Page 682 – Electronics-Lab.com

Raspberry Pi Zero WH – No Soldering Raspberry Pi Zero W

Posted on 18 January, 2018 by Ayo Ayibiowu

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is a single board computer and a great way to get started with learning coding and hardware projects. The “W” in the Raspberry Pi Zero signifies the board contains inbuilt Wifi and Bluetooth. Costing around $10, the Raspberry Pi Zero W is a great board to kickstart a lot of hardware projects and has found love in the maker’s community.

The Raspberry Pi Zero W is great but doesn’t feature any header pins which could be challenging for beginners, people that want to do a quick prototyping and the ones that don’t want to void the Pi Zero W warranty. Introducing the Raspberry Pi Zero WH, the Raspberry Pi Zero W with added 40 GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) male header pins.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has removed the compulsory soldering barrier that comes with the Raspberry Pi Zero W by adding a pre-soldered 40-pin header to the Zero W. This Pi Zero WH is perfect for those who don’t own a soldering iron, hate soldering or who wants the extra soldering legwork done for them at a price of course.

The following are some of the specifications for the Pi Zero WH:

SoC – BCM2835 (same as Pi 1) but up-clocked to 1GHz, so 40% faster
RAM – 512MB RAM
Storage – microSD Slot
Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.1 (Bluetooth Low Energy) and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi
USB – 1x Micro USB OTG port, 1x Micro USB port for Power.
Camera – CSI Camera Connector
Video – Mini HDMI port and composite Video
Power Supply – 5V DC Volts via micro USB port.
Dimensions – 65mm x 30mm x 5mm.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s community manager Ben Nuttall, wrote: “You can live boot the Raspberry Pi Desktop OS from a USB stick, use Linux PCs, or even install [the Pi OS] on old computers. Then you have really simple access to physical computing without full Raspberry Pi setups, and with no SD cards to configure.”

The Raspberry Pi Zero WH is available for purchase online and comes with a price tag of about £13.25 ($18.25), a difference of about $5 over the Pi Zero W. The Raspberry Pi Zero WH can be purchase from pimoroni and other Raspberry Pi retailers. More information can be found at the Raspberry Pi Blog announcement.

Omron’s New Super-Sensitive, Non-Contact MEMS Temp Sensor

Posted on 17 January, 201817 January, 2018 by mixos

There’s a new addition to the Omron thermal sensor family. The D6T-1A-02 is the latest in sensory innovation with super-sensitive, infra-red (IR), non-contact temperature sensing capabilities using MEMS technology.

The Omron D6T thermal sensor is ideal for building automation applications, measuring the temperature in a room, or detecting occupancy, even when people are stationary. Additionally, because the D6T is fully non-contact it offers a wider detection range, as well as ultra-sensitive heat sensors – an excellent alternative to PIR detectors and pyroelectric sensors.

Making full use of MEMS technology, the D6T includes:

The ability to measure surface temps anywhere between -40° to 80°C (-40°-176°F) with an accuracy of +/- 1.5°C, and resolution of 0.06°.
A state-of-the-art MEMS thermopile, a sensor ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a signal processing microprocessor in a 12.0mm x 11.6mm x 9.2mm package.
A narrow field of view at 26.5², which allows for accurate readings of a specific object within range.

[via]

Omron’s New Super-Sensitive, Non-Contact MEMS Temp Sensor – [Link]

eVscope – Reaching for the stars as never before

Posted on 17 January, 201817 January, 2018 by Maria Alejandra Escalante

Humanity has always been trying to reach for the stars, this lead to huge scientific developments that got the man into the moon, rovers into mars and a lot more. NASA often unveils photographs of space objects with bright colors and high definition, but these photos are taken using millions of dollars in telescopes and image software. Most amateur telescopes give blurry, opaque images (if you get to see anything at all). As a result, astronomy amateurs are often disappointed because of their high expectations regarding what they would see in the telescope. The company Unistellar optics combined two different technics to create a telescope that could fulfill hobbyist expectations.

As only a very small amount of light from stellar objects reaches earth, it’s important to collect as much light as possible which can be done with a lens (or mirror with a large diameter), or by exposing a photographic film for a long period of time. Nowadays, astronomers don´t use photographic film anymore because electronic cameras can take hundreds of pictures and overlap them to make one bright picture. However, the equipment to do all this can be expensive (professional camera, good telescope, mirrors with huge diameters), and they can also be complicated because of the need for a very dark sky, certain weather etc.

The eVscope (enhanced vision) made by Unistellar optics has a built in high quality image sensor, and instead of lenses an eye piece with an OLED display is used. Additionally, it has a computer controlled mount and drive, all in modest dimensions. It costs about 1300 dollars and works by taking short exposures and staking them in real time to simulate a larger instrument.

This device has already been tried by many amateur astronomers, and university students with very positive results. Also, the eVscope has an autonomous field detection which makes it easy for learners to pinpoint specific places, and with the smartphone connection capabilities people can save and share their pictures, and unlike other telescopes it is portable and autonomous. Currently, Unistellar optics has a Kickstarter campaign for this product with more than 2000 backers. eVscope is 100 times more powerful than a classical telescope and could change the way people see the sky and learn about astronomy.

[source]

Researchers Demonstrate New More Efficient FET By Implementing Negative Capacitance

Posted on 17 January, 2018 by Rik

A group of Researchers from Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana demonstrated the effect called negative capacitance by making a new type of more energy efficient transistor. This new kind of Field Effect Transistor (FET) proves a theory introduced in 2008 by Supriyo Datta, the Thomas Duncan Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Sayeef Salahuddin, who is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.

A new type of transistor (a) harnesses a property called negative capacitance. — A new type of field effect transistor harnesses a property called negative capacitance.

The researchers from Purdue University made a much thinner layer using the semiconductor Molybdenum disulfide. It creates a channel adjacent to an important part of transistors called the gate. By using a “ferroelectric material” called hafnium zirconium oxide, they created a negative capacitor which is a key component in the newly designed gate.

Capacitance is the property of any dielectric or conductor to store electrical charge. It is ordinarily a positive quantity. With the help of ferroelectric materials, the new FET gate structure allows a negative capacitance. Due to this the energy needed to switch the FET is considerably reduced. This new design just substitutes hafnium oxide with hafnium zirconium oxide. Hafnium oxide is a conventional material to use in modern FETs as a dielectric material to isolate the gate. This work is led by Peide Ye, Richard J. and Mary Jo Schwartz of Purdue University. Ye said,

The overarching goal is to make more efficient transistors that consume less power, especially for power-constrained applications such as mobile phones, distributed sensors, and emerging components for the internet of things

Transistors act like a tiny electronic switch. They can turn on and off very fast, allowing computers to process information in binary code. A proper switching off state is very important to ensure that no electricity “leaks” through. This switching normally needs a minimum of 60 millivolts for every tenfold increase in current. This requirement called the thermionic limit. However, transistors using negative capacitance can break this fundamental limit, because they can switch at far lower voltages resulting in smaller power consumption.

New findings from the research group have advanced the conventional transistor technology to a much efficient and faster level. Only time will justify if the new ‘negative capacitance‘ FETs can revolutionize the modern electronics.

Embedded oscilloscope family for advanced electronics

Posted on 17 January, 201818 January, 2018 by mixos

By Ally Winning @ eenewsembedded.com:

The R&S RTM3000 and R&S RTA4000 series oscilloscopes have been launched by Rohde & Schwarz to enable advanced power measurements and accurately analyse serial protocols.

The RTM3000 oscilloscopes have bandwidths of 100 MHz, 200 MHz, 350 MHz, 500 MHz and 1 GHz. The products also feature a 5 Gsample/s 10-bit ADC, and a 40 Msample (80 Msample interleaved) per channel acquisition memory with an optional 400 Msample segmented acquisition memory.

The RTA4000 oscilloscopes offer bandwidths of 200 MHz, 350 MHz, 500 MHz and 1 GHz. The oscilliscopes have the same 10-bit ADC, but have an enhanced memory of 100 Msample (200 Msample interleaved) per channel acquisition memory and included 1 Gsample (1,000 Msample) segmented acquisition memory. Both series have a 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen display.

Embedded oscilloscope family for advanced electronics – [Link]

DAC Shield For Arduino Nano using MCP4725

Posted on 16 January, 20183 December, 2018 by mixos

This project features an easy to use Digital to Analog converter (DAC) shield for Arduino Nano. The project is built using MC4725 12Bit DAC IC over I2C communication. The shield directly seats on Arduino Nano and also can be used as stand-alone DAC converter that can be connected to other micro-controller board with help of 5 pin header connector. Output is 0-5V. PCB jumper J1 provided to select the address in case of using multiple modules on the same I2C .

Shield also provided with high current driver circuit, which converters voltage to current and can be used to drive Laser diode or LED. Maximum possible load 500mA.

DAC Shield For Arduino Nano using MCP4725 – [Link]

DAC Shield For Arduino Nano using MCP4725

This project features an easy-to-use Digital to Analog converter (DAC) shield for Arduino Nano. The project is built using MCP4725 12Bit DAC IC over I2C communication. The shield directly seats on Arduino Nano and also can be used as stand-alone DAC converter that can be connected to other micro-controller board with help of 5 pin header connector. Output is 0-5V. PCB jumper J1 provided to select the address in case of using multiple modules on the same I2C .

Shield also provided with high current driver circuit, which converters voltage to current and can be used to drive Laser diode or LED. Maximum possible load 500mA.

The MCP4725 is a low-power, high accuracy, single channel, 12-bit buffered voltage output Digital-to- Analog Convertor (DAC) with non-volatile memory (EEPROM). Its on-board precision output amplifier allows it to achieve rail-to-rail analog output swing. The DAC input and configuration data can be programmed to the non-volatile memory (EEPROM) by the user using I2C interface command. The non-volatile memory feature enables the DAC device to hold the DAC input code during power-off time, and the DAC output is available immediately after power-up. This feature is very useful when the DAC device is used as a supporting device for other devices in the network. The device includes a Power-On-Reset (POR) circuit to ensure reliable power-up and an on-board charge pump for the EEPROM programming voltage. The DAC reference is driven from V DD directly. In power- down mode, the output amplifier can be configured to present a known low, medium, or high resistance output load. The MCP4725 has an external A0 address bit selection pin. This A0 pin can be tied to V DD or V SS of the user’s application board. The MCP4725 has a two-wire I2C™ compatible serial interfaces for standard (100 kHz), fast (400 kHz), or high speed (3.4 MHz) mode.

The MCP4725 is an ideal DAC device where design simplicity and small footprint is desired, and for applications requiring the DAC device settings to be saved during power-off time.

Schematic

Parts List

Connections

Photos

SudoProc – A solderable 1.8GHz Quad Cortex-A17 module With 4GB RAM and HDMI 2.0

Posted on 16 January, 20183 April, 2018 by Rik

A Slovenia based startup Sudo Systems will soon launch a module called SudoProc. This module is highly compact (65 x 40 x 4.3mm) and solderable. It contains Rockchip’s 1.8GHz, quad-core, Cortex-A17 SoC RK3288 SoC with 600MHz Mali-T764 GPU. The highlighted feature set includes 4GB of dual-channel 1066MHz LPDDR3 RAM. SudoProc also includes an embedded security engine, a Gigabit Ethernet controller, and support for HDMI 2.0 4K with 10-bit H.265 video decoding.

This is only the second, independently available RK3288-based “computer-on-module” available out there. Boardcon’s MINI3288 is also available on its sandwich-style EM3288 SBC. The RK3288 is the backbone of Android mini-PCs and also powers several Linux/Android-based open source Single Board Computers(SBC). The SudoProc supports Android 5.0 to 7.0, as well as Debian, Ubuntu, and an in-house developed SudoOS Linux distribution.

The SudoProc module offers a lot of RAM along with a huge amount of onboard eMMC 4.5 32GB storage. It is expandable up to 512GB. There’s also support for 2x SDIO 3.0. It has HDMI 2.0 for video support and SPDIF and I2S/PCM take care of Audio.

The 218-pin SudoProc is further provided with interfaces including USB 2.0 host and OTG, as well as 5x UART, 5x I2C, 3x SPI, 4x PWM with the interrupt. SudoProc also has up to 100 GPIOs which are programmable as interrupt inputs. Other listed I/Os includes 3-channel, 10-bit SAR–ADC, 8-bit TS stream shared with CIF, a “Host” interface shared with GMAC, and a GPS interface. On-demand optional I/O incorporates HSIC 2.0, PS/2, and Smart Card.

The 5V/3A module supports 1.8V to 3.3V logic level output and allows remote control of the PMIC. Sudo Systems did a good job with its thermal dissipation design. There’s an integrated heatsink to take care of it. With the maximum thermal dissipation of 10W, the module’s estimated workings temperature is 25°C to 85°C.

In February, the SudoProc will open for pre-orders in limited quantities and will be shipped by March. The price is about $300, including a development board of the module. For further information, contact Sudo Systems at info@wearesudo.com.

Update (April 3rd, 2018): In a recent email, Sudo Systems let me know that they’ve decreased the price which is around $270 right now per unit. Universities and students are getting up to 50% discount on that price as well.

iWave releases first Xilinx Zynq 7000 based SOM Module

Posted on 16 January, 2018 by Ayo Ayibiowu

The Zynq 7000 family based on the All Programmable SoC architecture are processor-center platforms that offer software, hardware and I/O programmability in a single chip.

iWave Systems which has released several Altera based FPGA system on modules has just announced its SODIMM (Small Outline Dual In-Line Memory Module) form-factor Xilinx Zynq based module known as the iWave’s iW-RainboW-G28M. The iW-RainboW-G28M features the Xilinx Zynq 7000 series SOC with Dual Cortex A9 CPU @ 866MHz, 85K FPGA logic cells, and up to 125 FPGA IOs.

The iWave iW-RainboW-G28M is compatible with the Zynq Z-7007S, Z-7014S, Z-7010, and Z-7020 SoC. Equipped with an onboard 512 Mbytes of NAND Flash, 512Mbytes of DDR3 SDRAM, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 ports, an optional Micro SD slot, and an optional WIFI/Bluetooth module with a form-factor of 67.6 mm x 37 mm plug-in SODIMM style. It supports -40 to 85^oC temperatures and powered through the SOM edge connector with a 3.3 DC Volt.

The following are the SOM specifications:

SoC –
- Xilinx Zyng 7000 SoC
- Single/Dual Cortex A9 @ up to 866MHz
- Up to 85K logic cells
SoC Compatibility –
- Compatible with Z-7007S, Z-7014S, Z-7010, and Z-7020
Memory –
- 512 MB DDR3 and expandable to 1GB
- 512 MB NAND Flash
- An Optional QSPI Flash
- Optional Micro SD Slot/eMMC (Optional)
Zynq PS & PL Interfaces –
- Gigabit Ethernet x1 Port
- USB 2.0 OTG x 1 Port
- SD (4bit) x 1 Port
- Debug UART
- JTAG Port
- 60 LVDS/120 SE FPGA IOs
SOM Features –
- PMIC with RTC
- Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver
- USB 2.0 Transceiver
- Optional Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Module
OS Support –
- PetaLinux 4.9.0
Power Supply –
- 3V DC
Temperature Support –
- -40⁰C to +85⁰C
Dimension –
- 6mm x 37mm

The iW-RainboW-G28M has applications in the areas of Industrial Automation, Machine Vision, Control & Measurement, Scientific Instruments and Medical Instruments. For pricing and availability, please contact iWave directly iW-RainboW-G28M SODIMM SOM.

New Small Form Factor PCs from Asus- CES 2018

Posted on 16 January, 2018 by Maria Alejandra Escalante

CES is one the largest gathering places for people in the technology industry for introducing their new products and understanding the new technology trends. Asus is one of the biggest hardware, and robotics companies to be attending. This company will be displaying their small form factor solutions: PB40, PN40 mini PCs, Chromebox 3, and thinker board S. The main goal of this products is to offer a small and versatile product without compromising quality and performance.

The first one, PB40 mini PC gives its users the possibility to have the power of a computer with a portable size. It can support up to an 8^th generation Intel Pentium processors, it has 6 USB 3.1 type-C ports, and support for VGA, COM, HDMI, and display. It comes in two variants N5000 quad core with burst frequency up to 2,7 GHz or J5005 quad core with burst frequency up to 2,8 GHz. It is also offered without a fan for silent operation.

Just as the PB40, the PN40 is powerful, and small (not as powerful as the PB40). It’s ideal for home and business usage weighting 1.54 lbs. and measuring 114 x 114 x 49 mm. Also, it has a wide range of connectivity options including USB 3.1 for fast data transmission.

The third one, the Chromebox 3 is the new successor of Chromebox 2 (released in 2016). It can support up to an 8^th generation intel core processor and a DDR4 2400 memory. This new version has graphics and power improvements. Memory will be available in 4, 16, 32 and 128 GB, and wireless connectivity is dual band 802.11 ac WIFI and Bluetooth. Additionally, an audio jack, card reader and USB 3.1 connector will be included.

The last one, Tinker Board S maintains the same size and component placement as it´s previous version, but offers greater durability, stability, and improved user experience. It has on board 16GB eMMC storage, a microSD slot, HDMI-CEC-ready (allows users to control tv and Tinker Board with the same remote control), on board power on pin, audio jack, and enhanced I2S pin.

The PB40, the PN40 and the Chromebox 3 are expected to be on the market in the second half of 2018 with a price yet to be announced. The Tinker Board will be launched on the first quarter of 2018 at a starting price of $79.99. Comparing to previous versions, connectivity issues have been improved, but the memory could be better. These devices offer a lot of power in a small size which is an advantage for consumers, industries, and makers.