Ssd conversion module

How would i go about adding m.2 2230 in uconsole
Any jedi master wanting to help padwon out here

USB to m.2 adapter would be the only way I can see to do it.

And it’s not even USB3, right? So probably wouldn’t be taking much advantage of an m.2 SSD anyway.

yep, USB2, so you’d have more endurance then a sd card it’ll be the same speed.

1 Like

Emmc to M.2 adapter? I haven’t looked at the pins to see if this is even possible, so just a thought to start a conversation. Maybe a little flying lead micro-soldering needed.

The EMMC on the CM4 is capped at USB2 speeds as well.

There goes that idea. Seems like there should be some pci lanes idle on there somewhere.

The CM4 has PCIE but it’s not broken out on the adapter board.

If not being used, then a very careful flying lead off of the connectors to an nmve drive might be possible and supported. I think it was only 2 lanes of pcie2, but I might be wrong.

Are any of the CM4 breakouts that have a pcie slot open hardware so we can see how they implemented the connection? There must be some glue needed between the cm4 and a pci slot. Level shifter, buffer, isolation device, etc.

The official CM4 IO board has a PCIE slot and is fully open and has KiCAD files available. you can see how it’s connected there. If you’re brave you might be able to rig on up with some bodge wires and a whole lot of luck.

Time will be my enemy, never enough of it. The pitch on the connectors will make it difficult, but not impossible to solder.

Real time clock is more of a priority to me, I have the modules, just never got one fitted to my Devterm yet. I was going to solder to the serial lines for the printer. One of these days.

I realise that there is no gain to be had in speed increase if I went the USB2 to m.2 route to add some internal storage to my uConsole to run the OS from. I’m more interested in the better durability over a standard SD Card. Does anyone have any recommendations on types of adapter to use or avoid?

Ultimately, implementing a PCIE slot from the CM4 would be really useful to get that gain in speed, and open up options for other peripherals. I have some experience in PCB design, but like others (lack of) time is my biggest enemy, so would probably have to be a squeeze some time over Christmas type project. Hence asking about USB2 options in the meantime.

I have tried one of the RaspPiKey eMMC devices in the TF slot, but for me it didn’t fit. The larger part of the key that accommodates the eMMC chip prevents the key from being fully inserted. Saying that, my TF slot seems quite recessed as I need to use assistance to retrieve a standard SD card once it is inserted. Anyway, I digress.

I saw a cm4 “sandwich” board recently for a fancy precision clock module that was designed to be installed between a cm4 and the carrier board. I posted a link on the discord in one of the hardware channels. Seems like you’d be able to break out the pcie that way along with some other io.

One I got so happy when u posted this then I seen the price dear lorddddddddd



Is this possible ? I have no idea about anything I’m just problem solver

It’s a pretty specialized piece of hardware, but I like the sandwich design and I haven’t seen it used anywhere else. I don’t have any actual pcb design experience, but it seems like if you dumbed it down to just the cm4 connectors and a few breakouts for pins that aren’t populated on the clockworkpi adapter board, it should be fairly easy and inexpensive to produce.

1 Like

UART is not USB, but if you wanted to add a GPS receiver that might be a good spot.

What about the 4g slot?
That ist a USB interface? I am pretty sure it’s usb 3.0 and that could work better for an SSD interface

there’s 2 USB ports exposed on the interface but they’re only USB 2.0.