Hacking a Video Walkie Talkie’s TXW818 MCU and Running DOOM

https://invidious.privacyredirect.com/watch?v=5aRQLHLls0k

Recently cheapo video walkie-talkies popped up on everyone’s favorite online retailers, which naturally lured in the usual gaggle of reverse-engineering enthusiasts of cheap tat to see what’s inside these devices, as well as what more they can be made to do. Cue [Aaron Christophel] doing just that, with the typical DOOM demo as proof of concept.

Inside these cheerful little devices is a TXW818 MCU, made by TaiXin Semiconductor. It provides its own CK803 CPU core at 240 MHz with 272 kB of SRAM, as well as BLE and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi support. For these walkie-talkies an additional 4 MB of PSRAM...

Monitor live traffic from V2X signals with V2X2MAP open-source Android app and an ESP32-C5 development board

Yesterday, I wrote about the OpenTrafficMap ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board to monitor and potentially optimize traffic using 802.11p / ITS-G5 V2X communication over 5.9 GHz WiFi 6, and map all detected nodes on the OpenTrafficMap website. Peter Holzhauser  (Pit711) forked the ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver firmware to port it to the Waveshare ESP32-C5-WIFI6-KIT development board and added BLE streaming. He also designed the V2X2MAP open-source Android app to interface with the board (since 5GHz WiFi on phones can’t usually handle 802.11p), and a Windows installer to flash the firmware. While the ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board integrates an ESP32-C5-WROOM-1 module, a GPS...

OpenTrafficMap ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board can help improve traffic efficiency using 802.11p V2X communication

The ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver project is an open-source hardware board that gathers data over 802.11p V2X communication from nearby traffic lights, public transportation (buses, trams…), trucks, cars, motorcycles, and even pedestrians to display the results on online maps. It works using the ITS-G5 protocol built on top of 802.11p V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything), which requires a 5.9 GHz WiFi radio, and makes the ESP32-C5 an ideal candidate. The standard requires a C-ITS Station (ITS-S) found in vehicles (on-board units – OBU) or roadside units (RSU) handling both transmission and reception, and a receiver to handle incoming wireless signals, decode C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport...

Reverse engineering circuitry in a Spacelab computer from 1980

Spacelab was a reusable laboratory that could be carried in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle, providing lab space for astronauts and experiments. Spacelab was controlled by a French-built minicomputer, called the Mitra 125 MS. Unlike modern computers, this computer didn't contain a microprocessor chip. Instead, its 16-bit processor was constructed from several boards of chips. In this article, I reverse-engineer one of the processor boards, shown below, part of the computer's Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU).

Spacelab consisted of a pressurized cylindrical laboratory that held experiments, computers, and work areas for researchers. A tunnel...

SpacemiT K3 Pico-ITX Chassis Kit Review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first boot

SpacemiT has sent me a K3 Pico-ITX Chassis Kit for review. It’s based on the K3 Pico-ITX motherboard with the SpacemiT K3 16-core RISC-V Edge AI processor housed in a compatible chassis. I’ll start the review with an unboxing, a teardown, and a first boot to the pre-installed Bianbu OS. In the second part of the review, I’ll perform feature testing and run several benchmarks (see early K3 benchmarks for reference) to evaluate the status of the software and performance of the system. SpacemiT K3 Pico-ITX Chassis Kit unboxing I received a kit in a retail package reading “RISC-V AI...

News about Raspberry Pi 6 and Microcontroller Development

On Thursday, three of the lead Raspberry Pi engineers hosted an AMA on the r/engineering subreddit.

One of the most interesting tidbits was on the Pi 6.

Looking back at previous launches:

Following that cycle, one would expect a Pi 6 3-4 years after the Pi 5, which would put it in 2026 or 2027.

LILYGO T-Deck Max is an ESP32-S3 handheld with LoRa, GPS, and E-Paper

The LILYGO T-Deck Max is a handheld ESP32-S3 development platform combining LoRa communications, GPS, optional 4G connectivity, and an E-Paper display in a compact keyboard-equipped form factor. Similar to earlier T-Deck devices, the platform combines low-power operation with multiple communication interfaces while adding a larger display and additional onboard peripherals. The device is built around […]

NanoPi NEO3 Plus is a compact RK3528A SBC with eMMC support and Gigabit Ethernet

The NanoPi NEO3 Plus is a compact single-board computer from FriendlyElec based on the Rockchip RK3528A processor. Compared to the earlier NanoPi NEO3, the Plus variant adds eMMC support, RTC and speaker connectors, while retaining the compact 48 × 48 mm footprint. The board is powered by the Rockchip RK3528A SoC integrating four Arm Cortex-A53 […]

DietPi May 2026 Update Adds Orange Pi 5B Support and Security Fixes

The May release of DietPi v10.4 adds dedicated Orange Pi 5B support, introduces mitigations for recent Linux vulnerabilities, and includes enhancements affecting logging, kernel management, and software installation workflows, together with multiple bug fixes. DietPi: DietPi is a lightweight, Debian-based operating system optimized for single-board computers and embedded devices. It focuses on minimal resource usage […]

ESP32-S31 development boards unveiled for IoT, Smart Audio, and HMI applications

Two ESP32-S31 development boards are currently in the works, and the documentation is already available. The ESP32-S31 was unveiled last March, and it’s the most feature-rich ESP32 wireless microcontroller so far with two RISC-V cores, Gigabit Ethernet, 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth, and 802.15.4 connectivity, LCD and camera interfaces, and more. The ESP32-S31-Function-CoreBoard-1 development board is based on the ESP32-S31-WROOM-3 wireless module, and offers Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 OTG, and onboard audio peripherals for connected IoT applications. The ESP32-S31-Korvo-1 is a multimedia-focused development board based on the same ESP32-S31-WROOM-3 module, but featuring a dual-microphone array for speech recognition and near/far-field...