INAT GmbH is shipping a PowerPC-based PC/104 CPU module that targets industrial applications requiring 24VDC power. The board is based on a 266MHz AMCC 405EP processor and includes RAM and flash memory, and Ethernet and serial ports, and comes with Linux 2.4.25 pre-installed.

(Click for larger view of iNAT PPC PC/104 board)

INAT said its PowerPC-based PC/104 CPU module draws only 2 Watts — either 100mA at 24V or 400mA at 5V. Additionally, the board's built-in DC-to-DC converter can deliver up to 3 amps of 5V power to other modules on the PC/104 bus. “Almost no other CPU” boards in the PC/104 form-factor have 24VDC power supplies, according to the company.

The module is based on an AMCC 405EP PowerPC processor, clocked at 266MHz. The board has 128MB of on-board RAM, along with 128MB of flash. The flash comes pre-loaded with the open source U-boot bootloader and a 2.4.25 Linux kernel, the company said.

Other touted features of the module include:

• 2 x 10/100 Ethernet half/full-duplex with LED
• 2 x RS232 ports
• IDE drive interface
• 16 bits of digital I/O
• Hardware watchdog timer with 1-second resolution
• Battery-buffered RTC (real-time clock) claimed to offer 1/1000ms accuracy during booting

Additionally, the board's self-stacking PC/104 expansion bus is said to support peripheral modules that include 5-way TTY, 4-way RS232/RS485, and an MPI module to communicate with Siemens SIMATIC S7.

The module can operate from 0 to 70 degrees Celsius, according to the company.

Availability

The INAT PPC PC/104 module (part number 300-3000-01) is shipping now, priced at 265 Euros (approx. $360), with Linux pre-installed and sources included.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.