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November 15, 2025November 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 IoT development board offers GDI display interface, LiPo battery support

Just the other day, I lamented the lack of options when it came to ESP32-C5 boards featuring dual-band WiFi 6 support. The FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 IoT development board made by DFRobot shows that I needed to be more patient… The ESP32-C5 board features 4MB flash, a USB-C port, a LiPo battery connector, and two GPIO headers for expansion, as well as a GDI display connector designed to add an SPI/I2C touchscreen display. The new RISC-V board has about the same features and form factor as the FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3. It adds 5 GHz WiFi and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, but loses a camera connector, and comes with less memory and storage. FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-1-N4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for […]

November 13, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Arduino Nesso N1 – An ESP32-C6 IoT wireless development kit with WiFi 6, BLE, 802.15.4, LoRa, and IR transmitter

Arduino Nesso N1 is a new ESP32-C6 IoT development kit with not only 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee/Thread/Matter, but also a LoRa radio and an IR transmitter for smart home, industrial, and educational applications. Developed in collaboration with M5Stack, the Nesson N1 also features a 1.14-inch touchscreen display, a 6-axis motion sensor, a few LEDs and buttons, as well as Grove and Qwiic expansion connectors, and an 8-pin GPIO header. Nesso N1 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 – 320KB ROM, 512KB SRAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 802.15.4 radio for Thread/Zigbee Storage – 16MB NOR Flash Display – 1.14-inch touchscreen display with 240 x 135 resolution, 262K colors; ST7789P3 driver, FT6336U capacitive touch Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, BLE 5.3, Zigbee […]

November 12, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo – A dual-band WiFi 6, BLE, and 802.15.4 IoT board with battery support, UEXT connector

Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo is a compact ESP32-C5 board with dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and a 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter connectivity with support for LiPo battery for a charging circuit. It follows the company’s ESP32-C5-EVB board with isolated inputs and relays launched in September 2025, and offers a minimal design with two USB-C ports, a UEXT connector for expansion module, the usual breadboard-compatible GPIO headers, and not much else, which makes it ideal for space-constrained applications and prototyping. Olimex ESP32-C5-Devkit-Lipo specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, support for external PSRAM Storage – 320 KB ROM, support for external flash Connectivity Dual-band 802.11ax WiFi 6 in the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz bands, with 802.11b/g/n WiFi […]

November 6, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 7 Comments

Review of SONOFF’s latest Matter Smart Switches – Basic Gen5 and Tx Gen2

Today, we’re about to review not one, but two new Matter devices: the SONOFF Basic Gen5 Smart Switch and the SONOFF Tx Gen2 Smart Wall Switch. Both are upgraded versions of their previous models, now adding support for the Matter protocol (over Wi-Fi). The Basic Gen5 is the fifth generation of the popular Basic series, known for being affordable and widely used in the market. It’s a Wi-Fi smart switch that can control all kinds of devices, such as lights or small electrical devices. Basically, anything within its 10A limit. What’s new compared to the previous BasicR4 is the addition of Matter and near-field control via Bluetooth. As for the Tx Gen2 (T6), it’s an upgraded version of the older T2/T3 lineup. Besides adding Matter, it also brings a few new features, like adjustable backlight brightness and the Detach Relay mode. Both models support voice control via Apple Siri, Google […]

October 28, 2025October 27, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

Microchip PIC32-BZ6 BLE 6.0, Thread, and Matter wireless MCU integrates touch and motor control

Microchip IC32 BZ6 single chip wireless MCU

Microchip has recently introduced the PIC32-BZ6 family of single-chip, multiprotocol wireless MCUs, also available as RF-certified modules, and designed for smart home, industrial automation, and automotive applications. The module supports Bluetooth LE 6.0, IEEE 802.15.4-based Thread and Matter, and proprietary mesh protocols. For wired connectivity, there are two CAN-FD ports, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet MAC, and a USB 2.0 full-speed transceiver. Other features include CVD-based touch sensing and motor control interfaces for interactive and real-time applications. As a secure MCU, the PIC32-BZ6 integrates a hardware-based security engine, a secure boot ROM, and encryption accelerators, along with OTA update capability for long-term device management. The microcontroller offers up to 54 GPIO pins, multiple pin and package options (up to 132-pin VQFN), and automotive-grade variants rated for -40°C to +125°C operation. Microchip PIC32-BZ6 specifications: MCU Core – 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M4F with FPU and DSP extensions Memory 512 KB multi-port SRAM (with […]

October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - No Comments

Weffort Outdoor Smart Shade Review with Home Assistant over Matter/Thread

We’re going to do a quick review of smart outdoor motorised shades from Weffort — another brand that makes smart shades compatible with popular Smart Home platforms, including Home Assistant, SmartThings, Google Home, Apple HomeKit, and Amazon Alexa. The cool thing about Weffort’s shades is that everything’s fully customisable and made-to-order — from the fabric and motors to casing styles, size, and the Smart Home platform you want to use with. With various options, it might sound complicated at first (usually people just let a pro handle it), but it’s actually way easier than you think. Plus, the shades are lightweight, so you can totally install them by yourself. Custom-made shades Before we got the test unit from Weffort, they let us locate a good spot for installation and testing so that we could take measurements following the guide on their website, which also has tips on choosing materials, installation, measurements, […]

September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Nordic nRF54LM20A Cortex-M33 wireless MCU doubles the SRAM to 512 KB, increases flash capacity

Nordic Semiconductor nRF54LM20A Low Power Matter Bluetooth MCU

Nordic Semi’s nRF54LM20A is a new Cortex-M33-based high-memory wireless MCU part of the nRF54L Series with double the SRAM and higher flash capacity compared ot the nRF54L15. It targets consumer, industrial, healthcare, and smart home applications, and is especially suitable for HID peripherals and gaming devices. The SoC integrates a 128 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 core with a RISC-V coprocessor, 2 MB NVM, and 512 KB RAM, alongside up to 66 GPIOs, high-speed USB, and Nordic’s fourth-generation ultra-low-power 2.4 GHz radio supporting Bluetooth LE, Thread, Zigbee, Channel Sounding, and Matter. It offers twice the processing power, three times the efficiency, and up to 50% lower power consumption than the nRF52 Series. nRF54LM20A key specifications and comparison with other nRF54 Series SoCs: The nRF54LM20A comes in two packages: a CSP98 (3.9 x 3.7 mm) package for compact designs with 66 GPIOs, and a QFN52 (6 x 6 mm) package with 35 GPIO […]

September 19, 2025September 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB – A dual-band WiFi 6 IoT board with relays, opto-isolated inputs, LiPo battery support

Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB is an evaluation board built around Espressif’s ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 module with dual-band (2.4/5.0GHz) WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, and 802.15.4 (Zigbee/Thread/Matter) wireless connectivity, 8MB flash, and 4MB PSRAM. The board integrates two relays rated 250V/10A, two opto-isolated inputs, and a LiPo UPS charger and step-up converter. Other features include USB-C ports, a UEXT connector for expansion, and two buttons. It’s one of the first ESP32-C5 boards we’ve seen, after Espressif’s own ESP32-C5-DevKitC-1 development kit, and Wireless Tag’s WT99P4C5-S1 board using the ESP32-C5 as a wireless co-processor to the ESP32-P4 MCU. Olimex ESP32-C5-EVB specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-N8R4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, support for external PSRAM Storage – 320 KB ROM, support for external flash Connectivity Dual-band 802.11ax WiFi 6 […]