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$7 ITEAD Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle features Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 MCU

ITEAD is known for its Sonoff home automation products that started with ESP8266 WiFi and/or RF connectivity several years ago, but more recently the company started to offer Zigbee compliant products including Sonoff BASICZBR3 smart switch, Sonoff ZBBridge WiFi to Zigbee Gateway, or a cheap $4 CC2531 Zigbee USB Dongle compatible with Zigbee2MQTT open-source firmware. The company has now launched a more powered Zigbee 3.0 USB dongle, yet still affordable at $6.99, based on the same Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 wireless MCU as used in the Sonoff ZBBridge with a faster core, more RAM, and a more powerful radio. Key features and specifications: Wireless MCU – Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller @ up to 80 MHz with DSP and FPU, up to 1024 kB flash, up to 96 kB RAM, 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 for Zigbee or Thread Host interface – USB port Expansion – 7-pin IO header with programming […]

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$6 WT32-ETH01 is a Tiny ESP32 board with Ethernet

Espressif Systems ESP32 processor supports WiFi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity. There are only a few boards coming with an Ethernet RJ45 jack out of the box including esp32MX-E ESP32 board, TTGO T-Internet-POE, and Olimex ESP32-Gateway board among others. Those boards are fine, but they sell for $16 and up, so if you’d like a cheaper and tinier ESP32 board with Ethernet, Wireless Tag WT32-ETH01 may be an option for projects not requiring PoE support. WT32-ETH01 board specifications: Wireless Module – Wireless Tag WT32-S1 based on ESP32 dual-core WiSoC with 4MB flash, on-board antenna Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet via LAN8720A transceiver 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR and LE Expansion – 2x 13 through holes and castellated holes with GPIOs, I2C, SPI,  2x UART, EN, LINK, 5V, 3.3V, and GND signals Power Supply – 3.3V or 5.5V via headers, minimum 500 mA; typical operating current: 80 […]

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UL-Certified TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug with Dual Outlet Sells for $19.99 (Promo)

WiFi smart sockets to control home appliances have been around for a few years, and one of my favorite companies is Sonoff as they offer a variety of affordable smart plugs pre-loaded with eWelink firmware and compatible with open-source firmware like Tasmota and ESPurna. The company is also attentive to safety. communicate issues with customers, and recently wrote a post entitled “Safety is our responsibility” where they detail all steps taken to make sure their mains connected device sare safe to use. Sadly that does not include safety certifications like UL/ETL, or TUV which may have implications for your home insurance depending on where you live, and for peace of mind, it’s always good to have a third verify your design for safety. Which brings me to the main point of this point, as a UL-certified dual-outlet smart socket, namely TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug, is currently on sale for $19.99 […]

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ESPurna ESP8266 Automation Firmware Gets Support for BME680 Sensor’s Precise Indoor Air Quality Measurements

Bosch BME680 is a 4-in-1 air quality sensor measuring relative humidity, barometric pressure, ambient temperature, and gas (VOC) levels. It’s found in boards such as STM32 based Metriful Sense or Nordic Thingy:91, and Bosch Sensortec published an Arduino library based on “Bosch Sensortec Environmental Cluster (BSEC) Software” to provide precise calculations temperature, humidity, pressure, and indoor air quality (IAQ). BSEC proprietary algorithms can provide indoor air quality data as good as more expensive CO2 sensors according to a recent presentation by the company. Max Prokhorov, lead ESPurna maintainer, and Rui Marinho noticed none of the popular open-source ESP8266 automation firmware including ESPurna, Tasmota, and Esphome supported BME680 sensor just yet. So they decided to work together to add BME680 sensor support via BSEC library to ESPurna firmware, and now it’s very easy to use as you just need to define BME680_SUPPORT=1 before compiling the firmware. You’ll find the now-merged pull […]

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$99 EFR32xG22 Wireless Gecko Starter Kit Offers Low-Cost Zigbee Development Platform

Silicon Labs has just launched a low-cost Bluetooth, Zigbee, and proprietary wireless development kit with the $99 EFR32xG22 Wireless Gecko Starter Kit (WSTK). This WSTK includes two +6 dBm radio boards, matching network, and PCB antennas for +6 dBm output power in the 2.4 GHz band, as well as on-board J-Link debugger. Previously you had to purchase the $479 EFR32xG21 Wireless Gecko Starter Kit to get access to the Zigbee SDK in order to get started with development, and the new starter kit makes it possible to get access to the same software resources and documentation for around $100. EFR32xG22 Wireless Gecko Starter Kit (SLWSTK6021A) content, key features & specifications: BRD4001A Wireless Starter Kit Mainboard WiSoC – Wireless Gecko Series 2 Arm Cortex-M33  @ 80 Mhz Display – Low-power 128×128 memory TFT LCD Connectivity – Ethernet port USB – 1x Micro USB port for programming and power  Debugging Advanced Energy […]

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Sonoff SNZB Zigbee Sensors and Switches Launched for under $10

ITEAD had started to expand from WiFi and RF433 capable Sonoff home automation devices into Zigbee smart home solutions in recent months with the launch of products such as Sonoff ZBBridge WiFi to Zigbee gateway and a TI CC2531 based Zigbee USB dongle preloaded with firmware compatible with Zigbee2MQTT. But so far, they had only one Zigbee node, namely Sonoff BASICZBR3 Zigbee power switch. More options are now available with the launch of four Sonoff SNZB Zigbee sensors and switches working with the company’s ZBBridge. Key features of the four new Zigbee sensors & switches: SNZB-01 Zigbee wireless switch Touch button with single, double press and long press support Battery – 3V (CR2450) Dimension – 43x43x16mm SNZB-02 Zigbee temperature & humidity sensor Unnamed temperature and humidity sensor Battery – 3V (CR2450) Dimension – 43x43x14mm SNZB-03 Zigbee motion sensor Built-in PIR sensor with 6m range and 110°viewing angle. Battery – 3V […]

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Zigbee Firmware News – TI Z-Stack 3.0 Zigbee for CC2530 & ptvo Zigbee FW Configuration Tool

We’ve been writing about Zigbee more in recent months with either product announcements such as Sonoff ZBBridge WiFi to Zigbee gateway, and open-source software updates such as Tasmota support for Zigbee connectivity. We’ve recently been tipped about Zigbee-related news, namely TI Z-Stack 3.0 Zigbee router firmware port to Sonoff BASICZBR3, and ptvo Zigbee Configurable Firmware v2.4 GUI tool designed to create alternative Zigbee switch and router firmware for TI CC253x based modules and devices TI Z-Stack 3.0 Zigbee Router Firmware on Sonoff BASICZBR3 Kirovilya, a well-known open-source developer and founder of ioBroker open-source home automation software, has ported TI Z-Stack 3.0 Zigbee router firmware to CC2530 and tested it on Sonoff BASICZBR3 with DS18B20 waterproof temperature sensor. This is significant as Sonoff BASICZBR3 is only shipped with TI Z-Stack Home 1.2 Zigbee router firmware and I was told no one else had ported TI Z-Stack 3.0 Zigbee to CC2530 chip […]

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Sonoff ZBBridge WiFi to Zigbee Gateway Launched for $16.90

Since the end of last year, ITEAD has introduced several Zigbee Sonoff products such as Sonoff Basic R3 Zigbee, but so far customers had to rely on third-party hardware for the gateway, and they very recently launched a CC2531 Zigbee USB dongle to ease the task. But now the company’s just-launched Sonoff ZBBridge WiFi to Zigbee gateway allows people to control compatible Zigbee devices using eWelink mobile app. Sonoff ZBBridge specifications: Wireless Connectivity – 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Zigbee 3.0 Power Input – 5V/1A Dimensions – 62 x 62 x 20 mm (PC V0) Weight – 35 grams Temperature Range – -10 to 40°C The gateway is working with BASICZBR3 Smart Switch, S31 Lite zb Smart Plug, and the upcoming SNZB-01 Wireless Switch, SNZB-02 Temperature & humidity sensor, SNZB-03 motion sensor, and SNZB-04 wireless door/window sensor. It will also work with other smart devices certified by the ZigBee […]

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