Weekly Roundup #36 - New Maker Products // News
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This week’s Weekly Roundup of New Maker Products has SDRs, SBCs, audio, even more RF and a bit of muscle.
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Crowd Funding
KickStarter
A lot has happened since the last Roundup, so to avoid the video being a 1 hour marathon I’ve put some runner-ups at the bottom of this page. So check them out below.
BuildOne
First up on Kickstarter, yeah, I know, I said I wouldn’t do any more 3D printers, but this one looks like it just might fly. $99 US gets you a 3D printer. Even though I won’t back this one, I’ll keep an eye on it as it might just take off.
DACBerry PRO
There’s now a DACBerry Pro campaign up. This one is a souped up version of the previous model capable of 384kHz at 32bit resolution using the PCM5242 DAC and a 3W amplifier. Nice.
Evezor
The Evezor is gaining a lot of attention at the moment. It’s a general purpose robotic arm that can weld, 3D print, laser cut, and even, er OK, mix a cocktail for you. It’s a full kit containing a Pi3, touchscreen, cameras, magnetic encoders, SmoothieBoard, steppers, actuators and frame. Has a 800mm reach but no info on accuracy as yet. Pretty expensive at over 3 grand US, so something that a Makerspace would purchase.
ABC: Basic Connections
This campaign is for a book covering the basics of electronics. It’s in tutorial format that takes you MCUs, discrete components, displays, motors, drivers. Seems to have everything there in an easy to read format.
Maker Muscle
If you projects need a bit of muscle then this linear actuator looks pretty good. It gives you the freedom to choose different motor types and arm lengths using an extruded aluminium tube. So can handle heavy or light loads. There’s currently four motor choices from mini geared DC through to a heavy duty NEMA23 stepper.
IndieGoGo
While over at IndieGoGo there’s …
Nothing
… absolutely nothing. Nice. Looks like they will live up to their promise.
Well, actually, there is something.
EasyVolts
EasyVolts is a USB based DC power supply. Capable of providing any voltage from 0 to 15 volts up to 1A from a a plain old USB port. Voltage levels are controlled from a USB serial device.
Honorable mentions
Arrow DECA
One of my subs, Crazy Ape, put me on to this pretty cheap FPGA board from Arrow. It contains an Altera MAX10 FPGA with 50,000 logic elements, 512MB RAM, 64MB flash, spits out 92 of the 500 GPIOs on a BeagleBone Black compatible header, DSP blocks, 12bit 18 channel ADC 1Msps, HDMI, Ethernet, audio. This baby has the lot and for only $65 US with free shipping! Nice.
Melon S3 FPGA
Q-Wave have started a DIY crowd-funding campaign to release a tiny board called the Melon. Oh man, what is it with fruit? This one is based on a Xilinx Spartan FPGA with 500,000 gates. It also contains an ESP8266, 4MB SPI flash, USB port, LEDs, buttons and the best feature, two Pi compatible headers. You could potentially load up the RISC-V CPU onto it and you’d have a very functional, tiny SoM.
Intel® Euclid™ Development Kit
Intel launched it’s Euclid robotics compute module selling for $399 US. Expensive, but it contains a quad core Atom x7-Z8700 clocked at 2.4GHz, 4G DDR3 RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth, IMUs, and a VGA stereo imager and 1080p camera giving you a VGA depth video stream at 60fps. Runs Ubuntu or the Robot Operating System.
MinnowBoard Turbot
Seems the Intel based boards are finally playing catch-up. MinnowBoard have released the Turbot. There’s two flavours, which are based on the Intel Atom quad core E3845, or dual core E3826. Both have 2G DDR3 RAM, SATA2, SD slot, GbE, USB3.0 and a bunch of GPIOs. You can currently pick this up at Netgate or Mouser for around $190 US.
CubieAIO-A20
CubieBoard have released an SBC with based on the Allwinner A20. Called, inventively, the CubieAIO-A20, contains a dual-core Cortex-A7 at 1GHz, 1G DDR3 RAM, 8 to 32GB expandable eMMC, WiFi, Bluetooth, GbE, USB2.0, two mini PCIe slots, (one for mSATA and the other for LTE), and requiring 5V, 4A DC power. This board actually contains a System On Module, which …
Einstein-A20
… is called the Einstein-A20, which can be powered without the baseboard from either USB or LiPo. We’ll be seeing more SBCs appearing with SOMs to try and cut manufacturing costs as all the headers and ports add up to a lot of the overall cost. Or else …
Thunderbolt 3 Royalty-free
… another thing to change the SBC landscape will be the royalty free Thunderbolt 3 standard. This is actually pretty big news and when SBCs start using it, we will be able to say goodbye to USB, Ethernet, HDMI and power ports and replace it with a single USB-C connector. Fantastic!
NanoPi M2A
Meanwhile, over at the Friendly company they have released the NanoPi M2A SBC which runs the quad-core S5P4418 SoC. It’s similar to its big brother Samsung 6818 SoC, but with 4 less cores. This board is almost identical to the NanoPi M2, with 1G DDR3 RAM, wireless, GbE and all the other usual stuff you see. You can pick this up for $30 US currently.
Banana Pi BPI-M2 Berry
While another fruity company has gone Bananas and released a new SBC, this time with a slightly inventive name. This one is called the BPI-M2 Berry. Contains the Allwinner-V40, (which is almost identical to the Allwinner-R40 expect for a few additional serial buses), SATA, GbE, AXP221 PMIC, reset and Uboot buttons but the rest of it is identical to the Pi3 in every way.
It seems more companies are thinking that copying the form factor of the Pi will enable more sales. Hmm.
ESP32-EVB
For 26 euros you can pick up an Olimex ESP32 evaluation board, which exposes the Ethernet interface and CAN bus along with SD card, relays, LiPo battery management, and a 40pin GPIO header which, I think, is supposed to be Pi compatible.
STM32L4 Discovery Kit
STMicro have launched an STM32L4 evaluation board in an Arduino style form factor. Contains 8MB SPI flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, sub-GHz RF, NFC tag, and more sensors you can poke a stick at, like, capacitive touch, 9DOF IMU, temperature, pressure and gesture sensor. Wow.
Samsung ARTIK™ 053
Samsung have released the Artik 053 WiFi module, which runs the Tozen RTOS on a Cortex-R4 at 320MHz and has 8MB flash, 29 GPIOs, multiple encryption standards, and a wide 5 to 12 volt DC input. You can pick this up currently from DigiKey and Mouser for around $35 US.
RAK WisCam
RAK Wireless have launched an Arduino style board called the Wiscam which runs the Nuvoton ARM926 SoC at 200MHz, 16MB SPI flash, Realtek RTL8189 module and all the usual compliment of GPIOs. There’s also a few add-ins you can get which provide SD slot and a VGA camera.
820 Nano SOM
Mistral are about to release a tiny SoM based on the Snapdragon 820 which contains, surprisingly, 6G DDR4 RAM, 128G flash, WiFi, Bluetooth, 2 PCIe, USB3, 9DOF IMU and GPS on a tiny 51 by 26mm board. No pricing yet, but this is one cool module.
Maker Shops
Tindie
A lot has happened on Tindie over the last two weeks.
OpenHomeSecurity node 1.4
The OpenHomeSecurity board is, well, designed for home security in mind. Contains an ATmega328P and several communications options from RS485 wired serial, to RFM69 RF. Runs off a 5 to 20volt DC input or USB with LiPo battery management.
Wemos D1 Mini ESP8266 Level Shifter
This board is level shifter for the ESP8266 designed for controlling RGB LEDs such as WS2812 or APA102s, although a handy board if you have any device requiring 5v logic.
ICS-40720 Ultra-Low Noise Analog Mic with Buzzer
This tiny board not only contains an ICS-40720 MEMS mic but a CMT-4023S buzzer. Runs up to 3.3v logic levels consuming only 285uA. A good option if you want to add audio comms to your project.
OPL2 Audio Board
For those people into retro kit. This board contains the YM3812 FM synthesizer IC. Requires a 5v supply and runs 5v logic, which the PI and Arduino is happy with, but be careful of that if you’re using anything else.
Cohesion3D
If you’re in to CNC milling or 3D printers, then the Cohesion3D looks pretty good. Contains 4 stepper driver sockets MOSFETs for fans, hot-end and heat-bed control running Smoothie firmware. This board seems to have everything and don’t think it’s missing anything.
PandwaRF Bare
PandwaRF is a board designed to provide a gateway between sub-1GHz RF and Bluetooth. Contains the nRF51 Bluetooth module and CC1111 RF module as well as LiPo battery management and antenna port power control for connecting to an LNA.
APDS-9960 gesture sensor
This gesture sensor is similar to SparkFun’s board, but slightly cheaper. The APDS-9960 enables detection of ambient light, colour measuring, proximity detection and gesture sensing. Runs on 3.3v and accessible over I2C.
This one might have been another option for my MQTT letterbox project.
GY-NEO6MV2 GPS module
Looking for a cheap GPS module? This one will set you back around $7 US and actually comes from a shop in mainland China. Runs off a 3 to 5 volt supply and NMEA data accessible over the usual 9600 baud UART.
Raspberry PI2-3-Zero Lorawan
If you want to muck around with LoRa modules, then this Pi hat seems to have everything. Slap it onto a Pi Zero W and you have your own LoRa, Bluetooth and WiFi gateway. It also contains a handy OLED screen.
TinyGame DIY kit
This next one is the smallest hand-held arcade board I’ve seen. It comes in kit form, but has the KL02 MCU pre-soldered and pre-programmed. This is an ultra low powered Cortex-M0+ MCU.
D-duino-B V2
There’s been a number of updates to the D-duino boards. The D-duino-B version 2 and the D-duino version 3. Both have had improvements made based on customer feedback. The 4.75 to 12 volt power input range is nice as well as having access to all the GPIOs.
QFN-20 0.4mm Breakout
The November Five store has a number of very useful breakouts for several semiconductor packages, such as QFN-20, or VSSOP-8 breakouts.
MCP1623 5V Voltage Booster
This board is based on the MCP1603 booster, which provides you with a steady 5 volts at up to 100mA from, very surprisingly, as low as 0.8 volt input.
AdaFruit, Seeed, SparkFun, DFRobot, DigiKey
Sonoff G1
ITead have now added a GSM module to their Sonoff power devices. This opens up a lot more opportunities for remote power control. All you need is a SIM card, but alas, it contains a GSM module, so won’t be able to be used in many countries.
FiPy
The FiPy was a Kickstarter that I backed. Sadly I haven’t got mine yet, but Seeed Studio have it available on back-order. This board contains 5 networks; WiFi, Bluetooth, LoRa, Sigfox and dual LTE-M. Running the ESP32 SoC you can get it to be a bridge between all networks, or automatically switch based on what is in range. You also have access to most of the ESP32s GPIOs.
Pytrack
There’s also the Pytrack, which is a designed to add GPS capabilities to your FiPy. Also contains a 3DOF IMU, SD slot, LiPo battery management and can drop down to 1uA in deep sleep mode.
Pysense
Or there’s the Pysense, which is the same but with a bunch of sensors on it instead of the GPS module.
Grove - Heelight Sensor
If you want to add voice commands to your project then the Heelight sensor can recognize up to 500 voice commands. Draws a constant 15mA from a 2.2 to 5 volt supply and accessible via serial UART.
YARD Stick One
The YARD Stick One is another SDR that can transmit or receive RF signals below the 1GHz range. It’s not a fully variable SDR, but has a number of fixed frequencies and modulations. Comes pre-installed with RfCat firmware.
HackRF One
This next one comes from Great Scott Gadgets. The HackRF One is another SDR capable of transceiving between 1MHz and 6GHz. It’s expensive, but one of the gold standards for SDRs.
OctoSnap
I really need to pick up an OctoSnap. If you ever have broken off headers to fit only to discover that you’re under-sized. Then get one of these. Cheap enough to chuck in your toolbox.
The Cheap Side
Meanwhile over in China…
OPEN-SMART 2.2'' TFT LCD Touch Screen
DX has a pretty cheap 2.2'' TFT LCD touch screen running the ILI9225 so it’s supported under several Arduino libraries. It’s an 8 bit parallel interface, so you’ll need an MCU with 14 GPIOs.
RTL8195AM module
ICstation have a bunch of RealTek modules in, like this RTL8195 module running a Cortex-M3 with WiFi, 1M flash, 40 GPIOs and USB host & device. They’re a strong competitor to the ESPs.
RTL8195AM breakout
If you want something breadboard friendly they also have this breakout, which connects into a baseboard that is the same as …
MJIOT-AMB-01 RTL8710AF breakout
… this one, except that it contains the RTL8710 WiFi module which is similar to the 8195, but a lot less features.
MJIOT-AMB-01 RTL8710AF module
Or you can buy the individual module much cheaper.
Beetle USB ATMEGA32U4
These have been around for a while, but haven’t included them on a roundup yet. It’s similar to the DigiSpark, but contains an ATmega32U4 instead of the ATtiny85.
ESP32 WIFI/BLE Board
EleCrow have a competitor to AdaFruit’s Feather. This one matches all the specs of the ESP32 feather exactly, but cheaper.
ESP-M2 ESP8285
Meanwhile over at BangGood they have a stack of ESP based boards to confuse everyone. Like this ESP-M2, which is based on the ESP8285. Or the ESP-1, which is based on the same. Or the ESP-S, based on the ESP8266.
0.96 Blue/Yellow 128x64 OLED
They also have several small OLEDs. This one is a 0.96" Blue/Yellow display accessed via SPI, and this one via I2C. Both running off 2 to 5 volts and requiring around 80mA of current.
Camera Module For Raspberry Pi
This MIPI-CSI camera module based on the OV5647, which gives you 1080p resolution for a pretty decent price. Coming in at around $13 US each. Requires 3.3 volt logic.
CJMCU-9306 - I2C/SMBus level translator
The PCA9306 IC is logic level converter specifically for I2C and SPI buses. It also enables you to connect slow I2C devices to a fast bus to avoid issues.
CJMCU-5018 - quad analog switch
Sometimes you just have to deal with analog switches. You can replace them with one of these, which is a quad single pole double throw switch. Can only handle 3.3v logic though.
CJMCU-2307 buck converter
These buck converters are pretty decent. This one is capable of pushing out a variable voltage up to 20v at 3A from a variable input voltage up to 23v at 95% efficiency. Also has inbuilt soft start to avoid surges.
PAM8403
If you’re in need of a few power amplifier breakouts, you can pick up 20 PAM8403 based modules for only $6 US. Drives 4 or 8 ohm loads at 3W from a 2.5 to 5 volt supply.
Honorable mentions
A few bits and pieces that I didn’t include in my video.
