$7 DongshanPI

Based on its name, the DongshanPI-PicoW board/module aims to be an Arm Linux alternative to the Raspberry Pi Pico W with a SigmaStar SSD210 dual-core Cortex-A7 processor with 64MB RAM, an SSW101B USB WiFi 4 chip, plus a good amount of I/Os thanks to four 12-pin headers.

The module also comes with a 128MB SPI flash to run Linux, takes 5V power input, and offers a display interface up to 1280×800, USB 2.0, audio interfaces, and more in a small 31×31 mm form factor with 48 through and castellated holes that should be easy to integrate into compact devices.

DongshanPI-PicoW specifications:

The lack of a physical USB port makes the PicoW module great for integration into projects, but you’ll need some wiring for power and programming. The photo above shows the DongShanPi-PicoW soldered to a 2.0mm to 2.54mm pitch adapter with a micro USB board connected for power and flashing the firmware, and a USB to TTL debug connected to UART to access the serial console.

You’ll find some documents in Chinese as well as the schematics and a Linux image and flashing tools in the Wiki. Questions can be asked on Twitter or in a forum. SigmaStar SSD2xx processors have some support in Linux mainline, and additional information can be found on the Linux Chenxing website. I suppose the module could also replace the Raspberry Pi Zero W for some lightweight applications that may not need 512MB of RAM or an HDMI display. Connecting a MIPI display is possible, but you’d need to find a display that works with the module.

The DongshanPI-PicoW is sold on Aliexpress for $6.71 plus shipping (around $10 in total), but without the 2.54mm pitch adapter board, so you’d need to do some light soldering to wire the board for power and the serial console.

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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