Electronics Weekly – Analog Devices Monitoring Initiative, Maxim Buck Converter & More

New products and news from Advantech, Analog Devices, Maxim, Microchip and Toshiba.

Advantech Multi-Connectivity IoT Gateway

(Image courtesy of Advantech.)

(Image courtesy of Advantech.)

Advantech has announced the UTX-3117 Multi-Connectivity IoT Gateway. UTX-3117 utilizes Intel Atom E3900, Celeron N3350 and Pentium N4200 series processor technology to provide a real-time IoT computing, power-efficient, plug & play gateway which is ideal for smart city street lighting, smart metering and industrial automation.

UTX-3117 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, Yocto Linux and Wind River Pulsar OS. Furthermore, it is WISE-PaaS integrated and is certificated with AWS Greengrass IoT to offer a solution for bridging connectivity from edge sensors to the cloud.

UTX-3117 integrates three RF modules in small dimensions, including one M.2 slot for Wi-Fi, one half-size MiniPCIe slot and one full-size MiniPCIe slot for 3G/LTE, Zigbee or LoRa connection. It also has three independent RF modules to maintain maximum RF throughput in temperatures ranging from -20~60 C.

Additional technical specifications can be found on Advantech’s website.

Analog Devices Monitoring Initiative Aims to Improve Crop Quality and Yields

(Image courtesy of Analogy Devices.)

(Image courtesy of Analogy Devices.)

Analog Devices has collaborated with The Cornucopia Project and ripe.io to explore the local food supply chain and use this work as a vehicle for educating students and local farmers on 21st century agriculture skills.

The initiative instructs student farmers how to use Internet of Things and blockchain technologies to track the conditions and movement of produce from “Farm to Fork” to make decisions that improve quality, yields and profitability.

For the project, Analog Devices is providing a prototype version of its crop monitoring product, which will be capable of measuring environmental factors that help farmers make sound decisions about crops related to irrigation, fertilization, pest management, and harvesting. The sensor-to-cloud, Internet of Things solution enables farmers to make better decisions based on accumulated learning from the near-real-time monitoring.

These 24/7 measurements are combined with a near infrared (NIR) miniaturized spectrometer that conducts non-destructive analysis of food quality not previously possible in a farm environment.

For more information about the Initiative, visit Analog Devices’ website.

Maxim Flexible Buck Converter

(Image courtesy of Maxim.)

(Image courtesy of Maxim.)

Maxim has released the MAX77756, a 24V, 500mA, low quiescent current (IQ) buck converter intended for developers of multi-cell, USB Type-C products. USB Type-C devices must generate an always-on 3.3V rail to detect USB insertions. Products utilizing the Power Delivery (PD) voltage range (5V to 20V) can generate an always-on (1.8V/3.3V/5.0V) digital supply rail for the port controller using the MAX77756 step-down converter.

In addition, the MAX77756 has a 20μA quiescent current that extends battery life by reducing idle power consumption. To simplify the system design, it has a dual input ideal diode ORing circuit that allows the chip to power from the external USB source if the battery is empty. The MAX77756 is an IC with short-circuit and thermal protection, 8ms internal soft-start to minimize inrush current, current-mode control architecture and up to 26V input voltage standoff.

For more information, visit Maxim’s website.

Microchip Extends Custom Programming Service

(Image courtesy of Microchip Technology.)

(Image courtesy of Microchip Technology.)

Microchip Technology Inc. has expanded its custom programming service to include AVR and SAM microcontrollers (MCUs). Users can now add their custom code to MCUs from more than 30 AVR and SAM families, along with almost all PIC MCUs and memory devices, directly from the manufacturer via microchipDIRECT.

The service is available to any client regardless of their order size and can be used throughout the development process. From small runs to verify that the code is working, all the way up through full-scale production runs, Microchip’s service offers users the ability to add their code to any order size, from one device to millions. Additionally, each first verification order is complimentary and includes three free samples programmed to each client’s specifications.

To get started, users choose their part number on microchipDIRECT and then add their code and other configuration settings, shown on the online form, directly into the encrypted website. The MCUs will then be programmed by Microchip with no need to involve a third party programming or manufacturing facility, thus eliminating the risk of code exposure during the programming process.

Information concerning pricing and availability is located on Microchip’s website.

Toshiba 8TB Internal Hard Drive

(Image courtesy of Toshiba.)

(Image courtesy of Toshiba.)

Toshiba has announced the X300 3.5-inch internal hard drive, with a maximum of 8TB capacity. Compared to its predecessor, the X300 Series provides better performance and capacity for creative and professional applications including graphic design, animation, photo and video editing, and PC gaming.

The 8TB model features cache technology, a self-contained cache algorithm with on-board buffer management, which optimizes cache allocation during read/write to provide high-level performance in real time. The X300 Series is offered in 4TB, 5TB, 6TB and 8TB capacities. Available in a 3.5-inch form factor, the X300 performs at 7200RPM and a SATA connection up to 6Gbit/s.

For more information, visit Toshiba’s website.


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