Open Hardware/Modding: Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Mar 11, 2023

• Mini review of the Raspberry Pi Global Shutter Camera

  Raspberry Pi Trading has just launched the 1.6MP Raspberry Pi Global Shutter Camera which can capture rapid motion without introducing artifacts usually experienced with rolling shutter cameras such as the earlier Raspberry Pi Camera modules, including the latest Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3.

• PotatoP Laptop Aims for Two Years of Battery Life

  PotatoP demonstrably runs better than a potato, but uses a 96 MHz CPU and mono reflective display to facilitate its 2-year battery life.

• Replacing My Eero Mesh Network with Two Mangos

  Luckily for me, the Mini Mangos were perfect for my basic requirements:

  Max. 300Mbps Wi-Fi Speed (more than enough for my use-case)

  Running open-source software via openwrt

  Hardware VPN toggle

  Tiny physical footprint

  Extremely portable

• Learn how to drive flip-disc displays with your Arduino

  Part of the reason that flip-disc displays are hard to find today is that they’re electromechanical devices that require dedicated manufacturing. Each “pixel” is a bistable device that will remain in its set position until the user actively resets the position. To flip the disc, the user must supply a pulse of electricity through an electromagnet coil in the correct polarity. One direction sets the disc to one side, and the reverse polarity sets the disc to the other side. Because the discs are bistable, the user only needs to flip the necessary discs to achieve the states they require — not the entire display. Flip-discs are relatively slow, so that is important for reducing overall refresh time.

• Arduino UNO compatible Adafruit Metro M7 features 500 MHz NXP i.MX RT1011 Cortex-M7 SoC

  Adafruit Metro M7 is a development board based on a 500 MHz NXP i.MX RT1011 Arm Cortex-M7 crossover MCU that follows Arduino UNO form factor and integrates the ESP32-based "AirLift" WiFi module for wireless connectivity. The board also comes with 4MB QSPI storage, a few LEDs and buttons, a Qwiic connector for additional expansion beyond Arduino Shields, and an SWD connector for debugging.

• Microchip unveils Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) 10BASE-T1S and 100BASE-T1 Ethernet devices

  Microchip has introduced a range of industrial-grade Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) devices for IIoT and industrial Operational Technology (OT) networks for low-speed Ethernet edge devices and a simplified cabling infrastructure for latency-sensitive applications. Microchip LAN8650/LAN8651 10BASE-T1S single pair Ethernet Controllers The LAN8650 and LAN8651 10BASE-T1S MAC-PHY Ethernet controllers come with an SPI for integration into basic microcontrollers rather than higher-end MCUs with a MAC.

• SONOFF iHost Smart Home Hub enables local control of SONOFF, Tasmota, Matter home automation devices

  SONOFF iHost is a Smart Home Hub that enables local control of SONOFF smart switches, lightbulbs, Zigbee sensors, and so on without having to require a connection to the cloud (e.g. eWelink). Future software upgrades will also add more devices such as the ones flashed with Tasmota firmware and any device compatible with the Matter IoT protocol.