9662-810 Embedded Single Board Computers

The 9662-810 modules came to the market late, because embedded computers for industrial use were just starting out. For example, x86 and Windows had not yet made their mark in the industry, and the battle against blue screen problems was still in full swing. In this respect, the modules were more like early “pirated” products for an emerging industry than a unique product generation within an established module standard.

The 9662-810 started the global module business and created a standard specification. In today’s view, this was a major success. The importance of modules was further demonstrated in the mid-1990s when the specification for PC/104 single boards (SBCs) left too little room for connectors, making it difficult to mount them on the same side of the CPU and chipset. As customers began to demand more connectivity, connectors were customized to be mounted on the other side of the PCB to connect more external devices.

The design principles also meant that cables had to guide the I/O to the chassis, which led to more problems with tangled cables and a system that was more prone to errors. At the time, good system design meant clean and tidy cable connections. The first ETX module developed by JUMPtec marked a major breakthrough in the embedded computer module market with the successful launch of the first ETX module, which allows external I/O to be connected directly to the chassis without the need for cables.