3. Why is it so popular?
●
One of the benefits of RISC – lower power usage.
●
Many companies produce licensed solutions.
●
Exists in all CPU market segments.
●
Good software ecosystem.
●
Cheap SoCs are available, capable of running
Linux and Android.
4. Why is it good for a HAM?
●
Cheap boards are available.
●
Runs almost all Linux software.
●
Can run on battery power.
●
Has plenty of IO ports.
●
Rugged enough to run in the field.
5. ARM Holdings
●
Develops architecture, sells licenses to integrators
producing System on Chips.
●
Provides various license levels – from verified
gate netlist to synthesizable RTL and architectural
licenses.
●
Price depends on perceived value.
(Microcontroller cores cheaper than High
performance)
6. Current general SoC core types
●
Microcontroller – Cortex-M3, Cortex-M4 (STM32)
●
Classic Raspberry Pi level boards - quad/dual-core
ARM Cortex-A7 (BCM2836, A20)
●
Modern ARM boards - quad/dual-core ARM Cortex-
A72 + smaller cores (BCM2711, RK3399)
●
High end boards – 32-core Vulcan (ThunderX2)
●
Specialized GPU – 8-core Carmel + Nvidia Volta
GPU (Xavier)
7. Raspberry Pi 4
●
Broadcom BCM2711 SoC with a 1.5 GHz 64-bit
quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 processor
●
Great community
●
Camera accessory
●
Widely available
8. ROCKPro64
●
Rockchip RK3399 SoC with Dual-Core Cortex-A72
and Quad-Core Cortex-A53
●
PCIe 4x slot
●
eMMC storage
●
LiPo socket
●
Dual video output
9. A20-OLinuXino-LIME
●
Allwinner A20 with dual core Cortex-A7
●
Industrial temp version -40C ... +85C
●
512MB DDR3 RAM
●
eMMC storage
●
LiPo socket
●
Open source hardware
●
Native SATA port
10. Orange Pi PC2
●
Allwinner H5 with quad core Cortex A53
●
1GB DDR3 RAM
●
3x USB 2.0 ports + 1 OTG
●
20$ price tag
●
HDMI port
●
Mainline kernel support