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June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

$3.50 nanoCH57x CH570/CH572 RISC-V development board offers USB-C port, 2.4GHz radio/BLE, and GPIO pins

Designed by MuseLab, the nanoCH57x is a WCH CH570/CH572 development board with a 2.4 GHz proprietary radio (CH570) or Bluetooth LE (CH572) that only costs $3.50 and is more compact than the official CH570 Basic Evaluation Board. We first came across this low-cost MCU back in March this year, and saw that the official development board became available for purchase as early as April. The nanoCH57x development board currently features the 100 MHz CH572D RISC-V microcontroller (the CH570D version is coming later), which includes 256KB of flash memory, 12KB of SRAM, and an onboard 32 MHz crystal. The board also includes a USB 2.0 Type-C Host/Device port and PCB antenna for BLE/RF communication. MuseLab nanoCH57x development board specifications: MCU (one or the other) – WCH CH570D or CH572D CPU – QingKe 32-bit RISC-V3C core @ up to 100 MHz Memory – 12KB SRAM Storage – 256KB non-volatile memory 240KB code […]

June 18, 2025June 18, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Dual-channel LoRaWAN AC energy meter features 10A/100A CT clamps, measures temperature and humidity

AgroSense 2 Channel LoRaWAN AC Current Monitor

The AgroSense AGLW2CT is a dual-channel LoRaWAN-based industrial AC energy meter that utilizes 10A and 100A CT clamps to measure power consumption non-invasively. The device features two 0–5V analog inputs for the clamps, an AHT20 temperature & humidity sensor, and local storage for 3,300+ records. It supports LoRaWAN 1.0.3 OTAA Class C and works with TTN, Datacake, and CloudStudio. The device operates within the -40°C to 85°C industrial temperature range and is suitable for contactless current sensing, overload/no-load detection, and machine health monitoring. We had previously covered, and even reviewed, several Wi-Fi-connected CT clamps meters such as the MachineQ’s MQpower CT, Seeed Studio’s XIAO-2CH-EM, and Emporia’s Vue Gen 2 energy monitor, but it’s the first time we’ve come across a LoRa AC energy meter with CT clamps. Earlier this month, we noticed the MOKO LW005-MP LoRaWAN Smart Plug and power meter, but it relies on direct AC power measurements and […]

June 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

ESP32-S3 development board integrates SI4732 AM/FM radio receiver

LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AM/FM radio, a TFT display, a rotary encoder, a built-in microphone, and a microSD card slot powered through a USB-C port or LiPo battery. As its name implies, it’s based on the earlier LILYGO T-Embed battery-powered WiFi and BLE controller with a display and rotary encoder, but also adds a Skyworks SI4732 AM//FM/SW/LW radio receiver to the mix. LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 1.9-inch IPS color TFT LCD with 320 x 170 resolution (ST7789V SPI driver) Audio – 2x microphones, 8 Ohm @ 1W speaker Radio – Skyworth […]

June 16, 2025June 18, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board features ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC

The ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 is a development board based on the ESP32-C61 low-cost WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 SoC that was first unveiled in January 2024, and has just entered mass production this month (June 2025). The board is offered with two USB-C ports, two buttons, an RGB LED, and GPIO headers. In my 2024 year in review report, I noted that Espressif would likely launch the ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 SoC in 2025, but I completely forgot about the ESP32-C61, which is basically a cost-down version of the ESP32-C6. The ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 development board and ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 module are now available, so let’s have a closer look. ESP32-C61-DevKitC-1 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C61-WROOM-1 SoC – ESP32-C61HR2 CPU – Single 32-bit RISC-V core clocked up to 120MHz Memory – 320KB SRAM, 2MB PSRAM Storage – 256KB ROM Wireless – WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE 5.0 Storage – 8MB QSPI flash Antenna – PCB […]

June 16, 2025June 16, 2025 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

BentoIO CMX1 – A low-profile Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board that’s just 11mm thick

The BentoIO CMX1 is a compact, low-profile Raspberry Pi CM5 carrier board, developed by Terioto in Germany. With an 85 x 85 mm footprint and a height of just 11 mm, it’s designed for space-constrained applications like embedded systems, industrial control, and compact edge devices. After the official launch of the Raspberry Pi CM5 module and its carrier board, we’ve seen boards like Waveshare CM5-NANO-B and Orange Pi CM5 “Tablet” Base Board get released. There is no doubt that they are compact, but they are not as slim as this board. While it’s slim, that doesn’t mean it lacks I/Os; it includes a 40-pin Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO header, two USB 3.0 ports, two internal USB 2.0 headers, a MIPI DSI connector and an optional HDMI port for video output, optional gigabit Ethernet, a PCIe M.2 M-Key for expansion, and it uses a USB-C for power. Other features include an RTC battery connector, […]

June 13, 2025June 13, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Renesas RA2L2 – The first low-power MCU with USB-C Revision 2.4 support

Renesas RA2L2 is the world’s first low-power MCU to support the USB-C Revision 2.4 standard with 15W CC detection, USB FS support. It also offers support for CAN Bus, I3C, and low-power UART. The announcement follows other devices from the Renesas RA series, such as the RA2A2 Arm Cortex-M23 MCU introduced in 2024, and the RA4L1 ultra-low-power MCU unveiled earlier this year with just 168 µA/MHz operation, dual-bank flash, and capacitive touch. The RA2L2 Cortex-M23 microcontroller also embeds up to 128KB of code flash, 16KB SRAM, and 4KB data flash for EEPROM-like storage. It supports a wide 1.6V to 5.5V supply voltage and an industrial-grade -40°C to +125°C temperature range. The MCU also integrates a ±1% high-accuracy on-chip oscillator, multiple timers including 16-bit and 32-bit PWM and low-power asynchronous timers, a 12-bit ADC, a real-time clock, and an internal temperature sensor. It’s available in 32- to 64-pin packages and offers […]

June 12, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Avalue ACP-PI – A Raspberry Pi-like industrial SBC family with long-term supply, Rockchip or NXP SoC

ACP 3566 PI and ACP IMX8 PI Raspberry Pi industrial SBCs

Avalue Technology’s ACPI-PI is a Raspberry Pi-compatible, industrial SBC family, starting with the ACP-3566-PI and ACP-IMX8-PI, designed for edge computing and industrial IoT applications with long-term supply. The ACP-3566-PI is built around a Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor with 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC. Other features include 4K HDMI output, MIPI DSI/CSI, GbE LAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 40-pin GPIO header for UART, SPI, I2C, and RS-232/RS-485 expansion. The ACP-IMX8-PI, on the other hand, is built around an NXP i.MX8M Mini processor (quad Cortex-A53 + Cortex-M4), 4GB LPDDR4, 32GB eMMC, HDMI, MIPI display, and camera support. Additionally, it has four USB 2.0 ports, an SD slot, an audio jack, and GPIO/UART expansion. Measuring 85×55 mm, both boards can be used for smart retail, healthcare, factory automation, and AI edge deployments. ACP-3566-PI specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 processor @ up to 1.8/2.0 GHz GPU – with Arm […]

June 10, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

$7 NearLink WS63E board supports Wi-Fi 6, BLE, and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE)

The HiHope_NearLink_DK_WS63E_V03 is a low-power NearLink dev board built around the HiHope HH-SPARK-WS63E module, which features the HiSilicon NearLink WS63E SoC with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5.2, and SparkLink (SLE) 1.0 support. It’s designed for Smart Home and AIoT applications requiring low power and high security. The NearLink WS63E SoC features a 240MHz 32-bit CPU, 606KB SRAM, and a 4MB flash. The board exposes various interfaces like SPI, QSPI, I2C, UART, ADC, PWM, and GPIOs through GPIO headers. Security features include hardware AES, RSA, ECC, and FIPS140-2-compliant RNG. Target applications include Smart Home appliances, wearables, medical monitoring, industrial testing, energy management, and Smart Agriculture. HiHope NearLink_DK_WS63E specifications: SoC – HiSilicon NearLink WS63E 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz 606 KB SRAM, 300 KB ROM 4MB embedded Flash Wireless (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax (ch1–ch14), 20/40MHz (n), 20MHz (ax) Data rates: up to 150 Mbps (HT40), 114.7 Mbps (HE20) MAC: 802.11d/e/i/k/v/w; Features: A-MPDU, […]