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Subsystem combines COM Express with FeaturePak I/O board
2010-03-02 Article Rating:  / 0
Diamond Systems announced an embedded-ready subsystem combining a choice of COM Express modules with a versatile I/O board. The Magellan comes with either a 1.1GHz Atom or a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo, and includes FeaturePak, PCI-104, and SUMIT expansion interfaces, according to the company.
According to Diamond Systems, its "Embedded Ready Subsystem" (ERS) concept is designed to offer the best of both the SBC (single board computer) and COM (computer on module) worlds. It does so by integrating a selected COM standard, such as COM Express, with a selected modular expansion standard, such as SUMIT. In the case of the Magellan, the ERS consists of a device with a 4.9 x 3.7 inch footprint, built upon a thermally conductive baseplate. As pictured below, a COM Express module is sandwiched in the middle, while the topmost "application layer" is an I/O board with a variety of headers and expansion connectors.  The layout of Diamond Systems' Embedded Ready Subsystem (Click to enlarge) Also referred to as the "baseboard" by Diamond, though it's on top of the stack, the I/O board includes a socket for FeaturePak modules (see our previous coverage, here, for details of this new expansion format). The board additionally sports stackable PCI-104 and SUMIT expansion interfaces, the company adds.  The I/O board for Diamond's Magellan ERS (Click to enlarge)
 A block diagram of Diamond's Magellan ERS (Click to enlarge) Meanwhile, the Magellan's COM Express layer -- presumably based on previously released modules -- is said to include either a 1.1GHz Intel Atom Z510 CPU (with SCH US15W northbridge/southbridge) or a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo (with 965GME northbridge and ICH8M southbridge). In the case of the former, there's 1GB of soldered-on memory, while the latter supports either 1GB or 4GB of DDR2 RAM via a SODIMM, Diamond says. Both configurations of the Magellan have a wide operating range of -40 to 185 deg. F (-40 to 85 deg. C), and accept DC power ranging from 7 to 30 Volts, according to Diamond. The Atom version requires up to 14.2 Watts, while the Core 2 Duo version requires up to 23.5 Watts, the company adds. Specifications listed by Diamond Systems for the Magellan include:
Operating system support for the Magellan ERS was not specified, but most previous devices from Diamond Systems have supported both Linux and Windows. The device will begin shipping in 30 days, priced from $675 for a 1.1GHz Atom Z510 version with 1GB of RAM, to $1595 for a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo version with 4GB of RAM, the company says. More information on the Magellan may be found on the Diamond Systems website, here. Related stories:
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According to Diamond, its I/O board (pictured above) further includes a SATA port, a USB flashdisk socket, plus headers for two gigabit Ethernet ports, four serial ports (two RS232, two RS232/422/485), four USB 2.0 ports, and audio (mic in, line in/out). Televisions, CRTs, and LVDS-interfaced flat panels may all be connected, and an optional cable kit (right) provides real-world connectors, the company says. 
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