raspberry pi News - CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 23, 2021July 23, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

$5 board eases ATX power supply connection to single board computers

ZJ-012 ATX Power Supply single board computer

Many people have ATX power supplies from older desktop PCs that they may want to reuse with Arduino boards, Raspberry Pi, or other single board computers. It’s indeed possible to do so by trimming some cables and making a circuit to protect the board from over-voltage or over-current. But ZJ-012 adapter board offers a simpler solution with a 24-pin header for the ATX power supply, terminal blocks for connection to the target board, some fuses for protection, and a header to connect an on/off button. JZ-012 (also known as JZ-024) ATX power adapter board’s key features and specifications: Power Input – 20-pin or 24-pin computer ATX power supply Power output – 9-pin terminal block with +3.3V, +5V, -12V, +12V, +5V, GND with fuses for each power outputs On/Off control – Toggle switch or header for external button/switch (shorted for power on) Misc – Power indicator (red LED) Dimensions – 70 […]

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

MagikEye Developer Kit enables 120 fps 3D sensing on Raspberry Pi

MagikEye ILT001 developer kit (DK-ILT001) is a low-latency 3D sensing kit that connects to the Raspberry Pi’s MIPI CSI camera connector, and features the company’s Invertible Light Technology (ILT) module with an infrared laser and a CMOS image sensor. The company says a “unique algorithm” developed in-house can generate 3D point cloud datasets acquired at high speeds (up to 120 fps) and with very low latency using simple hardware configuration. The kit targets researchers, students, and hobbyists working on machine vision, robotics, automated carriers, and other projects that can benefit from low-latency 3D sensing. MagikEye DK-ILT001 kit key features and specifications 850nm infrared light laser CMOS image sensor Range up to 1.5 meters (15 to 80 cm recommended) Compatibility – Raspberry Pi Zero W/3B/3B+/4 Power Supply – 3.3V (via MIPI Interface on Raspberry Pi) Power Consumption – 0.6W (average) Dimensions – 44 x 24 x 16 mm (within enclosure) Weight […]

July 19, 2021July 20, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 43 Comments

ROCK 3A SBC brings M.2 slots for NVMe SSD, WiFi 6 to Raspberry Pi form factor

Radxa ROCK 3A is a single board computer powered by Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor that closely follows Raspberry Pi 3 Model B form factor like the early Rock Pi 4 SBC, but with a twist. By switching from a Rockchip RK3399 to a Rockchip RK3568, the board loses some CPU and GPU performance, but gains extra I/Os with enabled the company to add an additional M.2 slot with PCIe to ROCK 3A board, meaning it’s now possible to attach one NVMe SSD and another M.2 module like a WiFi 6 M.2 card. ROCK 3A preliminary specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Cortex A55 processor at up to 2GHz, with Mali G52 GPU, 0.8TOPS NPU System Memory – 2GB, 4GB, 8GB LPDDR4 3200MT/s, up to 1560MHz Storage Pluggable eMMC module MicroSD card slot M.2 M key socket for NVMe with PCIe 3.0 x2 lanes 4MB SPI flash with support for […]

July 13, 2021July 15, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server includes UPS and OLED information display

While the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC has greater multimedia capabilities, it can also be used for headless projects like mini servers or networked access storage (NAS). Michael Klements’s DIY Raspberry Pi 4 mini server is especially interesting as it’s cute, and includes a UPS to handle power failures, plus an OLED display to show information. Here’s the final result. Ideally, you’d need a laser cutter and a 3D printer like the Ender 3 Pro to make the case, but most of the parts are off-the-shelf components including: A Raspberry Pi 4 SBC together with a 32GB MicroSD card for the operating system 52Pi/GeeekPi UPS Plus module (about $25) plus one or two 18650 Lithium-Ion Cells A Low Profile Ice Tower for cooling, but you could probably switch to your own (passive) cooling solution and make the device slightly more compact A 128×64 I2C OLED Display A 5V/3A Power Supply Accessories […]

July 12, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

PiSugar S and PiSugar S Pro – Lower cost batteries for Raspberry Pi

PiSugar battery for the Raspberry Pi Zero was introduced around two years ago, followed the next year with a 5,000mAh PiSugar 2 battery for Raspberry Pi 3/4 which is currently sold for $49.99. But the company has now designed lower-cost versions of the batteries with PiSugar S for Raspberry Pi Zero board, and PiSugar S Pro for Raspberry Pi 3/4 single board computers. PiSugar S Pro – Battery for Raspberry Pi 3/4 PiSugar S Pro offers a 5,000 mAh battery capacity with up to 3A output current for a typical battery life of 8 to 10 hours. A micro USB port and a USB Type-C port can be used for charging. The board also adds a GPIO button to turn on and off the Raspberry Pi board cleanly, or alternatively can be used as a custom button when the board is running. The battery module also supports the UPS function […]

July 6, 2021July 6, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

RAKwireless announces 14 new WisBlock modules for IoT prototyping

Rakwireless has added 14 new Wisblock modules to the WisBlock IoT modular system introduced last year, plans to soon release a Raspberry Pi RP2040 based LoRaWAN Wisblock Core module, and will give away some Wisblock starter kits this week. As a reminder WisBlock IoT modular system is comprised of four block types: WisBlock Base – A carrier board with connectors for other block types, power supply, some ports WisBlock Core – Module with a microcontroller/processor WisBlock Sensor – Modules with environmental sensors, motion sensors, ambient light sensors, or others WisBlock IO – Adds more inputs, outputs, or connectivity options including LTE-M / NB-IoT, cellular and Wi-Fi modules, NFC reader, and interfaces for I2C, UART, ADC, and GPIO. New WisBlock IO and Sensor modules Some modules are available right now, while others have been announced, but just coming soon Here’s a list of the 10 modules available now: RAK12002 – RTC […]

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Relay expansion board for Raspberry Pi includes 4.3-inch touchscreen display (Crowdfunding)

PiRelay 8-Channel Raspberry Pi touchscreen display

There are plenty of multi-relay boards for Raspberry Pi, but since those are often combined with an HMI for control, SB Components decided to offer an all-in-one solution with an expansion board equipped with eight relays and a 4.3-inch touchscreen display connected to a Raspberry Pi via HDMI and USB. PiRelay 8 specifications: Relays 8x relays with 3.3V/5V trigger signal Input – 250V AC/7A, 30V DC/10A Screw terminal blocks NO (Normally Open) and NC (Normally Closed) modes available Isolation – EL357NC optocouplers with current transfer ratio (CTR) of 50-600% at IF=5mA, VCE=5V Display support – Optional 4.3-inch touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution, HDMI input for video, USB for touchscreen support. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI audio output, a speaker connector, and mounting holes for the Raspberry Pi. 40-pin GPIO header to connect a Raspberry Pi SBC (Pi 4, Pi 3B+, Pi 3, […]

June 28, 2021July 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Custom Raspberry Pi 3 SBC with eMMC flash powers gateway for washing machines

As I was browsing some group on Facebook, I noticed somebody had bought a custom Broadcom BCM2837 SBC that looks very much like a Raspberry Pi 3 board, and that thing was apparently bought from a Saleng, a three-wheeled motorbike with a side cart where people can buy and sell old/second-hand items. All good fun… So without further ado, here’s what the board looks like… Click for higher resolution photos. Both MIPI CSI and DSI connectors are gone, and so is the AV jack. Two of the USB 2.0 ports have made place for a micro USB port and some headers. Looking at the bottom of the board, the MicroSD card slot is gone, because there’s a 16GB Kingston eMMC flash for storage in that location. At first, I was quite confused, first because the Raspberry Pi logo is nowhere to found, then it’s the first “Raspberry Pi” SBC I […]