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July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Waveshare RP2350-POE-ETH – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU board with PoE

Raspberry Pi RP2350 Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) board

Waveshare RP2350-POE-ETH is a Raspberry Pi RP2350 board with Ethernet implemented through a W6300 chip, support for optional PoE (Power-over-Ethernet), and two GPIO headers. We had covered a few Raspberry Pi RP2350 boards with Ethernet from WIZNet, including the W5100S-EVB-Pico2, W5500-EVB-Pico2, and W6300-EVB-Pico2, but none were advertised with PoE at the time. Since then, the 4-pin WizPOE-P1 module changes that, and the Waveshare RP2350-POE-ETH board offers a more affordable option. Waveshare RP2350-POE-ETH specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350A CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150 MHz Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Up to two cores can be used at a time, either 2x Arm, 2x RISC-V, or 1x Arm + 1x RISC-V Memory – 520KB internal RAM Storage – 8KB OTP Storage Storage – 16Mbit SPI NOR flash Ethernet 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 port via WIZnet W6300 “iEthernet” chip 6-pin PoE connector for optional module USB – USB 1.1 C-Type […]

July 17, 2026July 21, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Olimex PICO-EVB automation board adds high-voltage terminals to Raspberry Pi Pico family

Olimex PICO-EVB board for the Raspberry Pi Pico and compatible boards is designed for high-voltage automation with four 3.3-30V DC or 110-220V AC inputs and four 15V DC/220V AC relays. It features two 20-pin headers enabling users to connect their preferred Pi Pico-compatible board, a USB-C port for power and programming, a UEXT connector for I2C, UART, and SPI expansion, and status LEDs for the high-voltage signals. Olimex PICO-EVB specifications: Compatible boards Raspberry Pi Pico, Pico 2, Pico W, Pico 2 W Olimex RP2040-PICO30 USB – 1x USB Type-C port I/Os 4x 15A 24V DC/240V AC relays 4x optoisolated inputs taking 3.3 – 30V DC or 110-220V AC UEXT connector with I2C, UART, and SPI signals Unpopulated 18-pin GPIO header Misc 4x status LEDs for the relays 4x status LEDs for the inputs Power Supply – 5V power supply via screw connector, USB-C port, or Pico’s micro USB connector Dimensions […]

June 30, 2026June 30, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

XIAO nRF54LM20A (Sense) board enables ultra-low-power Bluetooth 6.0, Matter, Thread, Zigbee, or 2.4 GHz proprietary applications

Seeed Studio XIAO nRF54LM20A and XIAO nRF54LM20A Sense are tiny USB-C IoT boards based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF54LM20A wireless SoC offering Bluetooth 6.0, Matter, Thread, Zigbee, NFC, Amazon Sidewalk, and 2.4 GHz proprietary connectivity. Both variants come with on-chip 2 MB flash and 512 KB RAM, as well as an 8 MB flash, an nPM1300 PMIC for power management, up to 28 GPIOs, and an RGB LED. The Sense model adds a digital microphone and 6-axis IMU with motion-triggered wake-up for ultra-low power applications. XIAO nRF54LM20A (Sense) specifications: Wireless SoC – Nordic Semiconductor nRF54LM20A CPU Arm Cortex-M33 application processor clocked at up to 128 MHz RISC-V coprocessor running at 128 MHz Memory – 512 kB of RAM Storage – 2 MB of Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Wireless Bluetooth LE 6.0 with PHY rates of 125 kbit/s, 500 kbit/s, 1 Mbit/s, and 2 Mbit/s Bluetooth Channel Sounding, Bluetooth LE long range (coded PHY), […]

June 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B – A tiny ESP32-C6 USB-C board with 5V-36V wide supply voltage

ESP32-C6 board 5-36V wide supply voltage

Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B is a variant of the company’s ESP32-C6-Zero USB-C board that adds 5V-36V wide supply voltage support for industrial applications It’s based on the ESP32-C6FH8 wireless RISC-V SoC with 8MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.x LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee and Thread. It also exposes up to 20 GPIOs via headers and pads, and features an RGB LED, as well as Boot and Reset buttons. Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C6FH8 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V clocked up to 160 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ up to 20 MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 320KB ROM, 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 802.15.4 radio for Thread/Zigbee USB – USB Type-C port for program download and debugging Expansion 2x 9-pin headers with up to 13x GPIOs, UART, I2C, SPI, 6x ADC, I2S, PWM, Vin, 3.3V out, GND 7x solder pads […]

June 1, 2026June 2, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W – A Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W-sized board with 41 GPIOs, 16MB flash, USB-C port

Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W is a development board that follows the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W form factor, but offers 41 GPIOs thanks to the RP2350B MCU, integrates 16 MB of flash, and includes a USB-C port. So, in several ways, it’s an upgrade over the RP2350A-based official board, which offers only 26 GPIOs via two 13-pin GPIO headers, 4MB of flash, and a micro USB port. Since it’s the same size, where do the extra GPIOs come from? Answer: The company simply added 15 pads to the bottom of the board, not quite as convenient since it’s requires soldering, but it does the job. Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Only two cores can be used at any given time Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-80 Memory – Footprint […]

April 22, 2026April 22, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Raspberry Pi RP2350 board offers NB-IoT cellular connectivity, GNSS, and Wi-Fi indoor location

Raspberry Pi RP2350 board NB-IoT cellular

Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT is a Feather-compatible board pairing a Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller and a certified NB-IoT cellular module with built-in GNSS, suitable for long-range, low-power connectivity. It looks to be a variant of the earlier Challenger+ RP2350 WiFi6/BLE5 board that replaces an ESP32-C6 WiFi 6, BLE, and 802.15.4 module with an STMicroelectronics ST87M01 NB-IoT and GNSS module. It still offers Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350A MCU CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150MHz Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ 150MHz Up to two cores can be used at a given time Memory – 520KB internal RAM 8KB OTP Storage Package – QFN-60; 7×7 mm Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 8MB SPI flash Cellular connectivity Module – STMicro ST87M01-1301 LTE Cat NB2 (NB-IoT), 3GPP Release 15 Worldwide regional bands coverage – B1, B3, B5, B8, B20, and B28 Single-tone / Multi-tone / Extended TBS and 2 […]

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 19, 2026April 19, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

BeagleConnect Zepto – A “$1 computer” based on TI MSPM0L1117 Cortex-M0+ MCU

BeagleBoard.org Foundation’s BeagleConnect Zepto “$1 computer” is an upcoming open-source hardware board powered by Texas Instruments MSPM0L117 Cortex-M0+ MCU, part of the MSPM0 family introduced in 2023. It’s a tiny board with mikroBus-compatible headers, a TAG-CONNECT JTAG connector, two Qwiic connectors for expansion (or one Qwiic connector + USB-C depending on the variant), Boot and Reset buttons, and an RGB LED. BeagleConnect Zepto specifications: MCU – Texas Instruments MSPM0L117 CPU – 32MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ core Memory – 16KB SRAM Storage – 128KB dual-bank flash Package – QFN32 (5×5 mm) USB – Optional USB-C port for power (multiplexed with one of the Qwicc JST connectors) Expansion mikroBUS headers supporting a choice of about 2,000 ClickE add-on boards; one of the sides is compatible with some Raspberry Pi HATs (note limited to 12 pins) Up to 2x Qwicc connectors with full Grove function: I2C, UART, ADC, GPIO Debugging – 8-pin TAG-CONNECT JTAG […]