In order to meet the low-cost requirements of volume applications, the board is only using SMD components and connectors, and soldered bridges are used to set functional alternatives during production. MSC can provide stripped-down variants of the board quickly and at low cost because care was taken to enable simple customization of board functionality and component population.
The 3.5” board measures only 148 x 102 mm in size. On its top side it features the module slot for processor modules of all Qseven revisions. On the reverse side, there are two extension slots, one each for Mini-PCI-Express cards and for mSATA cards, greatly enhancing the I/O and memory diversity of the board. According to frequent requirements of modern embedded projects, the board provides two LAN connectors, one coming from the module and the second from an optional on-board LAN controller. Other connectors feature USB 3.0, USB 2.0 Host/Client, RS232/485, CAN and SATA, and there are DisplayPort, HDMI and LVDS interfaces along with backlight power and control. The audio options include HD-Audio for x86-based modules or I2S Audio for ARM-based modules.
IoT applications rely on connectivity, and the MSC Q7-MB-EP5 can optionally be equipped with a WLAN/Bluetooth/NFC device, which will come either with on-board antenna or with an antenna connector. With this feature equipped, the combination of an EP5 carrier and a Qseven module will become an ideal sensor controller or local concentrator for the Internet of Things.
Qseven evaluation boards are usually loaded with functionality, and manufactured using expensive production technology. The MSC Q7-MB-EP5 is reverting the fundamental barriers for volume use of standard carrier boards, offering low cost at full population and even lower cost for custom variants, which are available at volumes from 100 pieces per year. The carefully selected set of functionality and the simple customizing enables the board to be economically usable even at very high volumes.
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