Hi Iain !

Try looking at the SBCs from Advantech. http://www.advantech.com They have several that include sound as well as ethernet, LCD and the rest of the standard interfaces. I have never tried PD on one, but did try the sound under Windows once. Advantech also has things like Flashdisks so you can use a standard operating system, but still no moving parts. Just don't expect the flash file system to be too fast. I have used several SBCs from Advantech for measurement systems and also as communications and file servers and they have all run reliably using both Windows and Linux.

If you really need sealed enclosures your biggest problem will probably be getting the heat out. Even the so called low-power processor on the board I have gets quite hot. I have seen custom made housings with deep ribbing on both the inside and the outside for this type of application, but you then need a ventilator _in_ the housing to spread the heat evenly over the entire surface. Check the life expectancy of the ventilator at higher temperatures, 50° or 60°C. The life expectancy is normally only given at room temp. Inside the housing it will be very warm and when the bearing grease starts to flow you can imagine what happens.

Good luck with your project, I hope I could help you some.

regards, Don

============================ Donald W. Corson Quartier de la Prairie 15bis CH-1400 Yverdon-les-Bains Switzerland E-mail: dcorson@iname.com tel&fax 0041 24 426 0728 ============================

Was wondering if anyone on the list had used a “single board computer” for a Pd application (or similar)? I’m researching a project that requires a number of computers running Pd for long-term operation in potentially high heat conditions ie. outdoors in sealed enclosures. The system needs to run for years with little maintenance.

What I need is a computer with: an embedded operating system and no hard disk, Pd, mono audio in, stereo out, Ethernet (perhaps), and serial comm. Would like a system that requires no fans or ventilation – also, if possible, with a relational database such as PostgreSQL or MySQL running (I can probably write my own simple database if instability of dedicated database applications becomes an issue). The machine will also need quite a bit of RAM for temporary storage of PCM data – perhaps up to a Gig – but a couple of hundred might be okay. The system doesn’t require a GUI for operation.

If anyone has any experience with this type of thing and has some suggestions – it would be great to hear from you. I’m new to this kind of hardware so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers & a tardy ‘happy new year’

Iain _________________________ Iain Mott phone: 03 9639 2959 mob: 0403 989470 email: mott@reverberant.com http://www.reverberant.com