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June 18, 2025 by Paisit Wongsongsarn - 3 Comments

SONOFF iPlug S60 Zigbee Smart Plug (S60ZBTPF) review with eWelink and Home Assistant

Sonoff iPlug S60 Zigbee S60ZBTPF smart plug review

At the end of 2023, CNX Software covered the SONOFF iPlug S60 Wi-Fi Smart Plug, the first model out of the S60 series. Recently, SONOFF has released a Zigbee version, and the company’s sent us a review sample of the SONOFF iPlug S60 (S60ZBTPF). The S60ZBTPF is the successor of SONOFF S31 ZB (2019) and SONOFF S40ZBTPB Lite (2021), and adds energy monitoring capability, making it the first Zigbee smart plug from SONOFF with a power meter function. It also works as a Zigbee Router to extend your Zigbee network coverage at home. SONOFF iPlug S60 Zigbee unboxing Inside the box, you’ll find just the smart plug itself and a quick guide manual. The unit we received is a Type E/F plug. As of the time of this review, only two versions are available on the market. That’s Type E/F for Europe and Type G for the UK. We believe […]

June 17, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

ESP32-S3 development board integrates SI4732 AM/FM radio receiver

LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AM/FM radio, a TFT display, a rotary encoder, a built-in microphone, and a microSD card slot powered through a USB-C port or LiPo battery. As its name implies, it’s based on the earlier LILYGO T-Embed battery-powered WiFi and BLE controller with a display and rotary encoder, but also adds a Skyworks SI4732 AM//FM/SW/LW radio receiver to the mix. LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 1.9-inch IPS color TFT LCD with 320 x 170 resolution (ST7789V SPI driver) Audio – 2x microphones, 8 Ohm @ 1W speaker Radio – Skyworth […]

June 10, 2025 by Debashis Das - 3 Comments

$7 NearLink WS63E board supports Wi-Fi 6, BLE, and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE)

The HiHope_NearLink_DK_WS63E_V03 is a low-power NearLink dev board built around the HiHope HH-SPARK-WS63E module, which features the HiSilicon NearLink WS63E SoC with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, BLE 5.2, and SparkLink (SLE) 1.0 support. It’s designed for Smart Home and AIoT applications requiring low power and high security. The NearLink WS63E SoC features a 240MHz 32-bit CPU, 606KB SRAM, and a 4MB flash. The board exposes various interfaces like SPI, QSPI, I2C, UART, ADC, PWM, and GPIOs through GPIO headers. Security features include hardware AES, RSA, ECC, and FIPS140-2-compliant RNG. Target applications include Smart Home appliances, wearables, medical monitoring, industrial testing, energy management, and Smart Agriculture. HiHope NearLink_DK_WS63E specifications: SoC – HiSilicon NearLink WS63E 32-bit microprocessor up to 240 MHz 606 KB SRAM, 300 KB ROM 4MB embedded Flash Wireless (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax (ch1–ch14), 20/40MHz (n), 20MHz (ax) Data rates: up to 150 Mbps (HT40), 114.7 Mbps (HE20) MAC: 802.11d/e/i/k/v/w; Features: A-MPDU, […]

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Credit card-sized industrial Allwinner T113-i SBC operates in the -40 to 85°C temperature range

Ebyte ECB30-P4T13IA5ME8G-I is a credit card-sized industrial-grade SBC powered by an Allwinner T113-i Cortex-A7 SoC with 512MB DDR3 RAM and 8GB flash, all part of the company’s ECK30-T13IA5ME8G-I castellated system-on-module. The single board computer is also equipped with a microSD card slot, a gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a WiFi 4 module, and the usual 40-pin GPIO header that’s more or less compatible with the one found on Raspberry Pi SBCs. What’s different is the lack of HDMI output, and the board features an MIPI DSI connector instead. Ebyte ECB30-P4T13IA5ME8G-I specifications: System-on-Module – Ebyte ECK30-T13IA1GE8G-I SoC – Allwinner T113-i CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-A7 clocked at up to 1.2 GHz 64-bit XuanTie C906 RISC-V real-time core DSP – HiFi4 VPU Video decoder – H.265 up to 4K @ 30 FPS, H.264 up to 4K @ 24 FPS, MPEG-1/2/4, JPEG, Xvid, Sorenson Spark up to 1080p60 […]

June 3, 2025June 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

MOKO LW005-MP – A LoRaWAN Smart Plug and power meter

Moko LW005-MP LoRaWAN Smart Plug Power Meter

The MOKO LW005-MP is a LoRaWAN smart plug for indoor power and energy consumption monitoring, featuring sockets compliant with EU, US, UK, and FRA standards and suitable for industrial equipment control, power monitoring, and energy management. The UL-certified smart plug operates with 100-230V AC mains, offers 0.5% power measurement accuracy, supports Bluetooth 4.0 for initial configuration and OTA updates, and can be controlled with LoRaWAN commands, an open-source mobile app, or a physical button. MOKO LW005-MP specifications: Wireless Bluetooth LE V4.0 for local configuration and OTA updates. LoRa Protocol – LoRaWAN V1.0.3 Supported frequency bands – CN470, EU868, AU915, US915, AS923, IN865, KR920, EU433, CN779, and RU864 Max Transmit Power – +21dBm Rx Sensitivity – -137dBm @ SF12 300bps Range – Up to 7 km in urban open space Power measurement accuracy – ±0.5% Misc Power and pairing button 2x RGB LED indicators display network status and power consumption levels. […]

June 2, 2025June 3, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box features 4-inch square touch display for Smart Home and IIoT applications

Designed for Smart Home or industrial IoT (IIoT) applications, Waveshare’s ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box is equipped with a 4-inch square touchscreen display, an ESP32-C6 module with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth connectivity, and a range of connectors. Two models are offered: the ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-4B with a MIPI CSI camera connector and a 28-pin GPIO header, and the ESP32-P4-86-Panel-ETH-2RO with a bottom board that features an RS485 serial interface, two relays, a 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 connector, and 6V-30V DC input. ESP32-P4 Smart 86 Box specifications: Main module – ESP32-P4-Core Module Microcontroller – ESP32-P4NRW32 MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – 768 KB HP L2MEM, 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM, 32MB PSRAM Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 […]

May 30, 2025May 30, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Battery-powered SQUiXL devkit pairs 4-inch touchscreen display with ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC

Unexpected Maker’s SQUiXL is a battery-powered ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth IoT controller and development platform with a 4-inch touchscreen display with 480×480 resolution. Designed for makers, hardware engineers, embedded developers, and home automation enthusiasts, the SQUiXL integrates with 8MB PSRAM and a 16MB SPI flash for plenty of resources for the firmware. Other features include a microSD card, an amplifier with speaker connector, a haptic driver and motor, an RTC, and a STEMMA/Qt connector for expansion. SQUiXL specifications: WiSoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 @ up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB RAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh Memory – 8MB octal PSRAM Storage 16MB QSPI flash MicroSD card slot (multiplexed with audio amplified) Display – 4-inch 480×480 RGB display with capacitive touch (GT911) Audio MAX98357A I2S Audio Amplifier (multiplexed with microSD card […]

May 29, 2025June 2, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

OBJEX Link S3LW ultra-low-power ESP32-S3 LoRaWAN board takes up to 100W power input

OBJEX Link S3LW is a small development board based on the ultra-low-power ELPM-S3LW module with ESP32-S3 MCU and LoRaWAN connectivity and the ability to take 100W input via USB-C or a 2-pin terminal block for driving motors, controlling RGB LED strips, and other high-power projects. It’s compliant with the USB PD standard, features two 28-pin headers and a STEMMA I2C connector for expansion, as well as a built-in CP2102/CP2104 USB to serial bridge for debugging, and a few buttons. The company also offers an OBJEX ELPM-S3 module and OBJEX Link S3 board with the same features, minus LoRa/LoRaWAN support. OBJEX Link S3LW specifications: Wireless module ELPM-S3LW v1.2 Wireless SoC – ESP32-S3FN8 CPU – Dual-core 32-bit Xtensa LX7 microcontroller with AI vector instructions up to 240MHz, RISC-V ULP co-processor Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4GHz WiFi 4 (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0 BLE + Mesh LoRa support LoRa […]