Chris Combs (he/him)Oct 13, 2023

back on my nerd crap: there have been lots of little reasons nudging me towards a different hardware platform than the fruit-pie.

But I'm concerned about future artwork maintenance; I want to build around off-the-shelf platforms, in case something breaks in 20 years.

one road I'm venturing down a bit is MFF PCs--in theory if it's x86-64 and has usb ports, it oughta run ok if replaced by a different model down the road?

but this'd mean wrapping all i/o in some usb-attached layer. hmm...

Show threadChris Combs (he/him)Oct 13, 2023

and I've tried out a good number of other SBCs. Nothing really seems to have long-term support and reliability...?

OrangePi hardware has nice form factor and functionality, paired with hazardous reliability and community-only OS support.

against my better judgment I built something around a Pine64 Rock64 recently--and it turns out that it's just a well-known and accepted defect that when it's hitting RAM hard, the HDMI output glitches? reminds me of racing the beam. https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/ROCK64#Video_output_is_glitchy_during_activity

ROCK64

PINE64
Show threadChris Combs (he/him)Oct 13, 2023
I guess maybe I oughta start digging through the industrial stuff on Digi-Key. Maybe I can prototype on the cheap with fruit-pies and migrate to an industrial SBC or MFF PC once a piece is really coming together.
Show threadAndrew TergisOct 13, 2023

@combs One avenue / filter to consider - the whole NXP i.MX series of processors are very well supported and have a long history of use in consumer and industrial products. I've worked on products built around i.MX 23 and i.MX6UL lines that have remained in market for at least 5 years.

There are lots of SOM modules and SBCs built around I.MX6/7/8 these days, could be a place to start!

Show threadEvan KahnOct 13, 2023
@theterg @combs You could start with this: https://blog.oshpark.com/2021/02/15/mxiot-jay-carlson-designs-tiny-linux-board-for-our-6-layer-test/
The mxiot by Jay Carlson: a tiny 6 layer board that runs Linux

We recently did a test panel in anticipation of launching a 6 layer service. Jay Carlson took the opportunity to design a tiny breadboard-friendly board called the mxiot: So what exactly was that 6…

OSH Park
Show threadChris Combs (he/him)Oct 13, 2023
@wormyrocks @theterg it's adorable! Doesn't quite meet my needs being off-the-shelf and readily obtainable +20 years... but I like it!
Show threadEvan Kahn
@combs @theterg Well, the 6UL is probably the kind of part you want to be looking at if you're comfortable spinning a board around it and want a guarantee that the lights will still be on at the chip manufacturer.
Oct 13, 2023 at 3:28pmMastodon for iOS
Show threadAndrew TergisOct 13, 2023

@wormyrocks @combs Yeah I guess the point is if you choose a product *built on top of* a 6ULZ for example (or really any I.MX6/7/8) at the very least you know you have good support from NXP, hopefully in addition to the folks that sold you the SOM / SBC it's built around

For example, I know these guys make great modules, Anders is very sharp and has helped me out:
https://www.embeddedartists.com/

Manufacturer of Arm based Computer on Modules (COM) - Embedded Artists

Embedded Artists design and manufacture Arm based Computer on Modules (COM) / System on Modules (SOM) that can easily be integrated into your product.

Embedded Artists