home assistant

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on UmbrelOS – A Debian-based personal home cloud OS with a slick user interface

UmbrelOS – A Debian-based personal home cloud OS with a slick user interface

Umbrel OS

UmbrelOS is a Debian-based home cloud OS with a neat web-based interface that works on devices like Raspberry Pi SBCs, mini PCs, old computers, and more. Having been first released in 2020, the OS is not exactly new, but I only discovered it today after noticing it was one of the supported operating systems for the Pironman 5 Pro Max enclosure for the Raspberry Pi 5. It initially launched as a tool for running a Bitcoin full node on a Raspberry Pi easily, but eventually turned into a home cloud OS that competes against other open-source solutions such as OpenMediaVault or CasaOS/ZimaOS. UmbrelOS highlights: Intuitive web dashboard at umbrel.local or your device’s IP. Umbrel App Store — Over 300 apps, including Nextcloud or Immich for media and document storage, Jellyfin for media streaming, Home Assistant automation framework, Vaultwarden password manager, Bitcoin and Lightning nodes, AdGuard Home adblocker, and AI-related tools […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 6 Comments on SN1 Solar Node – An ESP32-C3-based board with IP67 enclosure, solar charging, ESPHome firmware

SN1 Solar Node – An ESP32-C3-based board with IP67 enclosure, solar charging, ESPHome firmware

WiFi IoT Solar Node Dev Board ESPHome

Designed by Granz Scientific LLC, the SN1 Solar Node is an ESP32-C3-based IoT node/development board designed specifically for off-grid IoT projects. Development boards like Seeed Studio Wio Tracker, or industrial controllers like DFRobot LoRaWAN Control Terminal, allow you to handle your own battery management and weatherproofing, or on the other end, you have products like SenseCAP Solar Node P1 that come with everything integrated but do not allow adding custom hardware. This is where the SN1 Solar Node is different; it features an IP67-rated enclosure with an integrated solar panel on the lid, 18650 battery support, and prototyping strip-board areas for custom circuitry. It also includes a smart power switch that allows the battery to continue charging from the solar panel even when the board is powered off. Additionally, it provides battery voltage monitoring, breaks out most GPIOs for easy access, and includes optional jumpers for an onboard LED and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Sentinel Core – A Raspberry Pi CM5 mini-ITX carrier board with a PCIe x16 slot (Crowdfunding)

Sentinel Core – A Raspberry Pi CM5 mini-ITX carrier board with a PCIe x16 slot (Crowdfunding)

Sentinel Core CM5 mini-ITX motherboard

Sanctuary Systems’ Sentinel Core is a Raspberry Pi CM5 mini-ITX carrier board with a PCIe x16 slot to easily connect a graphics card to accelerate 3D graphics, video transcoding, or AI workloads. It’s basically a larger Raspberry Pi CM5 IO board with a prototyping area, a PCIe slot, and a 24-pin ATX power connector. The Sentinel Core also comes with two HDMI ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 3.0 ports, MIPI DSI/CSI connectors, and the usual 40-pin GPIO header. Sentinel Core specifications: Supported module – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 via 2x 100-pin B2B connectors Video Output – 2x HDMI 2.0 ports Networking Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port Optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.x on Raspberry Pi CM5 USB – 2x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB 2.0 Type-C port PCIe – High-speed, full-length PCIe x16 slot with PCIe 2.0 x1 signal (PCIe 3.0 unofficially supported) Expansion 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 7 Comments on Esparagus Audio Brick ESP32-based DIN-rail 65W Hi-Fi amplifier supports Home Assistant and Squeezelite (Crowdfunding)

Esparagus Audio Brick ESP32-based DIN-rail 65W Hi-Fi amplifier supports Home Assistant and Squeezelite (Crowdfunding)

Esparagus Audio Brick

Sonocotta (Andriy Malyshenko), the developer of Esparagus “Media Center”, HiFi-Amped, Louder Raspberry Pi, and Louder Raspberry Hat Plus, has returned to Crowd Supply with the Esparagus Audio Brick, a compact ESP32 or ESP32-S3-powered Hi-Fi Class-D amplifier with Home Assistant support. With support for Music Assistant, Snapcast, and Logitech Media Server (LMS), the module can be used to build whole-home audio setups, retrofit vintage speakers with modern streaming features, or power custom speaker configurations such as subwoofers or bi-amp systems. The board is built around an ESP32 or ESP32-S3 dual-core microcontroller with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM, and features Wi-Fi with optional W5500 SPI Ethernet for connectivity. Audio is processed via a Texas Instruments TAS5825M stereo I²S DAC with an integrated 65 W Class-D amplifier, and includes a DSP for a 15-band equalizer and hardware fault management. Other features include a USB Type-C port with a CH340 chip for […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Pironman 5 Pro Max Raspberry Pi 5 case gains 4.3-inch touchscreen, camera mount, speakers, microphone, and more

Pironman 5 Pro Max Raspberry Pi 5 case gains 4.3-inch touchscreen, camera mount, speakers, microphone, and more

Pironman 5 Pro Max case

Pironman 5 Pro Max is the latest Raspberry Pi 5 case by SunFounder. The new enclosure adds a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen display, a 5MP camera module, a mount suitable for Raspberry Pi Camera Modules, stereo speakers, a USB microphone, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Besides the new features, its design is close to the Pironman 5 Max we reviewed with a Raspberry Pi 5, an NVMe SSD, and an Hailo-8 AI accelerator last June. That means it keeps black aluminum and semi-transparent black acrylic panels, offers two M.2 PCIe slots, an IR receiver, a power button, and the Tap-to-Wake feature for the OLED information display. Pironman 5 Pro Max specifications: Designed for the Raspberry Pi 5 and compatible SBCs Storage Pironman 5 Dual NVMe PiP supporting 2x M.2 2230, 2242, 2260, or 2280 NVMe SSDs at up to PCIe 2.0 x1 speeds due to switch used; RAID 0/1 support MicroSD […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Echo Pyramid enables smart voice interaction applications on M5Stack Atom ESP32 IoT controllers

Echo Pyramid enables smart voice interaction applications on M5Stack Atom ESP32 IoT controllers

M5Stack Echo Pyramid

Designed for M5Stack Atom, AtomS3, and AtomS3R series IoT controllers based on ESP32 or ESP32-S3 wireless SoC, the Echo Pyramid base enables smart voice interaction applications such as far-field voice recognition, voice assistants, voice control, and more. The device features a built-in speaker, a MEMS microphone, an ES8311 HD audio codec for playback and capture, and an STM32 MCU for touch areas and RGB LED management. It’s powered via a USB Type-C port and can be expanded through a 4-pin connector for I2C modules. Echo Pyramid specifications: Supported IoT controllers – M5Stack Atom, AtomS3, and AtomS3R Microcontroller –  STMicro STM32G030F6P6 32-bit Arm  Cortex-M0+ CPU @ 64 MHz with 8KB SRAM, 64 KB flash Audio HD Codec – ES8311, handles playback and recording Microphone – LMA3729T381-0Y3S MEMS microphone ADC – ES7210 for microphone input Built-in speaker on the bottom of the pyramid Amplifier – AW87559 Class-D speaker driver for the speaker […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Olimex HoT aims to be lightweight, easier-to-use alternative to Home Assistant

Olimex HoT aims to be lightweight, easier-to-use alternative to Home Assistant

Olimex HoT

Olimex HoT (Home of Things) is a lightweight Smart Home solution designed to run on low-end hardware (128MB RAM, 128MB flash) and interface with nodes running ESPHome. It can serve as an easier-to-use alternative for people who don’t need all the bells and whistles provided by powerful home automation frameworks such as Home Assistant or OpenHAB. Home Assistant open-source home automation software is great, but it requires a system with at least 2GB of RAM, and 4GB of RAM is often recommended for most users. There’s also a steep learning curve. This is what Tsvetan Usunov, Olimex CEO, realized last year when he tried Home Assistant, and he decided to start working on a low-cost, easy-to-use solution for IoT and Smart Home applications. That’s why the Olimex HoT project was created. Tsvetan gave a talk about the project entitled “Designing EUR 20 Open Source Hardware running Free/Libre Open Source Software […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 1 Comment on Meterbit Pixlpal – An open-source ESP32-S3 smart display with 128×64 RGB LED matrix, Hi-Fi audio output (Crowdfunding)

Meterbit Pixlpal – An open-source ESP32-S3 smart display with 128×64 RGB LED matrix, Hi-Fi audio output (Crowdfunding)

Pixlpal SP32 S3 RGB LED Matrix Display

Designed by Meterbit Cybernetics in Nigeria, the Pixlpal is an open-source, ESP32-S3-based 11.25-inch 128×64 RGB LED matrix display designed as a customizable ticker for news, crypto, and smart home notifications, while also offering Hi-Fi audio playback. The device also includes a multi-function rotary encoder for local control, a digital MEMS microphone, and a 3.5 mm headphone output driven by a TI PCM5102A DAC for Hi-Fi audio playback. Pixlpal also provides a USB Type-C OTG port for power and programming, and a USB Type-A adapter port for firmware updates and peripherals. The device targets Smart Home dashboards, desktop information displays, and educational or maker-focused IoT applications. Pixlpal specifications: Wireless Module  – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – TBD Wireless – WiFi 4 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Display – […]

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