wifi

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments on DWA8 ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module Features a 10-bit ADC, Up to 8 GPIOs, 4 PWM Outputs, and More (Crowdfunding)

DWA8 ESP8266 Wi-Fi Module Features a 10-bit ADC, Up to 8 GPIOs, 4 PWM Outputs, and More (Crowdfunding)

Espressif ESP8266 based ESP-01 module may now cost $3, but it’s limited to only two GPIOs, so a Dooao, a Chinese company based in Beijing, has decided to make a new ESP8266 module with more GPIOs, PWM signals, SPI, UART. and a 10-bit ADC. Dooao DWA8 module specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor @ 80 MHz with 120KB RAM (40KB usable), built-in 802.11 b/g/n support. Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n, STA/AP/STA+AP modes, WEP/WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK security Interfaces: Up to 8x GPIOs Up to 4x PWM SPI (master & slave) up to 40MHz UART with hardware FC up to 4Mbps 1x channel 10bit ADC Power supply – Single 3.3V  (2.8 to 3.6V) Power consumption – Max: 70 mA @ 3.3V (230 mW); typical: 12mA; standby < 200 uA; “soft power off” < 10uA. Dimensions – 27.13 x 17 x 2.3 mm (a bit larger than ESP-01) Temperature Range – Operating: -40 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on MINIX NEO X6 Media Hub Review

MINIX NEO X6 Media Hub Review

Last week-end, I took a few pictures of MINIX NEO X6 media hub, and had a look at the company’s firmware and forum support which indeed seems to be good. Today, I’ve completed the full review of MINIX NEO X6, and I will compare it to two of its lower priced competitors: MXQ S85 and EM6Q-MXQ. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The IR remote control works fine, including continuous up ad down pressing, but I switched to using Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse for convenience. I’ve connected an Ethernet cable, an HDMI cable, a micro SD card, a USB hard drive, and a USB hub with two RF dongles for my air mouse and gamepad, a USB flash drive, and a UVC webcam. I’ve connected the power, pressed the power button on the side of the box, but nothing happened at first… You have to press the button one […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Add Wi-Fi to Arduino Boards for $3 with ESP8266 Wi-Fi Serial Module

Add Wi-Fi to Arduino Boards for $3 with ESP8266 Wi-Fi Serial Module

There has been some buzz around ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, mostly because of its low price, and SDK availability, meaning it could become the Wi-Fi equivalent of ENC28J60 Ethernet module, and that for $5 you could potentially add Wi-Fi to your Arduino board for example. Since then, the price has come down even further, and if you are prepared to buy 5 pieces, you can now get the module for less than $3 / piece shipped, alternatively a single module costs $4, and a complete Wi-Fi + Arduino Uno (clone) kit goes for $15. A community has also been built around the chip, and a several project have been made with Arduino boards and ESP8266 module. The best way to find information is to go to ESP8266 community forum, as well as read the Wiki on github. There’s currently a GCC toolchain for Espressif Systems ESP8266, open source tools for working […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Zsun SD111 Is Now “Officially” an Hackable Wireless Flash Drive

Zsun SD111 Is Now “Officially” an Hackable Wireless Flash Drive

Zsun SD11x are Wi-Fi flash drives for 8 to 128 GB eMMC, alternative to Sandisk or Kingston. Yesterday, I soldered the UART pins to Zsun SD111 (8GB) flash drive to access the serial console, but I did not manage to enter the terminal as it was password-protected. I posted my results anyway, as I was convinced I would get some clever ideas from my readers, some of which appeared to be a little time consuming, but Zoobab offered a simple solution that consisted in changing the boot parameters, by replacing /sbin/init by /bin/sh. The first step is to interrupt the boot by pressing space or another key, in order to access U-boot. Now we can check the U-boot environment ar7240> printenv bootargs=console=ttyS0,115200 root=31:02 rootfstype=jffs2 rw init=/sbin/init mtdparts=ar7240-nor0:64k(u-boot),64k(u-boot-env),6720k(rootfs),1216k(uImage),64k(NVRAM),64k(ART) bootcmd=bootm 0x9f6B0000 bootdelay=4 baudrate=115200 ethaddr=0x00:0xaa:0xbb:0xcc:0xdd:0xee ipaddr=10.168.168.1 serverip=10.168.168.10 stdin=serial stdout=serial stderr=serial ethact=eth0 Environment size: 361/65532 bytes Let’s keep everything the same, except the init, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Spark Photon is a $19 Hackable IoT Wi-Fi Board

Spark Photon is a $19 Hackable IoT Wi-Fi Board

Spark Core is a popular Wi-Fi module for the internet of things  with a community of over 20,000 developers, but at $39 it may have started to feel a little expensive compared to the new IoT Wi-Fi modules such as ESP82666 or xWiFi, so the company has unveiled a new Wi-Fi board called Photon that’s smaller, better, and cheaper. Let’s compare Spark Core with the new Spark Photon. Feature Spark Core Spark Photon Wi-Fi Support 802.11 b/g 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Setup Smart Config Soft AP Wireless Module TI CC3000 Broadcom BCM43362 MCU STM32F103 STM32F205 MCU Speed 72 MHz 120 MHz Flash Memory 128 KB 1 MB RAM 20 KB 128 KB GPIO 18 UART (Serial) Yes JTAG Yes I2C Yes SPI Yes ADC Yes DAC No Yes CAN No Yes VBAT pin exposed No Yes Wakeup pin exposed No Yes Price $39.00 $19.00 So beside slashing the price by 50%, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on Zsun SD111 Wireless USB Flash Drive Review

Zsun SD111 Wireless USB Flash Drive Review

Zsun SD111, SD112 and SD113 are Wi-Fi / USB flash drives with respectively 8GB, 16 GB and 32GB storage. GearBest sent me the 8GB version (SD111) for review, as it could be an interesting platform to hack. I’ve take picture of the device, take it apart to check the board, review quickly the standard features with Android and Ubuntu, and try to access the board from the network. Zsun SD111 Unboxing I received the device in the following package. The flash drive comes with a micro USB to USB cable for charging and accessing the device from a computer, and a user’s manual in Chinese. You’ll probably prefer using a soft copy user manual in English… Zsun SD111 Board and Battery To open the stick, insert a sharp and thin object in the hole for the neck strap, and push upwards to lift the top cover a little, and finish […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments on Linux based BPI D1 HD Camera Module Features Anyka AK3918 ARM9 Processor

Linux based BPI D1 HD Camera Module Features Anyka AK3918 ARM9 Processor

SinoVoIP BPI-D1 is a tiny 720p30 camera module running Linux, and powered by Anyka AK3918 ARM9 processor. It’s a standalone module that can be powered by micro USB (5V), or an external Lithium battery, and it also includes various GPIOs, a micro USB interface, a micro SD slot to boot Linux, optional Wi-Fi connectivity, and more.. BPI D1 specifications: Processor – Anyka AK3918 ARM926EJ processor @ 400 MHz System Memory –  64MB DDR2 Storage – 16 MB SPI Flash + micro SD flash up to 32GB. Camera: CMOS Image Sensor 720p @ 30fps, visible light with 940 nm two-way infrared lens filter, with infrared night vision function Lens – M7*P0.35 EFL=3.0mm/F.NO=2.8/View Angle=60° Video Recording –  H.264 / AVI hardware encoding at 720p 30fps for up to 120 hours of video data on a 32GB micro SD card Audio Formats – MP3/WMA/AAC Audio Input – Microphone Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n (AP […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on Suptronics X200 Raspberry Pi Model B+ Expansion Board Adds Wi-Fi, RTC, VGA, optical S/PDIF, USB ports, Servo Support, and More

Suptronics X200 Raspberry Pi Model B+ Expansion Board Adds Wi-Fi, RTC, VGA, optical S/PDIF, USB ports, Servo Support, and More

The Raspberry Pi is a nice little board, but in some cases you may want to add some extra ports. Suptronics released the X100 expansion board for Raspberry Pi Model B last year, and they’ve now come up with a little monster called X200 expansion board for Raspberry Pi Model B+ which adds Wi-Fi, a real-time clock + battery, a VGA port, optical S/PDIF output, 3.5 mm mic and audio jack, servo support (ULN2803), and a few USB ports to the low cost board. Key features of X200 expansion board: Input Voltage – 6V to 21Vdc converted to 5V, 3A via step-down DC/DC converter to power the Raspberry Pi. VGA output – HDMI to VGA converter supporting up to UXGA (1600×1200) and 1080p with 10-bit DAC Audio – 3.5mm MIC in jack, 3.5mm stereo audio jack, S/PDIF output, audio I/O connector (Microphone input and stereo audio amplifier 3.3Wx2) Connectivity – […]

Exit mobile version