Acura Embedded PowerBrick 30 Manual

							
PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual 
PowerBrick 
 
User’s Manual 
Edition 3.0 
  
 
Small footprint rugged Intel® Core™ Duo   
                                                                                               Industrial Computer      
 Disclaimer  Acura Embedded Systems Inc. takes every care in the 
preparation of this document, but no guarantee is given as 
to the correctness of its contents. Our products are under 
continual improvement and we reserve the right to make 
changes without notice. The manufacturer makes no 
representations or warranties with respect to the contents 
hereof and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of 
merchantability or fitness for  any particular purpose. The 
manufacturer reserves the right to revise this publication 
and to make changes from time to time in the content 
hereof without obligation of the manufacturer to notify any 
person of such revision or changes
. 
In general, the manufacturer will not be liable for loss of 
data or other direct, indirect, special, incidental or 
consequential dam ages arising from the use or inability to 
use the product or documentat ion, even if advised of the 
possibility of such damages.        
						

							
PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual  Preface Copyright  The material in this document is the intellectual property of Acura 
Embedded Systems Inc. This publication, including all 
photographs, illustrations and software, is protected under 
international copyright laws, with all rights reserved. Neither this 
manual, nor any of the material contained herein, may be 
reproduced without written cons ent of Acura Embedded Systems 
Inc.  Version 3.0  Trademark Recognition   Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of 
Microsoft Corp. IBM PC is a registered trademark of International Business 
Machines Corporation. Intel, MMX, Pentium, Pentium-II,  Pentium-III, Pentium-4, Celeron, 
Core™ Duo are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. AWARD is a registered trademark of AWARD International Inc. Other product names used in this manu al are the properties of their 
respective owners and are acknowledged       
 
Table of Content 
 
1. OVERVIEW............................................................................................ 
1 
2.INSTALLATION...................................................................................... 
2 
    2.1 CONTENTS OF THE COMPUTER BOX ......................................... 
2 
    2.2 CONNECTING CABLES AND GETTING STARTED ...................... 
2 
    2.3 MOUNTING IN YOUR VEHICLE (FINAL LOCATION) .................... 
4 
    2.4 MOUNTING TOOLS........................................................................ 
4 
    2.5 COMPUTER INSTALLATION .......................................................... 
4 
3. TECHNICAL INFORMATION ........................................................ ........ 
5 
    3.1 BIOS SETUP .................................................................................... 
5 
    3.2 OPERATING SYSTEMS .................................................................. 
6 
    3.3 OPERATING SYSTEM RESTORE PROCESS ............................... 
6 
    3.4 WINDOWS EMBEDDED XP ............................................................ 
7 
    3.5 LINUX EMBEDDED .......................................................................... 
7 
    3.6 APPLICATION SOFTWARE ............................................................. 
7 
    3.7 SPECIFICATIONS FOR POWERBRICK .......................................... 
7 
    3.8 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE................................................. 
8 
    3.9 WARNING ......................................................................................... 
9 
    3.9A POWER BRICK WIRING DIAGRAM. ............................................. 
9 
4. CONTACT NFORMATION......................................................................... 10
 
  
						

							
PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual 1.  Overview The PowerBrick is a Intel® Core™ Duo  system with 1.8 GHz processor 
speed. This small, rugged and powerf ul computer is the premium choice 
when desktop computer performance is  required in industrial computing 
applications. Small size does not  necessarily mean limitations in 
computing power. The state-of-the-art PowerBrick comes loaded with an impressive video 
card, fast hard drive (optionally flash drive) and memory, all at a 
competitive price. It is designed and built for great performance in a variety 
of applications and environments.  The design focuses on elements 
essential for industrial use wile excluding unneccesary hardware. The 
architecture is modular which allows for easy upgrading and expansions. Areas of applications include: 
•   Fire engines and rescue vehicles •  Security and patrol vehicles •  Other emergency or public safety vehicles • Cash carriers •  Seaport terminal container yard management • Fleet management 
The main features are: 
•  Intel® Core™ Duo  processor (1.8 GHz) •  Standard 2.5” hard disk, 80GB •  1 GB DDR2 RAM •  4 x RS232 Port •  4 x USB 2.0 Port •  2 x On-board 10/100/1000 LAN Port •  1 x Compact flash II Port • Audio Jacks •  Built-in 8~30 VOLT DC •  Ignition controller (optional) •  Embedded OS (optional) •  Wireless 802.11g (optional) • GSM/GPRS/WiFi/CDMA/CDPD options • GPS/AVL options •  Dimensions: 7.6” x 5”  x 4.13” (W x L x H)  For installation, mounting and cable connections please see 
Section 2. Technical informati on is available in Section 3.        
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2. Installation 2.1  Contents of the Computer Box  
 
 Figure 2.1 Box major components  In the box you will find the following items: PowerBrick computer, power 
plug, mounting plate equipped with rubber suspension, 4 bolts  If you have purchased Windows or Linux operating system with your 
computer, these CD’s should be includ ed. Keep them in a safe place.  Please see your separate monitor packaging for installation and other 
information for the touch screen monitor.  Do not turn power on until you have read the next section and 
all cables are connected.  2.2  Connecting Cables and Getting Started In order to get familiar with your system before mounting it at your vehicle 
(or final location), we suggest you look at the connections on both ends of 
the computer such as shown in Figs. 2.2 and 2.3, connect up the unit, and 
place it into operation.       
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PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual   
 
                                                      Figure 2.2: Front side of PowerBrick  
Connect all applicable cables such as:  • Keyboard • Mouse • Monitor •  Power supply cable  
 
Optional device cables or units t hat you provide yourself could 
include the following:  •  USB cable •  Speaker and microphone cables •  RJ45 Ethernet TP cable •  RS232 Serial port cable • Ignition controller 
                         
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Ignition control 
RS232 COM Port4                                 
 
   Figure  2.3 : Back side of PowerBrick  After connecting all applicable cables it is safe to power-on the system. 
(Warning: use only DC from the dedicated power supply) 2.3 Mounting in your vehicle or final location This chapter provides you with the in formation of fixed system mounting. 
Prior to that, please prepare the instal lation tools and appropriate items. If 
you are not clear about the items, contact your dealer for information. 2.4 Mounting  tools For mounting your computer in a vehicle you need the following tools: 
•  Ranch  • Screw driver • Drill •  Bolts and nuts appropriate to mount the plate in your vehicle 
2.5 Computer  installation Mounting screws or bolts and nuts for mounting to your specific vehicle are 
not provided, as there are many variat ions of thickness that the unit might 
be mounted to. If mounting in a vehicle that is subject to vibration and 
shock, It Is important to use the  mounting plate with attached shock 
absorbers where vibration could occur. The mounting plate should be 
fastened tightly with bolts and nuts.  Please ensure that if you mount any 
bolts/nuts under the computer, that they  do not touch the computer itself. 
Otherwise, the shock absorbers will  not protect the computer properly. 
 
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  RS232 COM Po
rt3
RS232 COM Port2 RS232 COM Port1
VGA Port Audio Jacks Ethernet Port1Ethernet Port2
GPS/WiFi/CDMA  
Antenna4 x USB 2.0 Port Keyboard/Mouse Compact Flash II DC Input  Main Power 
Power Button Power LEDHD LED  
						

							
PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual 
 
Figure 2.4: Rubber-Mounting plate  Connect all final wiring in a neat way, fastening it down with tie 
straps or other means to ensure  that it does not get caught and 
broken accidentally. Your car electr ician will know appropriate ways 
to do this. 3. Technical Information 3.1 BIOS Setup The single board computer uses the AMI BIOS (
Basic 
Input/
Output 
System) for the system configuration. The AMI BIOS in the single board 
computer is a customized version of  the industrial standard BIOS for IBM 
PC AT-compatible computers. It supports Intel x86 and compatible CPU 
architecture based processors and comp uters. The BIOS provides critical 
low-level support for the system  central processing, memory and I/O 
sub-systems. The BIOS setup program  of the single board computer let 
the customers modify the basic configuration setting. The settings are 
stored in a dedicated battery-backed memory, NVRAM, retains the 
information when the power is turned  off. If the battery runs out of the 
power, then the settings of BIOS will come back to the default setting. The 
BIOS section of the manual is subj ect to change without notice and is 
provided here for reference purpose only. The settings and configurations 
of the BIOS are current at the time  of print, and therefore they may not be 
exactly the same as that displayed  on your screen. To activate CMOS 
Setup program, press  key immediately after you turn on the 
system. The following message “Press DEL to enter SETUP” should 
appear in the lower left hand corner  of your screen. When you enter the 
CMOS Setup Utility, the Main Menu will  be displayed as in Table 3.2. You 
can use arrow keys to select your function, press  key to accept 
selection and enter the sub-menu.   
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Table 3.1:  AMI BIOS CMOS Setup Utility 3.2 Operating  Systems The PowerBrick will generally be provided with a preinstalled operating 
system such as Windows XP Professional, Embedded or Linux. To restore 
the operating system, follow the proc edure outlined in 3.4. You can also 
use an external CD-ROM drive to change,  reinstall or repair the operating 
system through a USB 2.0 port. 
 
3.3. Operating System Restore Process 
1.  Back up your existing drive C: files. 2.  Restart the computer. 3.  Hold down the F8 key to enter Windows Advanced Boot Menu  options. 4.  Select “Return to OS Choices” and press “Enter”. 5.  Select “Quick Restore Option”, press “Enter” and follow the instructions. 6.  After re-boot, Click on the “Touchware”  Icon on desktop to Calibrate the touch screen by following  the instructions.       
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PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual 3.4 Windows XP Embedded If you want to reinstall Windows XP  Embedded, boot the computer, place 
the CD-ROM labeled “Windows XP Embedded Recovery” into the external 
CD-ROM drive, presses RESET and follow the instructions on the screen. 
We recommend that this be done by experienced computer users only. 3.5 Linux Embedded If you want to install Linux, boot t he computer, place the CD-ROM labeled 
“Acura Embedded Linux” into the external CD-ROM drive, press RESET 
and follow the instructions on the screen. Note: this should only be done by 
an advanced user who has experience with Linux. 3.6 Application Software You should be able to run all normal/generic application software such as 
Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe software etc. if you have 
Windows installed. See the relevant manual/help guides for the specific 
software. For Linux you will have to specifically select software designed 
for Linux. Acura is not responsible for failure of any software on your 
computer but if you have any particular software needs, please call Acura 
Technical Support or email 
[email protected]
. 
 3.7. Specifications for Power Brick Table 3.2: Input/Output  
15 Pin VGA 
1 
PS/2  Keyboard & Mouse 
1  
RS232 Serial Port 
4 
USB 2.0 
4 
RJ45 Gigabit  Ethernet Port 
2 
Compact Flash II 
1 
Audio Jacks 
1 
Ignition controller (optional) 
1 
GPS/WiFi/CDMA antenna  (optional) 
1 
8 ~ 30V DC Power Jack 
1 
    
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Table 3.3: System Features  Processor 
Intel® Core™ Duo  processor (1.8 GHz) 
System FSB 
667 MHz 
Memory 
533MHz/667MHz DDR2 SO-DIMM up to 1GB  
Video 
Integrated Intel® Extreme 945GM Graphic, support 
64MB DVMT  
Audio 
Audio Jacks
 
Hard Disk 
Standard 2.5” SATA hard disk, 80GB 
CD-ROM 
None 
LAN 
Two Broadcom PCIe GbE controllers
 
USB 2.0 
Integrated 4 independent OH CI controller supporting 
USB 1.1 ports; Integrat ed 1 EHCI controller 
supporting USB 2.0 ports; Dynamic connection 
support to USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 devices 
Hardware Monitor 
System temperature, volt age and fan speed monitor. 
Auto Thermal fan speed control 
Power 
Management 
ACPI 1.0b compliance and OS direct power 
management, Wake-on event: RTC/USB 
Keyboard/Modem/LAN/Keyboard/Mouse 
Dimensions 
7.60“X 5“ x4.13“ (W x L x H) 
Power  
8 ~ 30V DC 
   3.8 Operation and maintenance This module requires no routine maintenance. The green LED indicator 
when lit indicates proper operation and health. The power supply must be protected by a 15A auto fuse on the input line 
from the vehicle battery.        
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PowerBrick                                                                                                                                                                                                          Quick Reference Manual  3.9 Warning  Before power up the computer, make sure all cables connected to the 
computer and  the monitor.  WARNING First hookup all cables then turn on computer powerSwitch. Make sure monitor power led on or blinking .
 
 
 
3.9A Power Brick Wiring Diagram 
 
 
page  9 
  With the unique set of products, Acura Embedded Systems remains 
committed to its goal of providing  trouble-free and customer-friendly 
service. A special customer service unit has been set up specifically to 
cater to our esteemed customers needs. Technical Support:  
•  Phone:  1-866-502-9666 • Email: 
[email protected]
 
Mail address: Acura Embedded Systems Inc.  
Unit #1, 7711-128th Street Surrey, BC V3W 4E6 CANADA 
 Ph: (604) 502-9666   Fax: (604) 502-9668          
 
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