ESP32-P4-PC got two new software demos – GSM LTE connectivity and full hardware features check

We have added two new demos to the ESP32-P4-PC GitHub repository. ESP32-P4-PC connectivity with GSM LTE 4G modem USB-LTE4G-EU (Arduino) https://github.com/OLIMEX/ESP32-P4-PC/tree/main/SOFTWARE/Arduino/ESP32-P4-PC-and-USB-LTE4G-EU This demo connects ESP32-P4-PC to our USB-LTE4G-EU LTE Cat 1 bis modem over UART. At startup it probes the modem, disables modem sleep, and reads the modem info, SIM status and signal quality. After […]

Semtech LR2021 LoRa chip gets the SDR treatment, supports 100 MHz to 2.74 GHz

Earlier this month, we saw how the humble ESP32-S3 could be turned into an SDR transmitter and receiver; then we saw developer h0m3us3r release the w1700k-sdr project, which turns a Gemtek W1700K Wi-Fi 7 router into a wideband SDR receiver. The LR2021-SDR open-source project by Samuel Reynolds (SAMS0N1TE) follows the same principle and turns the Semtech LR2021 LoRa transceiver into a software-defined radio (SDR) capable of receiving signals from 100 MHz to 2.74 GHz. Using an undocumented command in the chip’s ROM, this project exposes raw 16-bit I/Q samples, allowing software to decode P25 Phase 1 digital voice, POCSAG pager messages,...

Fanless Core Ultra industrial PC gains external EMC protection

Cincoze’s DX-1300 is a compact, fanless industrial computer based on Intel Core Ultra 200S processors, supporting up to 96GB of DDR5 memory and modular I/O expansion. Part of the company’s rugged DX series, the system is also compatible with the newly announced PPM-I360 external power protection module, designed to reduce electrical interference in industrial environments. […]

Linux 7.3 release – Main Changes, Arm, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures

Linus Torvalds announced the release of Linux 7.3 on LKML last Sunday: It’s Sunday afternoon, and this week I somehow kept my wits together long enough to keep track of the day of the week, so the release isn’t randomly delayed. Will wonders never cease? Anyway, nothing very special seems to have happened this last week, so as expected the final 7.3 is out, and thus tomorrow the merge window for 7.4 opens. Except I’m on my annual family vacation, so instead of merging anything first thing in the morning, I’ll spend most of the day on a boat and under...

BIOSTAR BIWCL-PAT – A 3.5-inch industrial Wildcat Lake SBC with dual 2.5GbE, triple display support

BIOSTAR BIWCL-PAT is a 3.5-inch industrial SBC built around the Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” SoC family, ranging from the Core 3 304 to the Core 7 360. The board supports up to 64GB DDR5-6400 memory, three independent displays, and dual 2.5GbE networking. It also features three M.2 slots for NVMe storage, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, and 4G/5G cellular connectivity, along with USB 3.2 ports, four serial interfaces, and an 8-bit digital I/O header. The compact 148 x 102mm form factor makes it suitable for industrial automation, edge computing, AIoT, human-machine interfaces (HMI), and POS/kiosk applications. BIOSTAR BIWCL-PAT specifications: Wildcat Lake SoC...

Two New Open Source Hardware Level Shifters: BB-LVL-SHIFT and UEXT-LVL-SHIFT

Mixing voltage levels is one of the most common headaches in embedded work. Your microcontroller runs at 3.3V, the sensor you want to use is 5V, the display module next to it is 1.8V, and the old Arduino shield in your drawer still expects 5V logic. Connect them directly and in the best case nothing […]

Axera AX8860P 16-core Cortex-A55 SoC takes on NVIDIA DGX Spark at fraction of the cost

Axera AX8860P is a new 16-core Cortex-A55 SoC with up to 128 TOPS/256 TOPS (FP4) NPU, 256-bit LPDDR5/5X memory, and PCIe 5.0 connectivity, aiming to power desktop AI solutions competing with NVIDIA DGX Spark at a fraction of the cost. Dr. Qiu Xiaoxin, founder and CEO of Axera, unveiled the new AX8860/AX8860P processor a few days ago at the China International Industrial Fair, along with upcoming products from Sipeed and Radxa. Axera AX8860P key features and specifications: CPU – 16x Arm Cortex-A55 processor AI – Up to 256 TOPS VPU – 64-channel decode, 16-channel encode Memory – Up to 128GB...

Inside the Intel 8087 chip: floating-point addition and subtraction

In 1980, Intel introduced the 8087, a chip that made floating-point operations much faster in the IBM PC and other systems. Although the 8087 supports advanced operations such as tangents, square roots, and logarithms, this article focuses on basic arithmetic operations: addition and subtraction. The 8087 provided a spectacular speed improvement over the 8086 processor, speeding up addition by a factor of almost 100, and complicated operations by even more.1 In this article, I examine the 8087's microcode and circuitry to explain exactly how floating-point addition and subtraction are implemented, including numerous special cases for infinities and other special values.

To explore the 8087's circuitry, I popped the lid...

M5Stack PaperDIY Kits pair an ESP32-S3 MCU with a 4.7-inch e-Paper display

M5Stack has released the PaperDIY series, an updated version of its 2020 M5Paper ESP32 development kit, featuring an ESP32-S3 MCU and a 4.7-inch e-paper display with 16 levels of gray. It comes in two versions: the PaperDIY Complete Kit, which ships factory-assembled in a 3D-printed enclosure, and the PaperDIY Assembly Kit, which is designed to be integrated into custom projects. Both boards also include a microSD card slot for extended storage, a built-in 140mAh battery, and a custom M5PM1 low-power management chip. M5Stack PaperDIY specifications: Core module – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core LX7 processor with up to 240MHz Memory –...

Seeed Studio XIAO IPS display series features ESP32-S3 or nRF52840 SoC with 0.96-inch to 1.47-inch LCD options

Seeed Studio has introduced the XIAO IPS touch display series, a family of six compact development boards built around the XIAO ESP32-S3 Plus or XIAO nRF52840 Plus MCU, with 0.96-inch, 1.14-inch, and 1.47-inch IPS color displays. All six boards include a 6-axis IMU, a PDM digital microphone, user buttons, and LiPo battery support. The larger 1.47-inch version adds capacitive touch and a microSD card slot, whereas the 1.14-inch model includes a Grove I2C connector for connecting external sensors. The ESP32-S3 versions support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE connectivity, while the nRF52840 models focus on lower-power Bluetooth LE applications. The boards are...