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SODIMM module features i.MX8M Mini/Nano with up to 8GB RAM

Posted on 6 June, 2019 by mixos

iWave Systems, a leader in embedded systems and solutions, will be launching a new System on Module based on NXP® i.MX8M Mini/Nano application processor. SOM will feature a powerful combination of 4 x ARM Cortex®-A53 @ 1.8GHz*, 64-bit processor and 1 x ARM® Cortex®-M4 core @ 400 MHz. The powerful SoC coupled with other advanced features such as flexible LPDDR4 & eMMC memory options, sophisticated audio, video, graphics, high speed wired/wireless connectivity and a wide range of I/O interfaces makes it ideal for delivering low power and high performing solutions for demanding embedded applications. This SOM provides comprehensive features yet cost-effective solution in a small and highly integrated SODIMM form factor and is ideal for enabling innovations in IoT, portable hardware, video /audio streaming, industrial HMI, Home Automation etc.

i.MX8M Mini/Nano is NXP®’s first embedded SOC built using advanced 14LPC FinFet process technology. The SOM can provide enhanced video/audio experience by combining media specific features such as 1080p60 VPU, GC Nano ultra 3D graphics, GC320 2D graphics, MIPI DSI, MIPI CSI interface and extensive audio interfaces including I2S, AC97, TDM and SPDIF. SOM can easily be connected to the network with the help of a wide range of high-speed interfaces and connectivity options such as USB, PCIe, Dual Gigabit Ethernet and on-board Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BLE v4.2 Combo Module. It runs Linux 4.0 and Android Oreo*.

Highlights

Cortex-A53 @ up to 1.6 GHz
Cortex-M4F @ 400 MHZ
64-bit Armv8-A architecture
1080p60 VP8, 1080p60 VP9, 1080p60(AVC/H.264) Encoder & 1080p60 (HEVC/H.265, AVC/H.264) Decoder VPU
GCNanoUltra and GC320
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac + BLE v4.2
Dual 1000/100/10 Mbps Ethernet (One is optional)
2GB LPDDR4 memory (Expandable)
Modular & Compact SODIMM form factor 67.6mm X 37mm

Each cores of i.MX8M Mini SOM consists of 32 KB L1 Instruction Cache, 32 KB L1 Data Cache, Media Processing Engine (MPU) and Floating Point Unit (FPU).The ARM® Cortex®-M4F microcontroller can operate in low power standby mode, independent of the main processor and is proficient in handling real time system monitoring. The M4F incorporates 16 KB L1 Instruction Cache ,16 KB L2 Data Cache and 256 KB TCM.The SOM is equipped with high speed on-chip RAM (256 KB+32 KB) and 256 KB Boot ROM and features NXP’S highly efficient power management units for ensuring prolonged battery life. The SOM ensures secured infrastructure with Arm Trust Zone architecture, Resource Domain Controller and High Assurance Boot.

(Remarks) ARM and Cortex are registered trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the EU and in other countries. PowerVR is a registered trademark of Imagination technologies Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the EU and in other countries. All registered trademarks or trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Availability:

i.MX8M mini SODIMM SOM modules are in sampling and shipping to customers from mid-2019. The i.MX8M Nano based SOM modules will be launched later this year. iWave also supports comprehensive development platform with TFT panel to evaluate all the features of the i.MX8M Mini/Nano CPU. The i.MX8M Mini/Nano SOMs will be supported with both Linux and Android BSP.

Littelfuse setP™ temperature indicator helps protect USB Type-C plugs from overheating

Posted on 6 June, 20196 June, 2019 by mixos

Littelfuse expands its PolySwitch setP series of digital temperature indicators, introducing the SETP0805-100-CC which is designed to protect USB Type‑C and USB power delivery charging cables from overheating. It is optimised for use in cables equipped with USB Type-C connectors at both ends.

Typical applications for SETP0805-100-CC temperature indicators include consumer electronics, primarily for mobile and wearable devices equipped with USB Type-C cables (with a Type-C plug on each end) and USB Type-C chargers (such as cables fixed or captive to a charger for laptops).

When dust, dirt, or other debris is trapped in a USB Type-C cable connector or the connector has deformed pins, it creates a resistive fault from the power line to ground, which can cause a dangerous temperature rise without increasing the current. When the temperature reaches the setP’s indicating temperature (100 degrees C), the setP switches from low resistance to very high resistance, shutting down the flow of power. Once the user disconnects the cable and removes the debris, the cable can resume normal operation.

The compact 0805 footprint of Littelfuse’s setP temperature indicators makes them at least 50 per cent smaller than other versions that require placing a device on the power line, claims Littelfuse. The setP devices can be used to protect cables designed for 100 W of power or more.

The number of consumer electronics, wireless, and computing devices equipped with USB Type-C connectors sold each year is estimated to reach 5bn by 2021. This is expected to spur demand for products that can protect cables and connectors from overheating damage. The SETP0805-100-CC temperature indicators are claimed to offer the smallest, most energy-efficient solution available today to protect people and electronics against overheating.

The setP temperature indicators have a rigid structure which is compatible with conventional assembly and moulding operations used in cable and connector manufacturing. They are independent of power simplifies part selection to protect systems that operate at 100 W of power or more.

The setP indicator is an easy drop-in replacement for over-temperature protection to existing designs as there is no disruption of the communication channel, reports Littelfuse.

The original (single-end) setP series digital temperature indicator (part number SETP0805-100-SE) and the SETP0805-100-CC are available as surface mount devices in tape and reel packaging. Sample requests may be placed through authorised Littelfuse distributors worldwide.

http://www.Littelfuse.com

Panasonic’s ETQP Series metal-composite type power choke coils now available

Posted on 5 June, 20195 June, 2019 by mixos

Panasonic’s ETQP Series metal-composite type power choke coils offer exceptional robustness for use in harsh automotive and industrial applications. AEC-Q200 qualified, they are ideal for use as noise filters in drive circuits, and in step-down and step-up circuits in DC-DC converters, voltage regulators and buck-boost converters.

The ETQP Series inductors are notable for their high current capability, high heat resistance and excellent thermal stability. Made with a high temperature-capable resin material, the ETQP Series inductors are rated for an operating temperature of up to 160°C.

ETQP Series | Available now from Future Electronics – You can find full pricing and delivery information here

Other key features of these Panasonic power inductors include:

Vibration resistance of 10g-30g
Up to 40% smaller than equivalent ferrite-type inductors
High tolerance of thermal shock when cycle-tested at -40°C to 150°C
Metal-composite core with magnetic shielding
Non-hard saturation

In industrial equipment, the ETQP series devices are suitable for:

Automation
Servers
LED drivers
Power supply modules

Saelig’s SAE106S Digital PCB Microscope has 1080p resolution

Posted on 5 June, 20195 June, 2019 by mixos

High resolution inspection tool with built-in LCD designed for standalone PCB inspection.

Saelig Company, Inc. announces the introduction of the Saelig SAE106S Digital Microscope, a versatile tool designed specifically for PCB inspection, but it will also prove to be useful in many other fields such as coin or mechanical part examination. The SAE106S may be used as a standalone inspection device for circuit board examination using its built-in 4.3” LCD screen, or it may also be connected to a PC. Illumination is enhanced by an 8-LED adjustable ring light and two additional repositionable, dimmable side lights to allow optimal contrast viewing. The SAE106S offers 10X-220X magnification for discovering the smallest blemish or trace problem, and resultant images and videos may be stored on an SD card or transferred to a Windows PC. The SAE106S features a large non-conducting ABS plastic base for supporting the PCB being examined.

Visual inspection is a premier tool in PCB debug activities. Searching for missing, incorrect or charred components, bad solder joints, and solder bridges is the first order of business when a bad board comes in for repair. This becomes so much easier with a powerful microscope such as the SAE106S. Looking for solder whiskers or bridges between pads or solder joints is especially challenging between the pins of fine-pitch SMD chips without significant magnification. If the problem is a short, it may be plainly visible on the full-color LCD screen as a burned spot that is discolored brown, instead of the normal green solder mask of the PCB.

Specification

4.3inch full HD LCD screen. 10x-220x continuously adjustable magnification
High quality optics for extremely sharp 1080p images
High-quality precision-adjustable stand adjusts the camera-object distance and magnification.
UV filter protects the lens, reduces reflections and stray light.
Images and videos can be saved to a microSD card (< 32GB).
USB 3.0 SD Card reader and SD card included.
8 LED ring illumination with adjustable intensity control for optimal illumination levels.
Two arm-mounted movable/dimmable fill lights for additional lighting control and contrast
Comprehensive English user manual

The SAE106S Digital PCB Microscope is available now from Saelig for $199.99

1750Hz tone generator using 74HC4060

Posted on 5 June, 2019 by mixos

Dilshan Jayakody published a new mini circuit. He writes:

The 1750Hz tone bursts are often used to trigger repeaters. There are several methods to build 1750Hz tone generators which including TC5082 divider, using MCUs, etc.
In this post, I present another 1750Hz tone generator which I built using 74HC4060 high-speed 14-stage binary ripple counter and 7.168MHz crystal. In this design, 74HC4060 is used to drive the crystal and divide its output by 4096. By using 7.168MHz crystal, this circuit produces 1750.0Hz square wave output with a 50% duty cycle.

1750Hz tone generator using 74HC4060 – [Link]

Tektronix 3 Series MDO and 4 Series MSO Oscilloscopes

Posted on 5 June, 20195 June, 2019 by mixos

Two oscilloscopes launched by Tektronix on June 4 are now in stock at Farnell. After intensive research amongst users Tektronix developed the new 3 Series MDO and 4 Series MSO. The oscilloscopes are built upon the user experience introduced in the 5 and 6 series MSOs.

They both feature a highly intuitive touchscreen user interface incorporating the touch interactions familiar from phones and tablets, the largest and highest resolution display in their class and modern industrial design.

Typical applications including embedded design and IoT, Power design, Education, Manufacturing Test and Troubleshooting and Service Installation and Maintenance.

The 3 Series MDO is intended to be a compact, versatile test instrument that can sit on the desk of every engineer, taking up just six inches of depth on the bench whilst delivering an intuitive user interface and similar set of knobs and buttons to other models.

The instrument features an 11.6in. display with 1920 x 1080 HD resolution capacitive touch display, bandwidth ranging from 100MHz to 1GHz and an option to add spectrum analyser hardware at 1GHz or 3GHz; arbitrary function generator, digital channels and Serial Bus Decode, Triggering and Search.

It also offers a DVM/frequency counter added at no cost following product registration and it is future proofed with fully upgradable bandwidths and options.

The 4 Series MSO has been built to meet a diverse range of application requirements alongside enhanced user experience.

Features include a 13.3in. (1920 x 1080 HD resolution) capacitive touch display which has a stacked display mode automatically adding and removing additional horizontal waveform ‘slices’ (additional graticules) as waveforms are created and removed, reducing tradeoffs between accuracy and visibility.

Bandwidths range from 200MHz to 1.5GHz. Vertical resolution is enabled through 12-bit ADCs providing 16 times the vertical resolution of traditional 8-bit ADCs, enabling users to capture the signals of interest while minimising the effects of unwanted noise.

The instrument offers six input channels avoiding the introduction of a second scope for complex applications such as embedded systems or power supply design and includes FlexChannel technology enabling any input channel to be converted from an analog to eight digital channels simply by connecting a logic probe.

An eight-digit trigger frequency counter is added at no cost following product registration

Bandwidth and options are all field upgradeable.

The Tektronix 3 Series MDO and 4 Series MSO are available from Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC for €3,570 – €4,260

For more models of the NEW 3 Series MDO and 4 Series MSO check on www.tek.com

A catalog of 125 Linux hacker boards from linuxgizmos.com

Posted on 5 June, 20195 June, 2019 by mixos

linuxgizmos.com 2019 spring edition catalog of hacker-friendly SBCs under $200 that run Linux or Android offers updated descriptions, specs, and pricing for 125 SBCs and is published yesterday. The fellow website sets two big questions for 2019: Is it time for AI, and what about those tariffs?

This is the latest catalog of 125 community-backed Linux and Android SBCs compiled from linuxgizmos.com. They have compiled the essential prices, features, and comparisons to help you vote based on various aspects. They have updated the blurbs and the comparison spreadsheet with new pricing and in some cases, feature changes, and added descriptions of new boards.

Catalog listing

The selection criteria are the same as last year, with a limit of 15 boards per vendor. (We’ve combined some of the similar Orange Pi and NanoPi boards to fit under this limit.) There is also a similar, loosely defined requirement to check off most of our open source boxes ranging from community resources to strong open source software support to open schematics and open licensing.

14,000ppi MicroLED display is world’s densest, only 0.48mm across

Posted on 4 June, 2019 by mixos

Mojo Vision, a Californian startup dedicated to the development of pervasive, yet unobtrusive augmented reality solutions which it calls “Invisible Computing”, has unveiled a tiny MicroLED display, only 0.48mm in diameter, boasting a record 14K PPI pixel density. via www.eenewseurope.com

Smaller than a grain of rice, the prototype display delivers a pixel density 300 times greater than current smartphone displays and draws about a tenth of the power required by today’s LCD displays while being 5 to 10 times brighter than OLEDs for viewing outdoors.

According Mojo Vision, with a world record pixel pitch of 1.8µm and a pixel density over 14,000ppi, the monochrome display technology is the company’s first important step in succeeding in its mission to deliver “Invisible Computing”, enabling people to receive and share information that is immediate and relevant without distracting them from the world in front of them.

“Creating screens with smaller pixels will deliver a nearly invisible low-power display without the distraction of today’s mobile devices. This prototype demonstrates the capability MicroLEDs have to create more seamless AR experiences”, said Mojo Vision’s VP of Displays, Paul S. Martinat in a statement.

Although one could argue that making the hardware unobstructive or nearly invisible won’t stop the displayed content from distracting the wearer from having meaningful social interactions. Unresponsive wearers will just look plain absent-minded rather than locked into their smartphone (at least the smartphone gives a “do not disturb” cue).

Mojo Vision – www.mojo.vision

Oscilloscope Differential Probe USB Power Supply

Posted on 4 June, 2019 by mixos

By Dr. Martin Oppermann (Germany) & www.elektormagazine.com

In his article published in the July & August 2016 issue, Elektor author Alfred Rosenkränzer presented a wonderfully simple differential probe for oscilloscopes, based around the AD8479 precision differential amplifier. I built one of them immediately and found it particularly suitable for measurements in the audio range, for example. But one small detail was not covered in this article: the power supply used for the probe (or for several of them). Practically all modern oscilloscopes have a USB port on the front panel for data output. Since the power consumption of a probe is very low, it makes sense to use this socket to power the probe. Figure 1 shows the schematic of the circuit I decided upon.

Oscilloscope Differential Probe USB Power Supply – [Link]

The Raspberry Pi Tutorial – A Beginner’s Guide from thepihut.com

Posted on 4 June, 20195 June, 2019 by mixos

The Raspberry Pi has a number of ports which you will use to control the Raspberry Pi, and it can use to control other devices. Your Raspberry Pi will have the following ports:

USB – USB ports are used to connect a wide variety of components, most commonly a mouse and keyboard.
HDMI – The HDMI port outputs video and audio to your monitor.
Audio – The audio jack allows you to connect standard headphones and speakers.
Micro USB – The Micro USB port is only for power, do not connect anything else to this port. Always connect the power after you have already connected everything else.
GPIO – The GPIO ports allow the Raspberry Pi to control and take input from any electronic component.
SD card slot – The Raspberry Pi uses SD cards the same way a full-size computer uses a hard drive. The SD card provides the Raspberry Pi with internal memory, and stores the hard drive.

What you will need to get started

In addition to the micro-USB provided to power the Raspberry Pi, you are going to need a keyboard and mouse to control it, and a screen so you can see what you are doing.

You will also need an SD card, we will have provided one with Raspbian already loaded onto it.