We’ve already seen compact Raspberry Pi CM4 based router boards with two Ethernet ports from DFRobots, Seeed Studio, and MCUZone. 52Pi CM4 Router Board expands on the same principle but also offers HDMI output, a 40-pin GPIO header for Raspberry Pi HAT expansion boards, and a small OLED information display.
The board also includes two Gigabit Ethernet, plus the WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity from the Raspberry Pi CM4, and the extra features make the board larger (146x50mm) than competitors. But that makes the platform that much more flexibly, and can be used as a gateways for all sorts of projects thanks to the wide range of Raspberry Pi HAT available in the market.
52Pi CM4 Router Board (EP-0146) specifications:
- Compatible with Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 series
- Storage – MicroSD card slot (only used with Raspberry Pi CM4 Lite)
- Video Output – HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60
- Display – 0.91-inch I2C OLED display to show information
- Networking
- 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports via RPi CM4 module and Realtek RTL8111E PCIe Gigabit Ethernet controllers
- Optional 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 via module on Raspberry Pi CM4
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 host/device port (host/device mode selectable with switch)
- Expansion – Standard 40-pin Raspberry Pi HAT interface
- Misc – 5V PWM fan connector
- Power Supply
- 5V/3A via USB Type-C port
- Support POE HAT to supply power to the board
- Dimensions – 146×80 mm
- Temperature Range – 0°C to 80°C
While any operating system supported by Raspberry Pi CM4 could run on the device, 52Pi’s Wiki focuses on OpenWrt for Raspberry Pi and provides an optimized OpenWrt image plus instructions to build it from source. They also explain using Raspberry Pi OS is possible but a few simple tweaks are required for USB 2.0 and the I2C OLED display.
The 52Pi CM4 Router Board is available for $54.99 including shipping on Aliexpress. It is also listed on Seeed Studio for $54.90, but currently out of stock. The board ships with the thick heatsink shown on the first photo, but you’ll need to provide your own Raspberry Pi CM4, 5V/3A power supply, and cables.
Via Liliputing and Notebookcheck.net
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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how does this board differs from the others? why there is no “standard” router board with at least 1+4 gbit ports 🙁 ?
I think I’ve answered the first question in the post, and for the second, the Raspberry Pi CM4 (and Broadcom BCM2711 SoC) is not particularly well-suited for networking, although one could connect a 4-port PCIe Ethernet switch.
well I might dare to contradict you as it’s top 3 downloaded image on openwrt and the best bang for buck when it comes to gigabit NAT + SQM (qos) although most of the guys there are using usb3 1gbit adapters. So yeah native port + 4-port PCIe Ethernet switch would be well received
I call BS. That board only supports 1 Pi, not 52.