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November 27, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

Brume 2 router review with WireGuard, OpenVPN, Tor, and Adguard Home

We started the review of GL.inet GL-MT2500A security gateway, aka Brume 2, with an unboxing and teardown, and I’ve now had time to test the router in more detail so I’ll report my experience using the router with OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN, Tor, Adguard Home, and more. In a nutshell, it’s super easy to use, unless your ISP causes troubles, which it did in this case. Brume 2 connection and initial setup I connected the WAN port of the Brume 2 router to 3BB’s modem router (3BB is an ISP in Thailand), the LAN port to my laptop, and finally the USB-C power supply (power draws is 2.3 Watts at idle). Let’s now go to the dashboard using the default IP (192.168.8.1). This will take us through the configuration wizard to select the language and set up the admin password. I was then immediately greeted by an “Upgrade Reminder” and […]

November 5, 2022November 5, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Getting started with e-CAM20_CURB camera for Raspberry Pi 4

e-con Systems e-CAM20_CURB is a 2.3 MP fixed focus global shutter color camera designed for the Raspberry Pi 4, and the company has sent us a sample for evaluation and review. We’ll start by providing specifications, before checking out the package content, connecting the camera to the Raspberry Pi 4 with a DIY LEGO mount, showing how to access the resources for the camera, and trying tools provided in the Raspberry Pi OS or Yocto Linux image. e-CAM20_CURB specifications The camera is comprised of two boards with the following specifications: eCAM217_CUMI0234_MOD full HD color camera with 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 interface ON Semiconductor AR0234CS CMOS sensor with 1/2.6″ optical form-factor Global Shutter Onboard ISPimage sensor from ON Semiconductor Uncompressed UYVY streaming HD (1280 x 720) up to 120 fps Full HD (1920 x 1080) up to 65 fps 2.3 MP (1920 x 1200) up to 60 fps External Hardware Trigger Input […]

November 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Review of myCobot 280 Pi robotic arm with Python and visual programming

myCobot 280 Pi is a versatile robotic arm with a 6 degree of freedom design. It was developed by Elephant Robotics using the Raspberry Pi 4 board as the main controller. The robot is compact and delivers stable operation making it ideal for confined spaces. It can also be programmed in a variety of languages, is easy to use, and offers a lot of features. It is suitable for those who are interested in learning how to program a robotic arm controller and for engineering projects. Unboxing myCobot 280 Pi The myCobot 280 Pi arm has a working range of 280 mm, weighs 850 grams, and can handle a payload of up to 250 grams. It is powered by 6 servo motors, one for each degree of freedom, and comes with a 5×5 matrix LED display, and supports LEGO parts as well. Controlled by a Raspberry Pi 4 single board […]

October 20, 2022October 24, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Making a weather station with Maker Pi Pico Mini board and SparkFun SerLCD display

Cytron’s Maker Pi Pico Mini comes with a Raspberry Pi Pico or Raspberry Pi Pico W microcontroller board. It has the same features as the larger Maker Pi Pico including a GPIO LED, WS2812B Neopixel RGB LED, a passive piezo buzzer, programmable push buttons, and a reset button. I would like to thank Cytron for sending the Maker Pi Pico Mini board fitted with a Raspberry Pi Pico W as well as a character RGB LCD and a 3.7V Lithium Polymer battery. In this tutorial, we will show how to make an Internet connected weather station with the Maker Pi Pico Mini board using Arduino code and the OpenWeather API. We’ve already covered the Maker Pi Pico Mini board, so we’ll have a closer look at the accessories SparkFun SerLCD character display The SparkFun SerLCD is a 16×2 character display with a Microchip ATmega328P microcontroller that handles commands sent from […]

October 1, 2022October 2, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Using SenseCraft firmware for no-code programming on Wio Terminal

In the conclusion of our SenseCAP K1100 Sensor Prototype kit review with LoRaWAN and Vision AI, the author suggested that it would be great if SeeedStudio could develop a new firmware that can connect without coding instead of using Arduino programming: I had to rely on my knowledge and experience with LoRaWAN to transmit data wirelessly over long distances. That’s because LoRaWAN has a more complicated connection process than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It would be great if Seeed Studio could develop a new firmware that can connect without any coding It did not take long, as SeeedStudio very recently released the first version of SenseCraft open source smart sensor software for no-code sense, process, and uplink that happens to be compatible with the Wio Terminal part of the SenseCAP K1100 development kit. So let’s test the new SenseCraft firmware together. SenseCraft navigation keys We can use Wio Terminal’s joystick as follows: […]

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

How to check TDP (PL1 and PL2 power limits) in Windows and Linux

A TDP (Thermal Design Power) value in Watts will usually be provided for Intel and AMD processors to help manufacturers design an appropriate thermal solution for a given processor, and it’s often used to estimate power consumption by consumers. But TDP is also often configurable, and manufacturers may decide to increase to decrease the value for higher performance or lower power consumption, so we’ll show you how to check the TDP value, or more exactly PL1 and PL2 power limits in both Windows 11 and Linux (Ubuntu 22.04). Note that TDP is being replaced by PBP (Processor Base Power) in newer processors, with PL1 (Long Duration) corresponding to BPB, and PL2 (Short Duration) to Maximum Turbo Power (MTP), at least on Intel chips. Check the TDP values in Windows 11 You’ll first need to install HWiNFO64 program, then start it leaving all options unticked (default), and go to Control Processor(s) […]

August 23, 2022November 15, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

AI, computer vision meet LoRaWAN with SenseCAP K1100 sensor prototype kit

Wio Terminal Grove Vision AI LoRaWAN module

CNXSoft: This is another tutorial using SenseCAP K1100 sensor prototype kit translated from CNX Software Thai. This post shows how computer vision/AI vision can be combined with LoRaWAN using the Arduino-programmable Wio Terminal, a Grove camera module, and LoRa-E5 module connecting to a private LoRaWAN network using open-source tools such as Node-RED and InfluxDB. In the first part of SenseCAP K1100 review/tutorial we connected various sensors to the Wio Terminal board and transmitted the data wirelessly through the LoRa-E5 LoRaWAN module after setting the frequency band for Thailand (AS923). In the second part, we’ll connect the Grove Vision AI module part of the SenseCAP K1100 sensor prototype kit to the Wio Terminal in order to train models to capture faces and display the results from the camera on the computer. and evaluate the results of how accurate the Face detection Model is. Finally, we’ll send the data (e.g. confidence) using […]

August 21, 2022 by Karl Johnson - 3 Comments

Making a DIY 10.1-inch All-in-One PC out of AMR5 Ryzen 5 gaming mini PC

Hey Karl here. The first thing I need to do is thank the manufacturer of the brand Ace Magician for sending over a unit of their AMR5 gaming mini PC to more or less play with. I did a tiny bit of benchmarking along the way. This is the last time you will see the system in this state 😀 Story time. I have been really wanting a Steam Deck. But we purchased a Nintendo Switch about a year ago and it has barely been used. As soon as my son picked it up he asked why it was so laggy and has shown very little interest in it. So that got me worried about purchasing essentially a one-trick device. There have been a couple of good attempts at a DIY Steam Deck and I wanted to experiment with a small form factor. I went into this with a general […]