GigaDevices GD32 boards replacements for the popular STM32 are now in stock

STM32 are one of the most popular Cortex ARM devices on the market as they are with aggresive pricing and nice features. The semiconductor crisis hit ST as all other semiconductor vendors and STM32 disappeared from the market. Many customers have been left for more than year without MCus.

GigaDevices is well known Flash memory manufacturer, they have range of ARM Cortex M3, M4 devices which are pin to pin compatible with STM32 MCUs.

We check GD32 assembled on our STM32 boards and they work equal the only difference we notice is that GD32 lack two wires JTAG SWD interface and only support the full JTAG, which is not big issue.

All code we test run equal on both STM32 and GD32.

Here are links for the GigaDevices based boards:

GD32-H103 header board equal to STM32-H103

GD32-P103 prototype board equal to STM32-P103

OLIMEXINO-GD32 Arduino like board equal to OLIMEXINO-STM32

OLIMEXINO-GD32F3 Arduino like board equal to OLIMEXINO-STM32F3

GD32-H405 header board equal to STM32-H405

GD32-P405 prototype board equal to STM32-P405

GD32-H407 development board equal to STM32-H407

GD32-E407 development board equal to STM32-E407

GD32-P407 development board equal to STM32-P407

TuxCon 2022 will be on 4 and 5 of June in Plovdiv

TuxCon is an annual event about free and open source software and hardware.

The entrance is free for all visitors.

TuxCon is a community event and it is organized by volunteers.

The twitter hashtag of the event is #TuxCon.

The conference is scheduled during the first day of the event (Saturday, 4 June 2022).

Workshops and unconference will take place at Olimex training during the second day of the event (Sunday, 5 June 2022).

New more compact design of ARM-USB-OCD-H(L) is released with USB-C connector

ARM-USB-OCD-H is very popular OpenOCD debugger supported by almost all IDEs and platforms. It’s in the Application notes of Intel and ARM processor vendors.

The ARM-USB-OCD-H initial design was made many years ago and some parts are obsolete like the USB-B to USB-A cable, big plastic shell from centronic 36/36 connectors etc.

As the centronic plastic became unavailable this year we decided that it’s good time to re-design ARM-USB-OCD-H completely.

Smaller and more compact plastic box is used. The USB connector now is USB-C, so popular USB phone cables can be used.

Our recommendation is customer to move to ARM-USB-OCD-HL it’s completely same as ARM-USB-OCD-H but supports targets with voltage levels from 0.65-5.5V

Metal Frames for our capacitive touchscreen 7 and 10 inch LCDs are in stock!

The popular LCD7-METAL-FRAME and LCD10-METAL-FRAME are made for resistive touch panel LCD-OLinuXino-7TS and LCD-OLinuXino-10TS LCDs.

Our LCD-OLinuXino-7CTS and LCD-OLinuXino-10CTS couldn’t be used with the metal frames as their touch panel area is different from that of the resistive touch panels.

These metal frames are made for very looking industrial panels and we had many requests to release a new design which could fit the capacitive touch screens LCDs.

It took some time, but now we are happy to announce that we already have stock of new metal frame versions, which match the capacitive displays: LCD7CTS-METAL-FRAME and LCD10CTS-METAL-FRAME.

iMX8MPlus-SOM is alive and boots!

This board development started in April 2021 and finished August 2021 but the semiconductor shortages didn’t allow us to test the prototypes until recently. We assembled 4 boards and all theyare alive and boot.

The features are:

• MIMX8ML8DVNLZAB – Quad Core Arm Cortex-A53 running at 1.8Ghz with Arm Cortex-M7 co-processor running at 800Mhz and 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit.
• 6GB LPDDR4 RAM
• Power management
• configuration EEPROM
• status LED
• LCD LVDS connector compatible with LCD-OLinuXino displays
• MIPI DSI connector
• 2x MIPI CSI comera connectors with Raspberry Pi compatible pinout
• 220 signals on 6 0.05″ step connectors with essential peripherials like:
  • PCIe-3.0
  • 2x CAN FD
  • HDMI 2.0a
  • SPDIF
  • SAI
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet one of them with TSN
  • eMMC 5.1
  • SDIO 3.0 200Mhz
  • 4 UART
  • 6 I2C
  • 3 SPI
  • JTAG

Unfortunately we only managed to find 24Gb LPDDR4 for the prototypes so instead of 6GB they are with only 3GB of RAM.

Now is time to prepare Linux and Android images! NXP provide iMX8MPlus with Linux Kernel 5.10 and Android 11.

MIMX8ML8DVNLZAB is industrial grade -40+105C

FOSDEM 2022 will be online event on February 5th and 6th

The biggest Free Libre Open Source Software and Open Source Hardware event in Europe – FOSDEM 2022 will be again online on February 5th and 6th. Check the devrooms and mark the talks you want to attend.

My talk will be in Computer Aided Modeling and Design devroom and I will speak about how we push the limits of KiCAD with our most complex OSHW board the iMX8QuadMax.

https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/computer_aided_modeling_and_design/

There will be chat channel and I will be available to answer your questions.

Avoid WiFi channel 12-13-14 when working with ESP devices

Recently we are experimenting with Home Assistant installed on A20-OLinuXino-LIME2 Home server and attaching different nodes made with our ESP8266/ESP32 boards and noticed odd behaviour os ESP when WIFI router is set on the higher frequencies channels.

Most of WiFi router default settings are with channel Auto selection, this means the router will try first Channel 1 if too much noise and drop packets due to overwhelmed with WiFi devices area will change it up and so on, so our developers decided that it’s smart idea to use the WiFi router on the highest possible channel. This will guarantee that this channel will be most noise and interference free from other WiFi devices. So our router was set to WiFi channel 13:

We use the ESP standard firmware and ESPhome code. This is what happens: When the code is flashed for first time, it experience some errors while connecting but manage to connect to the router.

Access Point: TP Link
Hardware Version: Archer C1200 v2.0
Firmware Version: 2.0.0 Build 20170206 rel.46023 (EU)

SUCCESS CH13 (first attempt after flashing the code)
============================

[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -40 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Association Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:479]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' reason='Probe Request Unsuccessful'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -52 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Association Leave'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[I][wifi:502]: WiFi Connected!
[C][wifi:350]:   Local MAC: 18:FE:34:9C:61:DE
[C][wifi:351]:   SSID: 'OlimexTenda'
[C][wifi:352]:   IP Address: 192.168.0.203
[C][wifi:354]:   BSSID: B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73
[C][wifi:355]:   Hostname: 'esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de'
[C][wifi:357]:   Signal strength: -56 dB 
[C][wifi:361]:   Channel: 13
[C][wifi:362]:   Subnet: 255.255.255.0
[C][wifi:363]:   Gateway: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:364]:   DNS1: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:365]:   DNS2: 0.0.0.0
[D][wifi:511]: Disabling AP...

As you can see from the above the ESP try to connect twice but gets error: ‘Association Expired’ and ‘Probe Request Unsuccessful’ but on the third attempt it connects.

The problem comes later if for some reason ESP lose power and start again. This could easily happen if the ESP is powered by the mains and there is power blackout and power restore.

FAILURE CH13 (after cold restart)
=================================
[C][wifi:037]: Setting up WiFi...
[D][wifi:046]: Loaded saved wifi settings: OlimexTenda
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][binary_sensor:036]: 'PIR Sensor': Sending state OFF
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -55 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[W][wifi:568]: Restarting WiFi adapter...
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[W][wifi:568]: Restarting WiFi adapter...
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -54 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[W][wifi:568]: Restarting WiFi adapter...
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[W][wifi:568]: Restarting WiFi adapter...
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -52 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[W][wifi:568]: Restarting WiFi adapter...
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[I][wifi:135]: Starting fallback AP!
[C][wifi:198]: Setting up AP...
[C][wifi:200]:   AP SSID: 'esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de'
[C][wifi:201]:   AP Password: ''
[C][wifi:210]:   IP Address: 192.168.4.1
[W][wifi:527]: Timeout while connecting to WiFi.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -57 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Association Leave'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi:527]: Timeout while connecting to WiFi.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -56 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Association Leave'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:479]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' reason='Probe Request Unsuccessful'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -51 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[W][wifi:439]: No matching network found!
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -54 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -53 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ESP_CA17E1' (8C:4B:14:CA:17:E1) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -54 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -53 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[W][wifi_esp8266:213]: wifi_apply_hostname_(esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de): lwIP error -16 on interface st (index 0)
[W][wifi_esp8266:483]: Event: Disconnected ssid='OlimexTenda' bssid=B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73 reason='Auth Expired'
[W][wifi:533]: Error while connecting to network.
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 13
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -53 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 

As seen from the log above, after power cycling ESP can’t connect to WiFi router anymore, most of the errors shown are ‘Auth Expired’

If we change the WiFi router settings to Channel 1-11:

All problems now are gone and ESP connects every time no matter how many time power is cycled.

SUCCESS CH11 (after cold restart)
=================================
[D][wifi:046]: Loaded saved wifi settings: OlimexTenda
[D][wifi:370]: Starting scan...
[D][binary_sensor:036]: 'PIR Sensor': Sending state OFF
[D][wifi:385]: Found networks:
[I][wifi:429]: - 'OlimexTenda' (B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73) 
[D][wifi:430]:     Channel: 11
[D][wifi:431]:     RSSI: -54 dB
[D][wifi:434]: - 'Haxor' (B0:48:7A:CE:8D:BC) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexGuests' (C8:3A:35:4B:10:78) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexAP' (00:1F:1F:11:7B:B3) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'OlimexTest' (78:32:1B:90:D7:38) 
[D][wifi:434]: - 'ubnt' (00:27:22:7C:3C:70) 
[I][wifi:245]: WiFi Connecting to 'OlimexTenda'...
[I][wifi:502]: WiFi Connected!
[C][wifi:350]:   Local MAC: 18:FE:34:9C:61:DE
[C][wifi:351]:   SSID: 'OlimexTenda'
[C][wifi:352]:   IP Address: 192.168.0.203
[C][wifi:354]:   BSSID: B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73
[C][wifi:355]:   Hostname: 'esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de'
[C][wifi:357]:   Signal strength: -55 dB 
[C][wifi:361]:   Channel: 11
[C][wifi:362]:   Subnet: 255.255.255.0
[C][wifi:363]:   Gateway: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:364]:   DNS1: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:365]:   DNS2: 0.0.0.0
[D][wifi:511]: Disabling AP...
[C][ota:082]: Over-The-Air Updates:
[C][ota:083]:   Address: esp8266-evb-pir.local:8266
[C][api:025]: Setting up Home Assistant API server...
[I][app:060]: setup() finished successfully!
[I][app:099]: ESPHome version 2021.11.4 compiled on Dec  9 2021, 11:08:14
[I][app:101]: Project olimex.esphome-esp8266-evb-pir version 1.0
[C][wifi:488]: WiFi:
[C][wifi:350]:   Local MAC: 18:FE:34:9C:61:DE
[C][wifi:351]:   SSID: 'OlimexTenda'
[C][wifi:352]:   IP Address: 192.168.0.203
[C][wifi:354]:   BSSID: B0:4E:26:6E:B2:73
[C][wifi:355]:   Hostname: 'esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de'
[C][wifi:357]:   Signal strength: -55 dB 
[C][wifi:361]:   Channel: 11
[C][wifi:362]:   Subnet: 255.255.255.0
[C][wifi:363]:   Gateway: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:364]:   DNS1: 192.168.0.1
[C][wifi:365]:   DNS2: 0.0.0.0
[C][logger:233]: Logger:
[C][logger:234]:   Level: DEBUG
[C][logger:235]:   Log Baud Rate: 115200
[C][logger:236]:   Hardware UART: UART0
[C][gpio.binary_sensor:015]: GPIO Binary Sensor 'PIR Sensor'
[C][gpio.binary_sensor:015]:   Device Class: 'motion'
[C][gpio.binary_sensor:016]:   Pin: GPIO16
[C][captive_portal:151]: Captive Portal:
[C][ota:082]: Over-The-Air Updates:
[C][ota:083]:   Address: esp8266-evb-pir.local:8266
[C][api:134]: API Server:
[C][api:135]:   Address: esp8266-evb-pir.local:6053
[C][api:139]:   Using noise encryption: NO
[C][mdns:084]: mDNS:
[C][mdns:085]:   Hostname: esp8266-evb-pir-9c61de

Our blind guess is that ESP can’t connect reliable on the higher frequency channels. As far as you choose channels 1-11 everything is fine. We think that most people even do not notice this kind of erros if they routers are set to Auto channels as the chances to go up to 12-13-14 are very slim.

ESP32-POE and ESP32-POE-ISO back in stock

Silicon Labs stopped selling Si3204 POE controllers which were inside our very popular ESP32-POE and ESP32-POE-ISO boards. There is no stock anywhere neither information when they will be back in stock. So back in August we start searching for alternative and we evaluated several other solutions. We liked most Texas Instruments and made some prototypes and verified that they works fine.

Then we run blank PCBs in production but unfortunately we hit two major Chinese Holidays, so instead the blank PCBs to arrive in the normal 2 weeks we had to wait 5 weeks to produce our order then another week to arrive here.

Meantime we sold out all our stock of ESP32-POE and POE-ISO and created solid backlog before we stop the sales on the web.

We are glad that this week we shipped all backlog orders and now the boards are again for sale!

The new revisions of the boards are REV.G and the PCB info will be updated on GitHub tomorrow. From user point of view nothing changes – the new revision operates exactly the same and have same functionality as the previous Silicon Labs based solution.

STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2 Open Source Hardware Industrial Grade Linux computer is in mass production with 4 variants

STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2 Open Source Hardware Linux computer running Mainline Linux is in mass production in four variants:

• Industrial grade -40+85C (STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2-IND) version running on 650 Mhz
• Industrial grade -40+85C (STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2H-IND) version running on 650 Mhz with HDMI output (when HDMI works operating temperature is commercial as HDMI convertor is not industrial grade)
• Extended temperature -20+85C (STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2-EXT) version running on 800 Mhz
• Extended temperature -20+85C (STMP157-OLinuXino-LIME2H-EXT) version running on 800 Mhz with HDMI output (when HDMI works operating temperature is commercial as HDMI convertor is not industrial grade)

User Manual for the boards is available on the product web page.

Debian and Ubuntu Linux images are pre-build and ready to install and run.

The images are build with Olimex script Olimage which is available on GitHub.

Olimage user manual explains what is included in it and how you can modify uboot and kernel to include drivers for devices which are not included in Olimex official images.

New iMX8QuadPlus System on Module is ready for prototyping

iMX8Quad Max board we developed is still waiting for components to verify the first prototypes, but we decided to develop one more SOC from iMX8 Plus series which we thought is filling niche where we do not have product.

This is how iMX8MPLUS-SOM was designed:

• MIMX8ML8DVNLZAB – Quad Core Arm Cortex-A53 running at 1.8Ghz with Arm Cortex-M7 co-processor running at 800Mhz and 2.3 TOPS Neural Processing Unit.
• 6GB LPDDR4 RAM
• Power management
• configuration EEPROM
• status LED
• LCD LVDS connector compatible with LCD-OLinuXino displays
• MIPI DSI connector
• 2x MIPI CSI comera connectors with Raspberry Pi compatible pinout
• 220 signals on 6 0.05″ step connectors with essential peripherials like:
  • PCIe-3.0
  • 2x CAN FD
  • HDMI 2.0a
  • SPDIF
  • SAI
  • 2x USB 3.0
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet one of them with TSN
  • eMMC 5.1
  • SDIO 3.0 200Mhz
  • 4 UART
  • 6 I2C
  • 3 SPI
  • JTAG

MIMX8ML8DVNLZAB operating temperature is -40+105C which makes it perfect for both industrial and automotive applications.

Evaluation board iMX8MPlus-SOM-EVB is now designed with Dual Ethernet, Dual USB 3.0, PCIe, HDMI.

NXP is going to provide mainline Linux support for this SOC.

It’s impossible to comment any pricing at the moment, but it will be very competitive compared with similar industrial grade products.