usb

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on Convert old IR remote controls into presentation clickers using an RP2040 USB board and open-source TTVKTR firmware

Convert old IR remote controls into presentation clickers using an RP2040 USB board and open-source TTVKTR firmware

IR remote control RP2040 USB HID

Brisk4t’s “Tossed The TV — Kept The Remote” (TTVKTR) is an open-source firmware project for Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB boards that aims to reduce electronics waste by converting old IR remote controls into presentation clickers. Most Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards with USB ports should work, but the project highlights the Waveshare RP2040-Zero combined with a standard 38 kHz infrared receiver due to its small size and low price ($4-5). The project also relies on the built-in RGB LED for layer color feedback. That’s about it for the hardware. It just required some basic soldering of the IR receiver to GPIO 28 (OUT), 5V or 3.3V, and GND pins. Nothing too hard. The WS2812 RGB LED is already connected to GPIO 16. I tried to look for RP2040 USB boards with a built-in IR receiver, but I could not find any.   The firmware receives IR codes from a standard 38 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Petros CH32H417M Alef – A Raspberry Pi Pico-sized RISC-V USB 3.0 camera board

Petros CH32H417M Alef – A Raspberry Pi Pico-sized RISC-V USB 3.0 camera board

Petros CH32H417M Alef

XPU Labs’ Petros CH32H417M Alef is a Raspberry Pi Pico-sized board based on the WCH CH32H417M RISC-V USB 3.0 microcontroller and taking a 2MP OV2640 camera module through the MCU’s digital image interface (DVP). The board comes with 896KB SRAM and 960KB Flash from the WCH microcontroller, two 20-pin GPIO headers following the Raspberry Pi Pico’s pinout, a 6-pin SWD and UART6 header for debugging, and a Reset button. Petros CH32H417M Alef specifications: MCU – WCH CH32H417MEQ6 MCU QingKe RISC-V5F up to 400 MHz QinKe RISC-V3F up to 144 MHz GPU – Graphics Processing Hardware Accelerator GPHA Memory – 896KB SRAM Storage – 960KB Flash Camera I/F – 40-pin B2B connector with DVP @ 144MHz, SPI, I2C and ADC interfaces for 2MP Phos Ayin OV2640 camera module USB – 1x USB 3.0 Type-A port (5Gbps, tested up to 430 MB/s) for data, power, and firmware flashing Debugging – 6-pin SWD and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on VIA Labs VL610/VL610D MST Hub controllers to enable USB-C multi-display adapters with up to three 4K display outputs

VIA Labs VL610/VL610D MST Hub controllers to enable USB-C multi-display adapters with up to three 4K display outputs

VIA VL610 USB-C board three video outputs

VIA Labs VL610/VL610D MST (Multi-Stream Transport) Hub controllers are designed for multi-display expansion, enabling USB-C adapters to drive up to three 4K UHD high-resolution HDMI or DisplayPort displays simultaneously. The chips succeed the VL605 single-channel USB-C to HDMI 2.1 signal converter. The VL610 supports three video outputs up to 4Kp60, while the VL610D is limited to two video outputs for different docking design needs. VIA VL610/VL610D key features and specifications: Display/USB Input – DisplayPort Receiver (DPRX) supporting HBR3 (High Bit Rate 3) up to 32.4 Gbps, suitable for up to 8Kp60 and D+/D- USB 2.0 Video and Audio output VL610 HDMI 2.1 FRL transmitter Configurable port supporting DP++ or HDMI 2.1 FRL Configurable port supporting DP++ or HDMI TMDS VL610D – Dual display configuration (not clear details provided) Single display up to 8Kp60 or 4Kp240 Triple display up to 4Kp60 or QHDp144. Up to 6x independent audio and video streams […]

Posted on by Debashis Das - 4 Comments on MuseLab nanoCH32H417 – A $17 WCH CH32H417 RISC-V MCU development board with USB 3.0, Fast Ethernet

MuseLab nanoCH32H417 – A $17 WCH CH32H417 RISC-V MCU development board with USB 3.0, Fast Ethernet

nanoCH32H417 Development Board with Displa

Designed by MuseLab, the nanoCH32H417 is a development board for the WCH CH32H417 dual-core RISC-V MCU, which we covered earlier this year for its USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), UHS, and Fast Ethernet support. At that time, only the official CH32H417 development board was available, but this board adds a third-party option. The board exposes various features of the MCU, including one USB 3.0 port, two USB Type-C ports, a 100Mbps Ethernet interface, and a MicroSD card slot. It also simplifies the prototyping workflow by integrating a WCHLink-E debugger directly onto the board, meaning you won’t need to wire up an external programmer to flash the MCU or view serial output. MuseLab nanoCH32H417 specifications: MCU – WCH CH32H417QEU6 MCU QingKe RISC-V5F up to 400 MHz QinKe RISC-V3F up to 144 MHz GPU – Graphics Processing Hardware Accelerator GPHA Memory – 896KB SRAM Storage – 960KB Flash Storage – MicroSD card slot Display […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on WCH BLE Analyzer Pro USB Bluetooth LE sniffer gains Linux software with Wireshark (pcap) support

WCH BLE Analyzer Pro USB Bluetooth LE sniffer gains Linux software with Wireshark (pcap) support

WCH BLE Analyzer Pro Linux software

Last November, we wrote about the WCH BLE Analyzer Pro, an inexpensive (~$20) USB Bluetooth LE sniffer and analyzer, which looked useful and good value for reverse engineering and debugging. One downside is that the WCH BLE Analyzer software was only made for Windows 7 to 11, but Xecaz decided to look into it and reverse-engineered the USB protocol to write Linux software using libusb that outputs a standard pcap compatible with popular tools such as Wireshark, or as he puts it: “WinChipHead forgot to ship a Linux driver. We forgot to ask permission.” As a reminder, the BLE Analyzer Pro features three CH582F Bluetooth LE RISC-V microcontrollers and a CH334 USB hub, supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.0/4.2/5.0, and connects to the host through its USB-C port. The Linux “driver” for the BLE Analyzer Pro tool can be found on GitHub. Building and installing the software is quick and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Mind xPlay display and keyboard review using Khadas Mind and Mind 2 mini PCs

Mind xPlay display and keyboard review using Khadas Mind and Mind 2 mini PCs

Khadas xPlay connected to Crowview USB C display

In this review, I’ll report my experience with the Khadas Mind xPlay display and keyboard using the Mind and Mind 2 mini PCs, as well as a CHUWI CoreBook Air Plus 16 laptop to test it as a standard external display. Using Mind xPlay with the Mind 2 mini PC I received the Mind xPlay with the Mind 2 Meteor Lake mini PC, and I already showed how to connect it and get started in the first part of the review. So I’ll continue the review with it initially. I used the EIZO monitor test website to evaluate the display panel itself. I went through all 13 tests, including dead pixel and gradients tests. The pattern above looks fine too, so I compare the Mind xPlay monitor to the 16-inch display of the ASUS Vivobook 16 to find differences. Both were set to maximum brightness. The xPlay delivers noticeably more […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Up to 256 MB FERRIT modular F-RAM storage device preserves critical data for up to 200 years

Up to 256 MB FERRIT modular F-RAM storage device preserves critical data for up to 200 years

FERRIT F-RAM storage

Machdyne’s FERRIT is a modular USB F-RAM storage device with a capacity of up to 256 MB and capable of storing data for up to 200 years with a virtually unlimited number of writes and high-radiation resistance. It builds upon the earlier Blaustahl F-RAM storage device that only offers 8KB capacity. The FERRIT device supports 8 MB to 256 MB by combining up to 256 individual 1 MB F-RAM ICs. The prototype below is housed in a metal frame and looks like a typical cluster solution. FERRIT specifications and key features: FERRIT-CY controller based on Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU with USB-FS Type-C port FERRIT-M8 removable ferroelectric memory cards with up to 16MB capacity using 16x 1MB F-RAM ICs (double-sided: 2x 8 chips) FERRIT-16 backplane with slots for FERRIT-CY and 16x FERRIT-M8 connected over SPI/QSPI bus Max capacity – 256 MB+ through up to 256x memory devices (16 memory cards with 16 chips) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Khadas Mind Graphics 2 and Mind xPlay display + keyboard review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first try

Khadas Mind Graphics 2 and Mind xPlay display + keyboard review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first try

Khadas Mind 2 Graphics xPlay Review

Khadas has sent us the Mind Graphics 2 dock, Mind xPlay portable display and keyboard, as well as the Mind 2 mini PC for review. In the first part of the review, I’ll start by listing specifications, an unboxing of all three packages, a teardown of the graphics dock, and a first try of the xPlay and Mind Graphics 2 with the mini PC. While the Mind 2 will be used for testing, I won’t go into details here since it’s quite similar to the Mind 2 AI Maker Kit we reviewed last year. Instead, in the next parts, I’ll do a review of the xPlay with it, the first-generation Mind, and maybe another platform with USB-C video output. I’ll follow that by detailed testing of the Khadas Mind 2, including graphics and AI performance with the built-in NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB card, and check all its features. […]

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