3.5-inch RK3399K SBC breaks out with mini-PCIe and dual M.2

3.5-inch RK3399K SBC breaks out with mini-PCIe and dual M.2

Nov 12, 2021 — by Eric Brown

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Kontron’s 3.5”-SBC-R39 board provides a 2.0GHz, hexa-core RK3399K with up to 4GB soldered LPDDR4, up to 32GB eMMC, 2x GbE, 5x USB, DP, HDMI 2.0, mini-PCIe, and M.2 B- and E-key slots.

Rockchip’s RK3399 has been seen on several Pico-ITX boards based on Rockchip’s RK3399, such as IEI’s Hyper-RK39, and many smaller SBC’s such as the Orange Pi 4 and over a dozen others in our catalog of 150 Linux hacker boards. Now, Kontron has released what appears to be the first 3.5-inch model. The 146 x 105mm 3.5”-SBC-R39 offers a choice of standard RK3399 with dual 1.8GHz Cortex-A72 and 4x 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 cores or the RK3399K, which ups the clock to 2.0GHz and 1.6GHz, respectively. Kontron used the RK3399K on its fA3399 SMARC module.

3.5”-SBC-R39, front and back
(click images to enlarge)

In other Kontron news, the German embedded firm announced on EENews Europe that it will launch a Raspberry Pi CM4-based upgrade to its recently announced, Raspberry Pi CM3+ based Pi-Tron CM3+ SBC. The company also recently announced it is extending software support for its similarly industrial controller and CODESYS oriented PiXtend boards, which are based on the Raspberry Pi 3 and 3+. The new software includes logi.CAD 3 from logi.cals and the Spider Control I4.0 Integration Suite from iniNet.

Kontron’s 3.5”-SBC-R39 is offered with Android 7.1, although you should have little trouble running Linux distributions. The board is aimed at entertainment, digital signage, facial recognition, smart retail, smart classroom, smart office, and industrial applications.

3.5”-SBC-R39
(click image to enlarge)

The board is aimed primarily at the EMEA and APAC markets. When we noticed the product page link did not work for us here in the US, Kontron told us the SBC was not being “published” in the North America. Yet, they subsequently informed us the product page had been made visible here.

The 3.5”-SBC-R39 ships with 2GB or 4GB soldered LPDDR4 plus 16GB or 32GB eMMC. Dual display capability is provided via 4K-ready HDMI, DP, and eDP plus HD-ready LVDS. There is no camera support, but you get multiple audio headers.

3.5”-SBC-R39 detail views and block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The SBC is equipped with 2x GbE, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB 3.0), 2x USB 2.0, and an OTG port plus additional USB 2.0, serial, and GPIO via headers. For expansion, there is mini-PCIe slot and M.2 B- and E-key slots plus a SIM slot. Other features include 2.4GHz WiFi and BT 4.2 plus a crypto chip, watchdog, RTC, and a 13-20VDC input.

Specifications listed for the 3.5”-SBC-R39 include:

• Processor — Rockchip RK3399 or RK3399K (2x Cortex-A72 @ up to 1.8GHz or 2.0GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores @ up to 1.4GHz or 1.6GHz); Mali-T864 GPU
• Memory:
  • 2GB or 4GB soldered LPDDR4
  • 16GB or 32GB eMMC
  • MicroSD slot
• Networking:
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet port (Realtek RTL8211E and RTL8153B)
  • 2.4GHz 802.11n with Bluetooth 4.2 (Ampak AP6236)
  • Wireless options via mini-PCIe and M.2 B- and E-key (see expansion)
• Media I/O:
  • HDMI 2.0a port for up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
  • DisplayPort for up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
  • eDP for up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz
  • 24-bit, dual-channel LVDS for up to 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz
  • Dual display support
  • Audio line in, out, and mic headers (Realtek ALC5651)
  • 2x speaker headers (3W), SPDIF
• Other I/O:
  • 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports
  • 2x USB 2.0 ports
  • Micro-USB OTG port
  • 2x USB 2.0 headers
  • 2x RS-232 headers
  • 8-bit GPIO
  • Front-panel and fan headers
• Expansion:
  • Mini-PCIe slot (full-size with PCIe x1, USB 2.0)
  • M.2 E-key 2230 slot (PCIe x1, USB 2.0)
  • M.2 B-key 3042 slot (USB 3.0)
  • SIM card slot for B-key
• Other features — Watchdog timer (STM8S103 MCU); RTC; Microchip ATSHA204A crypto chip
• Power — 13-20VDC or 12VDC Phoenix connector input
• Operating temperature — -10 to 60°C with 0-95% humidity tolerance
• Dimensions — 146 x 105mm; 3.5-inch form factor
• Operating system — Android 7.1

Further information

The 3.5”-SBC-R39 is available now, with pricing undisclosed. More information may be found in Kontron’s announcement and product page.