Sonoff B1 is an $18 Hackable WiFi RGB LED E27 Light Bulb based on ESP8285 WiSoC

Earlier this year, I wrote about an ESP8266 based RGB LED “AI Light” lightbulb that was hacked to run ESPurna open source firmware. That’s all good, except some people tried to get one, and ended with a different hardware. So if you’d like something that’s more of a “sure thing”, ITEAD Studio has designed Sonoff B1 dimmable RGB LED E27 light bulb based on ESP8285 processor, and with a “4 pads” to allow for custom firmware flashing. Sonoff B1 hardware specifications: Typical Lumen Output – 600lm Beam Angle – 120 degrees typ. Color Temperature –  2800K-6500K & RGB full color Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz Power Supply – 90-260V AC 50/60Hz via E27 base Power Consumption – Light off: 0.5W Max; rated power: 6W Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC~ 40ºC; storage: -20ºC~ 80ºC Operating Humidity – 5%-90% RH Sonoff B1 with stock firmware can be controlled using the […]

Orange Pi i96 96Boards IoT Edition WiFi & Bluetooth Development Board Finally Launched for $8.80

Orange Pi i96 board was first unveiled at Linaro Connect US 2016 in September of that year, as one of the first boards compliant with 96Boards IoT Edition specification, and expected to sell for just $9.99. The good news is that the board is now finally available for $8.80 plus shipping on Aliexpress ($12.19 in total in my case) Orange Pi i96 specifications: SoC – RDA Micro 8810PL ARM Cortex A5 processor @ up to 1.0 GHz with 2Gbit (256 MB) on-chip LPDDR2 RAM, 4Gbit (512 MB) on-chip SLC NAND flash , 256KB L2 cache, and Vivante GC860 3D GPU External Storage – micro SD slot Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.1/EDR module (RDA5991) Camera – MIPI CSI-2 connector for camera sensor up to 5MP Video – 1080p30 H.264 encoding USB – 1x USB host port, 1x micro USB OTG port Expansion – 40-pin GPIO header with SPI, […]

Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 1200 Platform for Wearables Supports LTE Cat M1 and NB1 (NB-IoT)

After Snapdragon Wear 2100 and 1100 launched last year , Qualcomm has announced a new Snapdragon Wear 1200 platform still designed for wearables, but with lower power consumption, less processing power, a more compact package, and built-in support for LTE IoT communications standards such as LTE Cat M1 and LTE NB-IoT (Cat NB1).   Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 1200 key features and specifications: CPU – ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.3 GHz Memory / Storage – Support for discreet or MCP NAND and LPDDR2 Display – Support via SPI for simple UI and displays Modem Global multi-mode supporting Cat-M1 / NB1 / E-GPRS. Supports LTE FDD and TDD for Cat-M1 and E-GRPS and FDD only for Cat-NB1 Up to 300 kbps downlink and 350 kbps uplink for Cat-M1 10 kbps download and 60 kbps upload speeds for Cat-NB1 Integrated voice support for VoLTE Other Connectivity – Pre-integrated support for Qualcomm 11ac Wi-Fi […]

A95X R2 TV Box Review – Part 2: Android 7.1, Video & Audio Tests, and Benchmarks

In the first part of A95X R2 Rockchip RK3328 TV box review, I listed the specifications of the device, took a few photos, and reported about the chip used in the PCBA. I’ve now had time to play with the box, so I can report about my experience with Android 7.1, video & audio capabilities, and the performance of the device in the second part of the review. First Boot, Setup, and First Impressions I connected a USB 3.0 hard drive to the USB 3.0 port of the box, a USB keyboard to one of the USB port to take screenshots, and a USB hub with the RF dongles for my air mouse and gamepad in the remaining USB 2.0 port. I completed the hardware setup with Ethernet and HDMI cables, as well as the power supply. I then pressed the power button on the unit to start it up, […]

MXCHIP AZ3166 IoT Developer Kit is Designed to Work with Microsoft Azure

MXCHIP is a Shanghai based company designing and manufacturing WiFi IoT modules such as EMW3165, which has now made a development board based on their EMW3166 STM32+ Cypress module – called MXChip AZ3166 – specifically designed for Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. MXChip AZ3166 board specifications: Wireless Module – EMW3166 WiFi module with STM32F412 ARM Cortex M4F MCU @ 100 MHz with 256KB SRAM,1MB+2MB SPI Flash, Cypress BCM43362 WiFi chip Display – 128×64 OLED display Audio – Audio codec, built-in microphone, and 3.5mm heaphone jack Sensors – Motion sensor,  magnetometer, atmospheric pressure sensor,  temperature and humidity sensor Expansion – Finger extension interface with 25 external I/O pins including GPIOs, I2C, I2S, UART, ADC, Reset, 3.3V, and GND Debugging – DAP Link emulator USB – 1x Micro USB port for power, programming, debugging Misc – 2x user buttons;  1x RGB light; 3x working status indicator; IR emitter; Security encryption chip Power Supply […]

Olimex Launches 22 Euros ESP32-GATEWAY Board with Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth LE

Olimex has just launched ESP32-GATEWAY board, as cost-down version of their ESP32-EVB board, still with Ethernet, WiFi, and Bleutooth LE, but without any relays, CAN bus, nor IR control, less I/Os, and a smaller footprint. Olimex ESP32-GATEWAY specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-WROOM32 module with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth LE Wired Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet with RJ45 jack (via LAN8710A) External Storage – micro SD slot Expansion – 20-pin GPIO connector USB – 1x micro USB port for debugging (CH340T) and power Misc – Reset and user buttons Power Supply – 5V via micro USB port Dimensions – 62 x 50 mm Another change is the lack of a LiPo charger to run the board from batteries. Just like most Olimex boards, ESP32-GATEWAY is open source hardware with KiCAD design files available on Github. The software directory is still empty, but Ethernet demo code using ESP32-IDF has been pushed for […]

Design Amazon Alexa Gateways, Robots and Smart Speakers with WisCore Modular Development Kit

RAK Wireless has launched a new development board powered by Mediatek MT7628A processor running OpenWrt with built-in WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, and audio codec and microphone to support Amazon Alexa voice service. Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-wave will also be supported via UART modules. Wiscore Specifications: Processor – Mediatek MT7628A MIPS24KEc CPU @ up to  580MHz System Memory –  128MB DDR2 (64 MB optional) Storage – 16 MB flash + micro SD card Audio MicroSemi ZL38062 for audio in and out MicroSemi ZL38067 to handle “Alexa” keyword single or dual digital microphone up to 5 meter range Far field voice wake up Support for echo cancellation Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi 2×2 MIMO up to 300 Mbps 2x 10/100M Ethernet (LAN and WAN) Optional UART modules for Bluetooth, ZigBeem Z-Wave USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port Expansion – Arduino headers with UART, I2C, SPI and GPIOs Power Supply – 5V via […]

Marvell 88W8987xA Wireless SoC Supports 802.11ac & 802.11p WiFi, Bluetooth 5 for V2X & IVI Automotive Applications

Marvell has introduced the new 88W8987xA wireless chip with 802.11ac, 802.11p and Bluetooth 5 Connectivity for V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) and IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) automotive applications such as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) systems, and secure wireless Gateway systems. Key features of Marvell 88W8987xA family: Connectivity WiFI – IEEE 802.11ac (wave2) up to 433 Mbps / IEEE 802.11p WAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments) / 1609.x Bluetooth 5 including Bluetooth Low Energy Angle of Arrival and Departure (AoA/AoD) 2x antenna configuration for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth coexistence Host Interfaces – SDIO 3.0 interface (4-bit SDIO and 1-bit SDIO) @ up to 208 MHz;  high-Speed UART interface (for Bluetooth only) Audio Interfaces – Digital audio interfaces (PCM) Temperature Range – -40°C to +105°C (AEC-Q100 Grade 2 Qualification) Package – pin 8×8 mm QFN with wettable flanks The family now includes three pin-to-pin compatible SoCs: 88W8987A with 802.11ac + Qualified Bluetooth 5 Functionality 88W8987PA with 802.11p + […]