Olimex Announces RT5350F-OLinuXino and Evaluation Boards Availability

Olimex had been working on a small board with Ralink RT5350F processor for over a year, with delays mostly due to software development and undocumented registers. But RT5350F-OlinuXino is now available together with an evaluation board with tow relays, two Ethernet ports, and expansions headers, as well as a DIN EBV still in development. RT5350F-OlinuXino specifications: SoC – Ralink / Mediatek RT5350F MIPS24KEc CPU @ 360 MHz System Memory – 32MB SDRAM Storage – 8MB SPI NAND Flash 3x headers with access to USB 2.0 HOST/Device 5x 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port GPIOs, SPI, I2C I2S, PCM UART JTAG Power – 3x external DCDC power converters releasing internal RT5350F vreg and preventing common problem with overheating with this chip. Dimensions – N/A Operating Temperature Range – -10 to +55C The board is pre-loaded OpenWRT with Linux 3.18.11. You can find builds instructions and other documentation in the Wiki, as well as […]

Olimex Announces Availability of TI AM3352 and Rockchip RK3188 SoM and Evaluation Boards

Olimex showcased prototypes for both Texas Instruments Sitara AM3352 and Rockchip RK3188 system-on-modules and evaluation boards in May 2014. However, development and production took a bit longer than expected, and the company has just announced availability of the platforms now. Rockchip RK3188 CPU Modules and Kit RK3188-SOM-EVB kit specifications: RK3188-SOM-4GB System-on-Module with the following key features: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core Cortex A9 processor @ 1.6GHz with Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB Flash + micro SD slot Debugging – 4-pin UART connector Misc – Reset and Recovery buttons, 3x status LEDs Dimensions – 55.88 x 81.28 mm Video Output – HDMI output + LCD output Connectivity – 10/100Mbps Ethernet USB – 4x USB Hosts, 1x micro USB OTG Expansion Connectors LCD connector for LCD-OLinuXino-XX LCDs 2x UEXT connectors 2x 40 pin GPIO connectors Misc – RTC with backup battery Power Supply – 6-16 V via […]

Olimex ESP8266-EVB Wi-Fi Evaluation Board Includes a Relay, an UEXT Connector

Olimex announced open source hardware ESP8266 modules last month, and the company has just announced the availability of ESP8266-EVB board with an ESP8266 module, a relay, an UEXT connector for other compatible Olimex modules, and headers for access to GPIOs. ESP8266 evaluation board specifications: MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV Wi-Fi module with soldered connectors Female connectors for MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV 10A/250VAC Relay Expansions 16-pin header (CON3) with access to some GPIOs, ADC, SDIO, RESET, and power signals. UEXT connector to connect modules and sensors from Olimex, or access I2C, UART, SPI, and extra GPIOs Misc – User Button which can also be pressed at boot time to enter bootloader mode for firmware upgrade. Power Supply – 5V/1A recommended; DCDC power converter to 3.3V to supply ESP8266 and UEXT modules with up to 1.5A current Dimensions – 57x50mm (4 mounting holes) You’ll also need 5V power supply, and a USB to serial board (3.3V) in order to […]

Olimex Introduces Open Source Hardware ESP8266 Wi-Fi Modules, Evaluation Board Coming Soon

ESP8266 has become popular as module based on this SoC make it incredibly cheap to add Wi-Fi to all sort of things, the SDK available, and a community has gathered around the solution. Olimex has jumped on the bandwagon, and is now provided two open source hardware ESP8266 modules: MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 which makes it easy to interface to other Olimex boards thanks to its UEXT connector, and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV with  two rows of 0.1″ connectors and an unsoldered UEXT pad, is better suited if you want to integrate it with your own baseboard, or experiment with a breadboard. An evaluation board called MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB will be launched a little later. Both modules share most specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor with 802.11 b/g/n support(32-pin QFN package), Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n with WEP, TKIP, AES, and WAPI engines, Wi-Fi direct (P2P), and soft-AP. On-board antenna and u.FL connector Expansion MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 – […]

EasyEDA is a Web-based Schematics Capture, Simulation, and PCB Layout Tool

I recently watched a video showing AllWinner R&D, and I noticed although most (all?) software engineer run Ubuntu in the PC, the hardware engineers all relied on Windows based EDA tools for schematics capture and PCB Layout. There are already Linux-based tools such as Kicad, which appears to be good for new projects, but importing existing projects can be an issue. An alternative to operating system dependent EDA software suites are web-based tools. I’ve already tried Fritzing which allows to draw circuits on breadboard, convert these to schematics and PCB layouts, and order the PCBs. It looks pretty good for its purpose, but it’s limited to mostly simple designs, and AFAIK can’t be used to replace an EDA suite. That’s where EasyEDA comes into play.  It’s a web-based tool where you can draw schematics, perform simulation, and create PCB layouts for your project, either keeping them private, or sharing them […]

33 Euros Olimex A20-OLinuXino-LIME Open Source Hardware Board Supports Linux and Android

Last year, Olimex launched A10-OLinuxXino-LIME powered by AllWinner A10, and it became quite popular due to its Linux and Android support, its open source hardware, and a price tag of just 30 Euros that made it cost competitive with BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi boards. The company has now designed an upgrade with A20-OLinuXino-LIME powered by AllWinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor, that sells for just 3 Euros more. A20-OLinuXino-LIME specifications: SoC – AllWinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 Storage – microSD card slot, SATA, and optional 4GB NAND Flash Video Output – HDMI 1080p USB –  USB-OTG + 2x USB Hosts Connectivity – 10/100Mbit Ethernet Expansions – 200 GPIOs on 0.05″ connectors Misc – Lipo battery management and connector, buttons Power – 5V Dimensions – 84 x 60 mm The specifications are exactly the same expect for the […]

Olimex Showcases RK3188-SOM Module and RK3188-EVB Evaluation Board

After launching AllWinner and Texas Instruments SoMs earlier this month, Olimex appears to be on a roll, and the company showed some working prototypes of their upcoming Rockchip RK3188  quad core ARM Cortex A9 system-on-module, and corresponding evaluation board called RK3188-SOM-EVB including both a baseboard and a SoM. Preliminary specifications for RK3188-SOM: SoC – Rockchip RK3188 quad core ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz with Mali-400 MP4 CPU System memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot, and optional 4GB NAND flash Power Management IC Debugging – debug UART console Misc – 2x buttons, 3x status LEDs Connectors – 5 GPIO connectors 2×20 pins 0.05″ step There will be two models: RK3188-SOM and RK3188-SOM-4GB, the latter adding 4GB NAND Flash. Both will be available in June for respectively 40 and 45 Euros per piece for 1k orders. For development and evaluation purpose, the company will also provide an open source hardware base board, RK3188-SOM-EVB, […]

Olimex Introduces Low Cost AllWinner A13, AllWinner A20 and TI Sitara AM3352 Systems-on-Module

About a year ago, Olimex reported working on an AllWinner A20 System-on-Module. But after some unexpected delays, Olimex A20-SOM is finally available, and they’ve even announced A13-SOM and AM3352-SOM, respectively based on AllWinner A13 and Texas Instruments Sitara AM3352 ARM Cortex A8 SoCs, with price starting at 12 Euros for 1K orders. Olimex A20-SOM and A20-SOM-4G There are actuall two versions of the SoM, A20-SOM-4G including 4GB NAND flash, and A20-SOM without. Here are the specifications: SoC – AllWinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex A7 processor with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 memory Storage – 4GB NAND Flash (A20-SOM-4G only) + microSD slot Debugging – UART console connector (at the back) PMIC – AllWinner AXP209 PMU IC Misc – Status LEDs,  RESET, RECOVERY buttons Connectors – 6x 2×20 pin 0.05″ female headers Dimensions – N/A The SoM is said to support Android and Debian, but you could also […]