CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 16, 2019June 16, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

Reolink Argus Eco Review – A Sub-$100 Solar Powered Security Camera

Reolink Argus Eco IP Camera Wall Mounted

I’ve been thinking about installing one or more IP camera in my home for a while, and for ease of installation and considering I’m renting, my preference was to go with one of those battery IP cameras similar to Amazon (Immedia) Blink IP camera or Eufy EverCam security camera that last six months to one year on a single charge. But earlier this year I came across Reolink Argus 2 battery powered security camera that looks like good value at $100, and also came with an optional solar panel so you don’t have to ever charge the camera. The company latter contacted me to know whether I’d be willing to try out their latest Reolink Argus Eco camera with similar features but an even lower $89.99 price tag. I got my sample a few weeks ago, and I had time to install it, and play around with the camera during […]

June 15, 2019June 22, 2019 by Stephen Vicinanza - 10 Comments

TH3D EZBoard Lite Board Upgrades Ender and Creality CR-10 3D Printers

The basic setup of Creality 3D’s very popular Ender and CR-10 series 3D printers now have a drop-in board upgrade that is poised to rival printers that cost many times more than the Creality models. The original board only utilizes the ATmega2560 microcontroller, the A4988 stepper motor drives, with those cheap Chinese capacitors. The board runs Marlin 1.x open source firmware. This setup is very close to the Arduino Mega 2560 and the RepRap RAMPS 1.4 board which are some of the most common and simplest board combinations in the world. The upgrade from TH3D, is the EZBoard Lite, makes some very important changes to the overall board ability, scalability and functionality. The physical process of upgrade is simple and easy. The outcome is an increase in speed and functionality that is comparable to 3D printers costing 5 to 10 times as much. Features Easy Drop-In Installation No Soldering No […]

June 14, 2019June 14, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 14 Comments

DM&P Vortex86EX2 Dual Core Processor Targets Dual OS Systems, Support ISA & PCI Interfaces

Most people will probably think about Intel and AMD when asked about x86 processors, at least those who understand the question… But there are also other companies such as Zhaoxin (based on VIA Technologies designs) and DM&P. Last time I wrote about the latter was in 2015 with the introduction of DM&P Vortex86DX3 dual-core x86 SoC for embedded systems and the corresponding evaluation board. The company is still making new x86 processors, and I’ve just been information the company unveiled Vortex86EX2 dual-core processor last year with master and slave cores suitable for running two operating systems at the same time without the need for virtualization, nor hypervisor. The new processor still supports ISA & PCI interfaces for legacy expansion cards and targets real-time industrial or automation applications. DM&P Vortex86EX2 specifications: Processor Cores Master @ 600MHz max with Build-in FPU L1/L2 Cache for user interface Slave @ 400MHz max with Build-in […]

June 14, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Strawberry4Pi Enables Home Automation on Raspberry Pi Boards (Crowdfunding)

Strawberry4Pi is an ecosystem of hardware, firmware, and software to create home automation and IoT projects with for Raspberry Pi boards. The project offers a pre-configured Linux operating system, a mobile app for Android and iOS, as well as two boards with four relays: Strawberry4Pi baseboard Zero for Raspberry Pi Zero (W), and Strawberry4Pi shield A/B for the larger boards such as Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ or Model A. Strawberry4Pi boards specifications: 4x SONGLE relays Misc – Temperature sensor and Wifi configuration button Power Supply Baseboard Zero – 100V-220V via 3-pin terminal block Shield A/B – 5V via 2-pin terminal block Dimensions Baseboard Zero – 97 x 75 mm Shield A/B – 65 x 56 mm Certifications – CE/FCC A 3D printed case and a DIN rail mount are also offered as options. There’s no a whole lot of information about the operating system as most people won’t need […]

June 13, 2019June 14, 2019 by Tiwalade Joanna Okedara - 8 Comments

Ugoos AM6 Fanless S922X TV Box Launched for $150

For those that have been waiting for the launch of the Ugoos AM6 S922X TV box, enough of the anticipation. The long wait is now finally over! Earlier in April, we reported the increased mass production of Amlogic processors. With the Ugoos AM6 taking the lead, producing a fan cooled prototype. We are pleased to inform you that a fanless version of the TV box has finally been released, and is available in the market for just $150. Also, we now have some photos of its enclosure While Beelink GT1-K launched around mid-April, its specifications are slightly different from Ugoos features. What Features to Expect from the new AM6 Main Features An Android 9.0 operating system. Fully equipped with the Amlogic S922X CPU, Quad core, ARM Cortex-A73, 1.7GHz + Dual-core ARM Cortex A53 1.8GHz. An ARM Mali-G52 MP6 ( 6ppc ) GPU Up to 2GB LPDDR4 RAM + 16GB EMMC […]

June 13, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments

Banana Pi BPI-M4 RPi 3+ Lookalike Board with 4K Video, M.2 Socket Launched for $38

Banana Pi BPI-M4 was unveiled at the beginning of the year as an alternative to Raspberry Pi 3B+ with the same form factor, but equipped with a more capable processor, namely Realtek RTD1395 with support for 4K video output and decoding, Gigabit Ethernet support, PCIe, etc.. SinoVoIP has however made the choice not to go with Gigabit Ethernet, and opted for a cheaper design with Fast Ethernet instead. Having said that, the 4K capabilities of the processor, and PCIe via an M.2 socket are still leveraged in the company’s latest Banana Pi board. What’s changed is that Banana Pi BPI-M4 is now available on Aliexpress for $38 plus shipping in 1GB RAM + 8GB flash storage configuration. Banana Pi BPI-M4 specifications have not changed: SoC – Realtek RTD1395 quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor with Mali-470 MP4 GPU System Memory – 1 GB DDR4 (option 2 GB) Storage – 8G eMMC flash […]

June 13, 2019June 13, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

New Release (1.3.5) for H3Droid Android OS Optimized for Allwinner H3 & H2+ Processors

H3Droid project provides Android images for Allwinner H3 & H2+ boards and TV boxes in order to improve on the firmware released by manufacturers. Last time we wrote about was in 2017, but the project released H3droid 1.3.5 recently with several improvements.. The good news is that more boards are supported with a bit fix that for example enables H3Droid to work on Orange Pi Zero (256MB RAM) and Libre Computer Tritium H2+ SBC’s, but the bad news is that it’s still based on Android 4.4 Kitkat, so some apps are not working anymore including Kodi, and the default YouTube app had to be removed since it does work not anymore. Workarounds do exist though, as you can install SPMC fork of Kodi, and play YouTube videos in a web browser, or install it manually after updating Google Play Services. Here’s the full changelog provided by the developers: Added: fex/uboot […]

June 13, 2019June 13, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

CHUWI Minibook Amber Lake mini Laptop to sell for $499 and Up (Crowdfunding)

We’ve already covered several Intel Amber Lake mini laptops with the likes of One Netbook One Mix 3 Yoga or GPD Pocket 2 Max both powered by Intel Core m3-8100Y and equipped with respectively 8.4″ and 8.9″ displays with 2560×1600 resolution. Those are ultra-compact yet powerful machines, which come at a relatively high cost, with for instance the Mix 3 Yoga going for about $760. But there’s another model coming up with CHUWI minibook with similar specifications and an 8″ display that will be offered for as low as $499. The trick is that only 300 pieces part of the “Super Early Birds Perk” will be available at that price when the product launches on Indiegogo on June 19. The retail price should be around $669 since the discount is said to be around 25%. There will also be a cheaper Intel Celeron N4100 Gemini Lake model, but price has […]