CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

September 18, 2017December 23, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

MeLE PCG35 Apo mini PC Review – Part 1: Unboxing, Teardown, and M.2 SSD / SATA HDD Installation

MeLE PCG35 Apo is a mini PC powered by Intel Pentium J3455, one of the most powerful Intel processors from Apollo Lake family, coupled with 4GB LPDDR3, 32GB eMMC flash and support for M.2 SSD and 2.5″ SATA HDD/SSD. The company sent me a sample for review, and I’ll start by taking photos of the device, accessories, and internal design, as well as showing how to install an M.2 SSD and 2.5″ SATA drive, before publishing the second part of the review with Windows 10 at the end of next month. MeLE PCG35 Apo Unboxing The mini PC comes with the usual black package with gold fonts the company has used us to. The side shows the main specifications of the fanless mini PC. The mini PC, which comes with an aluminum heatsink shaped as number 6, ships with a 12V/2A power supply plus UK, AU, US, and EU plug […]

September 17, 2017September 21, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 4 Comments

Review of Vobot Alarm Clock with Alexa

Karl here with a review of Vobot sent By Cafago. I had to Google it when I was asked to review it. Turned out it was an Echo type device with a pixel display and a battery. It started as an Indiegogo campaign. I had been wanting to try to do some sort of voice control with my home automation so I agreed to review it. Vobot Clock C1 Specifications These are pulled from Vobot’s website. No power supply is included but a long USB cable is. Vobot Setup I let my wife do the initial setup as I figured that she would use it the most. She followed the instructions, and it seemed straightforward from what she told me. She said she had to reboot it once during a step but it continued the setup with no problems. She tied to our Amazon Prime account, and she quickly was […]

September 16, 2017September 16, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Review of Koogeek BP2 Bluetooth Blood Pressure Monitor

Koogeek BP2 is an FDA approved smart blood pressure monitor that connects over Bluetooth to your Android or iOS smartphone, or WiFi to the cloud. The company sent me a sample for evaluation, so let’s get started right away. Koogeek BP2 Unboxing The device is sent in a cardboard package with Koogeek brand… and some more derails about the specifications on the bottom of the package. I asked the company to confirm about FDA approval, and they told me to look for K134029 on the FDA website, which lead me to this document testing Shenzhen Belter Health Management and Analysis ePA-46B, and comparing it to the results of Omron HEM-7200-Z (BP742) with the conclusion being that: The Belter Blood pressure meter (ePA-46B) is substantially equivalent to the predicate devices. Koogeek BP2 is the same as Belter ePA-46B, but just rebranded, and with a different mobile app. In the package will find […]

September 15, 2017September 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

7″ LCD Display with HDMI input, Audio output Launched for Orange Pi (and Other) Boards

If you want a cheap and simple way to add a screen to your development board, there are some 7″ displays with HDMI inputs that costs under $30 shipped. But Shenzhen Xunlong has decided to make their own 7″ LCD display with HDMI input and audio output, and sell for $22 + shipping. The company only provided minimal technical information about the board and display: Display – 7″ TFT LCD with 1024×600 resolution Video & Audio Input – HDMI Audio Output – 3.5mm audio jack Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port If we look at a closer picture of the board, we’ll see they used Lontium LT8619B, but the company’s website is down… The board also features three different connectors for displays, so they probably have other displays planned. While the company claims the display is made for Orange Pi H3 boards, it should really work with any […]

September 15, 2017September 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Hantek PSO2020 is a $53 USB Oscilloscope Pen

I previously covered IkaScope & Aeroscope oscilloscope probes that are both portable and connect wirelessly to your mobile device or computer over respectively WiFi or Bluetooth. The former has slightly better specifications and sells for 300 Euros, while the latter goes for $200 US with 20 MHz bandwidth and 100 MSps capabilities. Several people mentioned it was more expensive than they were prepare to pay, but I’ve been informed about another portable solution: Hantek PSO2020 oscilloscope pen with about the same key specifications as Aeroscope 100A, except it relies on a USB port instead of a wireless connection. This also means it does not need a battery, and sells for much less at $53.20 including shipping. Hantek PSO2020 specifications: Analog Bandwidth – 20 MHz Sample Rate – 96 MSps Host Interface – USB 2.0 port Input Range – +/-50 V range Input Sensitivity – 20mV/div to 50V/div Offset Range – […]

September 15, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Unofficial List of TV boxes Running Android TV OS

Most TV boxes run a modified version of Android operating system for smartphone, and devices based on Google’s Android TV are harder to find, and often country specific since they are tied to local streaming services. Yesterday, I was searching for boxes based on Marvell Armada 1500 Ultra SoC, and first found a couple in Spain and the US, but eventually found a bunch more when I discovered somebody was keeping track of all/most Android TV devices in a page hosted by Google but with no actual affiliation with Google. The devices are sorted in three categories: Pay TV Providers, usually only sold in a specific country with programs in the local language, and a fairly long list Streaming / Gaming – Those are the most famous Android TV TV boxes like Xiaomi Mi Box or Nvidia Shield Android TV with only 6 models in that list TVs with Android […]

September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

NXP RoadLink SAF5400 is a Single Chip Secure DSRC/802.11p V2X Platform

Marvell unveiled 88W8987xA wireless SoC for V2X (Vehicle to Everything) applications supporting 802.11p WiFi, and DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) last June, but NXP has recently launched Roadlink SAF5400 which it claims to be the world’s first “automotive qualified, high-performance single-chip DSRC modem” Key features for Roadlink SAF5400: Compliant with IEEE 802.11p, IEEE 1609.4 Compliant with: ETSI EN 302663 – Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Access layer specification for Intelligent Transport Systems operating in the 5 GHz frequency band ETSI EN 302571 – Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS); Radiocommunications equipment operating in the 5 855 MHz to 5 925 MHz frequency band; Harmonized EN covering the essential requirements of article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive Compliant with ARIB T-109M – 700 MHz Band Intelligent Transport Systems Single channel handling for 802.11p reception/transmission. Includes Channel Switching Optional ECDSA verification: 2000 messages/sec (Brainpool/NIST curves 256 bits) Qualified in accordance with AEC-Q100 grade 2 Host […]

September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Goophone Phone X is an iPhone X “Clone” with Fake 4G LTE, Fake Storage Capacity, and Fake Android Version

Apple recently released iPhone X, but at close to $1,000 it’s not for everybody. If you want the “social status” that comes with owning the thing, but have limited budget, and/or find spending $1,000 on a phone is ridiculous, Goophone has prepared Phone X smartphone for you that externally looks like an iPhone X, and only sells for around $105 and up. It just comes with 8 or 16 GB flash, and 2G/3G connectivity, but don’t you worry losing face in front of your friends, as it has a fake 4G LTE mode, and reports 64GB flash storage. Social life saved! Goophone Phone X specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT6580 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor @ up to 1.3 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8 or 16GB (shown as fake 64GB) + micro SD slot up to 64GB Display – 5.5 ” capacitive […]