Product category:
Embedded Computing and Control
News Release from: Ampro Computers | Subject: LittleBoard 620
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 26 September 2007
EBX board extends legacy applications
RoHS- and EBX-compliant 5.25in SBC offers new life for designs based on obsolete boards.
The Embedded Systems Conference saw Ampro Computers release a product it reckons can replace the tens of thousands of EBX and 5.25in-form-factor SBCs on the market that use 486, Pentium MMX or Geode GX1 processors, or use Celeron, C3 or Eden 100/133 FSB processors with the Twister-T chipset These SBCs are now end-of-life (EOL), meaning that system OEMs using these boards need to qualify a compatible replacement SBC that will be in production through 2010 or beyond
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 21 May 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Little Board 700 single board computer aims to address the needs of demanding and power-sensitive embedded applications.
Ampro's new LittleBoard 620 EBX SBC not only addresses the processor and chipset availability issues, but updates the technology from single-datarate (SDR) PC100 and PC133 RAM to the mainstream inexpensive DDR (double-datarate) RAM.
In addition, the board is fully RoHS compliant and EBX compliant, to address environmental regulations and issues with 5.25in SBCs that don't comply with the EBX standard.
"Ampro has paved a path forward for hundreds of electronics manufacturers who are not sure how to keep EBX-based systems in production after a wave of obsolescence", said Joanne Mumola Williams, President and CEO of Ampro.
Further reading
PC/104 expansion modules add standard interfaces
Three new MiniModule PC/104-Plus expansion boards bring high-speed industry standard I/O capabilities to the PC/104 market for the very first time.
SBC brings new life to legacy 486 designs
The CoreModule 410 is a PC/104 CPU module designed to extend the life of headless 486 systems through 2010.
SBC runs cooler with latest Celeron processor
The CoreModule 600 is a single-board computer designed to drive the next generation of rugged embedded applications, operating from -40 to +85C without a fan.
"The LittleBoard 620 meets the demands of military, transportation, automation, acquisition, and other rugged and extended temperature applications without the extensive hardware and software redesigns associated with moving legacy PC/104 peripherals to newer buses like LPC, PCI, or PCI Express".
Migration is greatly simplified by the inclusion of popular "legacy" interfaces, such as serial ports (UARTs or COM ports), IDE (Parallel ATA) disk drive interface with onboard CompactFlash socket, both TTL and LVDS flat panel LCD interfaces, and full support for the legacy ISAbus through a unique combination of circuitry, industry-standard BIOS and Ampro extensions.
I/O connectors and the PC/104-Plus interface follow the EBX specification.
Given the uncertain future of SDR RAM such as PC133, as well as specific soldered RAM packages, this board uses mainstream DDR 333 DIMM RAM, which provides a substantial performance increase in addition to the clear lifecycle benefit.
At 5.75 x 8.00in, the LittleBoard 620 SBC brings this technical innovation to the popular EBX form factor at a critical time when system companies' revenues are at risk due to the depletion of end-of-life (EOL) CPUs and chipsets.
Ampro satisfies the urgent migration need using the new AMD 500MHz Geode LX 800 processor to meet the price and low power requirements of legacy embedded systems, coupled with a PCI-to-ISA bridge for true 16bit I/O and data and DMA support, industry-standard AMI BIOS, and BIOS extensions which initialise and support critical features that are necessary to maintain compatibility with the hundreds of off-the-shelf and custom PC/104 modules used in these systems.
Without a full implementation of the ISAbus, many of these system OEMs would face substantial re-architecture, sourcing, and requalification challenges just to keep production running.
A very rich set of onboard legacy I/O including four UART serial ports, two ports with RS485 support, a parallel/floppy port, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, IDE interface for up to two disk drives, integrated graphics, AC97 audio, and general-purpose digital I/O pins (GPIOs).
In addition, the LittleBoard 620 provides two 10/100 Ethernet ports using the Intel 82551 controller, four USB 2.0 ports, a CompactFlash socket, and both TTL and LVDS LCD interfaces to support new and existing flat panel displays of various sizes.
QuickStart Kits include cables, 512Mbyte DDR RAM, plus device drivers and board support packages for Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, VxWorks, QNX and a full Linux 2.6 distribution.
LittleBoard 620 samples will be available within 60 days.
Prices start in the mid-US $500s in production quantities.
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