BlueChip RE3 User Manual

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RE3

Single Board Computer

User Guide

Document Reference: RE3 User Guide

Document Issue: 1.3

RE3 Table Of Contents

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Contents

Copyright ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

Limitations of Liability ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Trademarks ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Regulatory Statements ........................................................................................................................................ 5

Safety Warning for North America .................................................................................................................... 5

Manual Organisation .............................................................................................................................................. 6

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

Functional Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 8

Specification ....................................................................................................................................................... 9

General Precautions .............................................................................................................................................. 10

Electro-Static Discharges .................................................................................................................................. 10

On-Board Battery ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Electromagnetic Compatibility ......................................................................................................................... 10

Mechanical Specifications .................................................................................................................................... 12

Connector Locations ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Connector Details ............................................................................................................................................. 14

P1 – Ethernet Connector ............................................................................................................................... 14

P2 – Dual USB Connector (Edge of Board) ................................................................................................. 14

P25, P26, P27 – USB Device ........................................................................................................................ 14

P4/P15 – Power in Connector ....................................................................................................................... 14

P5 – Audio Connector .................................................................................................................................. 15

P6 – GPIO Connector ................................................................................................................................... 15

P7 – Utilities Connector................................................................................................................................ 17

P10 – RS232 Full Connector ........................................................................................................................ 17

P11 – RS232 & RS422/485 Connector ......................................................................................................... 17

P8 – Video Connector ................................................................................................................................... 18

P30 – Fan Connector .................................................................................................................................... 19

P20/P21 – Camera Input ............................................................................................................................... 19

RTC Battery .................................................................................................................................................. 19

Thermal Considerations ........................................................................................................................................ 21

RE3 Heatsink ................................................................................................................................................ 21

System Software ................................................................................................................................................... 22

Operating Systems Supported ........................................................................................................................... 22

General Purpose I/O ......................................................................................................................................... 22

SYSFS .......................................................................................................................................................... 22

GPIO Mapping for RE3 ................................................................................................................................ 22

Bootloader Firmware ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Maintenance ......................................................................................................................................................... 24

Amendment History ............................................................................................................................................. 24

RE3 Table Of Contents

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Cable Options ................................................................................................................................ ....................... 25

Audio P7 – BCT p/n 1371-1421 ................................................................................................................... 25

GPIO P6 – BCT p/n 1371-1422 .................................................................................................................... 25

Utility P7 – BCT p/n 1371-1423................................................................................................................... 26

RS232 P10 – BCT p/n 1371-1425 ................................................................................................................ 26

RS232/422/485 P11 – BCT p/n 1371-1426 .................................................................................................. 27

Camera In ..................................................................................................................................................... 27

LCD Options ........................................................................................................................................................ 28

RE3 Introduction

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Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without the prior
permission, in writing, from the publisher. For permission in the UK please contact Blue Chip Technology.

Information offered in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing. Blue Chip Technology
accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies. The information contained herein is subject to change without
notice. There are no express or implied licences granted herein to any intellectual property rights of Blue Chip
Technology Ltd.

Limitations of Liability

In no event shall Blue Chip Technology be held liable for any loss, expenses or damages of any kind
whatsoever, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, arising from the design or use of this product
or the support materials supplied with this product. If this product proves to be defective, Blue Chip Technology
is only obliged to replace or refund the purchase price at Blue Chip Technology's discretion according to their
Terms and Conditions of Sale.

Trademarks

All trademarks and registered names acknowledged.
IBM, PC, AT and PS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
AMD is a registered trademark of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
MSDOS and WINDOWS are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.

RE3 Introduction

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Regulatory Statements

CE
This product has been designed and assessed to meet the essential protection requirements of the European
EMC Directive (2004/108/EC), the Low Voltage Directive (2006/95/EC), and the R&TTE Directive
(1999/5/EC) when installed and used in conjunction with the guidelines provided within this document.

[Note that compliance with the R&TTE directive is only required for those versions of the product equipped
with radio frequency interfaces].

FCC
NOTE:
FCC compliance of product versions equipped with radio frequency interfaces may require specific approval for
the finished products.

WARNING:

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate
the equipment.

Safety Warning for North America

If the power lead (cord) is not supplied with the computer, select a power lead according to your local electrical
regulations. In the USA use a 'UL listed' lead. In Canada use a CSA approved or 'cUL listed' lead.

Si le cordon secteur n'est pas livré avec l'ordinateur, utiliser un cordon secteur en accord avec votre code
electrique nationale. En l'Etat Unis utiliser un cordon secteur 'UL listed'. En Canada utiliser un cordon secteur
certifié CSA, ou 'cUL listed'.

RE3 User Guide Organisation

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Manual Organisation

This manual describes in detail the RE3 Product range.

We have tried to include as much information as possible but we have not duplicated information that is
provided in the standard Technical References, unless it proved to be necessary to aid in the understanding of
the product.

The manual is sectioned as follows:

Introduction;
Overviews, showing outline dimensions;
Layout, showing where the various connectors are located, and their pin-out details;
Firmware Setup
Maintenance details

We strongly recommend that you study this manual carefully before attempting to interface with the RE3 or
change the standard configurations. Whilst all the necessary information is available in this manual we would
recommend that unless you are confident, you contact your supplier for guidance.

IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THE SECTION 'PRECAUTIONS' BEFORE
HANDLING ANY COMPONENTS INSIDE THE UNIT.

If you have any suggestions or find any errors concerning this manual and want to inform us of these, please
contact our Technical Services department with the relevant details.

RE3 Product Summary

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Introduction

The Blue Chip Technology RE3 (BCT-RE3) is the next step in the highly successful RE range of all in one
compact computers.

The BCT-RE3 has multiple CPU options, 1GHz Dual Core and 1GHz Quad Core. Both options are available as
extended temperature product. All RE3s are supplied with 1GB of DDR3 Memory and 1GB of NAND Flash.
Further, additional NAND Flash can be added through an optional μSD Card.

The BCT-RE3 can operate from 7V DC input through to 36V DC input. Power requirements will vary
depending on any LCD panel and other peripherals attached to the RE3.

For example with the Dual 1GHz BCT-RE3 with the U.R.T. UMSH-8173MD-1T 5.7” Combined LCD and
Touch Screen, the operational power requirements will vary between 5.6W for Linux Linaro, at the desktop, up
to 13.5W with applications running CPU, GPU and VDU heavily. Attaching peripherals such as USB will
increase this further.

On its own, the RE3 operates at approximately 3.5/3.6W Dual/Quad CPU without power saving and without
applications running.

The BCT-RE3 has the capability to support a Lithium Battery via connector P14 to retain time and date when
the unit is powered off. Please refer to RTC Battery section for options on using this feature

RE3 Overview

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Functional Overview

The following block diagrams show the I/O and Power Management for the RE3

RE3 Overview

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Specification

• Dual or Quad Cortex A9 CPU

• 1GB DDR3 Memory soldered onboard

• 1GB NAND Flash soldered onboard

• Optional μSD Card NAND Flash Storage

• SATA 3Gbit Socket

• H.264 1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode and 3-D video playback in HD

• Triple Graphics system with a Quad shader 3D unit capable of 200MT/s, separate OpenVG Vertex

acceleration engine

• Two independent video outputs – HDMI and 24 bit LCD

• 10/1001000 Mbit Ethernet including magnetics

• Five USB 2.0 Hosts [ four type A and one header ]

• Single USB 2.0 Device

• Dual RS-232 (1 Full, 1 2-wire)

• Single RS422/485

• Stereo Audio Inputs & Stereo Outputs plus Microphone In

• Battery backed Real-Time Clock

• 12 GPIO lines

• One CAN 2.0 interface

• Utilities connector

• Wide Input Voltage – 7 to 36 volts

o 5V Rail for USB etc limited to 2A draw
o 3.3V for GPIO (if connected) is limited to 2.2A

• power consumption – typically 5.0/5.5 watts Dual/Quad (LCD not included) running application

• Two Camera inputs on UFL connectors

o Supports NTSC M, NTSC J, NTSC 4.43, PAL B/G/H/I/D, PAL M, PAL N, PAL 60
o 10-bit 4x Oversampling (54Msos) ADC with true 10-bit Digital Processing

• Mini PCIe socket supporting

o 2G/3G Modem, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

RE3 Precautions

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General Precautions

Your Single Board Computer is susceptible to damage by electrostatic discharges. In order to avoid damage,
you should work at an anti-static bench and observe normal anti-static precautions. Wear an anti-static wrist
strap connected to an earth point before opening any packaging.

Where a wrist strap is not available, discharge any static charge you may have built-up by touching an earth
point. Avoid any further movement that could build up another static charge. Touch an earth point from time to
time to avoid further build-up, and remove the items from their anti-static bags only when required

Electro-Static Discharges

It is important to realise that the components on the RE3 can be damaged by static electricity. Bear in mind that
the damage caused by static electricity may vary from total destruction to partial damage, which may not be
immediately obvious. This could have an effect on the product’s reliability and warranty. Before handling the
RE3, ensure that you take necessary static precautions. Ideally you should work at an anti-static bench and wear
an approved wrist strap or if that is not possible, touch a suitable ground to discharge any static build up before
touching the electronics. This should be repeated if the handling continues for any length of time.

If it is necessary to move the RE3 around, place it into an anti-static bag. This will prevent any static electricity
build up damaging the board. Metallised bags are preferred. Do not use black anti-static bags for any item
containing a battery because these tend to be conductive and will discharge the battery.

On-Board Battery

The processor board can be fitted with a Lithium battery. Great care should be taken with this type of battery. If
the battery is mistreated in any way there is a very real possibility of fire, explosion, and personal harm. Under
NO circumstances should it be short-circuited, exposed to temperatures in excess of 100°C or burnt, immersed
in water, recharged or disassembled.

Expired batteries remain hazardous and must be disposed of in a safe manner, according to local regulations.

Le panneau de processeur est équipé d’une batterie de lithium. Le grand soin devrait être pris avec ce type de

batterie. Si la batterie est mistreated il y a de dans de toute façon un possibility très vrai du feu, d’expolosion et
de mal personnel. Dans au cunes circonstances il est sous peu circuité, exposé aux températures au dessus de
100 degrés de centrigrade ou brûlé, immergé dans l’eau, rechargée ou dissassambled.

Les batteries expirées restent dazaedous et doivent être reejetées d’une façon sûre, selon des règlements locaux.

Electromagnetic Compatibility

This product has been assessed operating in representative, standard configurations. As with any PC product,
however, final installation & configuration can vary significantly, and so the following guidelines are offered to
help ensure that compatibility is maintained.

All components added to a system should either carry appropriate equivalent levels of compliance, or

be tested for compliance as part of the final system, and should be installed in accordance with supplier
recommendations.

The external enclosure should be securely fastened (with standard lids and covers in place) to ensure

good metal-to-metal contact around the internal electronics

RE3 Precautions

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Any metal back plate must be securely screwed to the chassis of the computer to ensure good metal-to-

metal (i.e. earth) contact.

Metal, screened, connector bodies should be securely connected to the enclosure.
The external cabling to boards causes most EMC problems. It is recommended that any external

cabling to the board be totally screened, and that the screen of the cable connects to the metal end
bracket of the board or the enclosure and hence to earth. Round, screened cables with a braided wire
screen are used in preference to those with a foil screen and drain wire. Wherever possible, use metal
connector shells that connect around the full circumference of the cable screen: they are far superior to
those that earth the screen by a simple “pig-tail”.

The keyboard and mouse will play an important part in the compatibility of the processor card since

they are ports into the board. Similarly, they will affect the compatibility of the complete system. Fully
compatible peripherals must be used otherwise the complete system could be degraded. They may
radiate or behave as if keys/buttons are pressed when subject to interference. Under these
circumstances it may be beneficial to add a ferrite clamp on the leads as close as possible to the
connector. A suitable type is the Chomerics type H8FE-1004-AS.

USB cables should be high quality screened types.
Ensure that the screens of any external cables are bonded to a good RF earth at the remote end of the

cable.

Failure to observe these recommendations may invalidate the EMC compliance

RE3 Installation

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Mechanical Specifications

Outline Dimensions

RE3 Installation

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Connector Locations

Connector

Description

Connector

Description

P1

RJ45 Ethernet

P2

USB-A x 2

P3

0USB-B

P4 / P15

Power Input

P5

Audio

P6

GPIO

P7

Utilities

P8

LCD Video

P10

RS232 (COM3)

P11

RS232 (COM2) and
RS422/485(COM1)

P14

Battery

P16

uSD

P18

SIM Socket

P20

Camera Input #1

P21

Camera Input #2

P25

USB

P26

USB

P27

USB

P30

Fan Connector

J1

SATA

J2

Mini PCI Express

Note: Not all connectors may be fitted
COM2 is a 2 wire device

RE3 Installation

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Connector Details

P1 – Ethernet Connector

Pin

Signal

External Connections

(RJ45)

Comments

1

TD+

1

Transit Data +ve

2

TD-

2

Transit Data –ve

3

CTT

-

Centre Tap Transmit

4

Ground

-

Electrical Ground

5

Ground

-

Electrical Ground

6

CTR

-

Centre Tap Receive

7

RD+

3

Receive Data +ve

8

RD-

6

Receive Data –ve

9

VCC3

-

Pull up to 3.3 volt VCC

10

LNK/#ACT

-

Link/Activity LED

11

SPD100#

-

Speed LED

12

VCC3

-

Pull up to 3.3 volt VCC

13

Ground

-

Electrical Ground

14

Ground

-

Electrical Ground

P2 – Dual USB Connector (Edge of Board)

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

VBUS

+5 volts – Filtered & current limited

2

D1-

USB 1 Data Negative

3

D1+

USB 1 Data Positive

4

Ground

Filtered Electrical ground

5

VBUS

+5 volts – Filtered & current limited

6

D2-

USB 2 Data Negative

7

D2+

USB 2 Data Positive

8

Ground

Filtered Electrical ground

P25, P26, P27 – USB Device

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

VBUS

+5 volts – Filtered & current limited

2

D-

USB 1 Data Negative

3

D+

USB 1 Data Positive

4

Ground

Filtered Electrical ground

P4/P15 – Power in Connector

The RE3 has the option to be powered from either a 2.5/5.5mm Power Jack (P4) or a 2 Pin Screw Terminal
(P15)

P15

Pin 1

Ground

Pin 2

Vcc

RE3 Installation

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P5 – Audio Connector

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

Line Out Right

Audio Output Right Channel

2

Line Out Left

Audio Output Left Channel

3

Audio Ground

Audio Ground

4

Line In Left

Audio In Left Channel

5

Line In Right

Audio In Right Channel

6

Audio Ground

Audio Ground

7

Audio Ground

Audio Ground

8

Microphone IN

Mono Audio Input

P6 – GPIO Connector

The GPIO interface is a flexible, logic-level port providing a mix of dynamically-configured hardware inputs
and outputs. It is designed for use within a chassis with localised electronics. Interfacing to signals which may
pick up noise transients will require buffering and/or conditioning circuits.

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

VCC_GPIO

Reference supply input

2

GPIO 1

Input/output

3

GPIO 2

Input/output

4

GPIO 3

Input/output

5

GPIO 4

Input/output

6

GPIO 5

Input/output

7

GPIO 6

Input/output

8

GPIO 7

Input/output

9

GPIO 8

Input/output

10

GPIO 9

Input/output

11

GPIO 10

Input/output

12

GPIO 11

Input/output

13

CANH

CAN High

14

CANL

CAN Low

15

0V_GPIO

Tied to RE3 circuit ground

The GPIO outputs are designed for flexibility, and will interface to electronics operating with signal levels
between 2.3V & 5.5V DC. The function and direction of the GPIO signals is configured by RE3 software (see
the software manuals for details of GPIO port mappings and configuration).

RE3 Installation

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Basic electrical characteristics are as follows:-

Feature:

Pin(s):

Min:

Max:

Units:

V

CC_GPIO

Supply Voltage

VCC_GPIO

2.3

5.5

V

VIH Input High Voltage

GPIO 1 .. GPIO 11

V

CC_GPIO

– 0.4

V

CC_GPIO

V

VIL Input Low Voltage

GPIO 1 .. GPIO 11

0

0.15

V

VOH Output High Voltage

GPIO 1 .. GPIO 11

V

CC_GPIO

* 0.67

-

V

VOL Output Low Voltage

GPIO 1 .. GPIO 11

-

0.4

V

ICC Supply Current

VCC_GPIO

-

12

µA

Quiescent output current in the high state appears equivalent to a 10K pull-up (short-duration current boosting is
applied, however, during signal transitions to speed up rise/fall times). Optimum performance is achieved with
short cable connections, and minimum capacitive loading on the signal lines.

GPIO VCC

The RE3 provides for the option to provide VCC from the RE3 itself via a solder link LK5.

In order to convert the RE3 to provide GPIO VCC, it is necessary to solder a link across two pads as shown

RE3 Installation

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P7 – Utilities Connector

Power

Wake

1

Power_Off#

8

Wake# / SLEEP_RQ#

2

Ground

9

Ground

Reset

Battery

3

Reset#

10

VBAT

4

Ground

11

Ground

Serial Bus

Setup

5

Serial Clock

12

Boot MODE#

6

Serial Data

13

Ground

7

Ground

P10 – RS232 Full Connector

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

XDCD3#

COM 3 Data Carrier Detect

2

XRX3

COM 3 RX

3

XTX3

COM 3 TX

4

XDTR3#

COM 3 Data Terminal Ready

5

0 volts

Electrical ground

6

XDSR3#

COM 3 Data Send Ready

7

XRTS3#

COM 3 Ready To Send

8

XCTS3#

COM 3 Clear to Send

9

XRI#

COM 3 Ring indicator

10

+5 volts

Fused voltage rail

P11 – RS232 & RS422/485 Connector

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

0 volts

Electrical ground

2

RS232 RX

COM 2

3

RS232 TX

COM 2

4

+5 volts

Fused voltage rail

5

0 volts

Through 10K pull down

6

VCC

Through 10K pull up

7

Termination

120R + 100nF link to pin 10

8

CRX1N

9

CRX1N

Same signal as pin 8

10

CRX1P

11

CTX1N

12

CTX1P

With COM1 RS422/RS485 operation in a multi drop network, the Transmit Line is only enabled when the DTR
line is enabled. Refer to the CE 6 User guide for more details

RE3 Installation

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P8 – Video Connector

Mating Part FFC 0.5mm Pitch 50Way

Pin

Signal

Comments

1

0 volts

Electrical ground

2

XL

Touchscreen Data

3

YD

Touchscreen Data

4

XR

Touchscreen Data

5

YU

Touchscreen Data

6

0 volts

Electrical ground

7

LCD_PWM2

PWM Brightness Control 2

8

LCD_PWM1

PWM Brightness Control 1

9

0 volts

Electrical ground

10

SDA

I2C Data

11

SCL

I2C Clock

12

0 volts

Electrical ground

13

D0

Blue 0

14

D1

Blue 1

15

D2

Blue 2

16

D3

Blue 3

17

D4

Blue 4

18

D5

Blue 5

19

D6

Blue 6

20

D7

Blue 7

21

0 volts

Electrical ground

22

D8

Green 0

23

D9

Green 1

24

D10

Green 2

25

D11

Green 3

26

D12

Green 4

27

D13

Green 5

28

D14

Green 6

29

D15

Green 7

30

0 volts

Electrical ground

31

D16

Red 0

32

D17

Red 1

33

D18

Red 2

34

D19

Red 3

35

D20

Red 4

36

D21

Red 5

37

D22

Red 6

38

D23

Red 7

39

0 volts

Electrical ground

40

VSYNC

First line Marker

41

HSYNC

Line Pulse

42

ACBIAS

Display Enable

43

0 volts

Electrical ground

44

PCLK

Pixel clock

45

EN_PANL

Enable Panel

46

EN_LITE

Enable Backlight

47

0 volts

Electrical ground

48

NC

No Connection

49

VIN

Raw Power input

50

VIN

Raw Power input

RE3 Installation

Page | 19

P30 – Fan Connector

Mating part is Molex 87439-0200 1.5mm PICO-SPOX

P30

Pin 1

Vcc_5V

Pin 2

Ground/ FanPWM

Pin 2 is switched ground with a flyback diode incorporated, to absorb the back EMF from a fan motor. The
output can be operated as a digital output (high or low) or as a PWM signal. The fan is driven from the PIC
microcontroller, by sending an I2C command from the i.MX6 to the PIC.

Command code 0x09 sets the fan speed with a single byte parameter. 0 = OFF, 255 = ON, 1-254 = PWM
Command code 0x0a returns the current fan speed.

Example - turn fan on
i2cset -y -f 2 0x56 9 0xFF

Example - turn fan off
i2cset -y -f 2 0x56 9 0

P20/P21 – Camera Input

Mating part is ufl

P20 / P21

Pin 1

Antenna

Pin 2, 3

Ground

RTC Battery

The RM3 provides a real-time clock (RTC) that can preserve the time when main power is off, by adding a
backup battery.

This section describes the options for using this feature.

Battery specification

The battery supply is provided to the RM3 through the VBATT connection (J4, pin 56).
The battery voltage needs to be in the range 3.6V to 3.0V and therefore a Lithium - manganese dioxide "Li-Mn"
battery like a CR2032 can be used.
The RM3 does not offer the ability to charge a battery or super-capacitor, so rechargeable lithium batteries are
not suitable.

Current consumption

The RTC is part of the SNVS block on the i.MX6, which also includes other logic and non-volatile storage. As a
result, the current consumption (max. 275uA) is considerably higher than might be expected for a RTC alone.
No current is drawn from the VBATT supply when the main RM3 power is on.

RE3 Installation

Page | 20

Applications

The relatively high battery current consumption may be important depending on the application.
When using a CR2032 battery, a simple calculation shows that the RTC may be able to hold up for around 34
days without the main power:
Based on CR2032 typical capacity of 225mAh
225mAh / 275uA = 818h
818/24 = 34.09 days

This might not be suitable for some applications, if main power is unavailable frequently or for long periods. In
such cases, we recommend the use of a separate RTC on the host board, such as DS1339

http://www.maximintegrated.com/en/products/digital/real-time-clocks/DS1339U.html

This device has a typical backup current consumption of less than 1uA and should last for several years with a
CR2032 battery (using the same calculation as above). It also has a built-in charging circuit, and can be used
with a rechargeable battery or a super capacitor.
When using a separate RTC on the host board, the RM3 VBATT signal can be left unconnected.

RE3 Installation

Page | 21

Thermal Considerations

The RE3 is offered with two operating temperature variants: Standard (up to 70˚C) and Extended (up to 85˚C).
Note: These temperatures are LOCAL to the PCB and NOT Room or Enclosure ambient which may be a lot
lower.

It is important to understand the operating environment in which the RE3 will operate, in order to choose the
most suitable variant.

To aid in determining whether a heatsink and forced airflow is required, under Linaro, the following command
can be used to read the IMX6 temperature in degrees Celsius

 Cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp

The extended temperature IMX6 has a maximum core temperature of 125˚, while with the standard version it is
105˚. At around 89˚C, the CPU will start to throttle back in order to protect itself.

For example, with the Dual Core Extended temperature unit, in open air, on the bench with no heatsink or
cooling [with no peripherals attached and HDMI output only, the power will be around 3.5W], the temperature
of the core will be around 32˚C above room ambient at the Linaro desktop. With airflow of around 5CFM, the
core will drop to around 22˚C above ambient.

Fitting the heatsink designed by Blue Chip has the effect of giving a core temperature of 18 ˚C above ambient
and with airflow of around 5CFM, this drops to around 12˚C above ambient

The IMX6 core temperature is only one factor when designing the RE3 into an enclosure. It is just as important
to ensure that the local ambient around the PCB does not exceed the maximum rated for the particular variant.
For instance, if the enclosure design is such that the maximum local ambient to the PCB is 20˚C above the room
ambient, then for a Standard variant product, the complete enclosure would have a maximum room operating
temperature of 40˚C [assuming that the RE3 is the limiting factor, which with some LCD’s and other peripherals
may not be the case].

For more information please refer to the RE3Thermal Design Considerations document.

RE3 Heatsink

A passive heatsink has been produced for use with the RE3 and it is attached to the RE3 as below.

RE3 Firmware

Page | 22

System Software

Operating Systems Supported

Linux
Android
Windows EC 2013 (release date to be advised)

General Purpose I/O

There are 11 General Purpose I/O lines available.

SYSFS

The recommended way to access the GPIO is using the SYSFS interface. This can be done using the command line
(or scripts), or can be done from inside an application.

The Linux GPIO documentation can be found here:

https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/gpio/sysfs.txt

This web page also has some useful examples:

http://falsinsoft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/access-gpio-from-linux-user-space.htm

GPIO Mapping for RE3

The mapping between RE3 numbered GPIOs and the SYSFS names is shown below:

RE3 Signal

SYSFS name

CONN_GPIO1

gpio4

CONN_GPIO2

gpio106

CONN_GPIO3

gpio25

CONN_GPIO4

gpio28

CONN_GPIO5

gpio27

CONN_GPIO6

gpio26

CONN_GPIO7

gpio30

CONN_GPIO8

gpio29

CONN_GPIO9

gpio107

CONN_GPIO10

gpio6

CONN_GPIO11

gpio47

RE3 Firmware

Page | 23

Bootloader Firmware

Refer to the relevant BCT RE3 Linux/Android User Guide for more details on configuring the RE3 bootloader. The
following is a quick summary of how to setup the correct display output.

This is achieved via the debug port connected to a control PC running a terminal emulator such as PUTTY.

When the unit is powered on, press the space bar on the terminal emulator. This will provide a prompt.

For example, to setup dual output 7.1”LCD/1020p HDMI enter

>setenv video_args 'mxcfb0:dev=lcd,URT8173,if=RGB24 video=mxcfb1:dev=hdmi,1920x1080M@60,if=RGB24'

then save it by

>saveenv

Other common outputs would be

>setenv video_args 'mxcfb0:dev=hdmi,1920x1080M@60,if=RGB24'

(HDMI output only)

>setenv video_args 'mxcfb0:dev=lcd,URT8089,if=RGB24'

(5.7” LCD 640x480 only)

RE3 History

Page | 24

Maintenance

The RE3 Computer should not require any regular maintenance.

Amendment History

Issue Level

Issue Date

Author

Amendment Details

0.1

May 2014

Tmck

Prototype release

1.0

Added Thermal Management notes and cable details

1.1

June 2014

Updated Mating Connector info

1.2

June 2014

Updated outline drawing and added CMOS battery
update

1.3

Feb 2015

Added control details on Fan connector P30

Contact Details

Blue Chip Technology Ltd.
Chowley Oak
Tattenhall
Chester
CH3 9EX
U.K.
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

www.bluechiptechnology.co.uk

Single Board Computer Sales

[e-mail]

Rack mount/ Industrial PC Sales

[e-mail]

Data and IO Sales

[e-mail]

Technical Support*

[e-mail]

Returns**

[e-mail]

* To use the Support email address requires the sender to be first registered on the Support Web site at

http://support.bluechiptechnology.co.uk/

**To request a Returns Authorisation number, use the RMA portal at

Http://rma.bluechiptechnology.co.uk

RE3 Appendix

Page | 25

Cable Options

Cable assembly drawings for Blue Chip cable options can be provided on request by contacting Technical
Support via the help desk at support.bluechiptechnology.co.uk

Audio P7 – BCT p/n 1371-1421

Mating part is Molex 51021-0800

GPIO P6 – BCT p/n 1371-1422

Mating part is Molex 51021-1500

RE3 Appendix

Page | 26

Utility P7 – BCT p/n 1371-1423

Mating part is Molex 51021-1300

RS232 P10 – BCT p/n 1371-1425

Mating part is 3M 152210-0100-GB

RE3 Appendix

Page | 27

RS232/422/485 P11 – BCT p/n 1371-1426

Mating part is Molex 51021-1200

Camera In

To connect to the UFL connection on the RE3, the following cable and adapter are available

Ufl-BNC – BCT p/n 1371-1603 BNC-Phono – BCT p/n 1475-1013

RE3 Appendix

Page | 28

LCD Options

The RE3 can be supplied with a LCD as an assembly to aid integration into the customers design. Please check
with Blue Chip Technology Sales for details of which panels and assemblies are offered.

The following shows details for an assembly including the URT UMSH-8173MD-1T 7.1” display with touch
screen.

The parts can be provided already assembled or as a kit of parts for integration into a final design. The following
gives a brief outline on how the kit is assembled

Step 1: attach display to the metal frame

First add the strips of VHB adhesive as shown on the left. The picture on the right shows the addition of a
insulator which will prevent the electronics on the back of the display from shorting to the metalwork.

The display is then carefully pushed onto the metal
frame, with the touch screen cable and inverter cable
placed into the openings provided in the frame

RE3 Appendix

Page | 29

Step 2 connect the Personality Module

There are two FFC cables required. The one on the left connects the display to the Personality Module, while the
one on the right connects the Personality Module to the RE3.

Before assembly they should be carefully folded to aid integration. Badly routed cables can affect EMC

Attach the display FFC first then position the RE3 cable next as this will be routed under the Personality
Module.

Attach the Personality Module and connect the cables as
appropriate.

Step 3 attach the RE3 and heatsink

Before fitting the RE3 check that the mounting pillars
provided are of a suitable height as they are intended for
instances where no mini PCI Express cards are fitted. If
such a card is fitted to the RE3 then higher pillars may
be required to avoid shorting of components between the
Personality Module and the Card.

Models of the assembly can be provided to aid design of enclosures. Please contact Blue chip Sales for more
information.

RE3 Appendix

Page | 30

Outline Dimensions for RE3 + 8173 Assembly