Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Ambiq Micro Introduces Ultra-Low Power Apollo 2 Cortex-M4F MCU Consuming Less than 10 μA/MHz

Ambiq Micro Introduces Ultra-Low Power Apollo 2 Cortex-M4F MCU Consuming Less than 10 μA/MHz

Last year Ambiq Micro unveiled their Apollo Cortex-M4F MCU with Cortex M0+ energy efficiency thanks to operation in sub-threshold voltage (< 0.5 V), and the MCU is said found in Matrix Powerwatch, a fitness tracker powered by body heat that you never need to charge. The company has recently announced a new version of the micro-controller with Apollo 2 MCU with better maximum performance thanks to a higher maximum clock speed (48 MHz vs 24 MHz), and higher efficiency (10 μA/MHz vs 30 μA/MHz @ 3.3V). Apollo 2 MCU key features and specifications: Ultra-low supply current <10 μA/MHz executing from flash at 3.3 V <10 μA/MHz executing from RAM at 3.3 V ARM Cortex-M4 Processor up to 48 MHz with FPU, MMU, wake-up interrupt controller with 32 interrupts Ultra-low power memory Up to 1 MB of flash memory for code/data Up to 256 KB of low leakage RAM for code/data […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on NXP LPC Microcontrollers Roadmap for 2017 – LPC800 and LPC54000 Series

NXP LPC Microcontrollers Roadmap for 2017 – LPC800 and LPC54000 Series

With the acquisition of Freescale, NXP now has both Kinetis and LPC ARM Cortex M micro-controller families. The company has kept selling both so far, but it’s unclear whether they’ll keep developing new Kinetis MCU family in the future. There’s no such doubt about LPC family with the company having published a 2017 roadmap for ARM Cortex M0+ based LPC 800 series, and ARM Cortex M4 based LPC54000 series. LPC800 series MCUs are promoted as 8-bit MCU alternatives, and three new models are expected next year: LPC84x ARM Cortex M0+ @ 30 MHz with 64KB flash, 8 to 16KB RAM available in QFN and LQFP packages. LPC802 ARM Cortex M0+ @ 15 MHz with 16KB flash, 2KB RAM available in TSSOP packages LPC804 ARM Cortex M0+ @ 15 MHz with 32KB flash, 4KB RAM available in QFN or TSSOP packages There will be new models of the more powerful LPC54000 […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 31 Comments on Review of Mecool BB2 Pro TV Box with DDR4 Memory – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

Review of Mecool BB2 Pro TV Box with DDR4 Memory – Part 1: Specs, Unboxing and Teardown

Mecool BB2 Pro is yet another Amlogic S912 Android 6.0 TV box, but after Eweat R9 Plus, it’s my second TV box with DDR4 memory that should deliver much higher bandwidth compared to DDR3 memory used in most TV boxes. But so far, it’s clear how much performance can be extracted from the system with higher memory bandwidth in actual use,  and that’s exactly what I hope to find out in the second part of the review, but in this post I start by going through the specs, check the box and its accessories, as well as the hardware design. Mecool BB2 Pro specifications Apart from the DDR4 memory, BB2 Pro has pretty common specifications: SoC – Amlogic S912 octo-core ARM Cortex A53 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz with ARM Mali-820MP3 GPU System Memory – 3 GB DDR4 Storage – 16 GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Kunbus RevolutionPi RevPi Core Raspberry Pi based Industrial Computer Sells with Digital I/O Modules and Fieldbus Gateways

Kunbus RevolutionPi RevPi Core Raspberry Pi based Industrial Computer Sells with Digital I/O Modules and Fieldbus Gateways

Kunbus, a German company specialized in industrial network solution, has decided to design an industrial system based on Raspberry Pi Computer module supporting variable power supply, a wide temperature range, DIN rail mounting, etc, as well as corresponding digital I/O modules and fieldbus gateways. RevolutionPI RevPi Core specifications: SoC – Broadcom BCM2835 ARM11 processor @ 700 MHz System Memory – 512 MB Storage – 4GB flash Video Output – Micro HDMI port Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet port USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB port Misc – RTC, 3x status LEDs (2 programmable) Power Supply – 10.7 V to 28.8 V; polarity protection; 4 kV / 8 kV ESD protection & EMI passed (according to EN61131-2 and IEC 61000-6-2), surge and burst tests passed Power Consumption – Max: 10 Watts including 2 x 450 mA USB load; typ.: 4 watts. Dimensions – 96 x 22.5 x 110.5 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 30 Comments on Compress & Decompress Files Faster with lbzip2 multi-threaded version of bzip2

Compress & Decompress Files Faster with lbzip2 multi-threaded version of bzip2

Bzip2 is still one of the most commonly used compression tools in Linux, but it only works with a single thread, and I’ve been made aware that lbzip2 allows multi-threaded bzip2 compressions which should lead to much better performance on multi-core systems. lbzip2 was not installed by default in my Ubuntu 16.04 machine, but it’s easy enough to install:

I have cloned mainline linux repository on my machine, so let’s see how long it takes to compress the directory with bzip2 (one core compression):

9 minutes and 22 seconds. Now let’s repeat the test with lbzip2 using all 8 cores from my AMD FX8350 processor:

2 minutes 32 seconds. Almost 4x times, not bad at all. It’s not 8 times faster because you have to take into account I/Os, and at the beginning the system is scanning the drive, using all 8-core but not all full throttle. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Quectel SC20 Smart LTE Modules with WiFi, BLE and GPS Run Android 5.1

Quectel SC20 Smart LTE Modules with WiFi, BLE and GPS Run Android 5.1

Google may just have released Android Things operating systems for IoT applications, but its big brother – Android – has already gotten into some other IoT systems such as Quectel SC20 module powered by a Qualcomm processor and supporting LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and GNSS functions. Quectel SC20 comes in different flavors to cater for various markets, but all module share most of the same specifications: SoC – Unnamed Qualcomm processor System Memory – TBD Storage – 8GB flash Cellular Connectivity – FDD LTE, TDD LTE, TD-SCDMA, EVDO/DCMA, WCDMA, and GSM; antenna: MIMO 2×2, supports Rx-diversity Other Wireless Connectivity WiFi – 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n (SC20-CE/-W); Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (SC20-E/-A/-AU/-J) Bluetooth 2.1+EDR/3.0/4.1 LE GNSS – GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou Interfaces LCD – 4x lanes MIPI-DSI, 1.5Gbps each, HD (720p) @ 60fps Camera – MIPI-CSI, up to 1.5Gbps per lane, supports two cameras 2-lane MIPI_CSI for rear camera, up to 8MP 1-lane MIPI_CSI […]

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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on ReflowR is a $99 SMT Reflowing Tool for Makers and Students

ReflowR is a $99 SMT Reflowing Tool for Makers and Students

You can solder SMT components to your custom board by hand, but it would be much faster if you could get a reflow tool instead to “bake” your board after placing the components. ReflowR SMT reflowing tool offers just that in a small and affordable form factor. Some people have tried to use DIY solutions to bake their board, but results may vary. ReflowR has been specifically designed to heat PCB offering constant results. It supports reflow, rework, MSD bake, or rework pre-bake, and follows JEDEC reflow profiles. You can also add a WiFi extension to monitor the tool from your smartphone and set the temperature profile. Two version are available: Smart ReflowR – Compact 600W system for for makers and learners. Large ReflowR – Larger 1200W system for professionals “STEM Inspiration kits” are also offered without a ReflowR kit, but with multiple components, solder paste, a few PCBs, tweezers, […]

Posted on by Karl Johnson - 16 Comments on YokaTV KB2 Review – Amlogic S912 TV Box with 32 GB Flash

YokaTV KB2 Review – Amlogic S912 TV Box with 32 GB Flash

CNXSoft: This is another review by Karl about Amlogic S912 based YokaTV KB2 TV box. Introduction Today we will be looking at Videostrong YokaTV KB2. Below are the specs from Videostrong website. This is my first S912 device so I had high expectation. I have been using it for quite some time now with no major issues. I received approximately 6 OTA updates since I started testing and some welcome updates have come. Build When I receive a box first thing I do is take it apart and check out the inside. I was excited when I found out it had 32 gig of storage. It is not too common. Then when I opened the box I was really happy to see an antenna that wasn’t soldered on. Makes it easy to add a different one. +1 for KB2. Then I noticed the heat sink. It seemed a little small. […]

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