uConsole hardware directory

uConsole
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This is a summary of the various hardware peripherals/modifications purpose-built for the uConsole. Prices are in United States dollars unless noted. I’ll be slowly working on this as there is a large uConsole hardware ecosystem to document. For a guide to software, see the companion OS directory

Base unit

There are a couple ways to acquire a uConsole, but the best way really is the official shop.

  • The official ClockworkPi shop is the only first-party supplier. The A-06 and R-01 SKUs are sold out but the CM4 is still in stock at $250 excluding shipping. This includes the uConsole, a ClockworkPi CM4 adapter board, and a CM4104000, which is a 4GB RAM, eMMC-less Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with on-board WiFi/Bluetooth. Shipping from ClockworkPi takes a very long time; one of the oldest posts in the uConsole topic on this forum is an ad-hoc shipping batch tracker.

The extreme wait times lead people to pay very high prices to third-party resellers to get a uConsole early. Please note that you are totally being played if you pay more than, say, $350 including shipping for a base unit. Even the “super hacker” “pimped-out” uConsoles on-line where someone actually added a modicum of value are rarely worth it.

  • AliExpress, at, for example, aliexpress.us, is a popular uConsole source, though it’s of poor reputation.

  • eBay sometimes has some uConsoles being sold.

  • OpenSourceSDRLab has a uConsole listing at a reasonable price.

Instead of turning to these resale websites, see if you can find someone selling their uConsole here on the forum, where you can scroll people’s profiles and see what they actually did with their console and why they’re moving on. It’s harder to lie about the accessories you have installed (for example, calling an AIOv1 a modded AIOv2) on the forums frequented by the makers of those accessories.

It’s possible to build a “ship of Theseus” uConsole without having ever purchased the base unit; the device is open hardware and is composed of three PCBs excluding adapter boards, cores, or the keyboard. ClockworkPi offers 3D models of the uConsole in OBJ and STEP formats ($5 or free with coupon code UC) for reproduction. There are also coarse models that were deduced prior to the official release.

Mainboard

The official uConsole motherboard is the ClockworkPi v3.14 mainboard. Two versions retailed; the original and its fifth revision. There are no known cases of the uConsole shipping with an original v3.14 mainboard, only the R5 board. The board is available for purchase separately through the shop for $40 excluding shipping. Be careful not to choose the similarly-named v3.1 board which is a different product for the GameShell.

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:

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:

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

Expansion cards

  • uEther designed by @WebmasterTD - adds 1x 10BaseT 10/100 Ethernet port, 1x USB2 C port for $40 excluding shipping - see Tindie
  • uPico designed by Vitaly - adds an RP2040 microcontroller and pinout - see GitHub and Tindie - open hardware
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Yeah, I feel like one stop posts like this should be pinned. great work!

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it would help if they were accurate though, the mainboard is sold separately in the store
no mention of any of the non scalping resellers

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I’m still working on this list. I don’t know any non-scalping resellers.

I hadn’t seen that the v3.14 board was available in the shop, I thought I had only seen the v3.1 board (for the GameShell). I’ll add it to the post. If you have more corrections feel free to list them.

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my board do not support CM4

，xixi

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Thank you, I corrected the post.

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There is one more expansion card:

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You might want to include open source labs as a place to get a Uconsole without a wait. Mine was delivered 10 days after order. Included the new 3.14 board and the price was not inflated.

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Rpishop.cz is an option for Europe I think there’s also a polish one now, but don’t know their name

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One more: @BILLY_WANG’s KVM extension, but I didn’t find the link where to order.

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(post deleted by author)

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