Advantech announced a fanless, aluminum-cased computer aimed at the transportation industry. The ARK-3400 uses a Celeron M processor, includes hard disk or CompactFlash storage, accepts 2GB of RAM, and has two PCI expansion slots, the company says.

Advantech says the new ARK-3400, the latest in the company's series of industrial computers, is specifically aimed at the transportation industry. Cited uses include ticket vending machines, gate controllers, and in-vehicle delivery of schedule information or advertising, according to the company.

The ARK-3400 (right) is said to run fanlessly from -4 to 131 deg. F, thanks to an integral, extruded aluminum heat sink. The device also features cable-free interior architecture, and withstands shocks of up to 50G (CompactFlash version) or 20G (hard disk version), Advantech says. Meantime, as befits a computer destined for vehicle mounting, the device is rated to accept DC input voltages ranging from 14V to 24V.

Advantech touts the ARK-3400's "long I/O coastline," and, certainly, with a width of 8.66 inches, the device has plenty of room for ports on both its front and rear. As illustrated below left, the computer's front panel includes four USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA port, two COM ports, audio I/O, and a removable door that provides access to a 2.5-inch drive bay and a CompactFlash socket. At the rear (below right) there's a DC power input, DVI-I video output, two further COM ports, two gigabit Ethernet ports, and two additional USB 2.0 ports.

Ports on the front (left) and back (right) of the ARK-3400
(Click either to enlarge)

According to Advantech, the DVI-I port on the ARK-3400 can accept VGA displays, DVI displays, or both at once, with appropriate cable adapters. Meanwhile, 48-bit LVDS is an available option, the company adds.

The ARK-3400 is designed to run Fedora 9.0 Linux or Windows Embedded operating systems from a Type I/II CompactFlash slot. Alternatively, as suggested earlier, the device accepts a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drive, which would provide room for Windows 7 or another desktop operating system.

Advantech says the ARK-3400 is available with either a 1.0GHz Intel Celeron 373 processor, or a 1.5GHz Celeron 370, both teamed with the chipmaker's 910GMLE northbridge and ICH6M southbridge. Employing a 400MHz frontside bus, the device accepts up to 2GB of DDR2 memory in a single SODIMM slot, the company adds.

The ARK-3400 also accepts two PCI expansion slots (maximum length not specified) and a Mini PCI slot, the latter ready to take an optional wireless LAN adapter. Typical power consumption, without expansion boards, is said to range between 21 and 26 Watts for a Celeron 370-based system, according to Advantech.

Features and specifications listed by Advantech for its ARK-3400 include the following:

• Processor — 1.0GHz Intel Celeron 373, or 1.5GHz Celeron 370
• Memory — Up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM (400MHz) via single SODIMM slot
• Storage — 2.5-inch hard disk drive or CompactFlash slot
• Networking — 2 x gigabit Ethernet with RJ45 connectors
• Other I/O:
  • 2 x RS232
  • 2 x RS232/422/485
  • 6 x USB 2.0
  • DVI-I
  • eSATA port
  • Mic and line in, speaker out
  • DC input
  • Antenna connectors
• Expansion:
  • 2 x PCI
  • 1 x Mini PCI
  • CompactFlash Type I/II
• Power requirements — 14 to 24 VDC; 21 to 26 Watts
• Operating temperature:
  • With CompactFlash storage only, -4 to 131 deg. F (-20 to 55 deg. C)
  • With hard disk drive, -4 to 113 deg. F (-20 to 45 deg. C)
• Dimensions, not including mounting brackets — 8.7 x 7.9 x 4.0 inches (220 x 200 x 102.5mm)
• Weight — 8.8 pounds (4kg)

Availability

According to Advantech, the ARK-3400 is compatible with Fedora 9.0 Linux, Windows XP Embedded, Windows XP Professional, and Windows Vista. Pricing was not released, but the device is said to be available now.

Further information may be found on the Advantech website, here.

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.