Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 6.18 on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), which will likely become the next LTS kernel [update: it’s now official]: So I’ll have to admit that I’d have been happier with slightly less bugfixing noise in this last week of the release, but while there’s a few more fixes than I would hope for, there was nothing that made me feel like this needs more time to cook. So 6.18 is tagged and pushed out. Most of the last-minute fixes are minor fixes to drivers, with some random noise elsewhere (bluetooth, ceph, afs..). Nothing strikes me as standing out, but hey, there’s a shortlog appended if you want to see the details. And this obviously means that the merge window will open tomorrow, and I already have three dozen pull requests pending. Thanks. And as I already mentioned a couple of […]
AMD Spartan UltraScale+ SU35P FPGA evaluation kit supports Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Mikrobus, and Pmod expansion
AMD’s SCU35 Evaluation Kit is an affordable ($229) development board powered by the AMD Spartan UltraScale+ SU35P FPGA device, which targets low-power industrial, medical, and data center applications requiring I/O expansion and board management capabilities. Designed for headless applications, the board features a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port and a USB-C port for power, as well as plenty of headers and connectors compatible with off-the-shelf expansion boards or modules, including Arduino UNO headers, two 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO headers, two Mikrobus headers, four Pmod connectors, and an HSIO board-to-board connector. AMD SCU35 evaluation kit specifications: FPGA – AMD Spartan Ultrascale+ SU35P (XCSU35P-2SBVB625E) 36K Logic Cells 304 Max Total I/O• Board Management Controller Memory – 1.93 Mb on-chip memory Memory – 64 Mbit HyperRAM Storage 128 Mbit QSPI flash 64 Kbit EEPROM Networking – 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 port Sensor – 3-axis linear accelerometer Expansion Arduino UNO headers 2x 40-pin Raspberry Pi […]
Taradov’s open-source hardware pocket USB sniffer works with Wireshark
Alex Taradov has designed a low-cost, open-source hardware USB sniffer compatible with the popular Wireshark packet capture utility, and also controllable from the command line, capturing data in the standard PcapNG format in either case. Wireshark has had built-in USB capture capability for many years, and I used it myself to reverse-engineer the software for a USB video capture card around 2007, but it’s not perfect since it does not capture low-level packets. For that, you need extra hardware, and last year we covered the tinysniffer USB sniffer based on a WiFi-connected Linux SBC. It does the job, but it’s sold for $199, and you don’t need an application processor to handle USB 2.0 speeds. Alex’s design is optimized for cost and built around three main components: Cypress CY7C68013A 8051 MCU, Lattice MachXO2 LCMXO2 FPGA, and Microchip USB3343 USB PHY. Taradov’s USB sniffer specifications: Microcontroller – Cypress CY7C68013A enhanced 8051 […]
Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 – International deals, coupons, and events
Like every year since 2014, I’ll list a few international deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, as many CNX Software readers cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, which will take place from November 20 to December 1. I’ve gathered various deals, discount coupon codes, and events from relevant manufacturers of single board computers, MCU development boards, mini PCs, Smart Home devices, and DIY products, as well as popular online stores, including AliExpress, Banggood, and others. AliExpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 event AliExpress sales event for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 has just started and will last until December 3, 2025 (although I can see until November 29 and December 4 in some places). You can use some of the coupons on the screenshot above, or some alternative coupon codes for the US and some other countries (excluding DE, RU, […]
ESP32JTAG – An open-source wireless JTAG and logic analyzer (Crowdfunding)
EZ32 ESP32JTAG is an open-source, wireless JTAG and logic analyzer tool that can debug both MCUs and FPGAs. It features a 16-channel 250 MHz logic analyzer and integrated UART interface, designed to replace tools such as ST-Link or Saleae analyzers in a single compact, wireless solution. The device is built around an ESP32-S3 dual-core SoC and a small FPGA with 5k logic gates and 1 Mbit of internal RAM to handle high-speed signal processing. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB Type-C, and a small 1.83-inch LCD displays system information such as IP address and status. The ESP32JTAG is also equipped with four configurable 4-wire ports for JTAG, SWD, UART, and logic analyzer mode, and supports target voltage monitoring. EZ32 ESP32JTAG specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM, 8MB […]
$4 Shrike-lite FPGA board combines 1120 LUTs Renesas ForgeFPGA with Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU
Shrike-lite is an ultra-cheap FPGA board based on a 1120 LUTs Renesas ForgeFPGA device (SLG47910V) and also equipped with a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller. The board also features a USB-C port for power and programming, two 18-pin headers and a 12-pin PMOD-compatible header for I/Os, as well as Boot and Reset buttons, but not much else since it’s designed as a minimal development board. Shrike-lite and Shrike boards specifications: FPGA – Renesas ForgeFPGA (SLG47910V,1120 LUTs) 1120 5-bit LUTs 1120 DFFs 5 kb distributed memory 32 kb BRAM Configurable through NVM and/or SPI interface Package – STQFN-24 MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 125 MHz with 264KB SRAM FPGA/ MCU interface – 6-bit high-speed bridge Storage – QSPI flash for configuration and storage USB – USB Type-C for programming & power Expansion 2x 18-pin headers for RP2040 and ForgeFPGA’s I/Os 12-pin PMOD compatible header Misc Boot and Reset buttons […]
KIWI 1P5 – A low-cost GOWIN GW1N industrial FPGA board with onboard USB-JTAG/UART
The OneKiwi KIWI 1P5 is a low-cost FPGA board built around the GOWIN GW1N-UV1P5 device. Priced at $14, it is designed for prototyping, digital logic design, and educational applications. The FPGA offers 1.5K LUT4 logic elements, 72Kbit of block SRAM, 96Kbit of on-chip flash, and a single PLL. The board comes with 40 user I/O pins via dual-row 2.54 mm headers, along with an onboard USB-C port for power. Debug and communication are handled by an onboard GOWIN USB-JTAG debugger and USB-to-UART bridge, while user interaction is done through two buttons and two LEDs. Additionally, a DIP switch enables external FPGA programming. OneKiwi KIWI 1P5 specifications: SoC – Gowin GW1N-UV1P5 1,584 Logic Units 96Kbit Block SRAM 256Kbit User Flash 2x PLL 6x I/O Banks Up to 125 user I/Os No embedded hard processor USB USB Type-C port for power and USB to UART USB Type-C port for debugging (USB to […]
FPGA-based Game Bub handheld console supports original Nintendo cartridge, wireless controllers (Crowdfunding)
Game Bub is an open-source AMD Artix-7 FPGA and ESP32-S3-based handheld gaming console that supports Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. On top of that, it supports TV output via the Game Bub Dock and features Bluetooth for connecting wireless controllers. The device also features cartridge backup and restore functions through FlashGBX, letting users save files, dump ROMs, reflash writable carts, and even extract photos from the Game Boy Camera. The device supports direct ROM loading and the built-in rumble motor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and real-time clock ensure compatibility with games that rely on these peripherals. The device is housed in a transparent 90s-style enclosure, runs on a 3000 mAh battery for over 14 hours of gameplay, and weighs just 250 g, making it portable yet durable. Additionally, it can be used as an FPGA development board with its PMOD expansion slot and plenty of unused […]

