Beginner in Beagle Board - Question about power, Linux, and RS232 ports

Hi,

I am extremely interested in the Beagle Board in order to install it
our embedded system. We take a lot of considerations about power.

QUESTION 1: Can the Beagle Board work in "sleep mode" or "idle mode"?
If so, what is
its consumption in "sleep mode" and idle "mode"?

QUESTION 2: Can I supply power only by the alternate power (without
connecting the USB port)?

QUESTION 3: What is the typical consumption (in W) at 5 V?

QUESTION 4: Can I run a full-featured Linux (such as, Debian)? Do I
have to run the Linux from the SD card? Could I use 4GB SD cards?

QUESTION 5: I need more the one RS232 port. Could I install/use more
that one RS232 port with the Beagle Board? or Could the Beagle board
TTL levels?

Thanks,
Ismael

ANSWER 1: It is based on the application and what you need to have turned on in order to maintain said application, what needs to be kept in a saved state, such as the DRAM, and what needs to be kept running in order to detect the activity that brings you out of the sate. In other words, it mostly depends on you.

ANSWER 2: Yes. It is described in the System Reference Manual http://beagleboard.org/static/BBSRM_latest.pdf

ANSWER 3: Typical is 1.5W when in the UBoot mode. Again, depending on what you have running and connected. The USB host port supplies power to external devcies which will need to be added to the current numbers. The processor has voltage and frequency scaling that can be used to control the power, assuming these features are taken advantage of. You can cut the frequency to say 100MHZ and reduce this power greatly.

ANSWER 4: Yes. NO, you can also flash it into the NAND if you wish. Yes

ANSWER 5: Beagle I/O is 1.8V only. You can purchase a board such as the ZIPPY board that will provide access to the expansion connector serial signals. http://www.tincantools.com/

Gerald

canadians can try robotcraft: http://robotcraft.ca/webshop/

http://www.robotcraft.ca/webshop/p363/BeagleBuddy-Zippy-Ethernet-Combo-Board/product_info.html

rday