Welcome back to Elektor Lab Notes! Over the past few weeks, the Elektor Lab Team has been busy with a variety of projects. Before I introduce the engineers, I'd like to update you on a few important projects and initiatives. 

Upcoming Elektor Video Content
The popularly of Elektor video content (e.g., webinars, ElektorTV videos, and livestreams) has grown over the past few months, and so we've ramped up our video production process. In the coming weeks, you can participate in the following:
 
  • March 9 | Live Show | Elektor Engineering Insights - Displays: Colorful touchscreen displays have found their way into countless applications, from coffee machines to point-of-sale (PoS) systems. ELektor editor Stuart Cording talks with Achim Döbler of Actron AG and Alex Mundon of Display Technology Ltd. about everything from tiny microcontroller-controlled displays to the large touchscreens used in advertising. Watch to learn about specifying displays, the capabilities of touch interfaces, and more.
 
  • March 22 | Webinar | Hello FPGA - Getting Started with Microchip FPGAs: Join Tim McCarthy (Microchip Technology) and Clemens Valens (Elektor) to learn about Microchip’s low-power FPGA portfolio, from their ultra-low density devices to their newest mid-range density PolarFire FPGA and PolarFire SoC families. 
 
  • April 14 | Webinar | Development with Visual Studio Code and Platform IO: If you are interested in embedded development, join Elektor's upcoming live webinar for an intro to PlatformIO. Elektor Lab engineer Mathias Claußen and Editor in Chief Jens Nickel dive into the open-source, cross-platform IDE that you can use for collaborating with other embedded developers. 
     
Don't miss these free events. And be sure to bring your questions. 

Update: Elektor Summer Circuits 2022 
As I mentioned last time, Elektor is bringing back its much-love "Summer Circuits" edition! Many of our long-time readers will remember the editions going back decades. Here are a few examples past covers:
 
Elektor Summer Circuits editions from 1975, 1980, and 2022.
And a few interseting circuits from the 1981 edition:
Summer circuits from 1981.
Our team is currently hard at work on the upcoming edition. You can expect fresh new circuits from the Elektor Lab Team and the Elektor Labs online community, including:
 
  • Sound-activated switch for amplifiers
  • Rotary encoder(s) on a single MCU pin
  • Power semiconductor tester
  • Touch switch for LED lights
  • And much more !  

We will publish the Summer Circuits 2022 edition in early August. If you want to contribute circuits or ideas, use your account on the Elektor Labs platform.
 

Mathias Claussen (Engineer/Editor, Elektor)

You could call this section "The RISC-V Corner," as some interresting things have happened over the past few weeks. It seems as though more and more silicon is showing up that will feature the RISC-V ISA and CPU Cores.

First Renesas RISC-V MPU
At the start of March, Renesas announced the release of their RZ/Five MPU lineup. This is a 64-bit RISC-V MPU that enables Linux to run on it and is pin-compatible with the RZ/G2UL products. The Core inside this MPU is based on the Andes AX45MP and runs up to 1 GHz. This is a nice addition to the RISC-V silicon around. Perhaps I will get a chance to learn more about those chips at the Embedded World trade fair in June.
 
RZ/Five block diagramm ( Source: Renesas)
MCU with USB 3.0 and SerDes or Gigabit Ethernet
While we have seen some bigger MPUs equipped with USB 3.0 (and no the Raspberry Pi SoC is not), having those interfaces in an MCU can offer some new speedy ways to move data around. The WCH 569/565 is one that offers USB3.0 and SerDes. First tests have shown that it should be able to transfer more than 340 MB of data through USB.
 
CH569/5 block diagram (Source: WCH)
USB 3.0 or SerDes is not of interest, why not going Gigabit Ethernet? The WCH CH32V307 has USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet on board. Priced at around €3,90 and in stock, this may be a little MCU that can bring more speed to your data transfer. While Gigabit Ethernet requires an external PHY, for 10 Mb, one is already included in the chip. Also don't worry about documentation this time. WCH has released it on GitHub.
 
CH32V307 block diagram (Source:WCH Github)
Intel Joins the RISC-V International Community
Intel has joined RISC-V International at Premium membership level. With the NiosV Intel already has offered a RISC-V (RV32IA) Softcore for its FPGA Products. And it seems the involvement follows a long-term strategy regarding the RISC-V ISA. Intel has seen strong demand from foundry customers to support more RISC-V IP offerings.
 

Luc Lemmens (Engineer/Editor, Elektor)

During the past few weeks, I've spent most of my time writing and editing articles for Elektor's upcoming Summer Circuits 2022 edition. We have come a long way, but there is still a lot of work to be done. I won't spoil the suspense by revealing what (small) projects have been crossing my desk, but I can say that we have a very diverse collection of articles in the pipeline for this special edition. We will keep you posted.
 
Still, I had the time to review an SMD reflow oven that will probably be available in the Elektor store later this year. Of course, it wasn't just plugging it in and testing how good the soldering results were. Indeed: first open the case, see what's inside. That is always much more interesting than reading the manual, and besides, I was much less enthusiastic about that booklet than about the oven itself. It is not a top-of-the-range device suitable for production, but it is certainly good enough to quickly build a few prototypes. The test specimen had to go back to the Elektor lab, but I was so satisfied with this device that I immediately bought one for my home lab too! It was also the reason to finally make some small improvements to the solder paste dispenser that I have been using for years. Nothing revolutionary, but handy and I will certainly share it with our readers one day, but for now: to be continued…

Clemens Valens (Engineer/Editor, Elektor)

Most of my time over the past month was spent in the same way as Luc's, except that I didn't review a reflow oven. However, I would like to share a Kickstarter campaign that was launched very recently (and already reached complete funding): the Jolly Module. This is a little microcontroller module sporting an ATmega328PB together with an ESP8285 for Wi-Fi connectivity. It has the size of a DIP28 package. The idea behind it is to replace the ATmega328P chip of an Arduino UNO board with the Jolly to turn the UNO into an IoT-capable board. To me, the intersting part is not so much the wireless capabilities but the ATmega328PB. I used it few years ago as the heart of the Elektor Uno R4. The ATmega328PB is a highly underestimated MCU and as the Elektor Uno R4 is no longer being produced, here is a new chance to play with it.
Elektor R4

More Lab Notes

Thanks for reading this edition of Elektor Lab Notes. Every few weeks, the Lab Team will post new notes and updates about its design projects, industry news, and engineering tips. Don't forget to share your feedback (and your own lab notes) in the Discussion section at the bottom of the page. Stay curious!