bluetooth News - Page 24 of 65 - CNX Software

August 17, 2020August 18, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Nordic Semi nRF21540 RF front end module Extends the Range of nRF52/nRF53 Bluetooth SoC’s

A little while ago, we wrote about RFCat N32 board integrating Meshtek-H52 module with nRF52832 2.4GHz multi-protocol SoC and a Skyworks power amplifier increasing power by up to 30 times to extend the wireless range to up to 200 meters. It turns out Nordic Semi outed its own range extender module late last year with nRF21540 RF front end module (FEM) that integrates a power amplifier (PA) and low noise amplifier (LNA) optimized to boost the link budget of the nRF52 and nRF53 multi-protocol wireless SoCs. nRF21540 key features and specifications: Supported wireless standards Bluetooth Low Energy (incl. Bluetooth mesh) Thread and Zigbee (802.15.4) Proprietary 2.4 GHz Output Power – Adjustable in small increments up to +21 dBm Receive Gain – +13 dB with 2.5 dB noise figure Antennas – 2x antenna ports for antenna diversity Host Interface – I/Os, SPI, or a combination Supply Voltage – 1.7 V to […]

August 11, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

xDrill Smart Power Drill Supports Intelligent Speed/Torque, Laser Measuring, Digital Leveling (Crowdfunding)

Many home appliances now have smart functions, and in my cases, I fail to see the added value, and I’m not sure why I’d want/need a connected refrigerator with a touchscreen display. So when I first saw somebody make a “smart” power drill with a small touchscreen display I laughed. But after having a closer look, Robbox xDrill smart power drill could actually be a very useful device saving you time and helping work better. The touchscreen is used for settings but also serves as a level tool to make sure the drill is aligned horizontally or at the angle of your choice, and you can also set the drilling depth. There are also two lasers that measure distances, so you don’t need to use a measuring tape and pencil anymore. xDrill key features and specifications: Built-in microcontroller with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity (is that an ESP32 inside?) Display – […]

August 6, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

iWave Telematics Control Unit Supports GPS, 4G LTE, WiFi, and Bluetooth

We’ve often written about iWave Systems’ single board computers, development kits, and systems-on-module, but the company has also been offering automotive products such as a Linux based OBD-II Dongle. And they’ve just introduced a new one called Telematics Control Unit (TCU) based on an Arm Cortex-A7 processor and offering GPS, 4G LTE Cat 4/1/M1, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for vehicle fleet management and insurance companies that want to know how drivers behave… iWave Telematics Control Unit (TCU iW-G26) specifications: Processor – Arm Cortex-A7 based CPU @ 792MHz (likely NXP i.MX 7ULP) System Memory – 256MB DDR3L SDRAM Storage – 4GB eMMC Flash Connectivity 4G LTE Cat 4, Cat 1, Cat M1 (eMTC) 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi 4 or 802.11b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi 5 (Hotspot & Station mode) Bluetooth 5.0 GNSS – GPS/A-GPS receiver with antenna Sensors – 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis magnetometer OBD Features & Protocols 12V Power Input from TCU […]

August 1, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

IoTSDR Linux Board Targets the Development of IoT Gateways with Standard or Custom IoT Protocols (Crowdfunding)

Xilinx Zynq-7010/-7020 powered iotSDR board by EmbedINN enables the development of IoT gateways with support for LoRa, SigFox, WeightLess, Bluetooth, BLE, 802.15.4, ZigBee, as well as custom IoT protocols. The board also supports GPS, Galileo, Beidou, and GLONASS navigation systems thanks to a Maxim Integrated MAX2769 GNSS chip. iotSDR key hardware features and specifications: SoC (one or the other) Xilinx Zynq-Z7010 (XC7Z010-1CLG400C) dual-core Arm Cortex-A9 processor with 256 kb on-chip memory, FPGA fabric with 28,000 logic cells, 17,600 LUTs, 2.1 Mb block RAM, 80 DSP slices Xilinx Zynq-Z7020 (XC7Z020-1CLG400C) dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with 256 kb on-chip memory, FPGA fabric with 85,000 logic cells, 53,200 LUTs, 4.9 Mb block RAM, 220 DSP slices System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage 128 Mbit QSPI flash memory for firmware Microchip AT24MAC602 SPI EEPROM for RF transceiver MCU firmware and data Radios “IoT” Radios RF Transceivers – 2x Microchip/Atmel AT86RF215 European band – […]

July 30, 2020February 21, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Espressif and Amazon Introduce ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO Alexa Connect Kit Module

Espressif Systems & Amazon have recently announced ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO Alexa Connect Kit (ACK) module providing out-of-box connectivity to ACK cloud services, support for features such as Alexa control, “Frustration-Free Setup” and Amazon Dash replenishment for connected devices. The tiny (23 x 16 x 2.3mm) module is based on the company’s ESP32-PICO-V3 System-in-Package (SiP) based on ESP32-V3 dual-core Xtensa LX6 WiFI and Bluetooth SoC, a 4 MB SPI flash, a crystal oscillator, filter capacitors, and an RF matching network. The module supports 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity and comes with a PCB antenna and a u.FL connector to plug in an external antenna [Update: That should be an RF test connector instead, see comments]. ESP32-PICO-V3-ZERO module interfaces to a host MCU through a UART interface, and to speed-up time-to-market the module comes pre-certified for regulatory certifications such as FCC, CE, SRRC, IC, and RCM. The module […]

July 29, 2020July 29, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

TTGO T-Lite W5500 ESP32 WiFi & Bluetooth Board Comes with OLED Display, Optional Ethernet Add-on Board

If you like tiny boards with Ethernet, TTGO T-Lite W5500 development board may be an interesting option, as the ESP32 board comes with a built-in OLED, and female headers to connect an Ethernet add-on board called W5500 Gateway Module. LilyGO TTGO T-Lite W5500 specifications: SoC – Espressif System ESP32 dual-core WiFi and Bluetooth SoC with 520KB SRAM Storage – 4MB flash Display – 0.96-inch OLED display (SSD1306 driver) Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 150 Mbps, and Bluetooth 5.x BR/LE via ESP32 SoC, on-board ceramic antenna or external antenna (selectable with a resistor?) Optional Ethernet via SPI Ethernet board based on Wiznet W5500 USB – 1x USB Type-C port for power and programming via CP2104 USB to TTL chip I/Os 8+6 through holes with GPIOs, SPI, ADC, Touch, 5V, 3.3V, GND Operating voltage – 2.7V-3.6V Misc – Boot & Reset button, 40MHz crystal oscillator Power Supply – 5V/1A via […]

July 15, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

STM32 IoT Discovery Kit Runs AWS-Ready FreeRTOS, Supports Arduino and Pmod Expansion Boards

STMicroelectronics STM32 IoT Discovery Kit is supposed to ease software development for IoT nodes thanks to a qualified port of FreeRTOS integrated into the STM32Cube ecosystem, and ready to connect to Amazon Web Services (AWS). The hardware is comprised of an STM32L4+ Cortex-M4F microcontroller, various MEMS sensors, a secure element, and offers WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC connectivity. STM32 IoT Discovery Kit (B-L4S5I-IOT01A) key features and specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32L4+ (STM32L4S5VIT6) Arm Cortex-M4F microcontroller with 2 MB Flash, 640 KB RAM in LQFP100 package storage – 64 Mbit Quad-SPI Flash Connectivity Bluetooth 4.1 module (STMicro SPBTLE-RF) 802.11 b/g/n compliant Wi-Fi module (Inventek ISM43362-M3G-L44) Dynamic NFC tag based on ST25DV04K with its printed NFC antenna USB – Micro USB OTG port STMicro Sensors 2 digital omnidirectional microphones (MP34DT01) Relative humidity and temperature sensor (HTS221) 3-axis magnetometer (LIS3MDL) 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope (LSM6DSL) 260-1260 hPa absolute digital output barometer (LPS22HB) […]

July 10, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

RFCat N32 Long Range nRF52832 Bluetooth Board Delivers 30x the Transmission Power with an Amplifier

Bluetooth 5.0 has two main new features: high speed (2Mbps) and long-range. But as we’ve seen in our nRF52840 vs nRF52832 vs nRF52810 comparison is that only nRF52840 supports Bluetooth 5.x long range. Bluetooth 5 long range is achieved with two new lower bit rates of 500 kbps and 125 kbps. So what do you do if you’d like a longer range and keep using the higher bit rates? You add a power amplifier and LNA to your board, and that’s exactly what Nikolaj (RFCat) did with RFCat N32 board based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 wireless SoC. RFCat N32 board specifications: Wireless module – Meshtek-H52 Smart Mesh Module with integrated PCB antenna based on Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex-M4F Bluetooth 5-ready SoC (See datasheet) Skyworks RFX2401C PA &LNA with 18.9dBm TX gain and 11dBm RX gain USB – 1x USB-C port for power, programming and debugging via CP2102N USB to […]