3 ms·

There are actual RISC-V-based ESPs for the typical price of $3-4. https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32-c3 https://www.espressif.com/en/products/soc

There are actual RISC-V-based ESPs for the typical price of $3-4. https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32-c3 https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32-c3

ncmncm 5y ago
It has been my impression that ESP SOCs are really just hard-configured FPGAs. Is this correct? (There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that, except for possible clocking / reduced power state oddities as reported in the older ESP products. I would love to learn more details about that!)
- 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
  No, I specifically meant development boards, not chips. They are not much more than a chip, though (a simple antenna, 32-48 pins, a crystal oscillator, a couple of LEDs, and a couple of buttons). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002783695684.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002783695684.html
  - ncmncm 5y ago
    I misremembered both supplier AND price! It was Pine64, and only US$4. https://pine64.com/product/pinecone-bl602-evaluation-board/ https://pine64.com/product/pinecone-bl602-evaluation-board/ The Ali Express boards look equally intriguing. And the price is right!
    - UncleOxidant 5y ago
      I'd go with the Pine64 board. I ordered some of these BL602 boards from aliexpress (not the ones above) a few months back and the documentation is abysmal and they seem to require a windows application to program them.
      - 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
        From looking around the 'net I _believe_ these will work through ESP-IDF, same as the old Xtensa-based ones. Basically just `idf.py flash` the project, and it should work. Mine are still on the way, I'm eager to try.
- monocasa 5y ago
  They're standard cell logic designs (so ASICs, but what you get from letting the tooling just create a chip from the HDL more or less) that haven't had a lot of work put into power management compared to similar chips like nrf5x. They're not hard configured FPGAs. Which makes sense, as their original target was as a SDIO WIFI chip for a much larger, power hungry system, not a standalone device.

There are actual RISC-V-based ESPs for the typical price of $3-4. https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32-c3 https://www.espressif.com/en/products/socs/esp32-c3

ncmncm 5y ago

It has been my impression that ESP SOCs are really just hard-configured FPGAs. Is this correct? (There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that, except for possible clocking / reduced power state oddities as reported in the older ESP products. I would love to learn more details about that!)

5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
No, I specifically meant development boards, not chips. They are not much more than a chip, though (a simple antenna, 32-48 pins, a crystal oscillator, a couple of LEDs, and a couple of buttons). https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002783695684.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002783695684.html
- ncmncm 5y ago
  I misremembered both supplier AND price! It was Pine64, and only US$4. https://pine64.com/product/pinecone-bl602-evaluation-board/ https://pine64.com/product/pinecone-bl602-evaluation-board/ The Ali Express boards look equally intriguing. And the price is right!
  - UncleOxidant 5y ago
    I'd go with the Pine64 board. I ordered some of these BL602 boards from aliexpress (not the ones above) a few months back and the documentation is abysmal and they seem to require a windows application to program them.
    - 5e92cb50239222b 5y ago
      From looking around the 'net I _believe_ these will work through ESP-IDF, same as the old Xtensa-based ones. Basically just `idf.py flash` the project, and it should work. Mine are still on the way, I'm eager to try.
monocasa 5y ago
They're standard cell logic designs (so ASICs, but what you get from letting the tooling just create a chip from the HDL more or less) that haven't had a lot of work put into power management compared to similar chips like nrf5x. They're not hard configured FPGAs. Which makes sense, as their original target was as a SDIO WIFI chip for a much larger, power hungry system, not a standalone device.