This is a part of the uConsole hardware directory and has been made its own post to make room for more content in there. Feel free to suggest corrections or clarifications.
Adapter boards
The ClockworkPi v3.14 mainboard at least until the fifth revision is essentially a miniaturized I/O breakout for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module slot (which is the same slot as was used for DDR2 SO-DIMMs, though they are not remotely pin-compatible). There is a handy chart explaining the v3.14 SO-DIMM pinout.
The Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 introduced a different socket which was then adopted by its successor the Compute Module 5. Some other brands’ system-on-module offerings also use the new socket. Because the signals didn’t really change, just the wiring, a simple PCB can route the lines from the mainboard to a CM4, and that’s what ClockworkPi’s adapter board does, also compatible with the CM5.
@lululvlv’s CM5 adapter board as part of their NVMe kit was the first available NVMe solution for the uConsole and uses an expansion card to interface with the NVMe drive itself.
HackerGadgets then released an adapter board for their own NVMe kit which interfaces with their other boards to break out the CM4/CM5’s NVMe and camera signals, and the CM5’s USB3 signals and RTC battery contacts. It also has a USB-C port and two DIP switches on-board for use with RPIBOOT. It’s a great piece of kit and a terrific upgrade to the first-party option. Regrettably, no schematics are available for it, but a full schematic shouldn’t be too hard to reverse-engineer since its traces and few soldered components are visible and the design itself is based on the official Raspberry Pi CM5 I/O board.
The functional difference between Lulu’s NVMe solution and HackerGadgets’ is that Lulu’s uses an expansion card to interface with the NVMe drive and HackerGadgets’ uses a new slot on their battery board, so choosing the HackerGadgets solution will free up the expansion slot at the expense of some otherwise free space below the stock battery board.
It’s been a couple years since people started wondering about using a Radxa CM5 in the uConsole. With their NVMe kit, HackerGadgets also released an adapter board for the Radxa fixing some of its issues. That adapter board is the only one available for the Radxa CM5 and is essential for it.
| Adapter board | Price excluding shipping | Open-source hardware? | NVMe? | USB3? | Adapted modules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClockworkPi Raspberry Pi adapter board | $19 | Yes | No | No | Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5 |
| HackerGadgets Raspberry Pi adapter board | $23 | No | Yes | Yes | Raspberry Pi CM4/CM5 |
| lululvlv Raspberry Pi adapter board | $20 | Not yet | Yes | Yes | Raspberry Pi CM5 |
| HackerGadgets Radxa adapter board | $23 | No | Yes | Yes | Radxa CM5 |
Cores
Without an adapter board there are a couple cores known to work on a ClockworkPi mainboard in a uConsole:
- ClockworkPi A-06 - $130 excluding shipping via the ClockworkPi shop
- ClockworkPi R-01 - sold out via the ClockworkPi shop
- Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 - reached end-of-life 2025-10-16
- Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+
- Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4S
The ClockworkPi mainboard is additionally compatible with the ClockworkPi A-04 core, though no software support exists. If one tried a DevTerm OS image one might get charging to work but the screen wouldn’t. The uConsole was originally available in a SKU including the A-04, but it never shipped with the A-04:
The A-06 kernels might not be patched to work with certain uConsole panels.
Theoretically the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 1 might work, but nobody’s tried it, and as it’s a different architecture (32-bit ARM, and there are no 32-bit uConsole OSes) it’d be an uphill struggle.
With an appropriate adapter board more compute modules are compatible:
And the OrangePi Compute Module 5 was coaxed into working in one person’s uConsole after extensive modification.
Prices for all of these units are in flux for economic and geopolitical reasons relating to the regrettable time period in which we live, so even if I included a cost comparison, it’d be out of date by the time I hit “Save Edit”.
| Manufacturer | Core | Adapter needed? | ISA | OS support | RAM | eMMC | WiFi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClockworkPi | A-04 | No | ARM64 | None | 2GB | No | via mainboard |
| ClockworkPi | A-06 | No | ARM64 | Okay | 4GB | No | via mainboard |
| ClockworkPi | R-01 | No | RISCV64 | Poor | 1GB | No | via mainboard |
| OrangePi | CM5 | Yes | ARM64 | Barely | 2GB / 4GB / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB | 32GB / 64GB / 128GB / 256GB | No |
| Radxa | CM5 | Yes | ARM64 | Poor | 4GB / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB | 32GB / 64GB / 128GB / 256GB | No |
| Raspberry Pi | CM1 | No | ARM32 | None | 0.512GB | No | via mainboard |
| Raspberry Pi | CM3 | No | ARM64 | Good | 1GB | 4GB optional | via mainboard |
| Raspberry Pi | CM3+ | No | ARM64 | Good | 1GB | Lite / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB | via mainboard |
| Raspberry Pi | CM4 | Yes | ARM64 | Best | 1GB / 2GB / 4GB / 8GB | Lite / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB | Optional |
| Raspberry Pi | CM4S | No | ARM64 | Great | 1GB / 2GB / 4GB / 8GB | Lite / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB | via mainboard |
| Raspberry Pi | CM5 | Yes | ARM64 | Great | 2GB / 4GB / 8GB / 16GB | Lite / 16GB / 32GB / 64GB | Optional |