solar News - Page 4 of 5 - CNX Software

July 17, 2016July 17, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Wanscam HW0029-4 is a Solar Powered All Weather IP Security Camera with WiFi, 3G/4G Connectivity

I’ve just watched a video on ARMDevices.net about Enlaps Tikee solar powered device designed to take timelapses over several days and transfer the pictures / video over WiFi, 3G, or 4G. The project has been fully funded on Indiegogo at the beginning of the year, and shipping is scheduled for Q4 2016. It looks like an interesting device for a niche market, but since I’ve noticed some products launched on Kickstarter already exists in one form or another in China, I’ve decided to have a look on Aliexpress, and I found Wanscan HW00269-4 solar powered camera with 3G/4G connectivity, and while it addresses a completely different need, as a 720p IP security camera, I still decided to have a closer look. Wanscam HW0029-4 specifications: SoC – Hisilicon Hi3518E ARM9 processor @ 440 MHz Storage – Built-in 16GB, expandable to 128GB Camera / video recording 1/2 1MP Star light CMOS sensor 8mm […]

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

OpenCellular is Facebook’s (soon to be) Open Source Wireless Access Platform

A few months after Canonical and Lime Micro LimeSDR open source software defined radio aiming to be used as a development platform, but also as the base for low cost cellular or other wireless base stations, Facebook has announced their own open source wireless access platform with OpenCellular project whose goal is to lower the cost of Internet connectivity in remote areas where the infrastructure does not exist. This is how Marc Zuckerberg summarizes the project: We designed OpenCellular as an open system so anyone — from telecom operators to researchers to entrepreneurs — can build and operate wireless networks in remote places. It’s about the size of a shoe box and can support up to 1,500 people from as far as 10 kilometers away. Along with our solar-powered aircraft Aquila and high-bandwidth laser beams, OpenCellular is the next step on our journey to provide better, more affordable connectivity to […]

May 10, 2016June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

LX IoT Cores Are Made for IoT and Wearables with Bluetooth LE, ANT+, 2G/3G, Sigfox, LoRa, and More

LX Group, an Australian company specializing in electronics design and embedded systems, has introduced three wireless modules for IoT and wearables which they call “LX IoT Cores”, and embeds various wireless protocol such as Bluetooth LE/Ant+, 2G/3G connectivity, WiFi, Lora, Sigfox, Taggle, etc… Let’s go though the main technical specs for the three modules, one of which it itself modular (hence the max and min size) depending on your requirements. LX Cellular Core (Right) MCU – STMicro STM32F217IGH6 ARM Cortex-M3 MCU @ 120 MHz with 1MB flash, 128kB RAM Storage – 1x micro SD card reader Communication Interfaces Radios – 2G/3G, WiFi, BLE, ANT+, provision for LoRa, Taggle, SigFox, optional GPS via daughter board Wired – USB, RS485, UART, SPI, I2C, Digital IO, ADC Sensors – Ambient Luminosity, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, temperature, humidity, air pressure, microphone USB – 1x micro USB port Misc – Reset and 2x user buttons, 2x […]

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

LoRaONE is a Small LoRa IoT Development Board Based on Atmel SAMD21 MCU, Microchip LoRaWAN Module (Crowdfunding)

While there are many long range LPWAN standards, LoRa appears to be one of the most popular with boards such as LoPy, and now SODAQ LoRaONE module hitting crowdfunding campaigns. LoRaONE is powered by an Atmel Cortex M0+ micro-controller, features Microchip RN2483 or RN2903 LoRaWAN module, GPS, and various sensors. LoRaONE board specifications: MCU- Atmel ATSAMD21G18 ARM Cortex M0+ micro-controller @ 48 MHz with 256 KB flash memory, 32KB SRAM, and up to 16 KB EEPROM (by emulation) Connectivity LoRa via Microchip RN2483 (433/868 MHz) or RN2903 (915 MHz) module depending on your region GPS via u-blox EVA 7M USB – 1x micro USB port for power and programming Expansion headers (unpopulated) 14x digital pin, 12x for analog and 8x for PWM, plus UART, SPI and TWI (I2C) Analog output pin – 10-bit DAC External Interrupts: Available on all pins DC Current per I/O pin: 7 mA Operating Voltage – […]

December 4, 2015October 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Cypress Unveils a $49 Solar Powered IoT Development Kit with Bluetooth LE Connectivity

Cypress Semiconductors has recently launched a Solar powered IoT device kit, with the easy-to-remember codename S6SAE101A00SA1002, featuring the company’s CYBLE-022001-00 Bluetooth Smart module, and S6AE101A energy harvesting power management IC (PMIC) on the main board, as well as all accessories such as a small solar panel, a BLE-USB bridge, and all necessary components and cables. Target applications include battery-less wireless sensor node (WSN), IoT device that monitors various sensors, BLE Beacon, wearable device, building energy management system (BEMS), Home EMS, Factory EMSystem, wireless lighting control,wireless HVAC sensor and security system. The main features of the Energy harvesting motherboard include: Cypress CYBLE-022001-00 Bluetooth Smart module with ARM Cortex-M0 @ 48MHz, 128 KB flash, 16KB SRAM Cypress S6AE101A energy harvesting PMIC Sensor – Temperature & humidity sensor USB – 1x USB port for programming and debugging Debugging – SWD (serial Wire Debug) connector, JTAG header for USB-BLE Expansion – Sensor expansion connector […]

March 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

PiJuice Battery HAT Module for the Raspberry Pi Boards Comes with an Optional Solar Panel (Crowdfunding)

The Raspberry Pi is a low power board that can be powered a few hours or a few days with batteries, and the easiest solution is probably to use a USB power bank connected to the micro USB port of the board, but the solution is not really integrated. That’s where PiJuice comes into play. It’s a HAT compatible module that connects nicely to the latest Raspberry Pi boards with 40-pin header (A+, B+ and B2), and include a 1,400 mAh battery that can be used as UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply), an RTC, and more. Key features of PiJuice HAT: 1400 mAh Lipo battery, good enough to last up to 24 hrs in constant use. 5,000 mAh batteries are also said to be supported. Full UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) solution Integrated RTC (Real Time Clock) On board intelligent on/off switch Low power deep-sleep state with wake on interrupt/calendar event On […]

February 21, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 25 Comments

USB Solar Power Bank Review

A few months ago, I won a $5 coupon for DealExtreme, and decided to buy a “Portable 5V (30,000mAh) Li-ion Battery Solar Power Bank w/ Dual USB + LED – Black + White” for just over $20. For the price, solar charging was a nice bonus, and the 30,000 mAh was probably a “mistake” but it did not really matter. The SKU is gone, but 1BA-2 Solar power bank ($23.97) appears to be a very similar product. I did not plan to write about this gadget, but a few things happened that made me change my mind. First. it took over two months to reach me, instead of the usual 2 to 4 weeks. I ordered on the 9th of November 2013, and received the package on the 25th of January 2014. The reason being that the package got declined by Thai immigration (I live in Thailand). DealExtreme could not […]

August 6, 2013August 6, 2013 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

WeWi SOL Ubuntu Laptop is Powered by an Intel Atom Processor and Solar Energy

WeWi Telecommunications has designed a solaptop (Solar-powered laptop) with 4 foldable solar panels in order to recharge the battery. WeWi SOL is powered by Intel Atom D2500, with 4GB RAM, features a 13.3″ display, and runs Ubuntu. It will be sold for only $300 to $400. WeWi SOL specifications: CPU – Intel Atom D2500 @ 1.86 GHz Dual Core, Intel 945GSE + ICH7M GPU – Built-In Intel GMA3600 Graphics, 1080p HD Video System Memory – 2 to 4GB DDRIII SDRAM (Kingston) Storage – 2.5” SATA HDD 320GB (Seagate) + Card reader (SD/MS/MMC) Display – 13.3″ LCD, WXGA, 1366 x 768 Video Output – HDMI Audio – Realtek ALC661 HD Audio, built-in stereo speakers, internal mic + 3.5mm headphone jack Connectivity: 10/100M Ethernet 3G/4G World/multimode LTE Modem GPS (gpsOne Gen8A) WiFi – MIMO 802.11b/gn (2.4/5GHz) Bluetooth – Integrated Digital Core BT4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 Camera – 3MP Battery Operating Time […]