The Meadow F7 Board

The variety of process computer boards available for developing new applications is astonishing but if you want to write code using Visual Basic or C#, options start to drift away like sand between your fingers. The new Meadow F7 board stands out here. It uses an STM32F777 for executing the .NET runtime, while an ESP32 module takes care of Wi-Fi connectivity.

Convinced of the combined power of open-source hardware and software, Elektor smashes the myth that LoRa is for pros only. This article not only tells the story of persistence in electronics design in the face of real challenges, but also of a 3-element LoRa Node you can easily replicate for reliable on/off control with status feedback and covering distances 10 to 20 times those of consumer-level WiFi and 433-MHz ISM LPR.

STMicroelectronics has made available a software expansion package (I-CUBE-LRWAN) for developers working with LoRaWAN® STM32L4 microcontroller-based systems to implement the latest FUOTA specification...

Here comes a luxury problem! One of the stronger factors discouraging potential users to opt for STMicroelectronics microcontrollers traditionally has been: there are too many to choose from. Some people find this fascinating and a sign of constant technological progress, while others are in constant uncertainly as to which ‘STM32’ device or board is the best for the application at hand. Frankly, with STMicro’s enormous product range it’s easy to lose count of the number of ARM and ARM-Cortex based processors.

STM32 Nucleo family of processors are manufactured by STMicroelectronics. These are low-cost ARM microcontroller development boards. Programming with STM32 Nucleo Boards provides in-depth information about developing projects using the Nucleo board.

Dragino is a manufacturer of IoT hardware, specialised in Linux IoT/VOIP, Arduino Yùn add-on boards and LoRa modules and gateways. One of their latest products is the LSN50 long-range LoRa sensor node, designed for outdoor use.

A colour OLED can massively enhance a project; the integrated control chips can be addressed via SPI. Cheap 32-bit controllers, advanced libraries and user-friendly development environments make control easy, as we show in this article...

To support engineers and startup companies, Avnet Silica and EBV Elektronik are launching their Board Games contest under the authority of electronica Fast Forward 2018: the startup platform powered by Elektor. If you aim to turn an idea into a product, here's assistance to bring this product to the market. To this purpose, hundreds of development kits will be given away to Board Games participants. Check out the specs of the development kits presented on these pages and the Terms and Conditions of the contest at www.elektormagazine.com/elektor-board-games-2018, and join the Board Games.

The new book Programming with STM32 Nucleo Boards is about developing projects using the Nucleo board. For a limited time only, you take advantage of a €5 pre-order discount on the regular retail price!

As many students, system developers and even hobbyists will be able to confirm, STMicroelectronics can be relied on for building blocks that seem to link anything to, erm, anything. Now there are two new Discovery Packs in the STM32 line that promise “a fast connection of IoT devices to Cloud services over 2G/3G or LTE Cat M1/NB1 networks”. At the heart of each pack is an STM32L496 Discovery board and STMod+ Cellular expansion board featuring a Quectel cellular modem. In terms of software, STmicroelectronics supply the ‘Espruino’ embedded JavaScript engine ported to the STM32L496 MCU and an expansion package called X-CUBE-CLD-GEN. The P-L496G-CELL01 kit has a Quectel UG96 modem for connecting to current worldwide 2G/3G networks (anyone still using these?). The other pack, P-L496G-CELL02 (url. t.b.a.), is intended for the emerging LTE Cat M1/NB1 standards a.k.a. NB-IoT, with 2G fallback through its BG96 modem.