Pi-sized SBCs run Linux on RK3328 and Allwinner H3

Pi-sized SBCs run Linux on RK3328 and Allwinner H3

Apr 19, 2021 — by Eric Brown

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SmartBoardHome has announced two 85 x 56mm SBCs that run Linux: a “Pi-R2S3328-B” with an RK3328 and dual GbE ports and a “Pi-PC-H3 PK” with an Allwinner H3, HDMI, CSI, LAN, 2x USB, WiFi, and 40-pin GPIO.

Shenzhen-based embedded computing vendor Shenzhen Pumpb Techical Co., Ltd has made us aware of its SmartBoardHome unit/brand. The 10-year old company, which is associated with “brother company” Xihai Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd, sent us a notice about several new products, two of which run Linux: a “Smart Route Board Dual 1000M Ethernet Port 1GB DDR4 OpenWrt Pi-R2S3328-B” with a quad -A53 Rockchip RK3328 and a “Single Board Computer Mini PC embedded computer H3 Quad-Core micro circuit board Pi-PC-H3 PK Raspberry Pi.”

Pi-R2S3328-B (left) and Pi-PC-H3 PK
(click images to enlarge)

As with a growing number of products these days, especially those coming from China, the product names are fluid and designed for search engines rather than easy recollection. We have gone from “no-name” boards to “too many names” boards.

There is no indication these are open-spec, community backed boards. Other Linux-ready SBCs listed as “new” on the SmartBoardHome website include (with abbreviated names) the Allwinner H6-based Pi-H61 and Allwinner V3-powered PC-V3S. The company also offers some ESP8266 and STM32 boards and smart home products.

Pi-R2S3328-B

The 85 x 56mm Pi-R2S3328-B Smart Route Board joins two other RK3328-based mini-router SBCs with 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports: the 60 x 60mm NanoPi R2S and 57 x 56mm Orange Pi R1 Plus. The RK3328-based Rock Pi E, meanwhile, has GbE and 10/100 ports. These are three of the six RK3328 models in our January catalog of 150 Linux hacker boards.

Pi-R2S3328-B (left) and detail views
(click images to enlarge)

The Pi-R2S3328-B ships with 1GB DDR4 and a microSD slot. Other features include USB 2.0 host and power-only USB Type-C ports. FriendlyElec’s OpenWrt based FriendlyWrt is the featured distribution.

Specifications listed for the Pi-R2S3328-B include:

• Processor — Rockchip RK3328 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.4GHz); ARM Mali-450 MP2 GPU
• Memory/storage:
  • 1GB DDR4 (dual 512MB)
  • MicroSD slot for up to 128GB
• Networking — 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (1x via USB 3.0)
• Other I/O:
  • USB 2.0 host port
  • USB Type-C port for 5V/2A input
  • Serial debug interface
• Other features — 3x LEDs; user key
• Power — 5V via Type-C
• Dimensions — 85 x 56mm
• Weight — 52 g
• Operating systems — OpenWrt, FriendlyWrt; Ubuntu, Debian, etc.

Pi-PC-H3 PK

The Pi-PC-H3 PK joins an even longer list of Allwinner H3-powered boards in our SBC catalog, most of which are NanoPi (i.e. NanoPi M1 Plus) or Orange Pi models Orange Pi PC). Like those boards, the Pi-PC-H3 PK is equipped with a 40-pin GPIO connector with Raspberry Pi HAT compatibility.

Pi-PC-H3 PK detail views (left) and 40-pin pinout
(click images to enlarge)

The Pi-PC-H3 PK ships with up to 1GB DDR3, 8GB eMMC, and a microSD slot. You also get a 10/100 LAN port and 2.4GHz WiFi.

Media features include HDMI, CVBS, MIPI-CSI, and a mic. There are also 2x USB 2.0 ports, a Type-C port for power, and UART and IR. Ubuntu, Debian, and ye old Android 4.4 are the listed OSes.

Specifications listed for the Pi-PC-H3 PK include:

• Processor — Allwinner H3 (4x Cortex-A7 @ 1.2GHz); Arm Mali-400 MP2 GPU @600MHz; 256KB L1, 1MB L2 cache
• Memory/storage:
  • 512MB or 1GB DDR3 SDRAM
  • 8GB eMMC
  • MicroSD slot at up to 64GB
• Networking:
  • 10/100 Ethernet port
  • 2.4GHz WiFi (RTL8189) with IPEX antenna
• Media I/O:
  • HDMI port with audio
  • 3.5mm CVBS A/V output
  • MIPI-CSI FPC camera connector
  • Onboard mic
• Other I/O:
  • 2x USB 2.0 host ports
  • USB Type-C port for power input
  • UART header
  • 40-pin, RPi compatible GPIO connector
• Other features — IR receiver; LED
• Power — 5V input via USB Type–C; power and reset buttons
• Dimensions — 85 x 56mm
• Weight — 55 g
• Operating system — Ubuntu; Debian; Android 4.4

Further information

No pricing or availability information was provided for the Pi-R2S3328-B or Pi-PC-H3 PK. More information may be found in SmartBoardHome’s Pi-R2S3328-B and Pi-PC-H3 PK product pages.