Using the ESP32 7.0-inch display as a dashboard

Review of Elecrow’s 3.5-inch and 7.0-inch ESP32 display modules using Arduino programming

Hello, I’m excited to review the ESP32 display modules and HMI touchscreens from Elecrow with sizes ranging from 2.4 to 7.0 inches. For this review, Elecrow kindly provided me with both 3.5-inch and 7.0-inch models. While their screens differ in size, both modules share several components, such as the ESP32 microcontroller, making them adaptable options for a variety of projects. The Elecrow 7.0-inch display module is powered by the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N4R8 module equipped with an ESP32-S3 dual-core LX6 32-bit microprocessor, 4 MB of flash, 384 kB of ROM, and 512 kB of SRAM. This microcontroller supports both WiFi and Bluetooth for wireless communication. The 7.0-inch display itself is a capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 800×480 pixels. The display is controlled by the EK9716BD3/EK73002ACGB driver and is compatible with LVGL for additional functionality. In the case of the 3.5-inch display module, the main difference is the use of the ESP32-WROOM-32-N4 […]

ESP32 Smart PowerMeter

ESPHome compatible “Smart Powermeter” supports up to 6 CT clamps

J.G.Aguado’s “Smart Powermeter” is an ESP32-S2 board with a 2.9-inch e-paper display designed to measure power consumption through up to six CT clamps, or Current Transformer clamps, that are each attached to one of the AC lines of a house or appliance. I used an MT87 Digital Clamp Multimeter nearly 10 years ago to easily and safely measure the power consumption of a whole house by simply clamping it on one of the cables outside and reading the results on the display. The Smart Powermeter works in the same way but can perform measurements for up to six devices, and besides seeing the results on the display the ESP32-S2 can also send the data to the cloud or local server for data gathering and analysis using ESPHome or Arduino firmware. Smart Powermeter specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S2-MINI-1-N4R2 SoC – Espressif ESP32-S2FH4 CPU Single-core 32-bit LX7 microcontroller @ up to 240 […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM
GPIOViewer ESP32 GPIO web browser

Watch ESP32’s GPIO status in real-time in a web browser

GPIOViewer is an open-source Arduino library allowing users to monitor the GPIO pins status of their ESP32 board in real-time in a web browser for troubleshooting or fun. It’s different than the Wokwi ESP32 simulator that works entirely in a web browser since the GPIOViewer library sends GPIO status data of the actual hardware over WiFi to display the pin status as they change in a page rendered in a web browser from a choice of popular ESP32 development boards. The GPIOViewer library relies on the ESPAsyncWebServer Async web server for ESP8266 and ESP32 and the AsyncTCP asynchronous TCP library for ESP32 microcontrollers. The first two must be manually downloaded and installed, and the latter can be installed directly from the Arduino IDE’s Library Manager by searching for it. GPIOViewer has a 50 KB footprint, works with digital, analog, and PWM, and supports various ESP32-VROOM-32 development boards, Olimex ESP32-EVB and […]

Sipeed Tang Primer 25K Features 23,040 Logic Cells for Efficient FPGA Prototyping and Development

Sipeed Tang Primer 25K board features 23,040 Logic Cells for FPGA prototyping and development

Sipeed has recently introduced the Tang Primer 25K, an FPGA board powered by Gowin Semi GW5A-LV25MG121 chip. This board features 23,040 LUTs, USB Host capability, and an optional SDRAM module that unlocks vintage gaming. We have previously covered many FPGA boards like Sipeed Tang Mega 138K Pro, Fudan Micro JFM7K325T, ILYGO T-FPGA, and many other development boards by Sipeed including the Sipeed Tang Nano 20K with a Gowin GW2A FPGA. You can check those out if interested. The Tang Primer 25K development board is divided into the 25K SoM Board and the 25K Dock Board together they offer a comprehensive set of features: GW5A-LV25MG121 specifications: 23040 LUT4 23040 Registers (FF) 28x 18×18 Multipliers 6x PLLs Memory/Storage: 64Mbit NOR Flash 180K Distributed S-SRAM 1008K B-SRAM (bits) 56 Number of B-SRAM I/O Interfaces: 3x PMOD 40-pin header 2x buttons 8x I/O banks 75x General IO MIPI IO – 4lane Data USB Ports: […]

CNX Software Happy New Year 2024

2023 Year in review – Top 10 posts, statistics, and what to expect in 2024

It’s the last day and last article of the year, so we will look at some highlights of 2023, some traffic statistics on the CNX Software website, and speculate what interesting developments may happen in 2024. Looking back at 2023 The semiconductor shortage that had happened since 2020 started to fade away in early 2023, and supplies for most electronics components and devices seem to be adequate at this time, so that was a bright spot this year, and hopefully, it will stay that way in 2024 despite geopolitical tensions. We did not have any super exciting new Arm application processors from Rockchip, Amlogic, or Allwinner announced this year, although the Amlogic S928X penta-core Cortex-A76/A55 CPU started to show up in some 8K TV boxes. The launch of the Raspberry Pi 5 SBC with a Broadcom BCM2712 quad-core Cortex-A76 processor was probably the main highlight for Arm on this side […]

T-Keyboard-S3

T-Keyboard-S3 4-key USB mechanical keyboard features keycaps with 0.85-inch color display

LILYGO T-Keyboard-S3 is an ESP32-S3 powered USB mechanical keyboard with four keys each equipped with a keycap featuring a 0.85-inch 128×128 color display to show different icons or characters. We have already covered several programmable small mechanical keyboards/keypads or macropads, so the first time I saw the T-Keyboard-S3 I did not think much of it until I read the $65 price tag on Aliexpress which I found excessive for this type of device. That’s only until I realized that each resin keycap has its own color display that the price made sense, and it makes quite a versatile macropad as you could easily program multiple layouts depending on the use case. T-Keyboard-S3 specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 MCU – ESP32-S3R8 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025
ESP32-S3 5-inch HDMI display

NORVI ESP-HMI-5C ESP32-based HMI features a 5-inch resistive touchscreen display

NORVI ESP32-based human-machine interface (HMI) solution features a 5-inch LCD with a resistive touchscreen driven by an ESP32-S3 wireless module and support for the LVGL library. NORVI previously brought us some headless ENET industrial controllers including some with Ethernet beside the WiFi connectivity built into the ESP32 microcontroller, but the NORVI HMI device is the first product from the company with a proper display suitable for HMI applications. NORVI HMI (ESP-HMI-5C) specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3-WROOM32-1-N16R8 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning, 512 KB SRAM Memory – 8MB octal SPI PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with LE/Mesh PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot (SPI interface) Display – 5-inch LCD Display with Resistive Touch Audio – Built-in Buzzer Communication interfaces – Ethernet (W5500) and RS485 I/Os 4x digital inputs – Range 18V to 32V […]

Sonoff SMATE-2 + BASICR4 automation demo

Review of SONOFF BASICR4 Smart Switch and S-MATE2 Smart Remote Control

We’ve received two new devices from SONOFF for testing, namely the BASICR4 Smart Switch and the S-MATE2 Smart Remote Control. For those familiar with SONOFF devices, the Basic series is well-known as it was one of the initial products SONOFF introduced to the Smart Home market. It’s a Wi-Fi switch that can be used for various purposes, including controlling lights, fans, and other electrical devices. The BASICR4 model enhances capabilities while reducing costs compared to its predecessor. The S-MATE2, on the other hand, is the second version of a simple Remote Controller powered by batteries. It wirelessly connects to other SONOFF devices that support the eWeLink Remote Gateway feature, enabling full control within the same ecosystem. This expands its usability across different devices. Let’s delve into the details. SONOFF BASICR4 Introduction The Basic series has been a long-standing Wi-Fi Switch family allowing control of electrical devices through the eWeLink app […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications