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Olimex launched ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-USB Development Board

Posted on 20 February, 2021 by mixos

ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-USB is an ESP32-S2 based development board with USB host and device functionality USB-OTG

ESP32-S2 is a highly integrated, low-power, single-core Wi-Fi Microcontroller SoC, designed to be secure and cost-effective, with high performance and a rich set of IO capabilities. Compared to ESP32, ESP32-S2 is only single-core and misses the Ethernet and Bluetooth connectivity, but have many mode GPIOs which were missing in ESP32. The typical use is for WiFi-enabled devices. ESP32-S2 supports low power modes including deep sleep with as low as 20uA.

ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-USB board is pin to pin compatible with Espressif ESP32-Saola-1, but adds Lipo charger and ability to work on LiPo power when the external power supply is missing, allowing handheld applications. ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-USB uses the built-in USB interface and can work as host and device, even when powered by the LiPo battery. All components used are with industrial-grade operating temperature -40+85C.ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-EA comes with an ESP32 module with a U.FL connector and external antenna attached.\

ESP32-S2-WROVER-DevKit-Lipo comes with ESP32-WROVER-B module with 4MB Flash and 2MB PSRAM. The power consumption of ESP32-WROVER-DevKit-Lipo is 65 uA in deep sleep mode.

ESP32-S2-DevKit-Lipo-USB can be programmed via a built-in USB interface, but the board has provisions for external programmers like ESP-PROG to be used for code programming.

Features:

ESP32-WROOM-32 WiFi/BLE module or ESP32-WROVER-B module
RGB led
User button, Reset button
Micro USB-OTG connector
Can work as Host and Device
Built-in LiPo charger
LiPo battery connector
PCB dimensions: (1.9 x 1.1)” ~ (4.8 x 2.8)cm
Operating temperature -40+85C

The board is available for purchase for 6.95 EUR on Olimex eshop.

Industrial Shields Raspberry Pi UPSberry

Posted on 20 February, 2021 by mixos

Industrial Shields Raspberry Pi UPSberry offers a 10 second of UPS saver using input from Raspberry Pi. This Raspberry Pi UPS shield is a Plug-and-Play UPS smart shield including a Real-Time Clock (RTC) for Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi operates at 12V_dc or 24V_dc supply voltage. This Raspberry Pi can avoid any SD corruption issue and is compatible in all Raspberry PI B versions.

Features

Plug-and-Play UPS smart shield and Real-Time Clock (RTC) for Raspberry Pi
Avoid any SD corruption issue
12V_dc or 24V_dc input voltage
With RS485 protocol available
Compatible in all Raspberry PI B versions
Less than 1 minute recharge time
Less than 20 seconds reconnecting time

more information: https://www.industrialshields.com/rupsberry-ups-raspberry-pi-uninterrupted-power-supply-for-raspberry-pi

Eaton SMBJ 600W Transient Voltage Suppressors

Posted on 20 February, 2021 by mixos

Eaton SMBJ 600W Transient Voltage Suppressors offer less than 1μA typical I_R above 10V, and fast response time, typically less than 1.0ps from 0V to V_BR minimum. The series provides 600W peak pulse power capability at 10/1000μs waveform and excellent clamping capability. The low-profile SMB UL94V-0 packages are designed for surface-mounted applications to optimize board space. They are suitable for high-temperature reflow soldering (+260°C/40s at the terminal) and have terminals with solder-plated leads. Ideal applications for Eaton SMBJ 600W Transient Voltage Suppressors include consumer electronics, telecommunications, computing and servers, appliances, industrial automation, mobile, and wearables.

Features

Low-profile SMB package
Excellent clamping capability
600W peak pulse power capability at 10/1000μs waveform
Less than 1μA typical I_R above 10V
Fast response time, typically less than 1.0ps from 0V to V_BR minimum
High-temperature reflow soldering: +260°C/40s at the terminal
Plastic package meets UL94V-0 flammability rating
Meets moisture sensitivity level (MSL) 1
Terminal: Solder-plated leads, solderable per J-STD-002
Designed for surface-mounted applications to optimize board space
UL 497B recognized

more information: https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us.html

Quectel RM50xQ Global 5G Modules are available

Posted on 20 February, 2021 by mixos

Quectel RM50xQ Global 5G Modules adopts the 3GPP Release 15 LTE technology to support both 5G Non-Standalone Architecture (NSA) and Standalone Architecture (SA) modes. These modules are optimized specially for IoT/eMBB applications. The RM50xQ modules are compatible with LTE-A Cat 6 module EM06, Cat 12 module EM12 and EM120R-GL, and Cat 16 module EM160R-GL. This enables the migration from LTE-A to 5G. These modules support Qualcomm^® IZat™ location technology Gen9C Lite (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou/compass, and Galileo). The RM50xQ modules feature an integrated GNSS receiver that simplifies the product design and provides a more accurate and more dependable positioning capability. Typical applications include industrial routers, home gateway, STB, industrial laptop, consumer laptop, industrial PDA, rugged tablet PC, video surveillance, and digital signage.

Features

Covers global 5G frequency bands
5G/4G/3G multi-mode module with M.2 form factor:
- Optimized for IoT and eMBB applications
Up to 5.0Gbps multi-gigabit data rates
Worldwide 5G and LTE-A coverage
NSA and SA modes supported
Multi-constellation GNSS capabilities
USB 3.0/3.1, PCIe 3.0, and eSIM interfaces

more information: https://www.quectel.com/product/rm50xq.htm

INA190-Q1, 40V, bi-directional, ultra-precise current sense amplifier

Posted on 20 February, 202120 February, 2021 by mixos

The INA190-Q1 is an automotive, low-power, voltage-output, current-shunt monitor (also called a current-sense amplifier). This device is commonly used for monitoring systems directly connected to an automotive 12-V battery. The INA190-Q1 can sense drops across shunts at common-mode voltages from –0.2 V to +40 V, independent of the supply voltage. In addition, the input pins have an absolute maximum voltage of 42 V.

Features

Low Supply Voltage, VVS: 1.7V to 5.5V
Wide Common-Mode Voltage: –0.2V to +40V
Low Shutdown Current: 100nA (Max)
Low Input Bias Currents: 500pA (Typ) (Enables Microamp Current Measurement)
Low Offset Voltage, VOS: ±15 µV (Max)
Accuracy:
- Gain Error: ±0.2% (A1 Devices)
- Offset Drift: 0.13µV/°C (Max)
- Gain Drift: 5ppm/°C (Max)
Gain Options:
- INA190A1: 25V/V
- INA190A2: 50 V/V
- INA190A3: 100V/V
- INA190A4: 200V/V
- INA190A5: 500V/V
Quiescent Current: 50µA at 25°C (Typ)
Package: 1.8mm x 1.4mm UQFN-10

The low input bias current of the device permits the use of larger current-sense resistors, thus providing accurate current measurements in the microamp range. The low offset voltage of the zero-drift architecture extends the dynamic range of the current measurement. This feature allows for smaller sense resistors with lower power loss, while still providing accurate current measurements.

The INA190-Q1 operates from a single 1.7-V to 5.5-V power supply and draws a maximum of 65 µA of supply current. Five fixed gain options are available: 25 V/V, 50 V/V, 100 V/V, 200 V/V, or 500 V/V. The device is specified over the operating temperature range of –40°C to +125°C, and offered in an SC70 package.

more information: https://www.ti.com/product/INA190-Q1

60V Input – 5V @ 50mA Output High Voltage Fixed Output Regulator

This is a high voltage regulator project that provides 5V regulated output with a load capacity of 50mA from input supply 10V to 60V. The project is based on the ZXTR1005K4 regulator which is fully integrated into a TO252 package. We have tested this project with 60V DC input, but the project can take higher voltage input up to 100V, please refer to the datasheet below for more info, and don’t forget to change the capacitor C1 with a higher voltage rating.

Components: CN1 Supply Input AC/DC , BR1 Bridge Rectifier converts AC voltage into pulsating DC Voltage, R1 current limiting resistor use 1 ohm to 50ohms, Capacitor (C1) smoothing capacitor converts the full-wave rippled output of the rectifier into a more smooth DC output voltage, U1 High Voltage regulator, Capacitor (C2, C3) filter capacitor on the output.

Features

Supply Input 10V to 60V DC or 6V to 40V AC
Output 5V DC, Load Up to 50mA
AC/DC Input
Series Resistor to Limit the Input current
Large Size Capacitor on input DC Bus for Low Ripple Output
Tantalum Capacitor at Output for Stable Output
PCB Dimensions 50.80 x 34.29 mm

Schematic

Parts List

NO.	QNTY	REF.	DESC.	SUPPLIER/MANUFACTURER
1	1	BR1	DF10M/DB107 1A BRIDGE RECTIFIER	DIGIKEY 1655-1822-1-ND
2	1	CN1	4 PIN MALE HEADER 2.54MM PITCH	DIGIKEY S1011EC-40-ND
3	1	CN2	4 PIN MALE HEADER 2.54MM PITCH	DIGIKEY S1011EC-40-ND
4	1	C1	1000uF/63V	DIGIKEY 493-1129-ND
5	1	C2	100uF/10V SMD TANTULUM	DIGIKEY 478-1704-1-ND
6	1	C3	0.1uF/50V SMD SIZE 0805	YAGEO
7	1	R1	49.9E/47E 5% SMD SIZE 2512	DIGIKEY RMCF2512FT49R9CT-ND
8	1	U1	ZXTR1005K4-13 SMD TO252	DIGIKEY ZXTR1005K4-13DICT-ND

Connections

Gerber View

Photos

Video

ZXTR1005K4 Datasheet

Providing Balance with the NX8MM-D168

Posted on 19 February, 2021 by mixos

It may difficult to find a balance when searching for the perfect platform to begin a new project. Trying to balance price, power, and optimal performance while ensuring the end-product accurately represents a company poses a challenge for many out there. To help make this decision easier, we are proud to announce the NX8MM-D168.

Features

NXP i.MX8M Mini, Quad-core 1.6GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Onboard LPDDR4 1GB/2GB/4GB
3D GPU / 1080p60 VPU
GbE / USB / UART / SPI / I²C / PWM / GPIO / MiniPCIe / Audio
Support MIPI-DSI / MIPI-CSI
168 pins Configurable I/O Funciton
eMMC 4GB~64GB onboard / Micro SD Scoket (Optional)
Operation Temperature: -20°C ~ +70°C / -40°C ~ +85°C (Optional)
Compact Size Module: 55mm x 35mm
OS Support: Yocto Linux, Android 9 Ready

The NX8MM-D168 is equipped with the NXP I.MX8M Mini Quad Core Cortex-A53 1.6 GHz ARM CPU with 3D GPU and includes advanced 14LPC FinFET process technology, which provides more speed and improved power efficiency. At slightly less than half the size of a credit card at 35 x 55mm and utilizing a solid 168 pin board-to-board connector with soldered-on LPDDR4 and eMMC, the NX8MM-D168 can be utilized and implemented into many space-limited applications. Despite its tiny size, it incorporates and supports a wide range of Feature-Rich I/O, such as GbE, USB, UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, MIPI-DSI, among other configurations.

For more product information, please check here.

Make your Raspberry Pi Pico Project with 5 Free Pico using Seeed Fusion’s PCB Assembly Service

Posted on 19 February, 202119 February, 2021 by Saumitra Jagdale

Raspberry Pi launched its own MCU RP Pico (Raspberry Pi Pico) featuring the RP2040 SoC back in January. Since then, Pico has become quite popular and a lot of platforms are coming up with their support to Raspberry Pi Pico. Hence, the RP Pico is all about customization of its functionalities and more. The PICO supports complex high-performing components for advanced design applications. Hence, Seeed has launched its PCB Assembly service with its support for RP Pico for using the full potential of the device. It also allows converting the design ideas into products very quickly. Additionally, Seeed is also giving away 5x Raspberry Pi Pico free for those applying for their PCB Assembly service.

Discussing further the RP2040 chip comes with two ARM Cortex-M0+ cores working at 133MHz. It also features 256KB RAM and 6 dedicated IO for SPI Flash. MCU includes a 2MB QSPI Flash memory and allows up to 30 GPIO pins with a flexible range of interfacing options. As discussed earlier, the board comes with a castellated hole/pad design for headers to be soldered onto the pads similar to development boards. Also, the whole board can act as a surface-mountable module. “The modules provide a tape and reel format to further support SMT assembly.”

You can build a cool application with Raspberry Pi Pico. Some ideas are:

Light and temperature sensing and controlling those devices
Fire detection and building safety devices
Remote controls
Toys
Embedded systems and more

Whether you’re looking for a standalone board for deep-embedded development or a companion to your Raspberry Pi computer, or you’re taking your first steps with a microcontroller, this is the board for you.

Grove Starter Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico

To help users get started easier, Seeed has launched the Grove Starter Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico. This is a Grove starter kit designed for Raspberry Pi Pico. It includes 5 sensors/ 5 actuators/ 2LEDs/ 1 LCD display/ 1 Grove shield, it will help you get started with Raspberry Pi Pico quickly and comprehensively. We have selected the most common sensors, actuators, and displays in this kit. With the help of the Grove Pico shield, you can connect all these modules to the Pico simply by plugging and unplugging. The kit is on pre-order for 43 USD. Grove Shield for Pi Pico v1.0 and Raspberry Pi Pico Basic Kit is also on pre-order now！

Make your Raspberry Pi Pico Project with Seeed Fusion

Seeed Fusion features a “streamlined” PCB assembly feature. It is a system for reducing the time to design and assembly of printed circuit boards. It also features error eliminating functionality, low-cost building and comes with:“a wide range of value-added services and capabilities. The signature Design for Assembly service verifies the user’s design to avoid costly design errors and ensure a smooth production run.”

Seeed provides support to the parts that are compatible with the boards. Hence, a user can these parts to customize application-specific designs. Seeed also gives the option of the Fusion Marketplace, which is an international platform for making designs available for customers. For more information visit the Fusion Marketplace. Seeed’s free prototyping sponsorship for business users is also available with Seeed Fusion.

To get the PCB Assembly service with 5 x free Pico boards you have to first fill in this application from Seeed. For more information visit the Seeed Studio’s announcement.

The Tiny Yet Powerful tArmDuino Features an STML071 MCU

Posted on 18 February, 202118 February, 2021 by Abhishek Jadhav

When you think of a tiny Arduino, all you expect is as many Arduino features as possible that can be large flash memory, programming connections, and obviously smaller board size. Developer Doctek designed a similar Arduino powered by ultra-low-power 32-bit MCU ARM Cortex-M0+ STM32L071KBU.

Initially, the project used STM32L031G6 microprocessor but started facing several problems on the software side. By the time STMicroelectronics introduced the STML071 series with more flash memory of 64K, 128K, and even 192K and use a 28-pin version package.

The STML071 series MCU has a RISC-based core operating at 32 MHz frequency featuring a

“memory protection unit (MPU), high-speed embedded memory (up to 192 Kbytes of Flash program memory, 6 Kbytes of data EEPROM and 20 Kbytes of RAM) plus an extensive range of enhanced I/Os and peripherals.”

With this, the OSH Park produced two boards – tArmDuino and the small (breadboard) version. KiCAD files are in the files section for both boards. Since the STM32duino project even supports STM32L071, the next step was to develop software for the tArmDuino and add these files to the Arduino.

However, there was no entry in the STM32 boards menu that was specific to the STM32L071 so he [Doctek] had to create a board definition and add it to Arduino. More details about this can be found in the project logs. But since the work is done, you can simply duplicate this by downloading the tDuino.zip file and unzipping it into the Arduino hardware folder.

After you restart the Arduino and you will be able to find the entries for “tArmDuinoL031” and “tArmDuinoL071” under the title “tArmDuino Boards”. If you plan to duplicate this task, please be sure to install the STM32duino file first. Also, check if the “debug version and the tArmDuino version of the STM32L071 are identical from the software side”.

You still cannot program or debug it even after adding tArmDuino to the Arduino IDE. For this, you need to configure the programming and debug tools needed based on installing STM32CubeIDE.

The full projects, links to details on specific things, and future build logs can be found on the Hackaday project page.

CM Hunter – Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 board with ISO interfaces

Posted on 18 February, 202122 February, 2021 by Emmanuel Odunlade

Andreas Eberle and his team have created a new Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 board with ISO interfaces: the CM Hunter.

“This is not just another Raspberry PCB,” says Andreas Eberle, as he emphasized that the powerful design tool is not just another IO board that requires you to buy so many different HAT modules. “This Carrier board was created by engineers for engineers, creators, learners, and hobbyists. It is specially designed to integrate the most commonly used interfaces and communication protocols without needing to buy additional expensive HATs.”

“When we started this design (March 2020), Compute Module 4 wasn’t released (October 2020). So, we used Compute Module 3+ for our tests. After the CM4 release, we upgraded our PCB files and Software codes. Now we have the final version of CM Hunter – Compact and Powerful.” Andreas Eberle added.

The CM Hunter carrier board has almost the same functionalities as the official carrier board of the RPi CM4 but within a smaller form factor. It uses a 1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core Cortex-A72 (Arm v8) CPU, with 1GB, 2GB, 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4 (depending on variant) with on-die ECC. It also integrates the most common communication protocols: RS485/Modbus isolated, CAN 2.0B isolated, 1-Wire isolated, HDMI 2.0, GbE, USB 2.0, 2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, and BLE. The carrier board also features an RTC, a relay for switching power circuits, an LCD Display, an SD/MMC card, and a 5V 30mm x 30mm x 6mm Maglev cooling fan that helps to keep the temperature of the CPU below 50°.

Application scenarios for the board include storing data on a USB stick, reading sensors, easy sharing data files between all communication modules, cloud servers, etc. The board can also be a perfect solution for studying Python and Linux. WiFi and Bluetooth also allow more connection possibilities with the board.

The board supports Raspbian GNU/Linux 10 (buster), Python 3.7, and PySide2 5.12. The project team also reaffirmed that they still believe in open source projects and as such, would make all design files completely open source.

“We are happy to submit CM Hunter. All design files are Open Source and in future, we will upgrade them with more interesting features. Source codes will be available at the End of our Campaign in our Github Channel: Eagle Schematic and PCB design files and Custom Raspbian Image with all Python libraries.”

More details on the CM Hunter board can be found on the Kickstarter page where the project is expected to launch soon.