Subject: Completely wacko idea

From: [email-masked] (H. Peter Anvin)
Date: 16 Mar 1998 04:05:26 GMT

Anyone who thinks there is any chance in hell to fit a ARM 7100
"system-on-a-chip" together with RAM and ROM onto a PalmPilot memory
board?  If so, we could make a dual-processor PDA... très cool...

The problem with building your own PDA from scratch is to fit it in a
form factor that makes sense; custom cases are not an option and yet,
you don't want to start your instructions with "buy a PalmPilot and
gut it..."

	-hpa
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From: [email-masked] (H. Peter Anvin)
Date: 16 Mar 1998 05:03:33 GMT

Followup to:  <[email-masked]>
By author:    [email-masked] (H. Peter Anvin)
In newsgroup: linux.dev.arm
> you don't want to start your instructions with "buy a PalmPilot and

Okay, I found out the answer myself: it is not doable.  The reason is
quite simple: PalmPilot board is 32x60 mm; there is at most 1.5 mm of
head room until touching the case.  Of the height, 3.5 mm is taken up
by the leads, leaving 28.5 mm.  Unfortunately, the ARM 7100 is 30.4 mm
square , lead tip to lead tip (max), which means it is out of the
question.  I'd really only feel it was even close to realistic if it
left only a few mm, so probably 25 mm is about the size the shorter
side would have to be.

Oh bugger.

	-hpa