The Arrary 3711A can sink 300W with a maximum load current of 30A and maximum load voltage of 300V. It can be used in constant current, constant power or constant resistance mode and can be controlled remotely via an RS232 interface. The entire unit is actually quite compact given the amount of power it is capable of dissipating. This can be largely attributed to the efficient forced-air cooling system it uses. There are four fans all together. Two are sitting at the bottom of the chassis that sucks in air. The air then flows through the heatsinks and the hot air gets blown out from the back via another two fans.
Teardown of an Array 3711A 300W DC electronic load – [Link]
The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is likely the most popular maker board available today at $35, but it just got a little brother, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.
Raspberry Pi.org announced a new smaller and cheaper board of the RP3 series. You can now get the 1.4GHz clock speed, 5GHz wireless networking and improved thermals of Raspberry Pi 3B+ in a smaller form factor, and at the smaller price of $25.
In order to decrease the price by $10, they obviously had to cut some features. We lost the “Gigabit” Ethernet port, memory dropped to 512 MB RAM instead of 1GB, and there’s only one USB port. There also some invisible changes with improved USB mass-storage booting and improved thermal management.
Want to see benchmark results of various Raspberry Pi boards? Gareth Halfacree has a great article on this aspect, comparing Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ with other RPs.
Raspberry Pi 3 A+ Thermal Photograph – photo: Gareth Halfacree
Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+ incorporates most of the neat enhancements we made to its big brother, and features:
A 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU
512MB LPDDR2 SDRAM
Dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2/BLE
Arduino is an open source software and electronics platform that has evolved the open hardware, DIY (do it yourself), makers, STEM, and the electronics industry. Arduino has grown to be one of the best learning platforms for young engineers and students. Using an Arduino a student new to electronics and embedded systems can easily build something interesting in less than 2 hours.
Despite the awesomeness and usefulness of the Arduino platform, it also comes with some challenges. Arduino has several add-ons like sensors, modules, shields, displays, and others that can be added to a project to increase its complexity and there are several add-ons that are available in the market from different makers. It can be overwhelming for beginners to get started with so many options. What if we could house all the necessary components in one box? Here, comes the Arduino kits. There are many Arduino starter kits available on the market and most of these kits are intended for electronics enthusiasts who just beginning their journey to Arduino. But how to choose the one that is right for you? Here we will take a look on Elegoo Arduino Starter Kit.
Arduino kits contain an Arduino Uno board or similar board and some other parts that can be used to teach electronics and programming in its simplest form to kids, students, makers, and others. At the same time, professionals can use Arduino for research purposes as the kits have been made to suit everyone. With these kits, one can build projects like smart homes, robots, weather station, fancy light controllers, Alexa clone and many more.
The Elegoo EL-KIT-001 is one of such Arduino kits that goes a step above of other available kits. This is because each component of the kit is clearly labeled, it includes a CD with various Arduino tutorials and includes more than 200 electronics components to build your own project. Elegoo Kit is made from a technology company based in Shenzhen China which I that’s justify its low cost and availability. Elegoo, also creates and sells various types of Arduino kits and pieces.
As said, Elegoo-El-KIT-001 UNO R3 is an Arduino starter kit that has over 200 components to cover most of your starter needs. The kit is compatible with most Arduino modules and Elegoo believes it is the most complete starter kit (I think it might be) out there. True to its’ name, the Elegoo starter kits come with a PDF that contains more than 30 tutorials on projects that deal with the use of every single material found in the kit.
Elegoo UNO R3 board
The kit also comes with a CD that contains various sketches for a variety of projects. This is for people who are new to programming or even people who have not programmed an Arduino module before. The Arduino programming language is very similar to the C and C++ programming language. Examples of tutorials available include the 74HC595 Shift Register and LEDs, DC Motors and L293D Transistor project, and the LCD1602 Display module and others (this project basically allows the display of characters on the module)
I believe the Arduino has been one of the most revolutionary hardware innovation that has ever happened in the STEM and Electronic Industry. Below are some exciting benefits of building with the Arduino Platform:
Cost: It is a cheap way that allows people to learn.
Flexibility: Arduino projects are only limited to your imagination. Once you think it, you can create it.
Versatility: The programming language is easy, and beginners can easily adapt to it.
Multiple options: Anyone is allowed to re-created their version of the Arduino modules.
Connectivity and Cross Platforms: The software (IDE) can run on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac.
Amazing community
Below are some components and parts available in the kit:
Arduino Compatible Uno Board.
Water/Rain Sensor.
4 by 4 Matrix Keyboard.
IR Remote Controller.
IR Sensor.
RFID Cards and Receiver.
16 by 2 LCD Display.
ADXL335 Accelerometer
Resistor & Capacitor Sets.
Servo and Stepper Motors.
Ultrasonic sensor.
Motion Sensor.
Breadboard.
Joystick module.
RGB Display Module
and so much more.
The kit is highly inexpensive considering the price of similar kits which don’t even have enough parts and can be bought on Amazon for $53.99 with half a year warranty. The kit on Amazon ships to customers only in the US and not eligible for international shipping. For customers outside the US, you can still purchase the kit for a slightly higher price of about $69.99 on the Elegoo online store here.
Exclusive Offer
Elegoo is offering a promotion coupon for purchasing their Arduino kit. The coupon is as follows:
Variscite has announced the launch of a new i.MX 8X-based Module. The VAR-SOM-MX8X product family supports NXP i.MX 8QuadXPlus / 8DualXPlus / 8DualX processors with up to 4 1.2GHz Cortex™-A35 cores. The module provides efficient power/performance architecture, built-in safety features and highly integrated multimedia support.
This highly integrated solution is designed to support a wide range of high-reliability and power-efficient applications, from industrial automation & control to defense, telematics, medical, building control, robotics and failover displays/HMI. The SoM interfaces options and multimedia features include Camera Interfaces, DSI / LVDS, Parallel LCD, Vivante GC7000Lite GPU for 2D and 3D graphics acceleration, 4K H.265 Decode, 1080p H.264 Encode/Decode, dual GbE, certified Wi-Fi/BT, CAN/CAN-FD, USB3.0 and serial interfaces.
Thanks to the integration of ARM’s most efficient Cortex™-A35 cores with its Cortex-M4F real-time co-processor, the VAR-SOM-MX8X offers high processing capabilities in a power-optimized platform.
The VAR-SOM-MX8X is a part of Variscite’s Pin2Pin product family and is pin-compatible with Variscite’s VAR-SOM-MX6, VAR-SOM-SOLO/DUAL and the upcoming VAR-SOM-MX8. By offering Pin2Pin families, Variscite’s customers benefit from a high level of scalability, extended lifetime availability and reduced development time, cost and risk.
Availability and pricing
The VAR-SOM-MX8X Evaluation Kits are now available for early access orders.
Variscite pin2pin product families – Two highly scalable product families based on NXP processors:
VAR-SOM-MX8X key features:
NXP iMX8X 1.2GHz Dual / Quad Core Cortex™-A35
Real-time 264MHz Cortex™-M4F co-processor
Integrated security and fail-safe features
24-bit parallel LCD, LVDS/DSI
2D/3D graphics acceleration
Up to 4GB LPDDR4, 64GB eMMC
4K H.265 Decode, 1080p H.264 Encode/Decode
HQ audio in/out
2x Gigabit Ethernet, 2x USB 3.0, PCI-E
Camera in: 1x MIPI-CSI2, 1x parallel CSI 8/10-bit
Certified Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n + BT4.2/BLE
Analog Input, CAN/CAN-FD, UART, SPI, I2C, SD/MMC, Touch
Temperature range -40 to 85° C
OS: Linux, Android
Up to 15 years longevity
VAR-SOM-MX8X block diagram
The VAR-SOM-MX8X Evaluation Kits are now available for early access orders. Please contact Variscite team for further details.
360-hour Battery Life with Charging Case | Superior Sound Quality | IPX-7 Waterproof | Bluetooth 5.0
UNI TWS is the world’s most advanced true wireless earbuds designed with superior Hi-Fi sound and ultra-long playtime. It’s your perfect workout companion with secure fit and an IPX-7 waterproof rating.
Tired of running out of juice when you need your music the most? The UNI charging case has a 3500 mAh premium built-in battery. Once fully charged, the charging case can support 360 hours of playtime for the earbuds. Every time you finish listening just put the earbuds back into the case to be recharged. For 3 to 4 hours of use a day, a fully charged charging case will let you enjoy wireless music for up to a month between charges!
Features:
1st Wireless Charging Earbuds
Over 360-hour Battery Life
Superior Sound Quality
IPX-7 Waterproof
Powered by aptX
Ergonomic Design
Low Latency Bluetooth 5.0
Intuitive Touch Sensor
Wireless Charging
Avoid the hassle of wires and power up quickly by simply placing the UNI charging case on the charging pad. Or, use your smartphone’s Qi charging pad to get UNI juiced-up and ready to rock.
Backup Power
Never worry about dead batteries again! With a massive 3500mAh capacity battery, the UNI charging case can provide additional charging power for your smartphone or other mobile devices. It’s a reliable emergency power supply in times of need.
Graphene Enhanced Sound
UNI features a customized driver made with graphene – a highly conductive, flexible, and strong material consisting of latticed carbon atoms bonded in a hexagonal pattern. This advanced material allows UNI to produce mids and highs that are rich in details and perfectly balanced with the bass tones.
aptX Powered High Fidelity Audio
UNI achieves CD quality high fidelity sound by employing aptX technology. aptX audio enables Bluetooth wireless devices to deliver High Definition (HD) audio. It works by preserving sound data during transmission by constantly sampling audio between one moment in time and the next to accurately reproduce the best audio even after compressing and decompressing. It is also uses low battery consumption & has low latency for the best possible wireless listening experience.
Waterproof
UNI TWS earbuds are 100% IPX7 rated waterproof inside and out for sports and protection from harsh environments. This means the earbuds can be fully submerged in water up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) deep for 30 minutes. So now you don’t have to worry when you’re swimming, surfing, or hiking in the rain.
Crowdfunding
The project is live on www.indiegogo.com and already 1164% funded with 30 days left. Perks start at $69.
Analog Devices announces the Power by Linear LT3094, an ultralow noise, ultrahigh power supply ripple rejection (PSRR), low dropout voltage, 500mA negative linear regulator that targets applications requiring the lowest noise performance. It features industry-leading 0.8µVRMS integrated output noise (10Hz to 100kHz), providing the quietest environment for precision measurements of low level signals. The LT3094 features very low 2nV/√Hz spot noise (at 10kHz), minimizing phase noise when powering sensitive communications circuitry. PSRR performance is exceptional over a wide frequency range: low frequency PSRR exceeds 100dB out to nearly 4kHz and high frequency PSRR exceeds 70dB at 2MHz. The LT3094’s high PSRR greatly reduces ripple and noise when used as a post regulator for switching power supplies.
The LT3094 utilizes a proprietary LDO architecture – its precision current source reference followed by a high-performance unity gain buffer results in virtually constant noise, PSRR and load regulation performance, independent of output voltage. This architecture permits easy paralleling of multiple LT3094s to further increase output current, spread heat on a printed circuit board and decrease output noise. In addition, it allows the output voltage to be programmed down to 0V.
Delivering up to 500mA output current, the LT3094 has a low 235mV typical dropout voltage at full load. It features a –2V to –20V input voltage range and a 0V to –19.5V output voltage range with ±2% tolerance over line, load and temperature. The device’s wide input and output voltage ranges, high PSRR and ultralow noise performance are ideal for powering noise-sensitive applications such as LNA power, very low noise instrumentation, high speed/high precision data converters, power medical applications such as imaging and diagnostics, RF switch negative supplies, PA biasing, precision power supplies and as a post regulator for switching power supplies.
Summary of Features: LT3094
Output Current: 500mA
Ultralow RMS Noise: 0.8µVRMS (10Hz to 100kHz)
Ultralow Spot Noise: 2nV/√Hz at 10kHz
Ultrahigh PSRR: 74dB at 1MHz
Wide Input Voltage Range: –2V to –20V
Output Voltage Range: 0V to –19.5V
Programmable Current Limit
Low Dropout Voltage: Typically, 235mV at Full Load
The LT3094 is a complementary negative version of the 20V, 500mA, 0.8µVRMS LT3045 ultralow noise LDO and the two devices when used together combine for an ultralow noise bipolar power supply solution.
The LT3094 is available in thermally enhanced 12-lead 3mm × 3mm DFN and MSOP packages, both with a compact footprint. The E- and I-grade versions are available from stock with an operating junction temperature of –40°C to 125°C. A future high temperature H-grade version will be rated from –40°C to 150°C. For more information, visit www.analog.com/LT3094
13th November 2018 – FTDI Chip has introduced the USB power delivery technology necessary to go beyond the powering of consumer electronics products and support the elevated current levels required by larger items of electronic equipment. The FT4233H is an advanced bridge IC with USB Type-C connectivity and USB power delivery(PD) Rev. 3.0 controller capabilities – supporting applications up to 100W.
Through use of the FT4233H, it will be possible for currents of reaching 3A to be provided to connected hardware (power tools, lights, household appliances, etc.). All the negotiation and power gauging activities are taken care of directly, via the IC’s integrated 32-bit PD Policy Engine and USB Protocol Engine elements (with no USB specific firmware programming being required). This means the system microcontroller does not have to get involved in such functions and system performance is thus not impacted upon.
Supporting USB High-Speed data rates (480Mbps), the USB bridge function of this device is compatible with the quad high-speed USB to multi-purpose bridging offered by the company’s previous generation FT4232H device – including UART, I²C, JTAG, Bit-Bang or SPI via its integrated MPSSE Engine, on up to 4 independently controllable channels. Support of two Type-C ports is encompassed, with a configurable port that can act as either a power sink or source (or in a dual role capacity) supporting Fast Role Swap, and the other port serving solely as a sink.
The FT4233H USB bridge IC relies on a single 3.3V power source for both VCC and VCCIO. It is supplied in a 76-pin QFN package. An operational temperature range spanning from -40°C to +85°C is supported.
At this year’s Electronica, FTDI Chip will be demonstrating how next generation USB power delivery can be achieved using this ground-breaking new device. Come to Stand 155 in Hall B5 to see this technology in action.
AMS, a leading worldwide supplier of high performance sensor solutions, today announced the pre-release of the NanEyeM, a miniature integrated Micro Camera Module (MCM) assembly with a tiny footprint at the image sensor end of just 1mm2. With its compact design and convenient interface, the NanEyeM is easy to integrate into space-constrained industrial and consumer designs, providing new embedded vision capabilities in products such as smart toys and home appliances.
The NanEyeM offers a high-resolution 100kpixel, 10-bit digital readout, and features a Single-Ended Interface Mode (SEIM). Like a standard Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), the SEIM channel is easy to implement in any host processor and provides a cost-optimized solution without the need for LVDS deserialization. The maximum frame rate over the SEIM interface is 58 frames/s at a clock rate of 75MHz.
The NanEyeM features a custom multi-element lens which greatly improves the effective resolution of the sensor and reduces distortion compared to competing sensors that have a single-element lens. The MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) is >50% in the corners, distortion is <15% and color aberration is <1Px.
The slave configuration in SEIM enables control of the frame rate via the host application processor, down to rates of a single frame per second or even slower. Synchronization of two or more cameras – a useful capability in applications such as eye tracking or stereo vision – can easily be performed by providing a centralized clock from the application processor.
The NanEyeM also offers an Idle mode which reduces power consumption in applications, such as presence detection, that require only a small number of frames per minute.
ams will offer a reference implementation of image acquisition and processing functions on a standard Arm® core-based processor to reduce the customer’s development effort and accelerate time to market.
Designers who wish to add high-resolution video capability in space-constrained enclosures have until now been hampered by the size of the industrial image sensors on the market. The introduction of the NanEyeM module opens up new possibilities to add camera capability in the smallest spaces,” said Tom Walschap, Marketing Director in the CMOS Image Sensor business line at ams. ‘Provided in an easy-to-use module format with a convenient digital output, designers can quickly add camera capability with little development effort.
The NanEyeM image sensor will be available for sampling in Q2 2019.
Infineon Technologies is launching the IFX007T NovalithIC™ motor driver for industrial applications. The IFX007T smart half-bridge provides an easy and efficient way to drive brushed and brushless motors, integrating a p-channel high-side MOSFET, an n-channel low-side MOSFET and a driver IC into one package. Along with a microcontroller and power supply, no other devices are necessary to drive a motor.
For many years, Infineon has followed this unique NovalithIC integrated approach for automotive applications. The IFX007T now allows industrial customers to benefit from this experience. It is qualified according to JESD47I and can be used to drive motors with supplies up to 40 V and peak currents up to 55 A. The broad application range includes pumps, healthcare, home and garden appliances as well as industrial automation, fans, and many more.
Ease-of-use is a key benefit of the integrated solution. It becomes apparent during the customer’s manufacturing process. Customers save layout and manufacturing effort while reducing stray inductances and external components. Additionally, only three general purpose microcontroller pins are needed to control a full H-bridge.
The IFX007T has integrated self-protection, including over-temperature and cross-current protection. Within an H-bridge configuration, the half-bridge approach provides logic redundancy – if one device fails, the other can still stop the motor.
Another key benefit is the flexible motor control. The IFX007T can be used in either half-bridge, H-bridge or three-phase configurations. Furthermore, the motor speed can be adjusted via pulse width modulation (PWM) up to 25 kHz. Active freewheeling is possible from either the high side or the low side. An adjustable slew rate enables reduction of electromagnetic emissions.
Radxa has released specs for a $39 “Rock Pi” Raspberry Pi lookalike board with a Rockchip RK3399, USB 3.0, M.2, HDMI 2.0, and native GbE, plus optional WiFi, BT, and PoE. The Rock Pi runs Linux or Android. It closely matches the RPi 3 layout, just like the RK3399-based NanoPi M4, and it seems it may be the most affordable RK3399 based SBC right now, with a starting price of $39 with 1GB RAM. The Rock Pi Model A sells for $39 (1GB), $49 (2GB) and $65 (4GB) respectively. The Model B, which includes PoE and a WiFi-ac/Bluetooth 5.0 wireless module will sell for $49 (1GB), $59 (2GB) or $75 (4GB). The only real difference between model A and model B is that the latter includes a wireless module, and optional support for PoE. The ports on the 85 x 54mm Rock Pi are placed at the right side, where Pi lovers would expect them to be. Unlike the RPi 3B or 3B+, the GbE port is standard, offering at least 939Mbps. Like the 3B+, it supports Power-over-Ethernet using the same official Raspberry Pi PoE HAT. The specs are almost similar to those of the $75 (2GB) NanoPi M4.
Rock PI 4B
The most significant difference with NanoPi M4 is that the Rock Pi has an M.2 storage slot for NVMe SSDs, but lacks the M4’s 24-pin GPIO interface, which extends the 40-pin connector found on both boards. The NanoPi M4 also has standard wireless (but no PoE) and offers 4x USB 4.0 host ports instead of the 2x 3.0 and 2x 2.0 on the Rock Pi.
The Rock Pi 4 seems to be the most affordable RK3399 SBC yet, even cheaper than the smaller, more limited (1GB only) $50 NanoPi Neo4. It also offers a microSD slot and an empty eMMC socket in addition to the M.2. A key selling point of the RK3399, is the HDMI 2.0 port. The board is equipped with 2-lane MIPI-DSI and -CSI interfaces for dual displays and camera attachments, respectively. Other available features include an audio jack with mic, an RTC, and a USB Type-C port for a wide-range of input power.
Rock Pi 4B back view
The Rock Pi can run Android 9.0, and “some Linux distributions. The official supported Linux distribution is Debian and Ubuntu. Community supported Linux distribution includes Libreelec, Armbian. The major advantage of relying on Raspberry Pi form factor is that you can use/re-use Rasperry Pi add-ons, including official ones, and for example, the official Raspberry Pi 7″ display and the Raspberry Pi Camera V2 IMX219 have all been successfully tested on Rock Pi boards. For clarity, compatibility here refers to hardware, but not software, as Raspberry Pi 3 images won’t work out of the box on Rock Pi 4. Initial / WiP documentation is available on Radxa wiki, as well as a dedicated website.
Power up and Android TV navigation
Specifications listed for the Rock Pi include:
Processor — Rockchip RK3399 (2x Cortex-A72 at up to 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.5GHz); Mali-T860 MP4 GPU
Memory/storage: 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB LPDDR4 RAM (dual-channel), eMMC socket for 8GB to 128GB (bootable), MicroSD slot for up to 128GB (bootable), M.2 socket with support for up to 2TB NVMe SSD
Wireless — 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz) with Bluetooth 5.0 with antenna (Model B only)
Networking — Gigabit Ethernet port; PoE support on Model B only (requires RPi PoE HAT)
Media I/O: HDMI 2.0a port (with audio) for up to 4K at 60Hz, MIPI-DSI (2-lane) via FPC; dual display mirror or extend with HDMI, MIPI-CSI (2-lane) via FPC for up to 8MP camera, 3.5mm audio I/O jack (24-bit/96KHz), Mic interface
Other I/O: 2x USB 3.0 host ports, 2x USB 2.0 host ports, USB 3.0 Type-C OTG with power support and HW switch for host/device
Expansion — 40-pin GPIO header (see pinout diagram); M.2 slot for SSD (see mem/storage)
Other features — RTC with optional battery connector
Power: 5.5-20V input, USB Type-C PD 2.0, 9V/2A, 12V/2A, 15V/2A, 20V/2A, Qualcomm Quick Charge support for QC 3.0/2.0 adapter, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A, 8mA to 20mA consumption
Operating temperature — 0 to 80°C
Dimensions — 85 x 54mm
Operating system — Android 9.0; “some” Linux distros
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