looking for a single board computer
 

Hi folks.

I've been searching the web for an SBC that fits my needs. I've found a couple, but I'm wondering if folks that have worked with them could recommend something google hasn't shown me.

This is my list of requirements:

- processor running at a minimum of 100 MHz (probably more like 400+, but I'm not sure yet)
- x86 or PowerPC based CPU, to support Linux and Java
- solid state disk (compact flash)
- power over ethernet support
- audio in/out

I've seen the offerings from PC Engines, Embedian and Soekris Engineering. Are there other options for me out there?

Thanks!

Acrosser has been able to handle my embedded board needs fairly well. Even when I'm looking for boards with 4 COM ports, LCD panel driver on board, LCD Touch screen needs, etc..

if nothing else it's another option to look at.

I dont know this board will suitable for you, exactly. But you may consider this U-ATX board. The cost of this board is only 70$. Its a built-in celeran 215 processor board. Its has a IDE. You can connect a CF memory and run your linux.I am using this board, now. The performance is good.
http://support.intel.com/products/mo...1gly/index.htm

Power over ethernet + audio in/out? That sounds difficult to satisfy. Have you found anything at all with that combination?

Yup - that combo is the hard part to satisfy.

I have not found anything off the shelf. I have found a couple companies that make something close, and that offer customization services.

You could always use a PoE supply in conjunction with a single board computer..

For pre-built solutions I see nothing that's PoE with X86 CPU.. I'm thinking power requirements are a killing blow to that combination, the X86 is pretty power hungry in comparison to the output of the PoE power supplies.

Jack PC - Small PoE powered with Audio...
https://www.chippc.com/thin-clients/...p=jack-pc-6700

Xscale PoE with AC97 Audio
http://www.embeddedsys.com/subpages/.../sbc4670.shtml

Honestly, I would recommend using a PC Engines board. The new ones use the newer Geode processors and I've used my old WRAP for a long time with Pyramid Linux, but am attempting to build my own version right now specifically for my system. Performance is OK on the WRAP, but it is obsoleted by the newer processors.

They are the leading candidate at this point. I bought an ALIX3 to evaluate, and it's quite capable. The only aspect it lacks is POE.

I think those have the most bang for the buck. The POE, I'm sure you know, requires network hardware that supports it. The WRAP does supposedly support POE, even though I have not used it in that capacity before.

I actually just finished rebuilding my WRAP (233MHz Geode SC1100) Linux OS from scratch to help optimize the system and take advantage of all of the features.

One thing from my own experiences I could pass along is that it is beneficial to get a Industrial Grade CF card. They generally are more durable and have more read/write cycles than ordinary CF cards, but they are a bit more expensive.

VIA have produced a wallet sized x86 MB 1GHz processor, VGA DVI USB RJ45 7.1 audio SATA IDE and more connections, its called the Pico-ITX, it uses DDR2 SODIMM RAM, i'm not sure where you'd get it, probably from the VIA website, even though it doesnt have compact flash support, you could just include a USB card reader in the case

Hi,
I heard a leading Russian company producing single board computers is looking for export markets. They have a wide range of products for reasonable prices and good quality. Check their website zao-zeo.com

embedded board
 

ARM9 development kit runs Windows CE
By Eric Brown
2008-12-17

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www.developmentboard.net


Hiteg announced a Windows CE hardware/software development kit for Samsung's ARM9-based S3C2440 microprocessor. The 100mm-square Mini2440 board features the workhorse S3C2440 processor clocked to 533MHz, and targets embedded development training applications, industrial control equipment, and consumer electronics devices...

such as PDAs and PNDs (personal navigation devices).

(Click for larger view of the Mini2440)

Chinese embedded ARM vendor Hiteg offers a variety of development boards and processor modules based on the Samsung S3C2440 and lower-power S3C2410 processors. The boards are typically available with software development kits (SDKs) for Windows CE 5.0 and Linux 2.6 (more details on the SDKs below).

The Mini2440 appears to be Hiteg's smallest S3C2440 development kit to date. Measuring 3.9 by 3.9 inches (100 x 100mm), the AT2440 is a four-layer board that clocks the Samsung S3C2440's ARM920T RISC core at 400MHz (dominant frequency) and 533MHz (peak frequency). Touted as the "world's fastest mobile CPU" when launched in 2003, the S3C2440 primarily targets handheld devices such as smartphones and PDAs. The SoC integrates 16KB each of instruction and data cache, 4KB RAM, a NAND flash boot loader, power management functions, an interrupt controller, and an external memory controller (see block diagram).


Mini2440 with LCD
(Click to enlarge)


The Mini2440 comes standard with 64MB each of SDRAM and NAND flash, expandable via an SD card slot, along with 2MB of NOR flash. The board has camera and LCD interfaces, and can be ordered with a built-in 3.5-inch QVGA (320x240) module or external 7-inch display.

The Mini2440's complement of PC-style I/O includes Ethernet, USB host and slave ports, and three serial connections. Available options include a WiFi module, and CMOS and USB camera options. The Mini2440 board offers a "stable CPU power source chip and reset system," says Hiteg.

Specifications listed for the Mini2440 include:
Processor -- Samsung S3C2440 (ARM920T core) clocked at up to 533MHz
Memory -- 64MB SDRAM (up to 100MHz)
Flash -- 64MB NAND flash; 2MB NOR flash
Flash expansion -- 1 x SD card interface
Display -- LCD controller with four-wire resistive touchscreen interface; optional 3.5- or 7-inch LCD displays
Networking -- 1 x 10/100 Ethernet RJ-45 interface (DM9000 chip)
WiFi -- optional WiFi module
USB -- 1 x USB Host; 1 x USB Slave (B-type interface)
Serial -- 3 x serial ports
Audio -- 1 x stereo audio output interface; 1 x mic interface
Camera -- 1 x 20-pin (2.0mm space) camera interface; optional CMOS or USB cameras
Other I/O:
1 x 10-pin (2.0mm space) JTAG interface
4 x user LEDs
6 x user buttons
1 x PWM control buzzer
1 x adjustable resistance, for AD conversion test
1 x I2C bus AT24C08 chip, for I2C bus test
1 x 34-pin 2.0mm GPIO interface
1 x 40-pin 2.0mm system bus interface
Power -- RTC battery; power supply interface
Clock -- internal real-time clock and 12Mhz passive crystal system clock source
Dimensions -- 3.9 x 3.9 inches (100 x 100mm)
Operating system -- Windows CE 5.0 and Linux 2.6.13
Available SDKs

The Mini2440 software development kit (SDK) includes the following components, says Hiteg:
ADS1.2 development environment
H-JTAG burning and debugging tool
SJF2440 flash burning tool for Windows
Jflash-2440 flash burning tool for Linux (source code provided)
Serial tools CRT, dnw
Bmp2t (picture transformer)
USB driver for Windows XP/2000
Vivi bootloader for Linux (source code provided)
Test programs (source code provided)

I have just bought this mini2440 with 7" touch screen. The board is great, with a lot of peripherial and for a affordable price. I am trying to develop my own application on the OS shipped and then, try to build my own kernel and rootfs from Buildroot. I'm sure I will need some help from linuxquestion !!

Hi folks

Following your posts shows me, that a solution with an ARM processor would be considerable to.
The difficulties in your request as I see, have allready been discussed. Im curious about the importance of POE to your project, couldn't a very low power solution fit your needs as well? you would get a far bigger range of possible embedded solutions in an interesting price range.

Toradex offers a comuter module family called Colibri starting at 208MHz up to 2 x 1GHz processor speed. The modules are highly miniaturized at a size of 67.6 x 36.7 x 5.2 mm.

Including many further features such as:
- 100MBit Ethernet
- Audio I/O
- I2C
- SPI
- Compact Flash
- SDCard
- GPIOs
- USB Host/Device
- Power Supply 6-27 V DC


toradex.com/Products/Colibri_Modules

The Toradex Colibri modules are specifically designed for low power consumtion around one Watt they boot in only a few seconds to either the out of the box running and fully customizable WinCE or your Linux. A strong module cosidering the size and power consumption.