I have some DYI idea to make some custom ODBII Logger using SBC with Armbian. So I'm searching for suitable SBC:

- quite small (50x50mm max), IoT category I think

- with H3, at least 512MB RAM

- eMMC at least 4GB, SD Cards support

- 1 USB for pendrive

- wifi in AP mode, just for ssh and copying small files via scp

- second UART, freen 2xGPIO, and nice to have audio line-out also

- and the most important: running Armbian in headless mode with booting from eMMC

- working DVFS to keep temperature in lower levels, no heat dissipation problems (SBC will mostly work with low cpu usage, but I don't really know how low can be CPU/DRAM clocked to run my software, it's to be tested yet)

 

Thanks to excellent tkaiser's guide (https://forum.armbian.com/index.php?/topic/1351-h3-board-buyers-guide/&do=findComment&comment=28169) I already know that NanoPi Air and Zero Plus2 are in my meet my requirements. O maybe there is other small SBC that can be used?

And the most important question - does Armbian software support all these things on NanoPi Air and OPI Zero+2? Which of them are better choice in terms of current and future Armbian/Linux development?

From a software point of view there's not much difference between NanoPi Air and OPi Zero 2 H3 and you could even run the 'wrong' image on both boards. Main differences are speed of eMMC (Xunlong's eMMC is really fast) and different pin mappings (led, GPIO stuff on the pin headers, camera connector). So simply check linux-sunxi wiki for pinout information (especially regarding audio on Zero), and weigh features (maybe also considering -- missing -- CE/FCC certifications).

 

The R16 based Banana Pi could also be interesting but no Armbian support yet and maybe never (at least I don't want to touch a single piece of hardware originating from SinoVoip again)

Thanks a lot.

Does the both boards boot from internal eMMC?

1 minute ago, rufik said:

Does the both boards boot from internal eMMC?

 

Of course. Just follow the documentation: https://docs.armbian.com/User-Guide_Getting-Started/#how-to-install-to-emmc-nand-sata-usb

OK, thanks, I just need to be sure about that.

So it looks like NanoPI and OPI are equal in terms of Armbian support, just hardware really matters

Digging further - it seems that I need a SBC with battery support for graceful shutdown when main power goes off in car (12V from ODB II connector). Is there any overview/list of SBCs with PMIC/PMU support?

OLinuXino-Lime2, C.H.I.P.?

10 minutes ago, rufik said:

s there any overview/list of SBCs with PMIC/PMU support?

OLinuXino-Lime2, C.H.I.P.?

Most boards with: A10/A20/A33/A64 ... probably I forgot some, but that's good enough. Lime2emmc seems like the best choice to me, because A64 is not that ready yet.

Ups, Lime2 price is about 55 euro, so somehow expensive when compared to $25 for NanoPi Air...

2 hours ago, rufik said:

Ups, Lime2 price is about 55 euro, so somehow expensive when compared to $25 for NanoPi Air...

 

Lime2 (and some other boards) has what you asked for: battery backup, while Air does not have that and its probably wrong board for this job?, regardless of the price and small / sexy size. Why bother with price difference? If this would be a commercial project, imagine how much money you saved by choosing the right board for the job at the very early start  If you need battery backup, options gets limited.

Yeah, I know  That's why I spent a lot of time to choose the best board, I'd like to focus on software side.

My project is just DYI (only for me), so every 25 euro matters. Thank for the info.

Than get one small H3 board and perhaps try adding this 4 USD value circuit:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/282352753274 

 

... but don't know if and how its reliable.