CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Hikey 970 Documentation, HiAI DDK, Linux Firmware Images, and Support Forums

Hikey 970 board has impressive specifications with Huawei Kirin 970 SoC featuring an octa-core Arm Cortex A73/A53 processor and an Arm Mali-G72-MP12 GPU, coupled with 6GB LPDDR4x and 64GB UFS storage. It’s also one of the first broadly available developer platforms equipped with a Neural Processing Unit for artificial intelligence applications. However when it launched in April, Hikey 970 documentation was lacking, and despite the board is supposed to run both Android (AOSP) and Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or Debian, so far only AOSP is shown in the download section, with Linux distributions “coming soon”. But if you want to start as soon as possible there are still some good news. First, some documentation for the board has been released on Github, including getting started guides, hardware documentation (schematics, user manual, etc..), and some instructions to build AOSP from source code, and flash it to the UFS storage. If […]

June 14, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Easythreed NANO Mini Fully Assembled 3D Printer Sells for $160

If you plan on getting started with 3D printing, you’ll already find some decent low cost 3D printers on the market such as Anet A8 that is now selling for around $150 plus shipping. However, most of those come in kits that you need to assemble yourself, and some people may feel uneasy about the process. But this morning, I’ve come across another option with Easythreed NANO Mini 3D printer that is fully assembly, and up for pre-order on Banggood for $159.99 including free shipping.. Easythreed NANO Mini 3D printer specifications: Print Technology – FDM Print Size – 90 x 110 x 110 mm Nozzle Diameter – 0.4mm Layer Thickness – 0.1-0.3mm Filament Support – PLA Filament Size – 1.75mm Rotary technology – Belt drive, linear bearing technology Print accuracy – 0.1-0.3mm Feed Technology – Proximal feed Nozzle Temperature – 180-230℃ Printing speed – 10-20MM/S File format – Input: .Stl, Transfer: .gcode One key printing technology Storage – micro USB card USB – 1x USB port Power supply – Input: 110~240V 50/60HZ Output: 12V, 60W Dimensions – 188 […]

June 13, 2018June 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Wio LTE GPS Tracker Board Gets a Cat M1/NB1 Version for $59

Seeed Studio launched a family of GPS tracker boards staring with Wio GPS with 2G cellular connectivity, followed by Wio LTE board offering 4G connectivity several months later. The company is taking pre-order for an LTE Cat M1/NB1 version with NB-IoT / eMTC connectivity, and going for $59 plus shipping. The board is expected to start shipping on July 25th. Wio LTE Cat M1/NB1 board specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F405RG Arm Cortex-M4 @ 168MHZ with 1M Flash, 192+4KB RAM Connectivity LTE uBlox SARA-R410M module LTE CAT M1 and NB-IoT Cat M1 Half-duplex (375 kb/s DL and UL) Cat NB1 Half-duplex (27.2 kb/s DL, 62.5 UL) Nano SIM and micro SD card 2-in-1 socket GNSS uBlox MAX-M8Q module PS, BeiDou, GLONASS, and Galileo 2.5m CEP(GPS), 4.0m CEP(GLONASS) USB – 1x micro USB port for power supply and DFU Expansions – Grove headers: 2x digital, 2x analog, 1x UART, 1x I2C Misc […]

June 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NanoCOM-APL Apollo Lake COM Express Module is Designed for Machine Vision & Factory Automation

AAEON has just launched NanoCOM-APL, a Type 10 COM Express module based on Intel Apollo Lake Atom, Celeron, or Pentium processor with up to 8 LPDDR4 memory, and on-board support for dual MIPI CSI interfaces. The module is designed for machine vision and factory automation, and also features Gigabit Ethernet, optional on-board eMMC flash, PCIe x4, ten USB interfaces, and more. NanoCOM-APL Apollo Lake COM Express Module There are currently three variants of NanoCOM-APL module with the following specifications specifications: SoC NANOCOM-APL-A10-0001 – Intel Pentium N4200 quad core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 / 2.50 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 505; 6W TDP NANOCOM-APL-A10-0002 – Intel Celeron N3350 dual core Apollo Lake processor @ 1.10 / 2.40 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP NANOCOM-APL-A10-0003 – Intel Atom x7-E3950 quad core Apollo Lake-I processor @ 1.60 / 2.00 GHz with Intel HD Graphics 505; 12W TDP System Memory – […]

June 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

$9 SQ8 may be the World’s Smallest Car Dash Camera / Action Camera

There are so many car dash DVRs and action cameras on the market that barely differentiate themselves on the market that I don’t usually write about those anymore. But SQ8 “mini car video recorder full HD sports DV camera” caught my eye First, because at $8.99 on GeekBuying it’s really cheap, but most importantly because it’s incredibly tiny, even smaller than JeVois computer vision camera I reviewed last year. SQ8 camera specifications: Chipset – “AnGuo” Storage – micro SD card up to 32 GB Camera 12MP CMOS image sensor for 1080p30 videos (AVI/MJPG) 65 Degrees Wide Angle 3mm lens Motion Detection, Night Vision Audio – Built-in microphone/speacker (AAC) USB – 1x mini USB port Misc – On/off and mode buttons, reset pinhole, LED indicator Battery – 200 mAh good for about 100 minutes Dimensions – 2.2 x 2.2 x 2.0 cm Weight – 25 grams Operating Temperature – 0 – 60 […]

June 13, 2018June 15, 2018 by Karl Johnson - 6 Comments

LiveStream #1 – Migrating to Marlin Firmware

Karl here. I’ve decided to start doing a weekly Livestream on different topics related to subjects covered on CNX Software. For the fist livestream, I will be showing the workflow that I use to migrate to newer Marlin firmware on HE3D K280 3D printer but it applies to any printer. I will also cover the calibration process for the K280. I originally did a written review of the K280 but it is sometimes hard to show concepts in writing. The livestream will take place on June 14th @ 21:30 ET timezone, and if you are interested you can register below, or come back to this page to check it out.

June 12, 2018June 12, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Add a 3.5″ Hard Drive to Your Raspberry Pi with Suptronics X830 Add-on Board

If you ever plan to make your own NAS with an Arm Linux board, the Raspberry Pi board should not be your first choice, as regular readers will already know they are already cheaper and/or better solutions such as NanoPi NEO2 NAS Kit, ODROID HC2, or Popcorn Transformer to name a few. But if you already own one of the Raspberry Pi boards and a 3.5″ hard drive, you considering going with Suptronics X830 add-on boards – also sold under Geekworm brand – instead of a DC powered USB enclosure since it avoids extra cabling and the use of two power supplies. SupTronics X830 board features: SATA connector for 3.5″ SATA drive up to 10TB implemented via USB 3.1 Gen1 to SATA 6Gb/s bridge controller USB 3.0 port to connect to Raspberry Pi board Power Supply Input – 14 to 40V DC input via 5.5/2.5mm power barrel jack (Powers the […]

June 12, 2018June 12, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

ECS Introduces GLKD-I DC Powered Gemini Lake Motherboard Family

Except for the odd industrial motherboard, most Gemini Lake motherboards launched so far rely on an ATX connector and power supply, but if you prefer a DC powered Gemini Lake motherboard, ECS now provides several options thanks to their GLKD-I series mini-ITX motherboards equipped with Gemini Lake processor. ECS GLKD-I motherboard specifications: SoC – Intel Gemini Lake processor with Intel UHD graphics; 10W TDP (Celeron J4005, J4105 or Pentium J5005) System Memory – 1x DDR4 SO-DIMM socket up to 8GB RAM; supports DDR4 2400 non-ECC, un-buffered SDRAM Memory Storage – 2x SATA III ports, 1x M.2 slot for SSD, 128 MB SPI Flash ROM for AMI BIOS Video Output – HDMI port, optional D-Sub/VGA port, optional DisplayPort, optional eDP header Audio Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD audio CODEC 16/20/24-bit PCM format for 5.1 channel audio solution Line Out/Line In/Mic In jacks Front panel MIC/Speaker out header Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet via […]