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July 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Quectel KCMA32S – A Zigbee 3.0 and BLE 5.3 module based on Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 wireless SoC

KCMA32S-TE B V1.2 board for Quectel Zigbee BLE module

Quectel is better known for its GNSS, 4G LTE, and 5G cellular IoT modules, but the KCMA32S offers Zigbee 3.0 and BLE 5.3 short-range connectivity through a Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 (MG21 for short) Cortex-M33 wireless SoC. The module comes with up to 96KB SRAM and 1024KB flash through the MG21 SoC, and is offered in an LCC + LGA form factor (20 x 12 x 2.2mm) exposing up to 20 GPIO, I2C, UART, SPI, and I2S to the host board. Target applications include smart lighting, smart buildings, and smart home wireless networks. Quectel KCMA32S specifications: SoC – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 CPU – Arm Cortex-M33 up to 80 MHz Memory – 64KB or 96 KB SRAM Storage – 768 KB or 1024 KB Wireless Zigbee 3.0 (IEEE 802.15.4) Bluetooth LE (BLE) 5.3 Encryption Mode- AES128/256, SHA-1, SHA-2 (up to 256 bits), ECC (up to 256 bits), ECDSA (up to 256 bits), […]

July 11, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

M5Stack Stamp-S3A WiFi and BLE IoT module benefits from optimized antenna design, lower power consumption

M5Stack Stamp-S3A, also known as M5StampS3A, is an update to the M5Stamp S3 ESP32-S3 module introduced in 2023 with an optimized antenna design, lower power consumption, a larger user button, and a different logic for the RGB LED control. Other features remain the same with 8MB Flash, RGB LED, input button, and 23 GPIOs all in a tiny 26 x 18mm form factor. Two versions are available: the Stamp-S3A without pre-soldered headers and the Stamp-S3A PIN1.27 with headers soldered on the board and an orange heat-resistant cover. M5Stamp-S3A specifications: WiSoC – 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 LE + Mesh Connectivity 2.4 GHz WiFi 4, 20 MHz and 40 MHz bandwidth, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol, up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 5, […]

July 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NXP introduces IW693 Wi-Fi 6E SoC with 2×2 MIMO for industrial IoT and Smart Home applications

NXP has unveiled the IW693 Wi-Fi 6E (and Bluetooth) SoC with 2×2 MIMO for industrial IoT and Smart Home applications, offering a higher-end option to the company’s IW612 tri-radio solution, but which omits an 802.15.4 radio. The IW693 supports concurrent dual Wi-Fi (CDW) and Bluetooth/Bluetooth Low Energy operation in four modes: Mode 1: CDW 2×2 Wi-Fi 6/6E 5-7 GHz (802.11ax) + 1×1 Wi-Fi 6 2.4 GHz (802.11ax) Mode 2: CDW 1×1 Wi-Fi 6/6E 5-7 GHz (802.11ax) + 1×1 Wi-Fi 6 2.4 GHz (802.11ax) Mode 3: 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 2.4 GHz (802.11ax) Mode 4: 2×2 Wi-Fi 6/6E 5-7 GHz (802.11ax) NXP IW693 specifications: Wi-Fi features 2×2 Wi-Fi 6/6E and 1×1 Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz concurrent dual wireless mode (mode 1) 2×2 radio 40 MHz channel for 2.4 GHz (RF paths 2A/2B) 1024 QAM (MCS11), up to 80 MHz channel for 5-7 GHz (RF paths 5A/5B) 1×1 radio 20 MHz channel for 2.4 […]

June 30, 2025June 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Raspberry Pi Radio Module 2 (RM2) is officially available for $4

Raspberry Pi has just announced the general availability of the Radio Module 2 (RM2) wireless module with WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE connectivity for $4. The Raspberry Pi RM2 wireless module was already available to some select partners, which explains why the Raspberry Pi RM2 was found in the Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W and SparkFun Thing Plus – RP2350 since the end of last year. The latest announcement just means it’s available to anybody, and documentation like the datasheet has been released publicly. Raspberry Pi Radio Module 2 (RM2) specifications: Chipset – Infineon CYW43439 combo chip 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 4 (802.11b/g/n) up to 96 Mbps PHY rate, support for 20 MHz channels Bluetooth 5.2 Classic and LE SISO (Single Input, Single Output) configuration (1×1) Castellated edge pads 3x GPIO gSPI (general SPI) interface to Raspberry Pi microcontroller using PIO Power On/Reset pins Antenna – Shared 2.4 GHz antenna for […]

June 25, 2025June 25, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam – An ESP32-S3 camera board with active PoE, machine learning examples

Esp32 Stick PoE A Cam(N16R8) ESP32 s3 camera PoE board

The ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam(N16R8) is an open-source ESP32-S3 development board with Ethernet, camera, and active PoE support designed for machine learning applications. Compared to similar boards like M5Stack M5PoECAM-W V1.1 and the Waveshare ESP32-S3-ETH, this board features 17 usable GPIO, active PoE (IEEE 802.3af) with 700mA power delivered, built-in USB-UART, and pin-to-pin compatibility across Stick-Cam boards. Built around the ESP32-S3 SoC, this module supports OV2640 and OV5640 cameras and integrates the W5500 Ethernet controller and Si3404-A PoE chip for power and connectivity. The board has a total of 36 GPIOs, of which 17 are free when using Ethernet and a camera. Applications include remote surveillance, smart home automation, edge AI processing, and other IoT applications. ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam(N16R8) specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3R8 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with […]

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 […]