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Foenix 21.5-Inch Smart Touch Computer Runs on Cortex-A35 based MediaTek MT8167A SoC

Posted on 28 December, 202028 December, 2020 by Emmanuel Odunlade

Innocomm has made an early product announcement of a 21.5-inch open-frame touch computer – Foenix iCOM1019 Touch Console – that runs Android 8.1 or higher on a 1.5 quad-core Cortex-A35 MediaTek MT8167A. This is coming after the company launched two SoM modules: SB30 and SB50, based on the quad-core, Cortex-A35 based MediaTek i300 and octa-core -A73 and -A53 MediaTek i500 SoCs, sometime around last year.

MediaTek MT8167A is a highly responsive, highly integrated quad-core is a highly responsive, highly integrated quad-core SoC built for all-day, high-speed performance and great power efficiency. It is a two-chipset package that greatly simplifies tablet design development and time to market. It provides a PowerVR GE8300 GPU as with other MediaTek 8167s, but lacks most of the extensive digital audio features of the 8167s.

Innocomm’s 21.5-inch, full HD, open frame touch-panel computer is an open frame turnkey solution designed to provide users with a high-quality experience through its richly-packed features. It is touted for its 64-bit ARM® based quad core architecture, large display size and fast wireless connectivity. It is based on MediaTek MT8167A quad-core Cortex-A35 processor and capable of Ethernet and WiFi 5, Bluetooth and ANT+ technologies. The touch console also has a touch sensitive screen with up to 1920 x 1080 high resolution for amazing and vibrant multimedia, dual 6W, 8ohm amplifier with volume buttons, dual digital microphones, 3.5mm audio I/O jack, VESA mount support, and an optional front-facing camera for face recognition and video call/conference.

The Foenix Touch Console is a perfect solution for high quality touch display in advanced fitness equipment, building and factory environment, retail and public service.

Preliminary Features and Specifications include:

CPU: MediaTek MT8167A quad-core Cortex-A35 processor @ up to 1.5 GHz
GPU: PowerVR GE8300
2GB RAM
8GB storage
MicroSD card slot
10/100M Ethernet port (RJ45)
802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 2×2 MIMO
Bluetooth 4.2 and 5.0 LE long range
Optional NFC and ANT+
21.5″ PCAP display touchscreen with 1920×1080 resolution
Optional HDMI 1.4a ports
2-channel 6W amplifier
2x digital microphones
3.5mm 4-pole audio jack
2MP front-facing camera (optional)
1x USB 2.0 host port
1x micro USB 2.0 port
3.5mm jack for serial (Tx, Rx, GND)
Power and volume keys
VESA mounts support, and,
12V/4A power supply input via DC jack
Dimensions: 52.5 cm x 31.7 cm
Operating System: Android 8.1 or above.
Certifications: CE and FCC

The company has not said anything about the price or availability of the all-in-one Foenix Touch Console yet but hopes to release details on that soon. Further details however may be found on the product page.

Accurate Digital Temperature Sensor? Meet the AMS AG AS6221

Posted on 25 December, 2020 by Emmanuel Odunlade

Temperature sensors, alone, or on their own, have infinite applications, however, one of the challenges typically experienced with their use is the varying degree of accuracy obtainable with the sensors available in the market. Adding to the growing list of precision temperature sensors in the market, Austria based sensor manufacturer ASM AG recently introduced the AS6221 temperature sensor.

The AS6221 is a highly accurate digital temperature sensor with accuracy levels of up to 0.09 °C, which is around the usual ideal accuracy level desired for applications that require high-performance thermal information.

A complete digital sensor system, the AS6221 requires no calibration or linearization and comes in an ultra-small form factor (WLCSP 1.5 x 1.0 mm) that enables accurate body/skin temperature measurements in health and lifestyle monitoring products. Design with the current standards in mind, in addition to the high accuracy and the small form factor, the AS6221 also offers very low power consumption which makes it ideal for battery-based applications, with a current consumption of around 6μA for 4 samples per second (SPS) measurement.

AS6221 has 4 different automatic data acquisition modes and communication with connected MCU is over dedicated I2C interfaces.

Some highlight features of the sensor include:

High-temperature accuracy of ±0.09 °C (20…42 °C)
Ultra-low-power consumption: 6 µA at 4 SPS (typ.) and 0.1 μA in standby (typ.)
Small form factor WLCSP package: total size 1.5 × 1.0 mm
No calibration or linearization required
A fully-digital system with up to eight I²C addresses
Programmable Alert OUT pin:
No need to constantly poll the sensor
Best-in-class accuracy
Space-saving with ultra-small integration size
Superior power efficiency for better battery endurance
Easy-to-use solution for fast go-to-market
Enables multi-device application development
Easy to integrate with a standard serial bus connection
Alert functionality for advanced system power reduction

The application of the S6221 cuts across all fields including medical, wearables, mobile health, fitness trackers, and all sort of electronic devices.

To make working with the AS6221 easy, ASM has created an evaluation kit to give developers an opportunity to experiment with the sensor and develop firmware for use in their project. The board features the AS6221 temperature sensor, along with a decoupling capacitor, and pull-up resistors. It also comes with jumpers that make it easy to set the eight I²C addresses of the sensor. A 5×1 pin header with a 2.54 mm pitch offers all necessary interfaces to connect the adapter board to your application processor. The evaluation board is listed on ASM’s website with the order code AS6221-EK.

More information on the sensor can be found on the product page on AMS’s website.

Kickstarter: Industrial 5G / 4G Raspberry Pi Shield

Posted on 25 December, 2020 by Micael Coutinho

As 5G emerges on the market, where smartphones and coverage is becoming more and more common, there is the need to provide us, makers, with the necessary tools to start building some interesting projects with 5G, so that the potential (that we see already) can be expanded even further and its potential seen on our ideas. Besides leisure time, more options in this regard can help the industry too, by enabling us to solve those everyday problems where 5G seems like a perfect fit. Hence, here is another option to consider, a new industrial 5G / 4G shield developed by the company Akari, based in Japan.

So, what is there about this shield developed by Akari? Firstly, it is an expansion board compatible with multiple SBC’s, more specifically: Raspberry Pi (models Zero, 3 and 4), Rock Pi and Jetson Nano. You can choose from three different options: Mini PCI Express, where you can connect a 4G module (because 5G coverage is still very lagging behind in many regions of the globe) or Wi-Fi 6, LoRa, USB, to use an Intel Compute Stick or M.2, allowing you to connect a 5G module. Besides that, the shield includes a wide voltage range (9 to 24 V), helping the integration with industrial applications, provides an RTC (Real Time Clock) module for time-keeping, a staggering 15 kV of ESD protection, along with a built-in relay, digital inputs / outputs, RS232 / RS485 and RS422.

Looking into the features present in this industrial shield:

Compatibile with Raspberry Pi Zero, 3 Model B and 4 Model B, Rock Pi and Jetson Nano (other boards may work, those are the ones listed on Kickstarter)
3 possible connector options: M.2 (5G), Mini PCIe (4G, LoRa, Wi-Fi 6) and USB (Intel Neural Compute Stick)
Built-in relay module and digital input (with reserve dry and wet contacts)
Digital input and output and internal headers
Interfaces: RS485 / RS422 and RS232 serial ports
RTC module available even when power is out
Reset + power buttons and buzzer
15 kV ESD protection (with pending CE / FCC certification)
Power: 9 to 24 V input and 5 A of maximum output current

Outside view of the Industrial IoT shield

Now, where can you apply the shield? Akari gives you some ideas for you to start. You can pair it with a GoPro and enjoy aerial photography at 5G speeds, performing telemetry for a car, connecting it to electrical boxes, control solar panels… There is a lot to work with, and the fact that you can connect a wide range of technologies in here gives it an extra spark. Two things missing are how the connectors work in greater detail, whether you can (or not) connect 2 of them at once, which would be interesting, for example, when developing a LoRa gateway and no information regarding software for it, to aid the use of its functionalities. Lastly, the project is backed on Kickstarter and already doubled its goal of $966, with still 39 days to go. Regarding pricing, you can get the PCB for $69 and its included shell with it for $99.

Kickstarter industrial 5G / 4G Raspberry Pi Base Shield link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akari/raspberry-pi-5g4g-l-industrial-level/description

Riverdi High Brightness IPS TFT Modules With Multi-Touch, Gestures, and High-Precision

Posted on 25 December, 202025 December, 2020 by Abhishek Jadhav

We know Riverdi for its high-quality display solutions in home automation devices and even in industrial equipment. Riverdi has released the High Brightness IPS Thin-Film Transistor Modules in three different screen sizes. You might have seen the popular Newhaven 4.3″ EZ Grip IPS TFT Display, which is somewhat similar to this product.

The company says,

“Riverdi High Brightness IPS TFT Modules come in 4.3″, 5″, and 7″ with an RGB interface and 7” with an LVDS interface. These modules offer LCD TFT, LCD TFT with mounting metal frame, LCD TFT with UxTouch PCAP, and LCD TFT optically bonded with an UxTouch PCAP. Typical applications include a decorative projected capacitive touchscreen, IPS high-brightness, industrial CTP controllers, and optical bonding.”

The new launch has a wide variety of screen sizes, starting from the 4.3-inch display followed by 5-inch, and then the final 7-inch. Each of these displays has multiple modules available with slight differences. These modules are specially designed for applications that require multi-touch, gestures, and high-precision.

The UxTouch is an LCD TFT display designed for projected capacitive touch panels. It can be easily mounted without any holes in the housing. The Riverdi UxTouch displays include double-sided adhesive tape (DST) to stick TFT easily to the housing. The UxTouch used in these modules is perfect for projects that aim to have an interactive design.

Riverdi Ux Touch Display — Example of using support brackets

The first and smallest screen size is 4.3-inch, which comes in four different modules: RVT43HLTNWC00, RVT43HLTNC00-B, RVT43HLTNWN00, RVT43HLTFWN00. The basic model of the 4.3-inch display is RVT43HLTNWC00, which is a high brightness IPS display with a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels along with the RGB interface and capacitive touch panel. Similarly, RVT43HLTNC00-B has an addition of optical bonding, which is a process of adding a layer of resin between the glass or touchscreen and the TFT LCD TFT panel of the monitor.

RVT43HLTNWN00 has similar specifications, but comes without the touch panel, while RVT43HLTFWN00 has a metal frame and no touch panel. The 5-inch and 7-inch modules come with the same features with increased resolution and screen size.

When it comes to the 7-inch display modules, the manufacturer has given an option of LVDS interface, but the same features as provided by RGB interfaces. There are customizable options in LVDS displays, which include changing the color, shape and size of the cover glass, enhancing the brightness of the screen, changing the thickness of the cover lens, choosing a different viewing angle of the display, and many more.

All the modules are available to buy via Riverdi’s website.

Isolated, Single-Channel RS232 transceiver (Isolated RS232 to UART)

The project presented here provides an isolated interface between the RS-232 cable network and the connected UART systems to protect against voltage spikes and ground loops within the noisy environment and improve system reliability. The project achieves a robust data communication link in harsh industrial environment. ADM3251E chip from Analog Devices is the heart of the project, this chip is a high speed, 2.5KV fully isolated, single-channel RS-232 transceiver device that operates from a single 5 V power supply. Due to the high ESD protection on the R_IN and T_OUT pins, the device is ideally suited for operation in electrically harsh environments or where RS-232 cables are frequently being plugged and unplugged. Four external 0.1 μF charge pump capacitors are used for the voltage doubler/inverter, permitting operation from a single 5 V supply. Project operates at data rates up to 460kbps. RS-232 transceiver D-Sub 9 Pin Female block provide convenient signal connections. D2 Power LEDs on respective isolation ends. The chip has inbuilt isolated DC-DC Converter thus the project can work with single supply. Apply 5V DC to CN2 and project is ready to go.

Features

Supply 5V DC CN2 Single Supply Operations
CN4 RS232 Aux
9 Pin D-Type Female Connector for RS232 Interface (CN1)
5 Pin Male Header Connector for UART Interface (CN2)
5KV Fully isolation
Data Rates Up to 460kbps
PCB DIMENSIONS: 35.88 x 31.91mm

Note: The project works with single supply 5V DC. Apply +5V DC to CN2 Pin1 and Pin 5 GND. I case of two supplies for respective two isolated circuitry, Use CN3 5V DC and CN2 3.3V if internal DC-DC converter not required.

5.0 V LOGIC TO TIA-232E TRANSMITTER

The transmitter driver converts the 5.0 V logic input levels into RS-232 output levels. When driving an RS-232 load with VCC = 5.0 V, the output voltage swing is typically ±10 V.

TIA-232E TO 5 V LOGIC RECEIVER

The receiver is an inverting level-shifter that accepts the RS-232 input level and translates it into a 5.0 V logic output level. The input has an internal 5 kΩ pull-down resistor to ground and is also protected against overvoltage of up to ±30 V. An unconnected input is pulled to 0 V by the internal 5 kΩ pull-down resistor. This, therefore, results in a Logic 1 output level for an unconnected input or for an input connected to GND. The receiver has a Schmitt-trigger input with a hysteresis level of 0.1 V. This ensures error-free reception for both a noisy input and for an input with slow transition times.

Internal Diagram

HIGH BAUD RATE

The Project offers high slew rates, permitting data trans-mission at rates well in excess of the TIA-232E specifications. The RS-232 voltage levels are maintained at data rates up to 460 kbps.

Inbuilt DC-DC Converter Enable/Disable

The ADM3251E incorporates a dc-to-dc converter section, which works on principles that are common to most modern power supply designs. VCC power is supplied to an oscillating circuit that switches current into a chip-scale air core transformer. Power is transferred to the secondary side, where it is rectified to a high dc voltage. The power is then linearly regulated to about 5.0 V and supplied to the secondary side data section and to the VISO pin. The VISO pin should not be used to power external circuitry.

Because the oscillator runs at a constant high frequency independent of the load, excess power is internally dissipated in the output voltage regulation process. Limited space for transformer coils and components also adds to internal power dissipation. This results in low power conversion efficiency.

The ADM3251E can be operated with the dc-to-dc converter enabled or disabled. The internal dc-to-dc converter state of the ADM3251E is controlled by the input VCC voltage. In normal operating mode, VCC is set between 4.5 V and 5.5 V and the internal dc-to-dc converter is enabled. To disable the dc-to-dc converter, lower VCC to a value between 3.0 V and 3.7 V. In this mode, the user must externally supply isolated power to the VISO pin. An isolated secondary side voltage of between 3.0 V and 5.5 V and a secondary side input current, IISO, of 12 mA (maximum) is required on the VISO pin. The signal channels of the ADM3251E then continue to operate normally.

The charge pump voltage converter consists of a 200 kHz oscillator and a switching matrix. The converter generates a ±10.0 V supply from the input 5.0 V level. This is done in two stages by using a switched capacitor technique. First, the 5.0 V input supply is doubled to 10.0 V by using C6 as the charge storage element. The +10.0 V level is then inverted to generate −10.0 V using C7 as the storage element. Capacitor C2 and Capacitor C8 are used to reduce the output ripple. Their values are not critical and can be increased.

Schematic

Parts List

Connections

Gerber View

Photos

Video

ADM3251E Datasheet

Merry Christmas from Electronics-lab.com

Posted on 25 December, 202025 December, 2020 by mixos

Electronics-lab.com team wishes you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2021

Texas Instruments LV14360 60V 3A Step-Down Regulator

Posted on 24 December, 2020 by mixos

Texas Instruments LV14360 60V 3A Step-Down Regulator comes with an integrated high-side MOSFET. With a wide input range from 4.3V to 60V, the device is suitable for various applications from industrial to automotive for power conditioning from unregulated sources. The quiescent current of the regulator is 300µA in sleep mode, which is suitable for battery-powered systems. An ultra-low 1µA current in shutdown mode can further prolong battery life. A wide adjustable switching frequency range allows either efficiency or external component size to be optimized. Internal loop compensation means that the user is free from the tedious task of loop compensation design. This feature also minimizes the external components of the device. A precision enable input allows simplification of regulator control and system power sequencing. The device also has built-in protection features such as cycle-by-cycle current limit, thermal sensing and shut down due to excessive power dissipation, and output overvoltage protection. The Texas Instruments LV14360 is available in an 8-pin, 4.89mm × 3.9mm HSOIC package with an exposed pad for low thermal resistance.

Features

4.3V to 60V input range
3A continuous output current
300µA operating quiescent current
155mΩ high-side MOSFET
Current mode control
Adjustable switching frequency from 200kHz to 2MHz
Frequency synchronization to an external clock
Internal compensation for ease of use
High duty cycle operation supported
Precision enable input
1µA shutdown current
Thermal, overvoltage, and short protection
8-pin HSOIC with PowerPAD™ package

more information: https://www.ti.com/product/LV14360

Asus Tinker Board 2 receives an RK3399 Upgrade

Posted on 24 December, 202024 December, 2020 by Rik

Asus is looking forward to upgrading their open-spec, community-backed Tinker Board SBC with the new Tinker Board 2. It advances from a quad-core, Cortex-A17 Rockchip RK3288 to a Hexa-core -A72 and -A53 Rockchip RK3399. It comes with support for 4GB LPDDR4, GbE, WiFi/BT, optional 16GB eMMC, 3x USB, Type-C with DP, HDMI, and MIPI-DSI/CSI.

Tinker Board 2 has 85 x 56mm dimensions and 40-pin GPIO. It uses the RK3399K, which has the dual A72 cores to 2.0GHz and the four A53 cores to 1.5GHz. There is also Arm Mali-T860 MP4 GPU handling the graphic computation loads. As claimed by Asus, the new Tinker Board 2 will have a 1.5x performance jump than the previous gen.

There will also be another option for the consumer to buy the Tinker Board 2S model. Just like the last generation, we saw Tinker Board S. It adds an extra 16GB eMMC to the base Tinker Board 2 model. The Tinker Board 2 runs Debian 9, probably via Asus’ Tinker OS, with Android 10 support promised by Q1 2021. The board offers 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4. It supplies a microSD slot in addition to the optional eMMC. The SBC offers a native GbE port, and the wireless module has 802.11ac with Bluetooth 5.0, supported by a 2T2R (MIMO) swappable antenna.

It comes with an HDMI 2.0 port with 4K@60Hz and CEC. The SBC replaces the micro-USB port with a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C OTG port with DisplayPort 1.2 support. The Tinker Board 2 I/O options include the support for 3x USB 3.2 Gen1 host ports. Instead of using 5V USB power found in the Tinker Board, the Tinker Board 2 has a 12-19V DC barrel jack. RTC, a DC fan header, and power-on and recovery headers are available on the board.

There are other niche versions of Tinker Boards like Tinker Edge R (now available for $217 at Amazon) Pico-ITX SBC based on the AI-enabled RK3399Pro. There is also a Tinker Edge T SBC that runs Linux on the same Coral SOM module found on Google’s Coral Dev Board, equipped with an i.MX8M and an Edge TPU.

No pricing or availability information was published for the Tinker Board 2 yet. It will probably ship by Q1 next year.

ASRock announces Tiger Lake based Motherboards For Industrial Applications

Posted on 24 December, 2020 by Abhishek Jadhav

When it comes to industrial PC motherboards, we all know ASRock has successfully launched some of the popular products. After the release of the ASRock iBOX 1100 rugged mini-PC, several months in, we saw the NUC 1100 Box Series mini-PCs powered by the 11th Generation Intel Core i7/i5/i3 processors and Iris® Xe graphics a couple of months back. The NUC 1100 Box Series came in three models – NUC BOX-1165G7, NUC BOX-1135G7, and NUC BOX-1115G4. ASRock has now announced Tiger Lake-based STX-1500 (Mini-STX), and IMB-1224 (Mini-ITX).

STX-1500 (Mini-STX)

This is a mini-STX form factor motherboard based on an Intel Tiger Lake-UP3 MCP processor that comes in three CPU variants clocked at different frequencies supporting dual-channel DDR4 64GB memory. The graphics are also Intel Iris Xe for the i7 and i5 CPUs while Intel UHD graphics for i3 CPU. One of the important features in video output is the support for Quadruple display is provided via HDMI, eDP, and LVDS interfaces.

STX-1500 specifications:

SoC: Intel 11th Gen (Tiger Lake-UP3) Core Processors, up to 28W TDP
- STX-1500P: Intel i7-1185G7E clocked up to 2.8GHz
- STX-1500M: Intel i5-1145G7E clocked up to 2.6GHz
- STX-1500V: Intel i3-1115G4E clocked up to 3.0GHz
Memory: Support dual channel DDR4 3200 MHz with 64GB (32GB per DIMM)
- Socket: 2x 260-pin SO-DIMM
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics for i7/i5 CPU / Intel UHD Graphics for i3 Processor
Video output:
- HDMI 2.0a with maximum resolution up to 4096×2160 at 60Hz refresh rate
- LVDS dual-channel 24-bit up to 1920 x 1200 at 60Hz refresh rate
- eDP 1.4 with max resolution up to 4096×2304 at 60Hz refresh rate
Audio: 2 (Mic-in, Line-out)
Expansion: 1x M.2 with PCIe x1, USB 2.0 and CNVi for Wireless or 1x M.2 with PCIe x1 / USB 3.2 / USB2.0 and SIM for 4G/5G
USB: 3x USB 3.2 Gen2, 5x USB 2.0
Power Supply: 12~28V DC-In with 4-pin wafer PWR cable or DC Jack
Dimensions: Mini-STX (5.5-in x 5.8-in)
Operating temperature: 0ºC ~ 60ºC

“STX-1500 dual storage support with one M.2 Key M 2242/2260/2280 and two SATA 3 ports for connecting your storage devices plus RAID 0/1, and 12~28V DC-in to deliver increased computing efficiency for high-performance industrial applications.”

IMB-1224 (Mini-ITX)

Similar to the STX-1500, this mini-ITX form factor motherboard supports all the Intel CPU variants including Celeron with 64GB DDR4 memory. This board also comes with the same graphics card support as the mini-STX motherboard with the addition of Intel UHD Graphics for Celeron processor.

IMB-1224 (Mini-ITX) specifications:

SoC: Intel 11th Gen (Tiger Lake-UP3) Core Processors, up to 28W
- IMB-1224P: i7-1185G7E, QC clocked up to up to 4.4GHz
- IMB-1224M: i5-1145G7E, QC clocked up to up to 4.1GHz
- IMB-1224V: I3-1115G4E, DC clocked up to up to 3.9GHz
- IMB-1224E: Celeron 6305E, DC clocked up to 1.8GHz
Memory: Support dual channel DDR4 3200 MHz with 64GB (32 GB per DIMM)
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics for i7/i5 CPU or Intel UHD Graphics for i3/Celeron CPU
Video output:
- 4x HDMI 2.0b with max resolution up to 4096×2160 at 60Hz refresh rate
- LVDS dual channel 24-bit up to 1920 x 1200 at 60Hz refresh rate
- eDP with max resolution up to 4096×2304 at 60Hz refresh rate
Audio: 2 (Mic-in, Line-out)
Expansion: 1x M.2 (Key E, 2230) with PCIe x1, USB 2.0 and CNVi for Wireless or 1x M.2 (Key B*, 3042/3052) with PCIe x1/USB 3.2/USB 2.0/SATA and SIM for 4G/5G (* Shared with SATA3_1)
USB: 2x USB 3.2 Gen2, 1x USB 3.2 Gen1, 5x USB 2.0
Power Supply: 12~28V DC-In (Lockable DC Jack)/ ATX PWR
Dimensions: Mini-ITX (6.7-in x 6.7-in)
Operating temperature: 0ºC ~ 60ºC

“The IMB-1224 is equipped with dual Intel^® LAN ports up to 2.5GbE as well as feature-rich IOs and expansion slots for versatile and wide-voltage industrial applications.”

We still do not have any information regarding the pricing and availability of the boards other than you can inquire through the ASRock product website.

Power Analysis: Probing WS2812 RGB LEDs

Posted on 24 December, 2020 by mixos

Power analysis is a technique to probe the inner workings of an integrated circuit by measuring changes in the supply current. Tim writes:

Whenever a logic gate switches, it will cause a tiny current spike that can be measured externally. By inspecting the temporal variation, especially in reaction to an external signal, it is often possible to deduce information about the construction of the IC.

Power Analysis: Probing WS2812 RGB LEDs – [Link]