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Open Hardware/Modding: ESP32, KiCad, postmarketOS, and More
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CNX Software ☛ ESP32 Marauder 5G – Apex 5 module for Flipper Zero combines ESP32-C5, two Sub-GHz radios, nRF24, and GPS
Designed by HoneyHoneyTrading, the ESP32 Marauder 5G – Apex 5 Module is an ESP32-C5-based hacking and penetration testing tool for the Flipper Zero, with dual-band WiFi 6 (2.4GHz and 5GHz), two Sub-GHz radios (868MHz and 433MHz), an NRF24 radio, and a built-in GPS. This new Flipper Zero module can be considered an upgrade from the ESP32 Marauder – Double Barrel 5G, as it does not rely on a dual-chip configuration for 5 GHz operation, leveraging the ESP32-C5 dual-band capabilities instead. A microSD card slot handles storage, and the device can also save data directly to the Flipper Zero’s microSD card. It also features five antennas, including WiFi, Sub-GHz, nRF24, and GPS, along with dedicated LED indicators for the Sub-GHz radios and nRF24 activity.
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CNX Software ☛ PiLink PL-R5/R5M Series – IP20/IP65 Industrial PCs powered by Raspberry Pi CM5
Made by Japan-based PiLink, the PL-R5 and PL-R5M Series are compact industrial PCs powered by a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 (CM5) and offered with either IP20 or IP65 ingress protection rating. The PL-R5 Series provides one USB 3.0 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and 9V to 40V DC input, while the PL-R5M Series offers one USB 2.0 port, one 100 Mbps Ethernet port, an optional extra Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 10.7V to 28.8V DC input range. Both include optional WiFi 5 and Bluetooth, an M.2 B-Key socket for cellular, optional RS-232, RS-485, I2C interfaces, and more.
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CNX Software ☛ Open Stack standalone 4G LTE IoT board runs RTOS on Quectel EC200U LTE module (Crowdfunding)
Open Stack is a standalone 4G LTE IoT connectivity board designed to run RTOS-based C applications directly on the Quectel EC200U series LTE module, meaning you don’t need an external MCU like Arduino, ESP32, or Raspberry Pi. By removing the MCU, the board reduces power consumption, bill-of-materials (BOM) cost, and physical footprint. The board supports multi-band LTE with GSM fallback, GNSS, and Bluetooth 4.2, as well as IPv4/IPv6 client and server modes.
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TechRadar ☛ The InkPad One is a new Linux-powered rival to the Kindle Scribe
Kindle and Kobo might be the main ereader brands, but there are all sorts of interesting alternatives popping up, one of which being PocketBook, which has just launched a new device called the InkPad One.
This is a 10.3-inch ereader with a grayscale E Ink Mobius display that has 226 pixels per inch. It has a front light that adapts to the environment, a 3,700mAh battery promising up to two months of life, 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, and a 1.8GHz quad-core chipset. It’s also slim and light, at 5.15mm thick and 400g.
Interestingly, it runs Linux rather than Android or a proprietary operating system, so you’re not locked in to a specific ecosystem, and it supports 21 book formats, including AZW, EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and many more.
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Hackster ☛ KiCad Aims to Ease Linux Installation, Moves to Self-Contained AppImage Distribution
The KiCad project has announced it is making the Linux version of its popular open source electronic design automation (EDA) software available as an all-in-one cross-distribution AppImage for the first time, and is inviting feedback.
"KiCad has released a new packaging format for Linux," the team announced of its software download options this week. "You can now run the latest KiCad using AppImage. This is still in testing, so please give it a spin and let us know if something doesn't work correctly."
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Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications
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LWN ☛ postmarketOS FOSDEM 2026 and hackathon recap
The postmarketOS project has published a recap from FOSDEM 2026, including the FOSS on Mobile devroom, and a summary of its post-FOSDEM hackathon. This includes decisions on governance and the project's AI policy: [...]
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