Hi,

I'm working on a project where I'll be working with a USB thermometer (actually a Dallas 1-wire adapter using OWFS), a USB LCD screen/keypad (a XES635 from crystalfontz.com) and a Phidgets USB relay board (4 relays).

I need a recommendation for a *very* power efficient system to use for this (i.e. tiny). Cost is also a big factor. Most, if not all, of my code would run fine on a 486-class system, but the Soekris boards with USB are a bit pricey for me. I'm thinking around $100 or less (used or new).

I currently have an old HP OmniBook laptop that I was going to use (one USB 1.1 port), but the LCD won't work with it - though it's recognized and the USB port works fine. My theory is that the USB port on this laptop doesn't put out enough juice to handle the LCD with backlight.

Any recommendations would be great. I was also thinking about using some sort of 1U appliance (since the final project will be mounted next to, or in, a rack) but all of them have >100W PS's, and I'd really like to keep this as efficient as possible.

(All this reall will do is read temperature from the 1-wire adapter, show it on the LCD, control a relay, and log it).

Thanks,
Jason

have you looked at gumstix ? ? Tiny, power efficient, expandable, inexpensive.

a 1U rack case would be massive for this board would need to be the size of a rack mount power strip at most.

to boost the power of the USB add in a Powered USB hub...

farslayer,

Yeah, I'm vaguely familiar with them. While I could deal with a 486, I still want something with a serial port, 10/100, and preferably IDE for a HDD or a CD-ROM (though I could still use USB). I was thinking of something more in terms of a desktop-type system (like a thin client or one of those things advertised as desktop replacements).

I was originally thinking of using a Soekris board, but it seems like their RAM and flash capacities may be a problem.

One note - while this system will run on a 486, I was thinking in terms of at least a full GB of disk space, to handle a FULL linux distro (it'll be running an SSH server, as well as temp monitoring that logs to MySQL, a few daemons, and SNMP).

The bottom line is that while I want a power efficient system, I'm not willing to spend the time to optimize all of the software to get it to fit on a GumStix, or the 64-128MB of a Soekris.

Thanks for the advice though - maybe I'll end up doing that if all else fails.

-J

then maybe take a loot at the mini-itx boards.. there are rackmount cases available for them but I doubt you will hit that $100.00 mark.

http://www.mini-itx.com/

Thanks. I checked that out, and also looked on NewEgg. Going with NewEgg, I could get a Mini-ITX board and processor in the $30-$70 range, so I'd figure around $50-90 with RAM. I probably already have a drive around... so if I'm lucky, I can find a case that will fit a Mini-ITX board, add a small PS for around $50, and be off to the races. While this would add considerable cost to a project that was originally budgeted at $180 (which has all already been spent), it may be the best way to go.

Thanks for the tips.

PS - If anyone has suggestions for ready-to-run hardware, I'm all ears. I'm already searching EBay for appliance servers or network appliances that are based on commodity boards and have USB.

APC environmental sensor $240.00 or APC Rackmount Environmental sensor $385 - comes complete with Sensors (temp and humidity), network access, the ability to hook up additional sensors, dry contact connections, web based interface, automated notification, built in Logging, snmp support.. Oh you just wanted a bare appliance .... Sorry Couldn't help myself (I do use one of these APC units to notify me of environmental issues in my data center.. can check it from home)


Seriously though browse around on Linux Devices theres always some slick PC or appliance being posted on that site. might find just what you are looking for.


more mini-itx resource links in this article.. http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9547755813.html

I think this looks pretty sweet:
http://www.disklessworkstations.com/...ml?id=M8bmmDi2

Might not be practical though.

I love these devices:
http://koolu.com/Koolu-WE-Appliance/...Appliance.html
But ... no serial ports. USB <-> serial adapters exist, but add to your budget.

jlinkels