C
Charles Reynolds
Guest
I've got a computer that's dedicated to a single task, and I'm trying to miniaturize it. I'm hoping you can offer some hardware suggestions.
Here's what I currently have:
An old laptop (refurbished ThinkPad T43, Pentium M processor). No hard drive, 1 GB RAM.
Puppy Linux 5.5, booted from CD. (Prior versions of Puppy work also, at least as far back as 4.1).
A device I'll call the “gadget,” which I can't discuss further (work related, confidential, etc). The gadget connects to the laptop by USB, and continuously outputs data via a 9600 FTDI COM port (/dev/ttyUSB0), although it's using only a fraction of the bandwidth. It delivers about 4 bytes per second of data, which works out to about 350 KB per day.
A USB thumb drive, formatted for Linux, plugged into the laptop's other USB port, where the data from the gadget is stored.
So I boot the laptop, mount the thumb drive, copy a few files from the thumb drive to /usr/bin and /usr/lib (execs and shlibs that Puppy doesn't have by default), and end up doing this:
# cat < /dev/ttyUSB0 > /my_thumb_drive/mydata
Then I leave it alone for a few days, after which I collect the data.
Problem is, in its final form, the whole thing has to be put in a location where there's no line power available (and I can't use off-grid power sources either – e.g., solar cells). And I don't know of any laptop batteries that hold several days worth of power.
So, here's what I need:
First – and this is what I need help with from you – some very low power thing, let's call it the “micro-PC,” that will boot and run a very minimal Linux. It doesn't have to have a network card, keyboard, monitor, etc. Just two USB connections.
Second, a very chopped down Linux that will boot from a USB thumb drive and automatically collect data as described above – I can handle that part fine.
The idea would be that I would plug the thumb drive into the micro-PC's USB1, the gadget into the other USB port, and power the thing on. It would boot from the thumb drive, then automatically collect the data from the gadget and store that data in some file on the same thumb drive. The whole thing would run on ordinary batteries (I'm thinking of rechargeable D cells). And it would run, unattended, for several days. At the end of that time I'd power it down, swap the thumb drive for an identical one, swap the batteries if necessary, boot it again from the new thumb drive, and take the old thumb drive back to the office with me where I'd work with the data, etc.
Now, what do I use for the micro-PC? Any suggestions? I'm pretty clueless on such things – the only two things I've been able to find with web searches are thin clients and Arduino, neither of which seem to be what I need. And if others out there have had to do something similar and can recommend good hardware, I don't want to re-invent the wheel.
Thanks,
Charles
Here's what I currently have:
An old laptop (refurbished ThinkPad T43, Pentium M processor). No hard drive, 1 GB RAM.
Puppy Linux 5.5, booted from CD. (Prior versions of Puppy work also, at least as far back as 4.1).
A device I'll call the “gadget,” which I can't discuss further (work related, confidential, etc). The gadget connects to the laptop by USB, and continuously outputs data via a 9600 FTDI COM port (/dev/ttyUSB0), although it's using only a fraction of the bandwidth. It delivers about 4 bytes per second of data, which works out to about 350 KB per day.
A USB thumb drive, formatted for Linux, plugged into the laptop's other USB port, where the data from the gadget is stored.
So I boot the laptop, mount the thumb drive, copy a few files from the thumb drive to /usr/bin and /usr/lib (execs and shlibs that Puppy doesn't have by default), and end up doing this:
# cat < /dev/ttyUSB0 > /my_thumb_drive/mydata
Then I leave it alone for a few days, after which I collect the data.
Problem is, in its final form, the whole thing has to be put in a location where there's no line power available (and I can't use off-grid power sources either – e.g., solar cells). And I don't know of any laptop batteries that hold several days worth of power.
So, here's what I need:
First – and this is what I need help with from you – some very low power thing, let's call it the “micro-PC,” that will boot and run a very minimal Linux. It doesn't have to have a network card, keyboard, monitor, etc. Just two USB connections.
Second, a very chopped down Linux that will boot from a USB thumb drive and automatically collect data as described above – I can handle that part fine.
The idea would be that I would plug the thumb drive into the micro-PC's USB1, the gadget into the other USB port, and power the thing on. It would boot from the thumb drive, then automatically collect the data from the gadget and store that data in some file on the same thumb drive. The whole thing would run on ordinary batteries (I'm thinking of rechargeable D cells). And it would run, unattended, for several days. At the end of that time I'd power it down, swap the thumb drive for an identical one, swap the batteries if necessary, boot it again from the new thumb drive, and take the old thumb drive back to the office with me where I'd work with the data, etc.
Now, what do I use for the micro-PC? Any suggestions? I'm pretty clueless on such things – the only two things I've been able to find with web searches are thin clients and Arduino, neither of which seem to be what I need. And if others out there have had to do something similar and can recommend good hardware, I don't want to re-invent the wheel.
Thanks,
Charles