CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

February 2, 2022February 7, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

Tiny Core Linux 13.0 released for older or lower-end x86 hardware

Tiny Core Linux 13.0 has just been released for 32-bit and 64-bit x86 systems with a recent Linux 5.15.10 kernel, and various upgrades to the packages. Tiny Core Linux is a lightweight (~22MB ISO) Linux distribution with an FLTK (Fast Light Toolkit)/FLWM (Fast Light Windows Manager) desktop and based on the Core Project that integrates a recent Linux kernel, vmlinuz, and a root filesystem with low footprint libraries such as busybox. It’s mostly interesting for older or low-end hardware that may be slow and/or unusable with more common Linux distributions like Ubuntu or Debian. Tiny Core Linux 13.0 main changes: kernel updated to 5.15.10 glibc updated to 2.34 gcc updated to 11.2.0 binutils updated to 2.37 e2fsprogs base libs/apps updated to 1.46.4 util-linux base libs/apps updated to 2.37.2 busybox updated to 1.34.1 50-udev-default.rules: add media permissions select: require that “break” used in awk scripts filetool.sh: prevent gratuitous change to .filetool.lst’s […]

February 2, 2022February 2, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Craob X – An ultrathin, portless laptop with a wireless charger & dock

They’ve already taken out our audio jacks, and many laptops don’t come with an Ethernet port, but the Craob X portless laptop goes even further by completely removing all ports, and relies on a magnetic wireless charger that sticks to the laptop lid, and offers some USB and audio ports, you know just in case you actually need to connect wired peripherals… The main advantage is that you’d get an ultra-thin 7mm thick laptop that only weighs around 860 grams. As long as you mostly rely on wireless keyboards, mice, headphones, or storage devices that may be a working solution, and if you need to charge the battery simply place the wireless charger on the back of the display. Craob X portless laptop preliminary specifications: SoC – Up to Intel Core i7-1280P Alder Lake processor with Iris Xe graphics (28W TDP) System Memory – Up to 32GB LPDDR5 RAM Storage […]

Graperain Samsung, Rockchip, and Qualcomm CPU modules, SBCs, and carrier boards

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

JetHome JetHub D1 is a Linux automation controller based on Amlogic A113X SoC

I discovered JetHome Jethub D1 and Jethub H1 Linux automation controller based on respectively Amlogic A113X and S905X SoCs in Linux 5.16 changelog, as both platforms got upstreamed to mainline Linux. I had never heard of JetHome, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg, nor their products before. Both Jethub D1 & H1 will run either an Armbian-built Ubuntu operating system or Home Assistant Operating System (formerly HassOS), and support Home Assistant (Z2M), Home Assistant (ZHA), and ZIgbee2MQTT. Jethub H1 looks like a TV box with a Zigbee module, while Jethub D1 is a DIN Rail automation controller with plenty of I/Os. Let’s focus on the latter. JetHub D1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic A113x quad-core Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz System Memory / Storage configurations 512MB RAM and 8 GB flash 1GB RAM and 16 GB eMMC flash Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port Dual-band WiFi 5 and […]

February 1, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

4K digital signage player drives up to four displays, offers 2.5GbE networking

Axiomtek DSP511 is a Tiger Lake UP3 based digital signage player with four 4K-capable HDMI 2.0 ports as well as a 2.5GbE port designed for smart retail applications such as interactive advertisement or AI precision marketing. The DSP511 supports up to 64GB RAM via two DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM sockets, M.2 SATA and NVMe storage, as well as wireless expansion with optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and or 5G/4G LTE cellular connectivity. Axiomtek DSP511 specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5/i3 or Celeron Tiger Lake UP3 processor with Intel Xe graphics System Memory – 2 x DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM, max. up to 64GB Storage – 1x M.2 Key M 2280 (SATA & NVMe) socket Video Output – 4x HDMI 2.0 ports Audio – 1x audio jack, digital audio via HDMI ports Networking 1x 2.5GbE LAN 1x Gigabit Ethernet LAN Optional WiFi and Bluetooth via M.2 Key E socket Optional 5G/4G LTE via M.2 Key B socket […]

January 31, 2022January 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

DeskPi Lite – A Raspberry Pi 4 enclosure with full HDMI ports, two extra USB ports

In 2020, we wrote about the DeskPi Pro enclosure for Raspberry Pi 4 with 2.5-inch HDD/SSD bay, full-sized HDMI ports, and a PWM fansink as an alternative to the popular Argon One case that also brings all ports to a single side and improves cable management. The company informed us of a new low-cost model, the DeskPi Lite, with a more compact design since it lacks the 2.5-inch SATA bay, and two extra USB ports at the front which may be convenient to connect USB flash drives or anything that may be temporarily connected to your Raspberry Pi 4. DeskPi Lite features: All main ports on the rear panel: USB Type-C power input 2x full-size HDMI ports AV port (CVBS + stereo audio) 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, and Gigabit Ethernet ports directly from the Raspberry Pi 4 SBC Font panel ports/features: 2x USB 2.0 ports 2s status LEDs […]

January 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

KrakenSDR is a 5-channel software-defined radio based on RTL-SDR

KrakenRF KrakenSDR is a software-defined radio (SDR) with five coherently-operated receive channels that’s basically the equivalent of five cheap RTL-SDR USB dongles based on the R820T2 chip with a single board housed in a metal enclosure equipped with five custom antennas. KrakenSDR operates in the usual 24 MHz to 1766 MHz tuning range and connects over USB to the host system, preferably a Raspberry Pi4 as the open-source Core DAQ and DSP software is designed for the popular single board computer. There’s also an Android for location finding that is free to use for non-commercial applications. KrakenSDR specifications: Five-channel, coherent-capable RTL-SDR (5x R820T2 tuners + RTL2832U ADCs), all clocked to a single local oscillator, ESD protection 5x SMA Antenna inputs Tuning Range – 24 MHz to 1766 MHz standard R820T2 RTL-SDR range and possibly higher with hacked drivers Built-in automatic coherence synchronization hardware Automatic coherence synchronization and management via provided […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

January 31, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Maker Nano RP2040 offers Arduino Nano, Grove and Qwiic modules compatibility

Cytron Maker Nano RP2040 is board similar to Raspberry Pi Pico but with Arduino Nano form factor, a proper reset button, two RGB LEDs, single color LEDs for some GPIOs, a buzzer, as well as two Qwicc/STEMMA QT connectors that can also be used to connect Seeed Studio Grove modules using provided conversion cables. While the board mostly aims to be an Arduino Nano/Maker Nano upgrade, there are some notable differences with the I/O voltage being limited to 3.3V without 5V tolerance, and there are only four ADC inputs (A0 – A3) instead of eight on the Arduino Nano. Maker Nano RP2040 specifications: MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller @ 125 MHz with 264KB internal RAM Storage – 2MB flash Audio – Piezo buzzer with mute switch Expansion 2x 15-pin headers with 22x GPIOs, 14x of which with LEDs,2x I2C, 2x UART, 2x SPI, 14x PWM, 4x […]

January 30, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Wappsto:bit GO – An ESP32 board with plenty of sensors, Micro:bit compatibility (Crowdfunding)

Wappsto:bit GO is an ESP32 board compatible with BBC Micro:bit accessories thanks to a compatible edge connector, but adding WiFi to Bluetooth LE, and offering some extras compared to Elecrow Mbits ESP32-based BBC Micro:bit clone. The new board is notably equipped with a wider range of sensors including a light sensor, a magnetometer, and sound sensor beside the temperature sensor and accelerometer present in the original board, and it also exposes GPIO through a more traditional 2.54-pitch header to facilitate the integration of a wider variety of add-on boards. Wappsto:bit GO specifications: Wireless modules ESP32-WROOM-32E module with ESP32 dual-core microcontroller, 4MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, built-in PCB antenna Raytac MDBT50Q-512K Bluetooth 5.2 module based on nRF52833 with 512KB Flash MCU – NXP Kinetis KL2 Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller (MKL27Z256VFM4 ) with 256KB Flash (for USB port handling) Display – 25 LED matrix Sensors Temperature sensor, Light sensor […]

Boardcon LGA3576 Rockchip RK3576 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications