[Arm-netbook] EOMA68 integration in to MLAB modular system.

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68


On Sun, Feb 28, 2016 at 7:25 PM, Jakub Kákona <kaklik at mlab.cz> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I am coming to this forum trough that page:
> https://www.youmagine.com/designs/libre-hardware-licensed-parametric-laptop-design#activity--comment-create--6082
> Thanks very much for this great work!

 :)

> I am interested in EOMA68 project for several years. Althought I am
> currently using the ODROID boards in my projects -  one  example is radio
> meteor detection station:
> http://wiki.mlab.cz/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=cs:designs:rmds:rmds02d_station.jpg

 cool.  that actually looks really sophisticated, and extremely tidy.

> This is a typical candidate of electronic computing device which needs
> occasional  hardware upgrade or rapid firmware and configuration change..
> Therefore I looking forward for moment when we could integrate the EOMA68
> cpu card in our modular system http://www.mlab.cz/ and after that in to
> related designs which already exists.

 awesome.  you probably get the whole concept, then, and are happy
with the EOMA68 interfaces, and the idea of using low-cost ECs at
around $1.50 to do tasks that are just out of reach of the [simple,
straightforward] EOMA68 set.  ironic that an entire EC is coming in at
a price that's similar to what SPI-based dedicated I/O ICs come in at,
but hey.


> Therefore you can count on me if there were a group order of EOMA68 cards or
> an crowdfunding campaign.

 great - that's really good to hear.

> We have a long term electronics design experience and quite good contacts to
> other electronics manufacturers here in the Czech Republic. I would like to
> ask if there were some subtask which we could help with?  If none,  I will
> continue to work on related problems such as open-source battery management
> and effective solar charging system for portable devices.

 ok, well actually there is a sub-task that i could do with your help
on: i need a 15 watt *single-cell* battery charger / monitor board
which is compliant with the USB-OTG Power specification up to 3A @
5.0V and can be controlled via I2C as to which direction the power
goes... *and* can take DC input at the same time.  i've found the
bq24193, it's the best i could yet find that will do the job.  the
only thing is, its I2C interface is hard-wired to 1.8v and i need 3.0
to 3.3v, so there will be some level-shifting needed there.  it also
will need a battery monitor (coulomb counter) - the STC3115 QFN is
what i had in mind, but if you have something better please do say so.

PCB size needs to be no bigger than 32 x 85mm, 1.5mm thickness, 2
layer *ONLY*, components *ONLY* on one side, no through-hole
components or connectors are allowed, and there is a severe [hard]
height limit of 5.5mm so the only DC connector i could find which can
handle 5A and is within that limit is the PJ-018H-SMT from CUI Inc.

 also, i really loved the solar panel idea and it turns out that the
PJ-018H-SMT has a 3-pin arrangement, so in theory a diode and a solar
panel in series between pins 2 and 3 would provide solar power when
the DC-jack is disconnected.  pin 3 (to which the solar panel would be
wired) would be disconnected when the DC jack is in.  pin 2 is GND.


> But the cooperative development will be the best solution because there are
> huge tasks which we need to overcome. Uniform 3D printable laptop is one of
> the things which could bring together the open-hardware design community. I
> expected it even in case of Novena laptop, but they go to the different
> direction focused on performance needed for hacking.

 i know.  i've spoken to bunnie before.  he is specifically *not*
interested in taking the novena to large volume manufacturing.

 this laptop is designed as a mass-volume user-serviceable
eco-conscious laptop which is continuously repairable and upgradeable,
so that it remains out of landfill for the longest possible length of
time.

l.