CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

January 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

ORICO 1088USJ3 Multi-Bay SATA to USB3.0 Enclosure Supports up to Ten 3.5″ Hard Drives

USB expansion drives and multi-bay NAS devices are both very common form of storage which have different applications, but I had never thought or seen multi-bay USB expansion drivers until I came across ORICO NS200U3 “2-bay USB 3.0 hard drive dock” on GearBest (~$82) that can handle two 3.5″ hard drives. This piqued my interest, so I went to ORICO website looking for models supporting more hard drives, and found ORICO 1088USJ3, a 10-bay USB 3.0 to SATA enclosure that can provide up to 80TB of local storage with 8TB drives. ORICO 1088USJ3 specifications: Storage – 10x SATA III slots up to 6 Gbps for 3.5″ HDD / SSD drive (up to 8TB per drive) Output Interface – USB 3.0 device port up to 5 Gbps Power Supply – 100-240V AC 50-60Hz Protection – Over-current, over-voltage, short circuit, overheat, and power leakage. Dimensions – 389(L) x 203(W) x 501(H)mm (aluminum […]

January 18, 2018January 25, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 38 Comments

ODROID-HC2 Linux NAS System for 3.5″ Hard Drives Launched for $54

We knew it was coming, and Hardkernel has now launched an updated version of the ODROID-HC1, called ODROID-HC2 based on the same Samsung Exynos 5422 board, but instead supporting 3.5″ hard drives. The device can now be purchased for $54 plus shipping, but you may also consider adding some accessories like a 12V/2A power supply, and the top cover for the enclosure. [Update: Also listed on Ameridroid now]ODROID-HC2 specifications: SoC – Samsung Exynos 5422 octa-core processor with 4x ARM Cortex-A15 @ 2.0 GHz, 4x ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.4GHz, and Mali-T628 MP6 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Full profile System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 RAM PoP @ 750 MHz Storage UHS-1 micro SD slot up to 128GB SATA interface via JMicron JMS578 USB 3.0 to SATA bridge chipset Case supports 2.5″ or 3.5″ drives up to 27mm thick Network Connectivity – 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet (via […]

January 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Cracking Open a Self-Powered Shower Temperature Display

A month ago, I wrote about a $10 self-powered thermometer display that connects to your shower header and can display the water temperature near real-time to help with mixing hot and cold water tap to achieve the perfect temperature. It’s not really useful where I live, but I was hoping somebody would buy one, and crack it open to find out how it works. It turns out MickMake has done just that even bringing an oscilloscope in the shower… If you just want to use the thing, the good news is that it appears to work well, and temperature is displayed within less than one second after turning the tap, and goes up as hot/warm water goes through it. Now for the teardown… It does not seem that easy to open it, but he managed, and found a 470 uF capacitor, LS164 8-bit shift register for the LCD display, ABS6 […]

January 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Samsung Unveils Exynos 7872 Hexa-core Arm Cortex A73/A53 Mobile Processor

Samsung has introduced a new hexa-core Exynos 5 series processor with Exynos 7872 featuring two Cortex A73 cores, four Cortex A53 cores, a Mali-G71 MP1 GPU, and an LTE modem that supports Category 7 with 2CA for 300Mbps downlink speed and Category 13 with 2CA for 150Mbps. The new processor claims to bring premium performance to mid-tier device with a doubling of single core performance compared to its predecessor, which should be Exynos 5430 or Exynos 5422 octa-core Cortex A15A/7 processor. Samsung Exynos5 7872 processor specifications: CPU – Dual-core Cortex-A73 @ up to 2.0GHz, and Quad-core Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.6GHz GPU – Arm Mali-G71 MP1 Memory I/F – LPDDR3 Storage I/F – eMMC 5.1, SD 3.0 Display – Up to WUXGA (1920×1200) LTE Modem – LTE Cat.7 2CA 300Mbps (DL) / Cat.13 2CA 150Mbps (UL) Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11n Dual-band, Bluetooth 5, FM Radio GNSS – GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo […]

January 17, 2018January 17, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ZidooLab OPS Android Digital Signage Players are Powered by Rockchip RK3368 or Realtek RTD1295 SoC

Zidoo is known for their Arm based Android TV boxes targeting the consumer market, but the company also runs ZidooLab for the B2B market, and especially digital signage application, which may explain why they release a digital signage SDK a while ago. The company can customize hardware and software for their customer’s needs, but what caught my intention is that they have Arm based digital signage players that comply with OPS (Open Pluggable Specification) that was first released by Intel in 2010, and defines electrical, mechanical and thermal specifications of OPS compliant devices which are meant to be plugged into compliant monitors. ZidooLab has currently two Android OPS hosts: A1 & A2 that share most of the same specifications, except for the processor, and some I/Os: SoC A1 – Rockchip RK3368 octa-core Cortex A53 processor up to 1.5 GHz, PowerVR G6110 GPU A2 – Realtek RTD1295 quad core Cortex A53 […]

January 17, 2018January 18, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Review of GOLE 10 Mini PC with 10.1″ Touchscreen Display – Part 2: Windows 10 Pro

Depending on your point of view, GOLE 10 is a mini PC with a touchscreen display, or a really thick tablet with an inclined display. I’ve already received a sample, and had a look at the hardware in the first part of the review, so in the second I tested the performance and stability, and thought about and test some use cases for this type of products. GOLE 10 (aka F6) Setup and System Info There are various way to use the mini PC, either as a standalone screen without any peripheral connected using the touchscreen, or as a mini PC with USB keyboard and mouse and potential other accessories, or in a dual display setup with the device connected to an HDMI TV or monitor. I decided to connect it to my “test” TV, add a USB 3.0 drive, USB keyboard and mouse, Ethernet cable, and of course the […]

January 16, 2018April 13, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Espressif ESP32 LyraTD MSC HDK is Designed for Smart Speakers, Wireless Audio and other Smart Home Appliances

[Update February 17, 2018: The kit was previously referred as ESP32 LyRaTD MS1, but the company appears to have changed the name to ESP32-LyRaTD-MSC] So apparently voice command will represent 50% of all searches in the next two years, and everybody is jumping on the smart speaker bandwagon, with announcements from many companies at CES 2018, including Google’s Android Things + Assistant products‘ announcement, NXP i.MX 8M official launch, Amazon Alexa Voice Service (AVS) development kit from Amlogic and Allwinner, and more. Espressif Systems is about to join the party with their ESP32 LyraTD MS1 HDK (Hardware development kit) that most people will likely remember as “Audio Mic HDK” that was announced on Twitter. Espressif Audio Mic HDK specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROVER module with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 LE connectivity. DSP – 4-mic array chip Storage – micro SD card for audio files Audio Audio driver chip […]

January 16, 2018February 15, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Ikascope WS200 Oscilloscope and ScanaQuad SQ50 Logic Analyzer & Pattern Generator Review – Part 1: Unboxing

IkaScope WS200 WiFi oscilloscope fits in your hand like a pen, and works with devices running desktop or mobile operating systems, namely Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS. I covered the tool last September, and IkaLogic – the French startup behind the project – has now sent me a sample for review, as well as their ScanaQuad SQ50 4-channel logic analyzer and pattern generator. Since I had never checked out the latter, I’ve decided to start the review with an unboxing post, before reporting my experience actually using the tools next month. IkaScope WS200 Wireless Oscilloscope Probe The oscilloscope comes with a ground clip, a micro USB to USB cable for charging, and a getting started guide with a QR code to download IkaScope program or app. Once you open it, it really looks like an over-sized Stabilo highlighter. The only needed hardware connection needs is the ground […]