Tuesday, January 04, 2005

The Balloon Project

Balloon is an Open hardware development board intended for anyone to use in their projects. Balloon should be viewed as a versatile 'computer component'.

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Balloon 2.05 Spec
  • Intel Strongarm SA1110, to 206MHz
  • Rom, to 32Mbyte (really just trying to be boot rom)
  • Ram, to 256MByte (64MByte without stacking)
  • Nand-flash, to 2GByte, including 16-bit interface variants.
  • SmartMedia card, to whatever the limit is today
  • Codec (16bit, 44KHz, stereo mic in & stereo line out)
  • 2W per channel power amp (class D, so efficient)
  • 3 serial ports (2 at 12V, one at 5V)
  • Reset (including pushbutton) and power control.
  • LCD interface for STN & TFT panels (including bias voltage generation, to +-28V, 100mA, resistor settable, software adjustable)
  • LEDs & inputs for debug.
  • Unique ID chip / Silicon serial number
  • USB two slave ports (to attach to a PC) and 2 host ports (to attach peripherals) - including power control.
  • CompactFlash socket (not hot-plug)
  • Power supply takes 6-42V - ideal for automotive / battery / lab use OR...
  • Single 5V supply (local supply voltages derived on-board)
  • Software control of subsytem power supplies
  • JTAG programmable for both Boot ROM and PLD
  • Real Time Clock with connector for battery
  • Whole address / data / control bus buffered and sent to docking connector on back of board.
  • 103 x 56mm (credit card, extended by 1cm on long side)
  • Weights 20-30 grams in typical configurations
http://balloonboard.org/

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