open source

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on 15 Euros Olimex RP2040pc Raspberry Pi RP2040 computer board supports Apple and Oric Atmos emulation

15 Euros Olimex RP2040pc Raspberry Pi RP2040 computer board supports Apple and Oric Atmos emulation

Olimex RP2040pc

Olimex RP2040pc is an inexpensive “all-in-one” computer board based on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU with support for Apple //e, Apple ][+, and Oric Atmos emulation through the Reload emulator. The board features an HDMI port, stereo audio, four USB ports, and two UEXT expansion connectors. It’s not quite the first RP2040 retrocomputing board from Olimex, as they introduced the RP2040-PICO-PC in 2021 with an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card slot before launching the Olimex NEO6502, which combines a MOS6502 MCU for Apple II, Oric, and Commodore 64 emulators with an RP2040 for HDMI/DVI video output and a few other things. The RP2040pc is similar to the latter, but with more ports and features, and everything is handled by the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller. Olimex RP2040pc specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ MCU @ 133 MHz with 264 KB SRAM Storage – 16MB […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on CapibaraZero firmware enables low-cost Flipper Zero alternatives based on ESP32-S3 hardware

CapibaraZero firmware enables low-cost Flipper Zero alternatives based on ESP32-S3 hardware

CapibaraZero ESP32-S3 Flipper Zero alternative

CapibaraZero open-source firmware aims to offer a low-cost alternative to Flipper Zero for ESP32-S3-based hardware platforms and soon other gizmos with ESP32 wireless microcontrollers, notably the LilyGO T-Embed CC1101, similar to the original T-Embed with ESP32-S3 WiSoC, but also featuring a Texas Instruments CC1101 Sub-GHz microcontroller and an NXP PN532 NFC/RFID module. The Flipper Zero is a popular portable multi-tool for pentesters and hardware hackers based on STMicro STM32WB55 Bluetooth 5 LE & 802.15.4 wireless microcontroller and a TI CC1101 Sub-Ghz MCU that got involved in controversies such as a ban proposal in Canada last year due to its (dubious) potential use for car theft. Since then we’ve seen several alternatives such as Monstatek M1 (that’s yet to be delivered to backers…) and HackBat open-source hardware with Raspberry Pi RP2040,  ESP8266 WiFi module, and the CC1101 RF transceiver. The CapibaraZero firmware offers another way to create your own cheap Flipper […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on SoundSlide capacitive touch USB-C adapter aims to ease volume control on laptops

SoundSlide capacitive touch USB-C adapter aims to ease volume control on laptops

USB-C capacitive touch volume control

SoundSlide is an open-source hardware USB-C adapter that adds a capacitive touch interface to your laptop or keyboard PC in order to control the volume without having to reach out to the volume keys on the keyboard that may require Alt or Fn presses. SoundSlide is meant to be more intuitive than pressing keys and works without drivers with macOS, Windows, and Linux. At just 20.9 x 6.9 x 3.5 mm in size excluding the USB Type-C port, you can leave it connected to your laptop when you move around or put the laptop in your backpack. The SoundSlide relies on the touch interface from the Microchip SAM D11 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, and the company behind the project – Drake Labs – has made the firmware, schematics (PDF/WebP), and a command-line interface written on Go available on GitHub. You can check out how it works on a laptop in the […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - 1 Comment on ESP32 Rainbow is an open-source, ESP32-S3-powered ZX Spectrum single board computer (Crowdfunding)

ESP32 Rainbow is an open-source, ESP32-S3-powered ZX Spectrum single board computer (Crowdfunding)

ESP32 Rainbow

Retrocomputing enthusiasts will be delighted to learn that a new ZX Spectrum replica is on the market: the ESP32 Rainbow. The single board computer swaps the Zilog Z80 for an ESP32-S3 microcontroller chip running an emulator, bringing the classic 80s computer back to life with a modern twist. It features a built-in color display, a microSD card slot for storage, a built-in touch keyboard in the ZX Spectrum style, and a USB Type-C port for power and data. The keyboard was recreated using full-color UV printing and is the most true-to-life component of the ESP32-S3-based ZX Spectrum single board computer. The touch keys won’t likely offer the best typing experience but that is reminiscent of the original ZX Spectrum. A lovely cherry on top is that the onboard USB-C port supports HID and the device can be used as a keyboard on another computer. The ZX Spectrum is one of […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on High-speed data acquisition with Raspberry Pi Pico 2’s HSTX interface and HDMI to USB 3.0 video capture dongle

High-speed data acquisition with Raspberry Pi Pico 2’s HSTX interface and HDMI to USB 3.0 video capture dongle

Raspberry Pi Pico 2 high-speed data acquisition

We previously explained the HSTX high-speed serial transmit interface of the Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller was mostly useful for video outputs and display interfaces since it can only transmit, and not receive data. But Steve Markgraf found another use case for the HSTX interface – high-speed data acquisition – combining a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board with the DVI Sock board for Pico and one of those cheap MS2130-based HDMI to USB 3.0 video capture dongles. He managed to stream out up to 75 MB/s of real-time data from an overclocked RP2350 to a host computer with a USB 3.0 port. The Adafruit Feather RP2350 HSTX board should also work, but also not been tested. Steve’s “hsdaoh-rp2350” data acquisition over HDMI firmware is based on the dvi_out_hstx_encoder example from Raspberry Pi using the HSTX interface for DVI output and code by Shuichi Takano implementing the HDMI data island encoding required […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - No Comments on CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3-based open-source modular robotics platform supports up to 16 servos (Crowdfunding)

CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3-based open-source modular robotics platform supports up to 16 servos (Crowdfunding)

CYOBot v2 ESP32-S3 modular robotics platform

Create Your Own Bot (CYOBot) v2 is an open-source, modular robotics platform for students, educators, hobbyists, and future engineers based on the ESP32-S3 microcontroller and featuring up to 16 servo motors for complex control. The CYOBot v2 is a follow-up to the previous quadrupedal robotic platform from the same company. It adds new features such as a modular design, an upgrade to the ESP32-S3 chip, more motor channels, and an expansion block with more peripherals. It also supports integrating AI systems, such as ChatGPT, for added functionality. The CYOBot supports up to three configurations via the CYOBrain — which powers the robotics platform and controls the servo motors — and separate 3D-printed components. The CYOBot Crawler is a four-legged robot powered by eight 180-degree servo motors. The CYOBot Wheeler form factor features four 360-degree motors linked to wheels at the end of each leg and is essentially a hybrid between […]

Posted on by Tomisin Olujinmi - 3 Comments on Signaloid C0-microSD is an iCE40UP5K FPGA SoM in the microSD card form factor (Crowdfunding)

Signaloid C0-microSD is an iCE40UP5K FPGA SoM in the microSD card form factor (Crowdfunding)

Signaloid iCE40UP5K FPGA SoM in use

Cambridge-based hardware and cloud computing company, Signaloid has begun crowdfunding for the C0-microSD – a tiny, programmable iCE40UP5K FPGA system-on-module (SoM) in a microSD card form factor. It comes preloaded with a RISC-V softcore and users can also load custom FPGA designs onto the board. Part of the Signaloid C0-microSD’s unique appeal is its SD card form factor, which allows it to fit in unused full SD or microSD slots. This allows the implementation of FPGA-based hardware acceleration in systems without traditional expansion interfaces like PCIe M.2 slots. It can also be interfaced with as a standard SD block device and used to bring hardware-accelerated data processing to existing industrial automation, manufacturing, and robotics systems. The iCE40UP5K FPGA SoM has two main use cases: a hot-pluggable FPGA module or a hot-pluggable RISC-V co-processor module. The SD interface allows you to load custom FPGA bitstreams and applications onto the module from […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on MicroPython v1.24 release adds support for RP2350 and ESP32-C6 microcontrollers, various RISC-V improvements

MicroPython v1.24 release adds support for RP2350 and ESP32-C6 microcontrollers, various RISC-V improvements

Micropython v1.24 with ESP32-C6 and RP2350 support

MicroPython has become one of the most popular ways of programming microcontrollers, and the just-released MicroPython v1.24 adds support for the widely-used Raspberry Pi RP2350 and Espresif ESP32-C6 microcontrollers and a range of other changes. Those include improved RISC-V support with native code generation, an updated Zephyr v3.7.0 RTOS with threading support, unified TinyUSB bindings across ports, a portable UART IRQ API, and enhanced mpremote recursive copy. Damien George goes into more detail about the RISC-V improvements: … include an RV32IMC native code emitter, native NLR and GC register scanning implementations for 32- and 64-bit RISC-V, support for placing RV32IMC native code in .mpy files and also freezing it, and RISC-V semihosting support. Testing for RISC-V is done with the qemu and unix ports, and the support is utilised in the esp32 and rp2 ports. The Raspberry Pi RP2350 comes with both Arm Cortex-M33 and RISC-V cores, and the good […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC