Wappsto:bit GO – An ESP32 board with plenty of sensors, Micro:bit compatibility (Crowdfunding)

Wappsto:bit GO

Wappsto:bit GO is an ESP32 board compatible with BBC Micro:bit accessories thanks to a compatible edge connector, but adding WiFi to Bluetooth LE, and offering some extras compared to Elecrow Mbits ESP32-based BBC Micro:bit clone. The new board is notably equipped with a wider range of sensors including a light sensor, a magnetometer, and sound sensor beside the temperature sensor and accelerometer present in the original board, and it also exposes GPIO through a more traditional 2.54-pitch header to facilitate the integration of a wider variety of add-on boards. Wappsto:bit GO specifications: Wireless modules ESP32-WROOM-32E module with ESP32 dual-core microcontroller, 4MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna Raytac MDBT50Q-512K Bluetooth 5.2 module based on nRF52833 with 512KB Flash MCU – NXP Kinetis KL2 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller (MKL27Z256VFM4 ) with 256KB Flash (for USB port handling) Display – 25 LED matrix Sensors Temperature sensor, Light sensor […]

Nordic Semi nPM1100 PMIC combines battery charger and regulator in tiny WLCSP package

nPM1100

Nordic Semi is well-known for its 2.4GHz multi-protocol chips such as nRF52840 or nRF52832 that are typically found in battery-powered devices such as smartwatches with Bluetooth connectivity. But once rechargeable batteries are involved that means a charging circuit is needed, and for instance, PineTime nRF52832 based watch relies on SGMicro SGM40561 Li-Ion battery charger and SGM2036 low-power regulator. So Nordic Semi has decided to get involved in the power management business and launched its first PMIC with nPM1100 combining a USB-compatible Li-ion/Li-Po battery charger and an efficient DC/DC buck regulator in a single, compact WLCSP package. Nordic Semi nPM1100 PMIC key features and specifications: 400 mA battery charger USB compatible input regulator Up to 150 mA of regulated voltage output at 1.8, 2.1, 2.7, or 3.0 V Overvoltage protection Ship mode disables power output Low quiescent currents Drivers for charge and error LEDs Supports Lithium-Ion and LiPo batteries with a […]

Power Profiler Kit II measures power consumption in Nordic Semi based embedded systems

Power Profiler Kit II

If you’re developing battery-powered products it’s important to optimize your application to consume as little power as possible to extend battery life. As we’ve seen with Qoitech Otii Developer Tool, getting the right tool for development can help developers work more efficiently, and save countless man hours. If you’re specifically working on products based on Nordic Semi nRF51, nRF52, nRF53 or nRF91 wireless chips, the company has just announced the Power Profiler Kit II (PPK2) that enables easy and affordable power measurement of average and dynamic power consumption in embedded solutions based on the aforementioned wireless SoC’s/SiP’s. Power Profiler Kit II key features: 200nA to 1A measurement range Resolution varies between 100nA and 1mA depending on the measurement range Instantaneous and average current measurement for all Nordic DKs, in addition to custom HW Ampere meter and source modes Built-in programmable regulator with a 0.8V to 5V output range and up […]

Nordic Semi nRF21540 RF front end module Extends the Range of nRF52/nRF53 Bluetooth SoC’s

A little while ago, we wrote about RFCat N32 board integrating Meshtek-H52 module with nRF52832 2.4GHz multi-protocol SoC and a Skyworks power amplifier increasing power by up to 30 times to extend the wireless range to up to 200 meters. It turns out Nordic Semi outed its own range extender module late last year with nRF21540 RF front end module (FEM) that integrates a power amplifier (PA) and low noise amplifier (LNA) optimized to boost the link budget of the nRF52 and nRF53 multi-protocol wireless SoCs. nRF21540 key features and specifications: Supported wireless standards Bluetooth Low Energy (incl. Bluetooth mesh) Thread and Zigbee (802.15.4) Proprietary 2.4 GHz Output Power – Adjustable in small increments up to +21 dBm Receive Gain – +13 dB with 2.5 dB noise figure Antennas – 2x antenna ports for antenna diversity Host Interface – I/Os, SPI, or a combination Supply Voltage – 1.7 V to […]

nRF52805 Tiny Bluetooth 5.2 SoC is Optimized for Small Two-layer PCB Designs

nRF52805 Block Diagram

Nordic Semi has just added a new member to its nRF52 Bluetooth 5 wireless SoC family with nRF52805 offered in a tiny WLCSP package measuring 2.48×2.46 mm and optimized for cost-effective 2-layer PCB designs. nRF52805 key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M4 @ 64 MHz Storage & Memory – 192 KB Flash, 24 KB RAM Wireless Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols. High bitrate – 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps +4 dBm TX power -97 dBm RX sensitivity (1 Mbps Bluetooth LE) Integrated balun with single-ended output I/Os – UART, SPI, TWI, 2-channel 12-bit ADC Security 128-bit AES Power Consumption 7 mA in TX (4 dBm) 4.6 mA in TX (0 dBm) 4.6 mA in RX (1 Mbps) 0.3 μA in System OFF 1.1 μA in System ON with 24 KB RAM retained and RTC running Supply Voltage – 3.6V max Package – 2.48×2.46 mm WLCSP Note […]

Nordic nRF52820 Bluetooth 5.2 SoC Supports Thread, Zigbee and Full Speed USB 2.0

nRF52820 Block Diagram

Nordic Semi has launched the sixth multi-protocol SoC part of their nRF52 family with nRF52820 Bluetooth 5.2 ultra low power System-on-Chip (SoC) supporting  Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE), Bluetooth mesh, as well as Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4-GHz proprietary. nRF52820 can handle all Bluetooth 5/5.1/5.2 versions with features such as Long Range, 2 Mbps throughput, direction finding, LE power control, and LE isochronous channels. The SoC also happens to include a Full Speed (12 Mbps) USB 2.0 interface. nRF52820 key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M4 @ 64 MHz Memory – 32 KB RAM Storage – 256 KB Flash Wireless Connectivity Bluetooth 2 Mbps, 1 Mbps, Long Range Bluetooth Low Energy Bluetooth Direction Finding Bluetooth mesh Thread, Zigbee 802.15.4/ANT/2.4 GHz proprietary Up to +8 dBm TX power Security – 128-bit AES encryption USB – Full Speed USB 2.0 Other Peripherals UART, 2x SPI/TWI, QDEC Analog comparator 4x 32-bit timer/counter, […]

Nordic Semi nRF52833 WiSoC Supports Bluetooth 5.1 Direction Finding, Works up to 105ºC

nRF52833-DK

Nordic Semiconductors had added a new member to their RF52 multi-protocol wireless SoCs with nRF52833 that supports Bluetooth 5.1 direction finding and can operate in a wider temperature range between -40ºC and +105°C. The company also introduced nRF52833 DK development kit for Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth mesh, Thread, Zigbee (802.15.4), and 2.4GHz proprietary applications, and some companies have already announced nRF52833 modules. Nordic Semi nRF52833 Bluetooth 5.1 SoC Key features and specifications: MCU Core – Arm Cortex-M4F @ 64 MHz Memory – 128 KB RAM Storage – 512 KB Flash Connectivity Bluetooth 5.1 @ 2 Mbps/1 Mbps/500 kbps/125 kbps 802.15.4 (Thread/Zigbee) @ 250 kbps 2.4 GHz proprietary @ 2 Mbps / 1 Mbps NFC-A tag TX power – Programmable from +8 dBm to -20 dBm in 4 dB steps Sensitivity Bluetooth 5: -103 dBm at 125 kbps; -98 dB at 500 kbps; -95 dBm at 1 Mbps; -92 dBm at […]

Nordic Thingy:91 Cellular IoT Prototyping Platform Comes with 16 Sensors

Nordic Thingy:91

Nordic Semiconductor launched the Nordic Thingy:52 back in mid-2017 in the hopes of bringing app and web developers into the hardware ecosystem as fast and easy as possible.  The Nordic Thingy:52 was a Bluetooth 5 IoT sensor development kit based on the company’s nRF52832 WiSoC. Although the Nordic Thingy:52 kit is still very much available for purchase and support always available, Nordic Semiconductor has gone further launching a new development kit called the Nordic Thingy:91 targeting cellular IoT applications. The Nordic Thingy:91 is a cellular IoT prototyping platform with support for LTE-M, NB-IoT plus GPS option. Even though IoT connectivity standards like LoRaWAN, BLE, WiFi, ZigBee, and others are very much growing and expanding, Nordic Semi is fully backing cellular technology, something that has very much been available and most likely will still keep been available, and the adoption of 5G is another testimony to that. Cellular is here, and […]

EDATEC Raspberry Pi 5 fanless case