Soldering Workshop in Mathematics and Science High School (PMG) in Pazardzhik

We were invited to the Mathematics and Science High School (PMG) in Pazardzhik to run a workshop on soldering the RVPC — the EUR-1 RISC-V retro computer — and to introduce the students to the ways programming was done years ago. The workshop took place on Saturday, November 29, 2025. The organizers had told us […]

Raspberry Pi 5 1GB launched for $45, most other Pi 4/5 models get a price increase

Last October, Raspberry Pi had to increase the price of its CM4/CM5 Compute Modules due to DDR4 supply constraints. Now the company has had to do the same for the Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 single board computers, and launched the Raspberry Pi 5 1GB for people wanting a lower cost option. They could not get the traditional $35 price tag, and the new low-cost Pi 5 sells for $45. Here’s what the old and new prices are. $145 for a Raspberry Pi 5 16GB starts to be really stiff, especially since that’s only the board we are talking about...

NetCube Systems Nagami Allwinner T113-S3 mini PCIe SoM features ESP32 wireless SoC, supports mainline Linux

NetCube Systems Nagami is a small Allwinner T113-S3 system-on-module that I just saw added to Linux 6.18. Besides mainline Linux support, the Allwinner SoM offers somewhat unique or unusual features that include a mini PCIe form factor and an ESP32 co-processor for WiFi 4 and Bluetooth connectivity. The Nagami also comes with 128MB DDR3 embedded in the T113-S3, 4GB eMMC flash, a Fast Ethernet PHY, and a Qwiic connector for I2C expansion modules. All I/Os are exposed through a standard mini PCIe edge connector: audio I/Os, Ethernet, USB 2.0 OTG/host, and a range of low-speed I/Os. Nagami SoM specifications: SoC...

Linux 6.18 release – Main changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 6.18 on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), which will likely become the next LTS kernel: So I’ll have to admit that I’d have been happier with slightly less bugfixing noise in this last week of the release, but while there’s a few more fixes than I would hope for, there was nothing that made me feel like this needs more time to cook. So 6.18 is tagged and pushed out. Most of the last-minute fixes are minor fixes to drivers, with some random noise elsewhere (bluetooth, ceph, afs..). Nothing strikes...

$9.99 2.5GbE PCIe adapter for Raspberry Pi 5 uses Realtek RTL8125 controller

Waveshare PCIe TO 2.5G ETH Board (C) low-cost PCIe x1 adapter adds a 2.5GbE port to the Raspberry Pi 5 using the board’s 16-pin PCIe interface. It’s plug-and-play and doesn’t require any additional drivers, making it a practical upgrade for DIY NAS, routers, or edge-networking applications. The board is built around a Realtek RTL8125 controller and offers a 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps RJ45 port with link/activity LEDs. It includes a transparent acrylic mounting plate at the bottom to save space above the board. It relies on a PCIe Gen2 x1 interface, takes 5V power through the PCIe cable or 5V power connectors,...

reComputer Mini J501 Provides Jetson AGX Orin Connectivity in a Reduced Footprint

The reComputer Mini J501 is Seeed Studio’s upcoming carrier board for NVIDIA’s Jetson AGX Orin module. Its 110mm × 110mm design offers a compact platform for robotics while retaining the connectivity needed for perception and control. The board supports the Jetson AGX Orin module, which integrates an Arm-based CPU cluster, Ampere GPU architecture, and dedicated […]

Name that Ware, November 2025

The Ware for November 2025 is shown below.

This one is hopefully a bit easier to guess compared to last month’s ware! Pictured is just one board of a two board set, but the second board is a bit too much of a dead give-away so it’s been omitted. Thanks to Sam for thinking on her feet and snatching this board so that it could be donated to the contest!

Winner, Name that Ware October 2025

Last month’s ware is an ADAS1010, described on the Analog devices website as a “15 Lead ECG Vital Signs Monitor Module with Respiration, Temperature and Blood Pressure Measurement”. It advertises a “robust, with electromagnetic interference (EMI), shock, and vibration resistant packaging”.

This is one of the more over-engineered solutions I’ve seen. I’m guessing that the middle layer of the three-layer stack is probably hollowed out, such that the surrounding boards create a Faraday cage. This would allow sensitive ECG front-end circuitry to be placed inside a shielded “container” that also doubles as a connector between the front and back boards.

This one...

SMHUB Nano Mg24 compact Linux-based Zigbee/Thread Smart Hub combines SG2000 RISC-V SoC with MG24 wireless MCU

SMLight’s SMHUB Nano Mg24 may look like the company’s earlier SLZB-06p Zigbee to Ethernet/WiFi/USB coordinators, but it’s a more powerful Linux-based Zigbee/Thread Smart Hub that pairs SOPHGO SG2000 RISC-V SoC with Silicon Labs MG24 multi-protocol wireless MCU. Unlike traditional Zigbee/Thread adapters that connect to a host through USB or Ethernet, the SMHUB Nano Mg24 is an all-in-one solution that runs all major automation apps directly on the device, eliminating the need for a Raspberry Pi, Mini PC, or other hardware server. SMHUB Nano Mg24 specifications: SoC – SOPHGO SG2000 CPU cores 1x C906 64-bit RISC-V core @ 1GHz or 1x Arm Cortex-A53...

Dual-Radio T-Lora Dual Supports LoRa at 150–960 MHz and 2.4 GHz

LILYGO has introduced the T-Lora Dual LR, a compact board that integrates an ESP32-S3R8 microcontroller with two LR1121 transceivers, combining Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, and LoRa across sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. The module uses the ESP32-S3R8 as its main processor. It features a dual-core LX7 architecture and includes integrated wireless connectivity for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n […]