Cases for BeagleBoards
Matthew Phillips
in order to get it running.
I've found two different cases available. The acrylic one from Special
Computing:
https://specialcomp.com/beagleboard/xm.htm
https://specialcomp.com/beagleboard/xMcase1.JPG
and the powder-coated aluminium "Dog House":
http://www.esawdust.com/product/encl-dh-xm/
The advantage of the acrylic one is that it has buttons on top to allow you
to press the reset and user buttons on the board. It doesn't appear to have
any way of accessing the micro-SD card, however, so this could be a pain if
wanting to put a new ROM image on.
The Dog House gives access to the micro-SD card, but doesn't appear to give
any access to the reset or user buttons. I suppose a metal case might reduce
the effect of stray radio-frequency emissions from the board: are these a
concern?
Are there any other cases available? How easy would it be to cut a hole in
the acrylic case to get at the micro-SD card?
I've bought the battery for the real-time clock. I'm sure I found a page
which described how to solder it in, but I cannot find it now. Does the
battery end up underneath the board or on top, and if underneath, would
the board still fit in each of these cases?
Thanks for any advice anyone can provide!
--
Matthew Phillips
Durham
Alan Dawes
Matthew Phillips <mn...@sinenomine.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> I've bought the battery for the real-time clock. I'm sure I found a page
> which described how to solder it in, but I cannot find it now. Does the
> battery end up underneath the board or on top, and if underneath, would
> the board still fit in each of these cases?
It's described on p132-3 of the Beagleboard-xM System Reference Manual
that you can download from the Farnell site and from beagleboard.org. The
awkward thing will be to remove R65 which is closely surrounded by other
components. The battery is on the top surface of the motherboard but as
the holes go through could be applied underneath if you want to be
perverse and would be easier to solder from that side.
Alan
--
alan....@argonet.co.uk
alan....@riscos.org
Using an Acorn RiscPC
trevj
wrote:
[snip]
> Are there any other cases available? How easy would it be to cut a hole in
> the acrylic case to get at the micro-SD card?
I don't know of any other commercially available alternatives.
I have both types of case that you mention for the original
BeagleBoard and have prepared designs for an acrylic xM case
(admittedly borrowing from the Special Computing design). However,
prices to produce a prototype in acryclic are looking to be
prohibitively expensive. My design allows access to the microSD card
(by ablating the 3mm thickness to just 1mm around the socket to
provide access for fingertips) but so far I only have a carboard
prototype, so I've no way of telling how usable the final design is.
(I'm now working on an alternative design, and will let people know if
it proves more cost-effective.)
For the Special Computing case, you could probably cut out an access
by using a mini-hacksaw after drilling. Of course, there's the risk
that if the cut-out isn't sufficiently accurate, the microSD card
could slip inside the case rather than into its socket!
It's worth noting that the issue of reset button access with the Dog
House is less important now that current ROM builds include working
reset after shutdown:
http://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/5/topics/295?page=3#posts-4819
Don't forget that you can always build a case in Lego, if you have
some:
http://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/5/topics/373#posts-3393
(I've no idea whether Jeffrey's stuck with his design or not.)
> I've bought the battery for the real-time clock. I'm sure I found a page
> which described how to solder it in, but I cannot find it now. Does the
> battery end up underneath the board or on top, and if underneath, would
> the board still fit in each of these cases?
As Alan says, it's in the SRM:
http://beagle.s3.amazonaws.com/design/xM-A/BB_xM_SRM_A2_01.pdf
For any further battery questions, you could ask here:
http://groups.google.com/group/beagleboard/browse_thread/thread/8bc09c6376fa4826/8710b22a0b07b6db#8710b22a0b07b6db
Good luck!
PS For when your software is tested, did you see that Martin Wuerthner
has recently made an "ARMv7 compatible" logo available?
http://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/1/topics/490
Steffen Huber
> As our BeagleBoard xM has arrived I'm now getting together the shopping list
> in order to get it running.
Have a look at Raik Fischer's homepage - he is currently in the
process of packaging up a Mini-ITX case together with all the
necessary bits and pieces for a complete desktop computer
(harddisc, DVD drive, USB hub, On/Off and Reset switch).
This will probably be sold via a4com in Germany.
Some pics (scroll down):
http://home.arcor.de/raik_fischer/bilder.htm
Steffen
--
Steffen Huber
hubersn Software - http://www.hubersn-software.com/
David Pitt
> Matthew Phillips wrote:
> > As our BeagleBoard xM has arrived I'm now getting together the shopping
> > list in order to get it running.
>
> Have a look at Raik Fischer's homepage - he is currently in the process of
> packaging up a Mini-ITX case together with all the necessary bits and
> pieces for a complete desktop computer (harddisc, DVD drive, USB hub,
> On/Off and Reset switch).
>
> This will probably be sold via a4com in Germany.
>
> Some pics (scroll down): http://home.arcor.de/raik_fischer/bilder.htm
And http://www.a4com.de/riscos/46auto/Medium/P9251623.JPG
Impressive.
--
David Pitt
trevj
David Pitt
> Dependent on the price, these should sell like hot cakes :-)
Or even heiße Kuchen.
I must say I did feel the wallet twitch slightly.
--
David Pitt
trevj
>
> Or even heiße Kuchen.
Ich sprache kein Deutsch aber mein Franzosich ist ein bisschen besser.
> I must say I did feel the wallet twitch slightly.
I wonder if a4-com will be coming to any British shows in 2011.
jgharston
David R Lane
Steffen Huber <sp...@huber-net.de> wrote:
> Matthew Phillips wrote:
>> As our BeagleBoard xM has arrived I'm now getting together the shopping list
>> in order to get it running.
> Have a look at Raik Fischer's homepage - he is currently in the
> process of packaging up a Mini-ITX case together with all the
> necessary bits and pieces for a complete desktop computer
> (harddisc, DVD drive, USB hub, On/Off and Reset switch).
> This will probably be sold via a4com in Germany.
> Some pics (scroll down):
> http://home.arcor.de/raik_fischer/bilder.htm
> Steffen
So when will it go on sale and at what price, roughly?
It sounds really interesting.
Dave Lane
--
Q: What do Microsoft and McDonald's have in common?
A: They both cause bloating.
Steffen Huber
> In message<8jvgma...@mid.individual.net>
> Steffen Huber<sp...@huber-net.de> wrote:
>> Have a look at Raik Fischer's homepage - he is currently in the
>> process of packaging up a Mini-ITX case together with all the
>> necessary bits and pieces for a complete desktop computer
>> (harddisc, DVD drive, USB hub, On/Off and Reset switch).
>
>> This will probably be sold via a4com in Germany.
>
>> Some pics (scroll down):
>> http://home.arcor.de/raik_fischer/bilder.htm
>
> It sounds really interesting.
The first "BeagleBoards-in-a-case" are now available. For more
information (available configs, pricing), please talk to Detlef
Thielsch of a4com.
http://www.riscos.de/
http://www.a4com.de/riscos/bik.htm
EMail: dt (at) riscos (dot) de
Matthew Phillips
on 9 Nov 2010 Matthew Phillips wrote:
> As our BeagleBoard xM has arrived I'm now getting together the shopping list
> in order to get it running.
>
> I've found two different cases available. The acrylic one from Special
> Computing:
>
> https://specialcomp.com/beagleboard/xm.htm
> https://specialcomp.com/beagleboard/xMcase1.JPG
>
> and the powder-coated aluminium "Dog House":
>
> http://www.esawdust.com/product/encl-dh-xm/
>
> The advantage of the acrylic one is that it has buttons on top to allow you
> to press the reset and user buttons on the board. It doesn't appear to have
> any way of accessing the micro-SD card, however, so this could be a pain if
> wanting to put a new ROM image on.
Well, we went for the acrylic case in the end. When it arrive (only took a
week) we discovered that there is a slot cut for the micro SD card after all.
You need long finger-nails or a flat-bladed screwdriver to push the card home
into the slot, but it's fine for only occasional changes of card.
--
Matthew Phillips
Durham
JLS
David Pitt <ne...@pittdj.co.uk> vous écrivez:
> trevj <tr...@cwazy.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Dependent on the price, these should sell like hot cakes :-)
>
> Or even heiße Kuchen.
Ou gâteau chaud...
Jean-Luc