Section: // Reviews (Posts: 46)

The IMSAI8080 was a pretty special machine, mainly because it was considered the very first “clone” computer, being sold in kit form in the mid 70s. This is the buildout of one of the better IMSAI8080 clones around.

At some point in your Maker career you will inevitably get to the point where you want to make a bunch of PCBs but doing them by hand is tedious and prone to error.

This is where the LitePlacer comes in.

So, the Pi4 has been around for a while now, but has the Pi Foundation fixed all those nagging issues and does it live up to everyone’s expectations?

The NanoPi M4 has been around for some time now. However, this is one SBC that I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing. So, what makes this board so special? Let’s find out.

The NanoPi NEO4 is probably the smallest RK3399 based SBC on the market currently. Does it have enough to take on the competition? Find out in this video.

The Orange Pi RK3399 is yet another board to join the ranks of other RK3399 based SBCs. In true Orange Pi fashion, they give you everything, but is this SBC worth it?

An SBC that’s not really an SBC. Based on the NationalChip GX6605S, it can run a tiny Linux with a very small component count, but is it too cool to be usable?

In this review I take a look at one of the newer members of the Khadas family; The Khadas Edge and Khadas Captain.

This board has some pretty interesting power management but, unfortunately, I saw the return of the magic smoke genie.

The LattePanda Alpha SBC is a bit of a beast not only in horse power, but in price. In this video I look at benchmarks on Windows, Linux and OSX and give my perspective on why LattePanda made a big mistake.

In this article I’ll be taking a look at the newly released NanoPC-T4 from the friendliest SBC makers on the market. I’ll be running through the usual lineup of tests that I do, but I reckon this board deserves two articles. So, this is Part 1.

The ODROID XU4 is one of the few octo-core SBCs, that’s been around for a while now, but how good is it?

This is the second part of my video on building a simple PCB using EasyEDA.

So, I’ve been playing around with a bunch of the new Pi 3B pluses for a week now. Do I think the upgrade is worth it? Find out in this quick review.

It’s been a while since the Rock64 was released into the wild for hackers, but 8 months on, how good is this board looking? Let’s find out.

So, you’ve gotten to the stage where you want to build your own PCB? This is a two part video taking a look at EasyEDA who seem to be doing a good job of making things easy for you.

The EspressoBin is being marketed as a different type of SBC. How different is it and is that difference what you want? Find out in this video.

The ReflowR aims to make it easier for people to reflow solder SMD components. This a joint review with a mate of mine who runs Kean Electronics who puts it through its paces.

In Part 1 of this video I looked at the UDOO-X86 from the electronics Maker perspective.

In Part 2 I’ll be looking at the CPU and graphics performance of the board on Linux as well as RemixOS.

Another X86 based SBC hits the market. What’s this new board like? How good is it?

In Part 1 of the UDOO-X86 review, I take a look at how this board performs for the electronics Maker.

So, I finally managed to get my hands on the TinkerBoard.

Does it do everything the company claims? Will it make a dent on the Raspberry Pi market share?

Find out in this video collaboration with NovaSpirit Tech.

This is a review update of the C.H.I.P, taking a look at power consumption, WiFi performance, SPI and 3D acceleration.

The LeMaker HiKey seems to be one of the better 8 core SBCs around. Here’s why…

The Pi Zero W’s resonant cavity is an interesting design feature. How does this affect WiFi performance? What about current drain?

So, yet another Orange Pi board called the PC2. It’s sporting the new 64bit quad core Allwinner H5 MCU. Is this really a good idea?

In this review I’ll be taking a first look at the Omega2 and Omega2+. I managed to get in tests on GPIO, I2C, SPI, performance and came across issues like the dreaded 2mm pin spacing, solo powering and the micro-Linux O/S problems.

The NanoPi-M3 has 8 1.4GHz ARM cores. That’s all well and good, but can you actually use this small SBC?

The Orange Pi+ 2 is a step up from the previous generation. In this brief review I look at what it offers us… right before the magic smoke genie appeared. Damn!

The Orange Pi Zero is here. How good is it in comparison to the competition? Find out in this video.

This is an update on my initial LattePanda review, where I tackle the over-heating problem and look at power supply and network performance testing.

The LattePanda is one of the few x86 based SBCs on the market. Is it too hot to handle?

My last Teensy review concentrated more on version 3.5.

This review will be taking a look at the 3.6 and the changes that have happened to Teensyduino.

Paul Stoffregen’s new Teensy is packed with features.

Why is this board such a milestone? Will it become the “Raspberry Pi” of the Arduino world?

The Banana Pi has been around for a while now, but I thought I’d review one of the models that isn’t so common.

The Banana Pi Router.

Unboxing FriendlyARM’s NanoPi2. It’s smaller than the Raspberry Pi, but what advantages are there over the real Pi? Is it good for the Maker? Can it support a desktop for those wanting a tiny mobile computer? Find out in this MickMake review.

4 months later. Is the Pine64 now ready for the Maker? How has the Pine64 development progressed?

Find out in this video if the Pine64 has addressed all the concerns I had in my original review.

What cool features does the CHIP offer the Maker? Will Next Thing Co be able to hit the education market just as much as the Raspberry Pi? What sort of support do you expect from this tiny SBC? Will NextThingCo stop all these fruity wars with the high carb CHIP?

Does FriendlyARM’s NanoPC-T3 have an identity crisis? Should it be considered a true Maker board or a desktop? Find out in this review of one of the few 8 core SBCs on the market.

Will the new UpBoard be a true Raspberry Pi killer? What is this new board like and how does it help the Maker?

Find out in this review.

This week we’ll be taking a look at the MetaWear CPRO.

Which is a nice little all-in-one BLE sensor module in a tiny package.

This is an update to my Pine64 review answering questions from my YouTube subscribers.

• Question 1: Can you test out Remix O/S?
• Question 2: Can you test out a Raspberry Pi hat to see if it works?
• Question 3: Can a Raspbian / Raspberry Pi 3 image be used on the Pine64?

The new Simblee has been on the market for around a year. How can you use the Simblee BLE in your next IoT project? How easy is it to create nice looking smartphone apps straight from the Arduino IDE?

How does it perform in a real world example?

Is the new Pine64 really worth your had earned money? Can it generate enough momentum to take over the king of SBCs, the Raspberry Pi 3?

In this review we’ll be unboxing and running it through it’s paces to see if it really is worth buying.

The Blueduino is the cheapest Arduino based BLE board that supports full iBeacon functionality. It’s been on the market for almost a year now with the original version released late 2014. But, is it good enough for your application?

Seems that the Raspberry Pi Foundation has risen to the challenge of the flood of “look-alikes” hitting the market. Is the new Raspberry Pi 3 enough to fulfil the needs of Makers that these other boards have been filling up until now? Let’s see….