$5 CH32-Ant CH32V003 RISC-V development board comes with Stemma QT connector

Ch32V003 RISC-V board

The CH32-Ant is a low-cost, breadboard-compatible development board powered by the WCH Electronics CH32V003-F4U6 RISC-V microcontroller, ideal for prototyping. It is pin-compatible with Prokyber’s ESP32-C6-Bug, offering an easy transition for users who don’t need wireless capabilities or the higher performance of the ESP32-C6FH4. The board features a Stemma QT connector for straightforward I2C sensor integration and a USB Type-C port that supports data transfer and power through software-based USB on the CH32V003. The CH32-Ant offers configurable logic voltage at 3.3V or 5V, adjusted via an onboard 0-ohm resistor, providing flexibility for sensor projects. Powered by the CH32V003F4U6 microcontroller, it operates up to 48MHz with 2kB of RAM and 16kB of flash, making it cost-effective for applications requiring basic processing without wireless. The CH32-Ant features a compact layout designed for breadboard compatibility, a Stemma QT connector for an I2C module on one end of the board, and a USB Type-C connector […]

CodeCell is a ESP32-C3 mini development board for robots, wearables, smart home projects

CodeCell ESP32 C3 mini development board

Engineer and YouTuber Carl Bugeja recently developed CodeCell, a tiny ESP32-C3 development board designed as the brain for robots, wearables, and smart home devices. This module features a nine-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) for motion fusion and an optional VCNL4040 light sensor. It includes a USB Type-C port for data and power as well as a lithium-polymer battery with a charging circuit. Measuring just 18.5 x 18.5mm this compact board is even smaller than other tiny ESP32 development boards such as Waveshare’s ESP32-S3-Zero and Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32S3. However, the Epi C3 is smaller at 23 x 12.75 mm, and so are the Unexpected Maker NANOS3 (25 x 10 mm) and Unexpected Maker OMGS3 (28 x 11 mm). CodeCel ESP32-C3 mini development board specification Microcontroller – ESP32-C3 RISC-V MCU 160MHz 32-bit RISC-V processor core 400kB SRAM, 4MB flash storage Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity Sensors Vishay VCNL4040 light […]

Wiznet W55RP20-EVB-Pico board features W55RP20 SiP with W5500 Ethernet controller and RP2040 MCU

W55RP20 EVB PICO evaluation board

Wiznet has recently released the W55RP20-EVB-Pico dev board, a compact board based around the W55RP20 SiP that fuses the Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU and the W5500 Ethernet controller into a single IC, plus a 2MB flash chip for firmware storage. Just last month we wrote about W5100S-EVB-Pico2 and W5500-EVB-Pico2 dev boards, both the boards have a newer Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU and external Ethernet controller (W5500 or W5100S). The RP2350 offers additional security features such as One Time Programmable (OTP) memory, secure boot, and Arm TrustZone technology, making it more suitable for secure applications. The W55RP20 on the other hand integrates a W5500 Ethernet controller and the RP2040 in a single SiP which is also pin-compatible with the Raspberry Pi Pico, making it easy to use existing Pico accessories and code examples. W55RP20-EVB-Pico dev board specifications: SiP– W55RP20 microcontroller MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 Core– Dual Cortex M0+ cores up […]

Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W combines RP2350B MCU with Raspberry Pi RM2 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth module

Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W

Raspberry Pi released the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 a few months ago, featuring the new RP2350 chip. Despite several upgrades, it lacks wireless connectivity like Pico W. While there’s no official Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W yet, Pimoroni has developed an unofficial alternative, the Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W, which integrates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth using a yet-to-be-formally-announced Raspberry Pi RM2 module and potentially set to appear in a future Pico 2W. The Pimoroni Pico Plus 2W board is powered by the Raspberry Pi RP2350B dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller, features 16MB of QSPI flash with XiP support, 8MB of PSRAM, wireless connectivity, a USB Type-C port for power and data, and a Qwiic/STEMMA QT connector for breakout board integration. A few days ago, we covered the Pimoroni Explorer board, an electronic prototyping board built around the Raspberry Pi RP2350B chip. It features a 2.8-inch LCD screen, a speaker connector, and multiple […]

Radxa X4 review – An Intel N100 alternative to Raspberry Pi 5 tested with Ubuntu 24.04

Radxa X4 Ubuntu 24.04 review

We already looked at the Radxa X4 kit featuring an Intel N100 SBC with a design similar to the Raspberry Pi 5 and accessories including a Radxa Power PD 30W power adapter, an NVMe SSD, and a USB-C to USB-C cable, in the first part of the review, before installing Ubuntu 24.04 on the board.

In the second part of the review, we will test Ubuntu 24.04 in more detail with some benchmarks and power consumption measurements to show how well it works (or not) compared to a Raspberry Pi 5. We will also test the 40-pin GPIO header on the Radxa X4 controlled through a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller.

ESP32-C6 WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 USB-C development board integrates 1.47-inch TFT LCD Display

ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47

Waveshare has introduced the ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 development board powered by an ESP32-C6 RISC-V microcontroller with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 connectivity and equipped with a 1.47-inch display with a 172×320 resolution. With a 4MB flash, an RGB LED, and a microSD card slot for extra storage, this board is suitable for projects that need a compact display, low power consumption, and wireless connectivity such as AIoT applications and human-machine interfaces (HMI). Earlier this month, we covered the ESP32-S3 USB dongle, another development board from Waveshare designed for HMI applications with the same 1.47-inch display with a 172×320 resolution, but a USB Type-A port instead of the USB-C port found in the model covered today. In the past, we’ve written about other ESP32-based development boards for HMI applications, including the LILYGO T-HMI, ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3B, and Waveshare’s ESP32-S3 LCD Driver Board supporting both square and round displays. Feel free to check them out if […]

Raspberry Pi RP2350 dev board features Ethernet RJ45 port with WIZNet W5500 or W5100S Ethernet controller

Wiznet W5500 EVB Pico2 and W5100S EVB Pico2 Dev boards

WIZnet has recently launched two new Raspberry Pi RP2350-based Ethernet boards – W5100S-EVB-Pico2 and W5500-EVB-Pico2 – based on different Ethernet controllers. The entry-level W5100S-EVB-Pico2 is built around the W5100S controller that features 4 independent sockets and 16 Kbytes of buffer memory. On the other hand, the W5500-EVB-Pico2 is built around the W5500, which features 8 sockets, 32 Kbytes of buffer memory, and improved security features such as OTP memory, Secure Boot, and Arm TrustZone technology. These make the W5500-EVB-Pico2 ideal for projects with robust network handling and advanced security measures. After the recent announcement of the $5 Raspberry Pi Pico 2 we have seen many development boards built around the RP2350 MCU, including the Challenger+ RP2350 WiFi6/BLE5, the Solder Party’s RP2350 Stamp, the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2350, the Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro, and more. Feel free to check those out If you are interested in RP2350-based dev boards. W5100S-EVB-Pico2 and […]

NanoPi Zero2 is a tiny headless Arm Linux computer with Gigabit Ethernet, a USB port, and an M.2 Key-E socket for WiFi

NanoPi Zero2

FriendlyELEC NanoPi Zero2 is one of the world’s smallest Arm Linux computers with the 45x45mm board featuring a Rockchip RK3528A quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, up to 2GB RAM, microSD and eMMC flash module sockets for storage, a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 jack, an M.2 socket for WiFi, a USB Type-A port, and a 30-pin GPIO FPC connector for expansion. When I went to find more information about the earlier NanoPi Zero, I quickly realized… it did not exist, and the closest thing we have is the ZeroPi released in 2019 with an Allwinner H3 Cortex-A7 processor and an even smaller 40x40mm form factor.  The NanoPi Zero2 comes with a 64-bit processor, more memory, and optional support for an M.2 WiFi module among other improvements. It’s designed for headless applications since there’s no video output/display interface. NanoPi Zero2 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3528A CPU – Quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz GPU – […]

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