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April 20, 2026April 20, 2026 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

LILYGO T-Watch Ultra – An IP65-rated ESP32-S3 smartwatch with 2.01-inch AMOLED, LoRa, and GNSS

LILYGO’s T-Watch Ultra is an ESP32-S3-based smartwatch development platform that appears to be an upgrade over the previous T-Watch-S3 Plus (1.3-inch display and a 940mAh battery), with a larger 2.01-inch AMOLED touch display, a higher-capacity 1,100mAh battery, and an IP65 waterproof and dustproof rating. The device integrates a u-blox MIA-M10Q GNSS module for positioning, a SX1262 LoRa transceiver for long-range communication, and a Bosch BHI260AP smart sensor for motion-based AI applications. Additionally, it features an RTC chip, NFC, a built-in microphone, a haptic driver, a microSD card slot, and a USB Type-C port for programming and charging. The watch targets applications such as Meshtastic nodes, GPS tracking, wearable IoT interfaces, edge AI sensing, and custom smartwatch firmware development. LILYGO T-Watch Ultra specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi […]

April 13, 2026April 14, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Trail Mate open-source firmware leverages Meshtastic and MeshCore for ESP32 off-grid handhelds

vicliu624’s Trail Mate is an open-source firmware for off-grid communication and GPS coordinates sharing, leveraging the Meshtastic, MeshCore, and other projects, and designed for ESP32 handhelds such as LILYGO’s T-LoRa Pager or M5Stack’s Tab5 with a LoRaWAN module. The Trail Mate firmware provides a fixed north-up GPS map, direct LoRa text messaging through Meshtastic or MeshCore mesh networks without relying on a smartphone, and prioritizes stability, efficiency, and interoperability over feature density. Trail Mate user interface highlights: Simple main menu with four icons: GPS, LoRa chat, tracker, and system utilities. GPS map Fixed North-Up map orientation (no rotation) Fully offline map rendering from SD card tiles (png/jpg files) Three switchable base layers: OSM / Terrain / Satellite Optional contour overlay for terrain shape awareness Real-time position marker for the current GPS fix Discrete zoom levels optimized for embedded systems Simple breadcrumb trails for path awareness Fast in-page layer switching via […]

March 31, 2026March 30, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

T-Display-P4 smartphone-like devkit features ESP32-P4 MCU, ESP32-C6 wireless SoC, and SX1262/LR2021 LoRa transceiver

LILYGO T-Display-P4 is a feature-rich ESP32-P4 + ESP32-C6 devkit, but with a smartphone-like design and support for GPS, Ethernet, and LoRaWAN through SX1262 or LR2021 LoRa transceiver, besides the usual WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.x, and 802.15.4 wireless connectivity. The T-Display-P4 is offered with either a 4.05-inch IPS display and a 2MP front-facing camera or a 4.1-inch AMOLED with a 2MP rear camera. The devkit is equipped with 32MB PSRAM and 16MB NOR flash for the ESP32-P4, a microSD card slot, a built-in microphone and speaker, a 3.5mm audio jack, a few USB ports, and a 9-axis motion sensor, as well as a GPIO port and two Qwiic connectors for expansion. T-Display-P4 specifications: MCU – ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 360 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and […]

March 16, 2026March 15, 2026 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

M5Stamp C6LoRa tiny (18×15×2.3 mm) SMD module pairs ESP32-C6 with SX1262 LoRa chip

The M5Stamp C6LoRa is a compact LoRa SMD module that combines the ESP32-C6 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE, and 802.15.4 microcontroller with the SX1262 LoRa transceiver for both high-speed and long-distance communication. The module targets applications such as smart agriculture, remote meter reading, industrial monitoring, and outdoor long-range wireless control systems. The module measures 18 × 15 × 2.3 mm, making it suitable for space-constrained systems and compact embedded designs. M5Stack has also added an SGM13005L4 low-noise amplifier (LNA) to improve reception performance, along with a PI4IOE5V6408 I/O expander that manages the LoRa control signals without using too many of the ESP32-C6’s GPIO pins. M5Stamp C6LoRa specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C6 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V clocked up to 160 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ up to 20 MHz Memory/Storage – 512KB SRAM, 320KB ROM Wireless – WiFi 6, BLE 5.3, 802.15.4 (See wireless section) Storage – 16 MB external NOR flash […]

March 10, 2026March 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

BeagleBadge – A Linux-powered 4.2-inch ePaper badge based on TI Sitara AM62L32 SoC

The BeagleBoard.org Foundation has just introduced the BeagleBadge featuring a 4.2-inch ePaper display and a Linux-capable Texas Instruments Sitara AML62L32 dual-core Cortex-A53 SoC. It’s quite feature-rich for a badge, as it offers WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 LE, and LoRa/LoRaWAN connectivity, various motion and environmental sensors, a USB 2.0 host port, Mikrobus, Grove, and QWIIC expansion connectors, a 4-way joystick, a buzzer, and a range of buttons and LEDs. BeagleBadge specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM62L32 dual-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ 1.25GHz System Memory – 256 MB (128M x 16bit) LPDDR4 @ 1600 MHz Storage 4GB eMMC flash 256Mbit OSPI flash 32Kbit EEPROM MicroSD card slot Display 4.2-inch ePaper display via 24-pin FPC Connector MIPI DSI connector for LCD Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 + Bluetooth 5.3 via BeagleMod CC3301-1216 module with MHF4 Connector LoRaWAN via Wio SX1262 module with u.FL Connector USB USB 2.0 Type-A host port USB Type-C […]

February 16, 2026February 16, 2026 by Debashis Das - 1 Comment

LR2021 LoRa Plus board combines Semtech LR2021 and Nordic nRF54L15 for high-speed FLRC and LoRa connectivity

Last year, Semtech released the LR2021 LoRa Plus transceiver chip, designed to address the low data-rate issue associated with LoRa, but surprisingly, they didn’t release a development board for the chip. Now, almost a year later, Seeed Studio and Semtech have partnered to introduce the LR2021 LoRa Plus development kit targeting long-range high-speed LoRa and FLRC applications up to 2.6 Mbps. Not only does the board support LoRa Gen 4 technology, providing Sub-GHz, 2.4 GHz ISM, and S/L-band operation, but a XIAO nRF54L15 board also adds dual-core processing (Arm Cortex-M33 + RISC-V) and supports other short-range protocols, including NFC, Bluetooth LE 6.0, Matter, Thread, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols. The development board also features a 0.96-inch 128×64 OLED, three Grove connectors for expansion, a USB Type-C for power, SWD debugging, and two Sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz SMA connectors. It is compatible with Arduino Uno, STM32 Nucleo, and Nordic DK boards. […]

January 21, 2026January 21, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

LilyGO T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 devkit adds Sub-GHz and 2.4GHz LoRa, audio support

LilyGO has recently released the T-Display S3 Pro LR1121, a new ESP32-S3 development kit with a Semtech LR1121 transceiver for universal LoRa connectivity across the sub-GHz and 2.4GHz bands. The board is an update to the earlier T-Display S3 Pro, which features a slimmer design and a 2.33-inch touchscreen display, but this new LR1121 variant adds sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz LoRa/(G)FSK support along with a voice communication kit that includes a MAX98357A I2S speaker amplifier, a PDM/I2S digital microphone, vibration motor, and a RTC. There are also programmable buttons, Qwiic connectors, and a 1/4-inch tripod mount, as well as a 2000 mAh Li-ion battery, USB-C for power, and ultra-low sleep current. These features make it suitable for applications such as LoRa walkie-talkies, Meshtastic nodes, voice-enabled IoT devices, portable dashboards, and experimental long-range wireless systems. T-Display S3 Pro LR1121 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller […]

January 20, 2026January 20, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

WisMesh 1W Booster Starter Kit targets high-power Meshtastic solutions

RAKwireless WisMesh 1W Booster Starter Kit is a high-power Meshtastic solution based on Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 wireless SoC, Semtech SX1262 RF transceiver, and SKY66122 power amplifier for extended mesh range. It’s built from three modules from the WisBLock IoT ecosystem, and besides a power amplifier for longer Tx range and better penetration through walls, it also features an integrated RF filter for enhanced reception performance. It offers an alternative to the LILYGO T-Beam 1W with an ESP32-S3 + Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver + PA+LNA design, which we covered just last week. WisMesh 1W Booster Starter Kit specifications and technical details WisMesh1W Booster Starter Kit content and specifications: WisBlock RAK3401 Core module SoC – Nordic nRF52840 CPU core – Arm Cortex-M4F @ Memory – 348KB SRAM Storage – 1MB Flash I/O ports – UART/I2C/SPI/ADC/GPIO WisBlock RAK13302 1W LoRa transceiver module Semtech SX1262 LoRa transceiver SKY66122 signal booster Integrated RF filter for […]