Open Hardware/Modding: RISC-V, ESP32, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on May 14, 2025

• Canonical ☛ See a DeepSeek demo running on ESWIN Computing’s EIC77 series at RISC-V Summit Europe 2025 in Paris

  Canonical, the publisher of Ubuntu, and ESWIN Computing have partnered to enable DeepSeek LLM 7B on the EIC77 series, showcasing ESWIN Computing’s powerful NPU, GPU and DSP running on Ubuntu. This development is part of a community development effort between Canonical and ESWIN Computing to bring the latest and greatest RISC-V technology to Ubuntu.

• CNX Software ☛ Luckfox-Pico-86-Panel – An 86-type Smart Home controller with a 4-inch display, Ethernet, RS485, two relays

  Luckfox-Pico-86-Panel is a Smart Home controller powered by a Rockchip RV1106G2 or RV1106G63 SoC with 128MB or 256MB DDR3L and equipped with a 4-inch touchscreen display that fits into a standard 86-type junction box. The GNU/Linux device supports Ethernet, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 LE connectivity and features terminal blocks for 6 to 30V DC input, RS485, and two relays. The controller includes a speaker and microphone for Smart Audio applications, and a USB-C port for programming and debugging. Luckfox-Pico-86-Panel specifications: SoC – Rockchip RV1106G2/G3 CPU – Arm Cortex A7 @ 1.2GHz with an integrated RISC-V co-processor.

• CNX Software ☛ Jupiter NX SoM – An NVIDIA Jetson Nano/NX alternative powered by SpacemiT K1 octa-core RISC-V SoC

  The Jupiter NX is a system-on-module (SoM) powered by a SpacemIT octa-core 64-bit RISC-V SoC that follows NVIDIA’s Jetson Nano / Xavier NX form factor for compatibility with existing carrier boards. Designed by Shenzhen Milk-V Technology, the module supports up to 16GB LPDDR4x memory and 32GB eMMC flash, and integrates two gigabit Ethernet PHYs and a WiFi 6 & Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module.

• Linux Gizmos ☛ ALPHA-One Leverages RISC-V StarPro64 for Compact Local LLM Deployment

  PINE64 has shared early details of the ALPHA-One, a compact generative Hey Hi (AI) agent powered by the RISC-V-based StarPro64 SBC. Priced at $329.99, the device is aimed at developers and testers, and comes preloaded with a 7 billion parameter LLM running in a Docker container.

• Hackaday ☛ Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The MingKwai Typewriter

  Sometimes, a little goes a long way. I believe that’s the case with this tiny media control bar from [likeablob] that uses an ESP32-C3 Super Mini.

• Hackaday ☛ Semiconductor Simulator Lets You Play IC Designer

  For circuit simulation, we have always been enthralled with the Falstad simulator which is a simple, Spice-like simulator that runs in the browser. [Brandon] has a simulator, too, but it simulates semiconductor devices. With help from [Paul Falstad], that simulator also runs in the browser.

• Hackaday ☛ The ZX Spectrum Logic Analyzer

  We know [Happy Little Diodes] frequently works with logic analyzer projects. His recent wireless logic analyzer for the ZX Spectrum is one of the oddest ones we’ve seen in a while. The heart of the system is an RP2040, and there are two boards. One board interfaces with the computer, and another hosts the controller.

• Hackaday ☛ Simulating High-Side Bootstrap Circuits With LTSpice

  LTSpice is a tool that every electronics nerd should have at least a basic knowledge of. Those of us who work professionally in the analog and power worlds rely heavily on the validity of our simulations. It’s one of the basic skills taught at college, and essential to truly understand how a circuit behaves. [Mano] has quite a collection of videos about the tool, and here is a great video explanation of how a bootstrap circuit works, enabling a high-side driver to work in the context of driving a simple buck converter. However, before understanding what a bootstrap is, we need to talk a little theory.

• CNX Software ☛ Allwinner T113-i industrial gateway supports Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G LTE, offers RS232, RS485, CAN Bus, DI/DO interfaces

  MYiR Tech’s MY-EVC700S-V2 is an industrial gateway powered by Allwinner T113-i dual-core Cortex-A7 microprocessor (MPU), and equipped with up to 512MB DDR3, 4GB eMMC flash, and 32KB EEPROM.