[PD] Pd & single board computers

Don Corson donald.corson at econophone.ch
Mon Jan 21 21:39:12 CET 2002


Hi Iain !

Try looking at the SBCs from Advantech.  http://www.advantech.com
They have several that include sound as well as ethernet, LCD and the rest of 
the standard interfaces.  I have never tried PD on one, but did try the sound 
under Windows once. Advantech also has things like Flashdisks so you can use 
a standard operating system, but still no moving parts.  Just don't expect 
the flash file system to be too fast.  I have used several SBCs from 
Advantech for measurement systems and also as communications and file servers 
and they have all run reliably using both Windows and Linux.

If you really need sealed enclosures your biggest problem will probably be 
getting the heat out.  Even the so called low-power processor on the board I 
have gets quite hot.  I have seen custom made housings with deep ribbing on 
both the inside and the outside for this type of application, but you then 
need a ventilator _in_ the housing to spread the heat evenly over the entire 
surface.  Check the life expectancy of the ventilator at higher temperatures, 
50° or 60°C.  The life expectancy is normally only given at room temp. Inside 
the housing it will be very warm and when the bearing grease starts to flow 
you can imagine what happens.  

Good luck with your project, I hope I could help you some.

regards, Don

============================
Donald W. Corson
Quartier de la Prairie 15bis
CH-1400 Yverdon-les-Bains
Switzerland
E-mail: dcorson at iname.com
tel&fax 0041 24 426 0728
============================


> Was wondering if anyone on the list had used a “single board computer” for
> a Pd application (or similar)? I’m researching a project that requires a
> number of computers running Pd for long-term operation in potentially high
> heat conditions ie. outdoors in sealed enclosures. The system needs to run
> for years with little maintenance.
>
> What I need is a computer with: an embedded operating system and no hard
> disk, Pd, mono audio in, stereo out, Ethernet (perhaps), and serial comm.
> Would like a system that requires no fans or ventilation – also, if
> possible, with a relational database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL running (I
> can probably write my own simple database if instability of dedicated
> database applications becomes an issue). The machine will also need quite a
> bit of RAM for temporary storage of PCM data – perhaps up to a Gig – but a
> couple of hundred might be okay. The system doesn’t require a GUI for
> operation.
>
> If anyone has any experience with this type of thing and has some
> suggestions – it would be great to hear from you. I’m new to this kind of
> hardware so any advice will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Cheers & a tardy ‘happy new year’
>
> Iain
> _________________________
> Iain Mott
> phone: 03 9639 2959
> mob: 0403 989470
> email:   mott at reverberant.com
> http://www.reverberant.com



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