SparkFun Thing Plus – RA6M5 is a small MCU board based on a 200 MHz Renesas RA6M5 Cortex-M33 microcontroller and a Renesas DA14531MOD Bluetooth 5.1 LE module that follows Adafruit Feather/Sparkfun Thing Plus form factor. The module can transmit data over BLE with just 4mA (at 3.3V) power consumption and the company claims the board to be powered by a coin-cell battery. A LiPo battery can also be connected to the board through a 2-pin JST battery connector, and the Things Plus – RA6M5 board also features a single-cell charger and LiPo fuel gauge. Sparkfun Thing Plus – RA6M5 specifications: Microcontroller – Renesas R7FA6M5AH3CFP Core – Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 200 MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 2MB Flash Security – Arm TrustZone, and Secure Crypto Engine 9 Wireless – Renesas DA14531MOD module for Bluetooth 5.1 LE connectivity with support for CodeLess AT command Datapump Radio Transmit […]
Renesas RA0 Cortex-M23 MCU series target power and cost-sensitive applications
Renesas has announced the new low-power RA0 microcontroller series based on the power-efficient Arm Cortex-M23 core and the entry-level RA0E1 Group in the series. According to Renesas, the RA0 microcontrollers offer the “industry’s lowest overall power consumption for general-purpose 32-bit MCUs.” With a current consumption of 84.3 μA/MHz in active mode and only 0.82 mA in sleep mode, these microcontrollers are built to provide ultra-low power consumption. They also offer a Software Standby mode where the CPU, peripheral functions, and internal oscillators cease to operate. This mode reduces power consumption further by 99% down to 0.20 µA. They also come with a high-precision, High-speed On-Chip Oscillator (HOCO) for fast wake-up. The Cortex-M23 core is based on the Armv8-M instruction set and offers a maximum clock frequency of 32 MHz, with up to 64KB of code flash memory and 12KB SRAM for storing application code and data. This feature set makes […]
Arduino announces the Pro 4G Module and Portenta Mid Carrier board at Embedded World 2024
Arduino has announced two new products that are part of the Arduino Pro family at Embedded World 2024: the Arduino Pro 4G Module and Arduino Portenta Mid Carrier board. Arduino Pro 4G module Two variants of the mini PCIe module are available: one global and one for the EMEA and Southeast Asia markets with similar interfaces, but based on different Quectel modules, and the global model also supports GNSS. Specifications: Both also support 3G/2G fallback if 4G LTE network connectivity is out of range. The 4G LTE module works with Arduino Pro carrier boards featuring a mini PCIe connector such as the Max Carrier and the new Mid Carrier which we will be covering below. More information can be found on the documentation website and product page. The Arduino Pro 4G module global goes for $65 while the EMEA version sells for 29 Euros. Those prices are without antennas which […]
Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA embedded SoM targets 5G equipment, 100GbE networking, Edge AI/ML applications
Hitek Systems eSOM5C-Ex is a compact embedded System-on-Module (SOM) based on the mid-range Intel Agilex 5 SoC FPGA E-Series and a pin-to-pin compatible with the company’s earlier eSOM7C-xF based on the Agilex 7 FPGA F-Series. The module exposes all I/Os, including up to 24 transceivers, through the same 400-pin high-density connector found in the Agilex 7 FPGA-powered eSOM7-xF and the upcoming Agilex 5 FPGA D-Series SOM that will allow flexibility from 100K to 2.7 million logic elements (LEs) for the whole product range. Hitek eSOM5C-Ex specifications: SoC FPGA – Intel Agilex 5 E-series group A and Group B FPGAs in B32 package Supported variants: A5E065A/B, A5E043A/B and A5E043A/B Hard Processing System (HPS) – Dual-core Cortex-A76 and dual-core Cortex-A55 FPGA Up to 656,080 Logic elements 24 x transceivers up to 28Gbps System Memory Up to 2x 8GB LPDDR4 for FPGA 2 or 4GB DDR4 for HPS Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, […]
Murata Type 2GT tiny LoRa module features Semtech LR1121 with Sub-GHz ISM, 2.4GHz, satellite S-Band support
Murata Type 2GT module is a tiny multi-band, low-power radio LoRa module based on the Semtech LR1121, the successor of the LR1120, that supports 860 to 930 MHz and 2.4GHz ISM bands, as well as the 2.1 GHz Satellite S-Band meaning it can work globally. The Type 2GT module measures just 9.98 x 8.70 x 1.74mm and is built on a PCB housed in a metal case and packaged as a land grid array. It combines the Semtech LR1121 RF transceiver IC, a thermally compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO), a second 32KHz crystal, an RF switch, and an RF matching network. Murata Type 2GT module (LBAA0XV2GT-001) specifications: Transceiver – Semtech LR1121 LoRa transceiver LoRa frequencies 860 to 930 MHz (ISM) 2.4 GHz ISM 2.1 GHz satellite S-Band Technology – LoRa, LR-FHSS (Long Range – Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) 32 MHz TCXO for maximum frequency accuracy Peripheral I/F – SPI and GPIOs […]
Sparkfun’s Pulsed Coherent Radar Sensor features Acconeer XM125 60 GHz module, works through walls, offers up to 20-meter range
SparkFun has launched a new Qwiic breakout board for the Acconeer XM125 60 GHz pulsed coherent radar sensor that can measure distance to humans even through walls and works at a distance of up to 20 meters. We’ve seen tiny 24GHz or 60GHz radar modules for several years now, and Supachai even reviewed the Seeed Studio mmWave sensor using ESPHome and Home Assistant late last year with the solution relying on Frequency-Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) technology. The Acconneer XM125 is a Pulse-radar module that emits electromagnetic waves in short bursts instead of continuously like FMCW radars and allows longer measurement ranges potentially at the cost of lower accuracy. Sparkfun Pulse Coherent Radar Sensor specifications: Acconeer XM125 Module A121 60GHz Pulsed Coherent Radar (PCR) Integrated baseband, RF front-end, and antenna in package Detects distance, speed, motion, and objects up to 20 meters away Millimeter precise readings Low power consumption STMicro STM32L431CBY6 […]
Nuvoton launches M433 Series ultra-low power Arm Cortex-M4F MCUs, NuMaker-M433SE development board
Nuvoton has recently announced their M433 Series MCUs (M433LE8AE and M433SE8AE) along with the NuMaker-M433SE development board. Nuvoton is calling this the “M433 CAN/USB FS OTG” Series, featuring an Arm Cortex-M4F core with DSP and FPU extensions. The MCU is clocked at 144 MHz and consumes 350 nA in deep power-down mode, making it ideal for battery-operated IoT, industrial, and consumer applications. This is not the first Nuvoton MCU we have written about. In recent months, we have seen Nuvoton release the NuMicro M091 Series, the Nuvoton MA35H0 – a cost-optimized MPU, and other dev boards and MCUs. Feel free to check those out if you are interested in the topic. Nuvoton M433 Series MCUs specifications: MCU core 144 MHz Arm Cortex-M4F Includes DSP and FPU instructions Memory Protection Unit (MPU) with 8 regions Memory Up to 128 KB Flash 4 KB LDROM Up to 64 KB SRAM with parity […]
ESP32-C5 beta board features 2.4GHz and 5GHz SMA antenna connectors, two USB-C ports
Espressif ESP32-C5 microcontroller was announced in June 2022 as the first dual-band WiFi 6 IoT chip from the company. It’s been quiet since then, but things are about to change as the ESP32-C5 beta board’s documentation has very recently been released. The ESP32-C5 was initially announced as a dual-band WiFI 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE SoC, but the user manual for the beta board indicates that it also supports Zigbee 3.0 and Thread 1.3, so there’s an 802.15.4 in the wireless microcontroller. The ESP32-C5 board itself features two SMA connectors for 2.4 GHz and 5GHz antennas or test equipment, two USB-C ports, two 12-pin GPIO header, Boot and Reset buttons, an RGB LED, and a 2-pin header for current measurements. ESP32-C5 beta board specifications: SoC – ESP32-C5-BETA3 CPU – Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Memory – 400KB SRAM on-chip Storage – 384KB of ROM on-chip, support […]