<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 9:20 AM, Scott Sullivan <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:scott@ss.org" target="_blank">scott@ss.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>On 08/15/2013 05:51 AM, Christopher Thomas wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
So, Ejectable PCMCIA, 4 Port USB Hub IC, with 2 available external<br>
ports, two ports are being utilized for the ATMEGA32U4, and USB Audio<br>
IC.<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
I'd like to catch this now. It has been a major sin of ARM board manufactures to only provide USB ports with USB connectors. The Via APC boards are particularly bad for this, especial because they have a mini-ITX like form factor (called Neo ATX?)[1].<br>
<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">We are kind of “hamstrung” by the limitations of
the 68pins. Most of the functionality that is being proposed on this board is
duplicating features already present on the A20, but unfortunately, there’s no
perfect solution to replicate ALL the functionality of a standard ATX Platform
and still maintain an affordable and "profitable" system. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Right now, I’ve done some preliminary
calculations and consulting with manufacturers on how much a complete Turn Key
system would cost, and if the volume of the EOMA-68 Card can get down to the
more competitive levels predicted at the onset of the EOMA-68 project, then I feel I
could get this down to a retail cost to the consumer at roughly $70 (That's including the EOMA-68 CPU Card, obviously
less if the CPU Card can be had for $15?!). Adding in $5 for an extra USB hub IC might
not seem like much, but it could mean the difference between someone choosing the
EOMA Platform vs the cheaper rPI or Panda Board. What you lose in USB, you gain
in potential gains in exponential CPU advancement (Laws of thermodynamics
not-withstanding) and the ability to upgrade, which is not something any
current development system on the market can truly boast. Now, if we wanted to
go with the full blown Development Kit Version of a fully spec’d system as
described by the EOMA-68, on a full size ITX board, that is DEFINITELY an
option, but beyond the scope of what I was proposing, which is an affordable,
easy to produce, open development/experimentation/consumer-esq device. </span></p></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Some USB ports should be brought out on the conventional 0.1" headers you see on ATX motherboards (or the USB 3.0 equivalent 20pin connector). This is especially important if making it ITX case compatible. Cases will have front facing ports, and not including a header means any user can not use their case to it's fullest.<br>
</blockquote><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">A potential compromise
would be to have the ATMEGA32U4 as a jumper select-able option on the board,
with the suggested headers available as desired, or maybe consider sacrificing
some of the GPIO of the EOMA-68 Specification and bring out the 3rd USB Host
port of the A20 to the header. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">One of the main reasons
I chose to locate the holes via the ATX locations was due to the increase in
length. I thought, if I was going to be increasing the width/length to the
standard ITX I/O Panel, might as well make it mountable in an ITX case, that's
not to say it is an ITX computer though. </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">I think you are spot on
in that some sort of power management is required (Luke’s Suggestion of the AXP
is a good one), as I had intended parts of the board to be usable even without
the EOMA-68 Card inserted. The idea of having a hot-swappable option comes
to mind, or programming the ATMEL chip via it's USB Bootloader. </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman',serif"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><br></p></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
This does mean that you'll either have to choose a Hub chip with more ports, or include a second hub. Additionally, headers for front panel audio, power/reset switches and LEDs should be considered as well.<br></blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>Headers for Front Panel Audio and Res/Pwr would not be hard, and are a good idea. Unfortunately, most of the USB3 IC's I found that had more than 4 Ports were about the same cost, if not more than, an additional 4 Port Hub IC ($11-15 for a 6 port vs $4.67 for an additional 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub IC . ) Quantities would have to be ordered in the 1Ku to be cost effective. </div>
<div><br></div><div>I know I'm missing something, but I think that's the gist of it so far. Thank you for your input though, this is exactly the dialogue I was hoping to achieve. </div>
<div><br></div><div><br></div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
[1]:<a href="http://apc.io/" target="_blank">http://apc.io/</a><span><font color="#888888"><br>
<br>
-- <br>
Scott Sullivan<br>
<br>
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</font></span></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-family:arial">Christopher Thomas</div><div style="font-family:arial">Firemoth Industries, LLC - Owner</div>
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