in March this year, and saw that the official development board became available for purchase as early as April. The nanoCH57x development board currently features the 100 MHz CH572D RISC-V microcontroller (the CH570D version is coming later), which includes 256KB of flash memory, 12KB of SRAM, and an onboard 32 MHz crystal. The board also includes a USB 2.0 Type-C Host/Device port and PCB antenna for BLE/RF communication. MuseLab nanoCH57x development board specifications: MCU (one or the other) – WCH CH570D or CH572D CPU – QingKe 32-bit RISC-V3C core @ up to 100 MHz Memory – 12KB SRAM Storage – 256KB non-volatile memory 240KB code […]

June 16, 2025June 18, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board features ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC

The ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 is a development board based on the ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC that was first unveiled in January 2024, and has just entered mass production this month (June 2025). The board is offered with two USB-C ports, two buttons, an RGB LED, and GPIO headers. In my 2024 year in review report, I noted that Espressif would likely launch the ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 SoC in 2025, but I completely forgot about the ESP32-C61, which is basically a cost-down version of the ESP32-C6. The ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board and ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 module are now available, so let’s have a closer look. ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-C61HR2 CPU – Single 32-bit RISC-V core clocked up to 120MHz Memory – 320KB SRAM, 2MB PSRAM Storage – 256KB ROM Wireless – WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 Storage – 8MB QSPI flash Antenna – PCB […]

June 14, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Valtrack V4 is a programmable 4G LTE GPS vehicle tracker with ESP32-C3 Bluetooth & Wi-Fi SoC (Crowdfunding)

Valetron Systems VALTRACK-V4-VTS-ESP32-C3 (or Valtrack V4 for short) is a 4G LTE GPS vehicle tracker based on ESP32-C3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC and a SIMCom SIM7672 cellular and GNSS module. Designed to track bicycles, cars, or trucks, the Valtrack V4 GPS tracker is housed in an IP67 waterproof enclosure, takes 12V to 42V DC input from a lead battery or 3.7-4.2V from a backup LiPo or Li-Ion battery, and features an accelerometer to wake up when motion is detected or detect theft, as well as three RGB LEDs for status. Valtrack V4 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif ESP32-C3FH4 CPU – 32-bit RISC-V microcontroller @ up to 160 MHz; Memory – 400 KB SRAM Storage – 4 MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 Cellular and GNSS connectivity SIM7672G 4G LTE Cat 1 module with Global LTE band, 2G fallback, and GNSS support Nano SIM card […]

June 10, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

$7 NearLink WS63E board supports Wi-Fi 6, BLE, and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE)

The HiHope_NearLink_DK_WS63E_V03 is a low-power NearLink dev board built around the HiHope HH-SPARK-WS63E module, which features the HiSilicon NearLink WS63E SoC with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5.2, and SparkLink (SLE) 1.0 support. It’s designed for Smart Home and AIoT applications requiring low power and high security. The NearLink WS63E SoC features a 240MHz 32-bit CPU, 606KB SRAM, and a 4MB flash. The board exposes various interfaces like SPI, QSPI, I2C, UART, ADC, PWM, and GPIOs through GPIO headers. Security features include hardware AES, RSA, ECC, and FIPS140-2-compliant RNG. Target applications include Smart Home appliances, wearables, medical monitoring, industrial testing, energy management, and Smart Agriculture. HiHope NearLink_DK_WS63E specifications: SoC – HiSilicon NearLink WS63E 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz 606 KB SRAM, 300 KB ROM 4MB embedded Flash Wireless (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax (ch1–ch14), 20/40MHz (n), 20MHz (ax) Data rates: up to 150 Mbps (HT40), 114.7 Mbps (HE20) MAC: 802.11d/e/i/k/v/w; Features: A-MPDU, […]

June 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

ESP32-P4-MINI development board offers two 34-pin GPIO headers, ESP32-C6 wireless module

Another day, another ESP32-P4 RISC-V MCU board with the ESP32-P4-MINI equipped with an ESP32-C6 wireless module and exposing all I/Os through two 34-pin GPIO headers. The board also features two USB-C ports, one for data and one for debugging, MIPI DSI and MIPI CSI connectors to add a display and a camera, a microSD card slot for storage, and a few buttons and LEDs. It’s basically a board for engineers wanting to access all features of the ESP32-P4 without extra bells and whistles. ESP32-P4-MINI board specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz Memory 768 KB HP L2MEM (for dual-core CPU), 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM (for LP MCU core) 32MB PSRAM Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 KB LP […]

June 5, 2025June 5, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

STMicro STM32WBA5MMG is a tiny wireless module with Bluetooth LE 6.0, Zigbee 3.0, and OpenThread

STMicro’s STM32WBA5MMG is a tiny (12.5 x 8 mm), ultra-low-power 2.4 GHz wireless module based on the STM32WBA55UG wireless microcontroller with support for Bluetooth 6.0 LE, Zigbee 3.0, and OpenThread. The company further adds that designing a board for the module does not require any RF expertise, it provides a fully integrated Bill of Materials (BOM) with 32 MHz and 32 kHz crystals and integrated antenna matching or optional external antenna configurations, and its compatibility with 2-layer PCBs helps reduce costs. STM32WBA5MMG specifications: Wireless MCU – STMicro STM32WBA55UG Core – 32-bit Arm Cortex-M33 CPU with TrustZone®, MPU, DSP, and FPU Memory – 128 KB SRAM, including 64 KB with parity check Storage 1 MB flash memory with ECC, including 256 KB with 100 kcycles 512-byte (32 rows) OTP ART Accelerator – 8 KB instruction cache allowing 0-wait-state execution from flash memory (frequency up to 100 MHz, 150 DMIPS) Wireless Bluetooth […]

June 4, 2025June 4, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

This ESP32-P4 board is equipped with an ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 module

All ESP32-P4 boards and devkits we’ve covered so far rely on ESP32-C6 for wireless connectivity, but the Wireless Tag WT99P4C5-S1 differs in that it pairs the ESP32-P4 RISC-V SoC with an ESP32-C5 wireless module featuring dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE 5.0, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity. The board also features MIPI DSI and CSI connectors for a display and a camera, GPIO headers for the ESP32-P4 and ESP32-C5 modules, a microSD card slot, a Fast Ethernet port, a built-in microphone, a speaker connector, an RS485 terminal block, and a few USB ports for data and debugging. Wireless Tag WT99P4C5-S1 board specifications: Core module – Wireless Tag WT0132P4-A1 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz with 8KB of zero-wait […]