[OZAPRS] APRS computer power consumption

[James Cameron]

On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 10:55:47AM +1100, Steve wrote:
> I've been following the power thread and can't remember if anyone's
> mentioned all those devices that use the Marvell ARM chipset.

I agree, they are cool.  As one of our engineers said, it's the first
time he hasn't burned the chip manufacturer's logo into his fingers
during thermal testing.

I'm in engineering team at One Laptop per Child for one such device, we
meet with Marvell weekly and they give us funding.

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO-1.75

The prototype on my desk ... 3.09W idle ... 470mA at 6.58V.  Roughly 1W
of that is the LCD LED backlight!  The battery we use is 6.5V 3.1Ah
LiFePo4.

We're trying for an X based Linux, not Android.  The target market is
rural and remote schools, where power supplies are not easy to obtain.

We're pondering an AM/FM software configurable receiver chip in the next
cycle ... to use radio over long range for broadcast delivery of
digital learning content, at a low bit rate.

Using an ARM for APRS would be easy.

-- 
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/