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Intrinsyc Announces Open-Q™ 212A SOM and Development Kit based on the Qualcomm® Home Hub 300 Platform

Posted on 29 May, 2019 by mixos

Designed for next-gen home hub products requiring advanced audio and multi-mode wireless capabilities, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE, and Zigbee.

Intrinsyc Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of solutions for the development and production of embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) products, today announced the availability of the Open-Q™ 212A system on module (“SOM”) and Home Hub Development Kit.

Intrinsyc’s Open-Q™ 212A SOM is a compact (50mm x 46.5mm) pre-certified, production-ready embedded computing module that is ideal for cost-sensitive home hub, home automation, and smart audio devices featuring voice control, AI, and wireless connectivity. It is powered by the Qualcomm® Home Hub 300 Platform based on the Qualcomm® APQ8009 System-on-Chip (“SoC”) and includes an advanced Qualcomm audio and voice optimization solution supporting multi-mic beamforming and noise cancellation as well as Hi-Fi stereo audio playback. The 212A SOM satisfies wireless connectivity needs of home hub/home automation devices with a high throughput, pre-certified, Wi-Fi/BT module, supporting dual-band 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO as well as concurrent Bluetooth with independent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antenna ports for optimal coexistence performance.

“Intrinsyc’s Open-Q™ 212A SOM brings high performance wireless connectivity and advanced audio capability to a variety of voice-controlled smart home applications,” said Clifford Morton, Vice President, Client Solutions, Intrinsyc. “OEMs can quickly develop products and applications using Intrinsyc’s Linux based development platform and their choice of voice services SDKs available from leading vendors. When development is complete OEMs can immediately go into production with Intrinsyc’s Open-Q™ pre-certified system on module.”

Additional information on the Open-Q 212A SOM is available at:

https://www.intrinsyc.com/computing-platforms/open-q-212A-som/

To help IoT device developers quickly evaluate the 212A SOM and jump-start new product development, Intrinsyc offers a full-featured development platform to support the SOM. The 212A Home Hub Development Kit provides a SOM, carrier board, and power supply; everything needed to start your product development today – the carrier board provides audio peripherals to support voice controlled and smart speaker applications, extensive I/O expansion connectors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas, and multiple USB ports. To support even more wireless connectivity options, including Zigbee, 802.15.4, and Bluetooth LE 5.0, the Dev Kit will support the Qualcomm® QCA4024 SoC add-on board. This optional accessory board plugs into the Open-Q 212A Dev Kit and features a Qualcomm QCA4024 module along with all supporting connections to the 212A SOM. The QCA4024 board is in the final stages of development and will be available in late June, 2019.

The Development Kit is available for purchase at:

https://shop.intrinsyc.com/products/open-q-212a-development-kit

The Home Hub Dev Kit comes pre-loaded with an OpenEmbedded Yocto Linux OS, initially with support for audio and wireless connectivity features, such as Wi-Fi station and AP modes, BT speaker, BT LE, stereo speaker outputs, and the microphone array with Qualcomm voice and audio optimization for advanced beamforming and noise cancellation. Further SW updates will be coming soon to support the QCA4024 wireless expansion board, as well as other features and demo applications including – home automation gateway, voice activation, and voice services SDKs.

Open-Q™ 212A SOM Specifications:

Qualcomm® APQ8009 SoC with Quad-Core ARM Cortex A7 (32-bit) 1.267GHz
Qualcomm® Adreno™ 304 GPU and QDSP6 DSP
1GB LPDDR3 RAM, 4GB eMMC Flash storage
Pre-certified Wi-Fi/BT – 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2×2 MU-MIMO, 2.4/5Ghz, Bluetooth 4.2
Display interface: 4-lane MIPI DSI interface for LCD up to 720p
Camera interface: Up to 8MP over 4-lane MIPI CSI interface
Qualcomm Aqstic™ audio codec on SOM (WCD9326).

Open-Q™ 212A Home Hub Dev Kit Features:

Advanced audio on dev kit:
- Hi-Fi audio codec on SOM
- Stereo speaker amps on carrier board
- Multi-mic array on carrier board
- Audio expansion interfaces for other audio peripherals
Separate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas on carrier board
Support for optional QCA4024 Zigbee/BLE add-on board (coming)
Camera connector for optional camera accessory
OpenEmbedded Yocto Linux OS.

To aid OEMs with rapid product development, Intrinsyc provides full documentation, access to SW source code, technical support, as well as turnkey product development services, driver and application software development, and custom hardware design.

Contact Intrinsyc at sales@intrinsyc.com with your product requirements and have one of the Company’s solution architects help plan for your successful product development and launch.

Maximizing power density and thermal performance in power-module designs

Posted on 29 May, 2019 by mixos

Power-module designs require high power density, excep-tional thermal performance and a full feature set in order to be competitive. One way that power-module designs can meet these needs is with buck controllers with exter-nal metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) in their power architecture. Buck controllers with external MOSFETs allow current scalability and provide superior thermal spacing—both are key items in power-module designs. In this article, the operation of the DC/DC buck controller with external MOSFETs is compared to converter solutions with integrated MOSFETs.

External MOSFET considerations

Because converters have integrated MOSFETs, designs are restricted to the MOSFETs chosen by the converter manufacturer. Power modules designed with buck controllers and external MOSFETs provide the flexibility to choose the MOSFETs used in the design, which can provide advantages for pricing, sourcing and current-scaling. First and foremost, however, is the flexibility to size the control FET and synchronous FET for optimal efficiency and thermal management.

Maximizing power density and thermal performance in power-module designs – [PDF]

Ruideng DPS5020 – 50V 20A Power Supply Module Review

Posted on 29 May, 201931 May, 2019 by Tope Oluyemi

The DPS5020 is a constant voltage/current programmable control power supply module, that integrates analog and digital control in one device. Th e module is a 0-50V/0-20A Lab PSU module that comes in 2 parts, the main controller and a front panel. The main board has connections for input/output voltage as well as connection headers for Bluetooth and USB to Serial converter.

The front panel module has buttons and a control knob to set the desired voltage/current and an OLED display to show actual readings and set points. The DPS5020 can store up to 10 preset group values which are preserved during power off. You can also quickly set two stored group values. In comparison with traditional analog power supplies, it is more convenient to quickly set the voltage or current required. Using the provided instructions, assembling and switching on the device is straight forward. Along with the package, you will receive a small user manual, cables, and the two main modules.

USB and Bluetooth Connection

In the box, there’s is also a FTDI – i.e. UART to USB converter and a Bluetooth module (with pass: 1234, which just looks like a wireless UART COM port). You can use the available software to make a serial connection (wired or wireless) to the module, by downloading the PC software accordingly. Once the software is loaded, and the serial connector is connected to the board and PC, you are able to control the board from the onscreen menus. When the maximum current is set to 1A, voltage is set to 5V and connect a 2-ohm load, the voltage immediately drops to ensure no more than 1A flows through the load. This is the current limiting feature.

When the current limit is removed, the same load draws 2.4A and that’s a total of 12w of power, which follows Ohms Law. In this case the output voltage stays rock solid at 5v and the supply itself remains cold enough. To test another scenario, you can set the output to 20mA, attach a small LED to the output – and turn the unit on.

User Interface

The photo above shows the HMI in use. The Green/Yellow/Purple text in the middle indicates actual output. On the bottom (cyan), you see voltage in, on top (cyan) you see Voltage and Current setting. You can notice that Voltage reading shows actual output voltage, not the set point. It is possible you will actually see a +/- 0.01 offset in this reading, which is normal. Operation of the module is straight forward. Just press V and turn the knob to set Voltage, Press A and turn the knob to set Current limit. When you are done, press Set and you see the confirmation screen. After that, by pressing ON/OFF button, output is enabled.

This is interesting because it is not just about turning the knob to change voltage – you have to press V button first. This is a nice feature because it is nice to know that your PSU output won’t change by accident. You can also adjust the voltage both on-line and off-line this way. The second feature is the ability to adjust setting before you enable the output. The knob is a standard rotary encoder that features a push switch, which is used to change the digit you adjust. After some minutes of use you will be able to familiarize with the interface.

The image above shows the PSU module. Input is on the left and output on the right. At the front, you see an LQFP48 holding an STM32F100C8. The USB is a familiar CH340G IC operating on a UART. You can also see the small 4 pin connector next to the MCU. Using that connector you can remotely connect to the module using USB, Bluetooth or simply hacking the UART.

Software

The image above shows the top-side HMI that can be used to operate the module from a PC. You can hack the UART and connect a Graph display on the PSU + adding Ethernet/Wifi capabilities etc. For $45 with shipping included, it’s not a bad deal. The module has many advantages, with advanced functions, good visual interface, high precision, being used independently, being insert into your own box and been widely applied.

Testing

We tested the module by connecting 12Vdc input and a small DC fan on the output. We set the voltage to 10Vdc and current limit to 1A. As you can see output voltage is off by only a few mV for this low power load.

Video

Specifications

Input voltage range: 6.00-60.00V Output voltage range: 0V-50.00V
Output current: 0-20.00A Output power range: 0-1000W
Product Weight: about 222g Display module size: 79*43*41(mm) (L*W*H)
Open size: 71mm*39mm Power module size: 93*71*41(mm) (L*W*H)
Length of connecting line: 200mm Fixed hole center distance: 86mm, 64mm
Output voltage resolution: 0.01V Output current resolution: 0.01A
Output Voltage Accuracy: ± (0.5% + 1 digit) Output Current accuracy: ± (0.5% + 2 digits)

Notes

You must make sure that the input voltage is 1.1 times higher than the output voltage. Under large current circumstances, pay attention to heat dissipation.
The connection between the display module and the power module should be according to the corresponding instructions. Otherwise, it will not work.
Input voltage range is DC 6-60V and 60v is the limit voltage; please leave a room to use, or else it will be burnt. The input must be DC Votlage input, not AC 220V, or else it will be burnt too.

Ruideng, also designs a range of power supplies and one of its smaller ones is particularly interesting. If the 5020 unit sounds a little over the top, there is also a little stand-alone version that fits all components in the front panel unit and this one comes from Banggood as well. This unit has a maximum of 20V @ 3 Amps. It is called DPS3003. It is very handy and needs just 20v DC input. No serial or Bluetooth is available, but it is also cheaper as it does not have a separate control board (it is all in the front panel) and would fit in a much smaller box.

You can buy the DPS5020 module from the attached (Banggood) link for 54.99 USD.

Future Electronics presents Ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.0 radio SoC

Posted on 28 May, 201928 May, 2019 by mixos

The RSL10 from ON Semiconductor is an ultra-low power Bluetooth® 5.0 radio SoC for sensor and IoT applications. Designed for applications using 1.2V or 1.5V batteries, it runs from a supply between 1.1V and 3.3V without the need for a DC-DC converter.

Ultra-low power Bluetooth 5.0 radio SoC – Free RSL10 evaluation kits available | Future Electronics

Bluetooth 5.0 SoC from ON Semiconductor offers extremely low power consumption in wireless sensor applications
ON Semiconductor’s RSL10 is a complete Bluetooth® 5.0 wireless system-on-chip which offers outstandingly low power consumption in wireless sensors and other IoT applications.

An evaluation kit for the RSL10 is available free to qualified customers of Future Electronics.

Apply today and get started with development on the RSL10, or buy online from www.FutureElectronics.com

The RSL10 is intended for use in applications which need to take advantage of the low-power characteristics of the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol. It is ideal for applications using 1.2V or 1.5V batteries, and supports a supply-voltage range between 1.1V and 3.3V without the need for an external DC-DC converter. Power consumption is the industry’s lowest in Deep Sleep mode (62.5nW) and Receive mode (7mW).

Other key features include:

-94dBm sensitivity
Up to +6dBm Transmit power
Available in 5.5mm2 chip-scale package or 6mm x 6mm QFN

The RSL10 is suitable for applications including:

Fitness and wellness monitors
Smart watches
Smart locks
Home appliances
Lighting equipment

The RSL10 includes two processor cores, an Arm® Cortex®-M3 controller core and an LPDSP32 for intensive signal-processing functions. It offers users the flexibility to support both Bluetooth Low Energy and 2.4GHz proprietary or custom protocols.

The SoC also features built-in power management, 384kbytes of Flash memory and configurable analogue and digital sensor interfaces. It provides an AES-128 encryption engine to protect data transmitted over the air.

Open frame non-isolated DC-DC converter is only 3.50mm thick

Posted on 28 May, 2019 by mixos

Designed for applications requiring non-isolated step-down circuits, Mornsun’s K78-JT-500R3 Series of open frame non-isolated DC-DC converters is only 3.50mm thick, with an SMD package footprint of 12.50×13.50mm.

The new series provides an ultra-wide input voltage range of 4.75 to 36V and an operating temperature ranging from -40 to +85°C, removing the need for a heat sink. The K78-JT-500R3 Series delivers an efficiency up to 95%, features low stand-by power consumption and short-circuit protection, which can be widely used for applications in industrial control. Depending on the part number, the DC-DC converter outputs 500mA at 3.3 to 15V.

Mornsun – www.mornsun-power.com

Single chip from Melexis drives BLDC motors from 100 to 1,000W

Posted on 28 May, 2019 by mixos

Latest generation II motor predriver offers more Flash memory, LIN interface and easy sensor integration.

Melexis announces the latest addition to its generation II embedded motor driver product portfolio for automotive applications, with the release of the MLX81206. This single-chip solution with 64 KB Flash memory offers higher integration with the ability to drive BLDC motors from 100 W to 1,000 W.

The MLX81206 supports a LIN 1.x/LIN 2.x and SAE J602 compliant interface, the most widely used digital communications interface standards in the automotive sector, making it a simple solution to predriving a range of high-power BLDC motors. With the ability to drive 12 V motors in either a sensor or sensorless configuration the MLX81206 is the ideal choice for silent and high-performance HVAC blowers, engine cooling fans and pumps in conventional, hybrid and full electric vehicles.

Melexis engineers have achieved a high level of integration, bringing together an embedded driver with high-voltage analog circuitry and digital technology, including Flash and non-volatile RAM memory along with an embedded microcontroller. This makes the MLX81206 a highly efficient and complete single-chip solution combining both hardware and software.

The synergy between sensing and drive control makes the MLX81206 a compelling choice in terms of size, performance and robustness. This is apparent by the ease with which the device can interface to a range of sensors, such as the MLX90380 resolver for dynamic pumps driven in Field-Oriented-Control (FOC) mode. This IC can be delivered in a small footprint QFN32 package (MLX81206) or in a leaded package TQFP48 (MLX81208).

Introduction

Snapmaker 2.0 3D printer: fastest ever project to reach $1M on Kickstarter!

Posted on 27 May, 201927 May, 2019 by mixos

Snapmaker, the 3D printer brand that had the second most funded and fulfilled 3D printing campaign on Kickstarter, has secured another crowdfunding success with the launch of the Snapmaker 2.0.

Having raised over $2M in only an hour on Kickstarter, the Snapmaker 2.0 is the latest generation of 3-in-1 3D printers from Snapmaker. Available in 3 models of different sizes – the A150, A250 and A350 – the 3D printers feature key improvements over the Snapmaker Original, released in 2017. Kickstarter backers will begin receiving their Snapmaker 2.0 orders in November 2019.

The Snapmaker community has always been passionate, and it is inspiring to see such a strong response to our newest 3D printer line,” said Daniel Chen, CEO of Snapmaker. “With the success of this campaign, Snapmaker is even closer to reaching our goal of fabrication devices for everyone that strike the perfect balance between high-quality and affordability. We can’t wait for our backers to get their Snapmaker 2.0s and start creating!

The Snapmaker 2.0 resonates with backers thanks to the modular design, thoughtful details, and highly requested features from the community, including:

3-in-1 capabilities for 3D printing, laser engraving and cutting, and CNC carving
Compatibility with dozens of everyday materials such as leather and food items, to popular 3D printing materials like wooden PLA
A modular design so users can easily upgrade their machine with new modules in the future
High quality metal construction with aerospace-grade aluminum alloys
A large workspace with each model of different sizes so you can make large projects or multiple smaller objects at once
Intuitive touchscreen and software to control the printers, and also select and preview your projects

3-in-1 software

Our 3-in-1 software, Snapmakerjs, is tailor-made for your Snapmaker machines. One single and powerful software for all your tasks. It has been iterated through 18 versions over the last one and a half years, adding features like multiple models printing/engraving/cutting/carving, SVG editing, relief carving, and multiple language support. Using rapid iterations, we’ve included many popular requests from our community.

We really appreciate the help and patience from the Kickstarter and open source community. You helped us learn and grow. Now it’s our turn to contribute. We decided to open source Snapmakerjs and firmware in November when the first batch of Snapmaker 2.0 is shipped. With a plugin system, API and tutorials, Snapmakerjs enables you to easily add new features for existing modules. You can even develop new features for your customized modules. We will build a truly modular system together.

CNC Highlights

Snapmaker 2.0 features a fully upgraded CNC module. Using the standard ER11 Collet, it guarantees a better concentricity that allows for faster CNC carving speed and larger step down, which saves your time significantly. It also supports over one hundred carving and cutting bits. The diameters of the bits range from 0.5mm (0.020 inches) to 6.35mm (0.250 inches).

Kickstarter campaign backers will start receiving their orders in November 2019.

16×2 LCD Shield for Arduino Nano

Posted on 27 May, 2019 by mixos

This 16×2 LCD shield for Arduino Nano includes various addons, like 5 Tactile Switches, 3 Trimmer Potentiometers, LM35 Temperature sensor and the 16×2 LCD itself. It’s a compact shield designed to fit in small enclosures and it is intended to develop measuring devices like thermometers, voltmeters, timers, up down counters and other various project requiring LCD, switches, trimmer pots etc.

Features

Input Supply 7-12V DC
16×2 LCD Header Connector
5 Vertical Mounted Push Switch
3 x 5K Ohms Trimmer Potentiometers
LCD Connected to D2,D3,D4,D5,D11,D12
LM35 Temperature Sensor Connected Analog- A4 of Arduino
Trimmer Potentiometer Connected to Analog Pin A0,A1,A2
Push Switch Connected to A4, D13, D8, D7, D6
PR1 Trimmer Potentiometer To Adjust The LCD Contrast

16×2 LCD Shield for Arduino Nano – [Link]

16×2 LCD Shield for Arduino Nano

Note : Trimmer Potentiometer can be replaced with Header connector to interface various sensors.

Features

Input Supply 7-12V DC
16×2 LCD Header Connector
5 Vertical Mounted Push Switch
3 x 5K Ohms Trimmer Potentiometers
LM35 Temperature Sensor
LCD Connected to D2,D3,D4,D5,D11,D12
LM35 Temperature Sensor Connected Analog- A4 of Arduino
Trimmer Potentiometers Connected to Analog Pin A0,A1,A2
Push Switch Connected to A4, D13, D8, D7, D6
PR1 Trimmer Potentiometer To Adjust The LCD Contrast

Schematic

Parts List

Photos

ADM1602K 16×2 LCD Display Datasheet

Using a 16×2 I2C LCD display with ESP32

Posted on 27 May, 2019 by mixos

A few weeks ago, we examined the features of ESP32 module and built a simple hello world program to get ourselves familiar with the board. Today, we will continue our exploration of the ESP32 on a higher level as we will look at how to interface a 16×2 LCD with it.

Displays provide a fantastic way of providing feedback to users of any project and with the 16×2 LCD being one of the most popular displays among makers, and engineers, its probably the right way to start our exploration. For today’s tutorial, we will use an I2C based 16×2 LCD display because of the easy wiring it requires. It uses only four pins unlike the other versions of the display that requires at least 7 pins connected to the microcontroller board.

ESP32 comes in a module form, just like its predecessor, the ESP-12e, as a breakout board is usually needed to use the module. Thus when it’s going to be used in applications without a custom PCB, it is easier to use one of the development boards based on it. For today’s tutorial, we will use the DOIT ESP32 DevKit V1 which is one of the most popular ESP32 development boards.

To demonstrate the use of I2C driven LCD with the NodeMCU, we will examine how to display both static and scrolling messages on the LCD.

Using a 16×2 I2C LCD display with ESP32 – [Link]