Digi ConnectCore 8X Quick user guide

ConnectCore 8X
SBC Express
Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary

Revision history—90002296
Revision Date Description
1P December 2018 Initial release
2P October 2019 Added XBee socket note.
Trademarks and copyright
Digi, Digi International, and the Digi logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United
States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2019 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Customer support
Gather support information: Before contacting Digi technical support for help, gather the following
information:
Product name and model
Product serial number (s)
Firmware version
Operating system/browser (if applicable)
Logs (from time of reported issue)
Trace (if possible)
Description of issue
Steps to reproduce
Contact Digi technical support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages.
Contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 2

ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 3
Feedback
To provide feedback on this document, email your comments to
[e-mail]
Include the document title and part number (ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference
Manual -- Preliminary, 90002296 2P) in the subject line of your email.
Contents
About the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express
Features and functionality 4
Block diagram 6
Interfaces
Connectors, jumpers, and switches 8
Top view 8
Bottom view 9
Description 9
Input power connector 10
Coin cell connector 10
Boot mode 10
Power and reset buttons 11
SWD 12
Console port 12
microSD 13
10/100Mbps Ethernet 13
LVDS/MIPI-DSI display 13
LVDS 14
MIPI-DSI 15
Touch controller 16
USB host 16
XBee 17
Expansion connector 18
USB device 21
User LED and button 21

About the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express
The ConnectCore 8X SBC Express is an ultra-compact board featuring the Digi ConnectCore 8X
system-on-module (SoM). The ConnectCore 8X system-on-module integratesan NXP i.MX 8X
application processor with LPDDR4 and eMMC flash memory, WLAN/Bluetooth, power management IC
for optimized power consumption applications, and a Microcontroller AssistTM (MCA) for additional
functionality.
This standalone product serves as the reference design for the ConnectCore 8X system-on-module
and can also be used on its own to accelerate time to market.
Features and functionality
nConnectCore 8X System-on-module
li.MX 8X Dual/Quad ARM Cortex-A35 and single Cortex-M4F cores.
l2 GB, 32-bit LPDDR4-1200 memory.
l8 GB, 8-bit eMMC memory.
lIEEE802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.2.
n5V DC-in power jack connector.
nBoot source configuration: internal eMMC, microSD, USB.
nCoin-cell connector to supply the on-module real-time clock (not populated by default).
nPower and reset buttons.
nDebug:
lSingle Wired Debug (SWD) interface for the Microcontroller AssistTM (MCA).
lTTL Serial console.
nStorage:
lmicroSD card.
nCommunication:
l10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface.
lTwo USB Host 2.0 with stacked USB A-type connectors.
lUSB device with micro AB USB connector (shared with one USB host port).
lXBee socket supporting XBee Cellular (USB bus shared with one of the USB host port).
nExpansion
lExpansion connector that can accommodate Raspberry PI Hat boards.
lAdditional expansion header row, not populated by default.
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 4

About the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express Features and functionality
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 5
nUser interface:
lx1 User LED.
lx1 User button.
nDimensions:
l87 x 63 mm

About the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express Block diagram
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 6
Block diagram

Interfaces Block diagram
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 7
Interfaces
Connectors, jumpers, and switches 8
Top view 8
Bottom view 9
Description 9
Input power connector 10
Coin cell connector 10
Boot mode 10
Power and reset buttons 11
SWD 12
Console port 12
microSD 13
10/100Mbps Ethernet 13
LVDS/MIPI-DSI display 13
Touch controller 16
USB host 16
XBee 17
Expansion connector 18
User LED and button 21

Interfaces Connectors, jumpers, and switches
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 8
Connectors, jumpers, and switches
Top view

Interfaces Bottom view
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 9
Bottom view
Description
Connector Interface Manufacturer Manufacturer part number
J4 Coin cell Molex 53047-0210
J5 Console Molex 53047-0410
J6 Ethernet XMultiple XMG-9799-8821-100D-L1TO-H-
HIM
J7 LVDS Hirose DF14A-20P-1.25H
J8 MIPI-DSI FCI SFW15S-2STE1LF
J9 USB Host KYCON KUSBX-AS2N
J10 USB OTG KYCON KMMX-ABSMT5SG-30TR
J11 Expansion header Wurth
Electronics
61304021121

Interfaces Input power connector
ConnectCore® 8X SBC Express Hardware Reference Manual -- Preliminary 10
Connector Interface Manufacturer Manufacturer part number
J12-J13 XBee module Samtec SQT-110-01-F-S
J14 3V3_EXT Samtec TSW-102-07-G-S
J15 VIN Samtec TSW-102-07-G-S
J16 VCC_MCA Samtec TSW-102-07-G-S
J18 Touch controller Sullins GBC05SBSN-M89
J19 MCA SWD (not populated by
default)
Samtec FTSH-105-01-F-DV
Input power connector
A 5V DC-in power jack connector (J2) provides power to the ConnectCore 8X SBC Express system.
From this 5V power supply, a 3.3V LDO generates the power supply for the on-module MCA.
Coin cell connector
A 2-pin, 1.25 mm pitch straight connector (J4), not populated by default, can be used to connect an
external coin cell battery or supercap for powering the system's real-time clock (RTC) when the main
power supply is removed.
The RTC can be powered with a primary Lithium cell (non-rechargeable), a secondary Lithium cell
(rechargeable) or a supercap.
The following table shows the pinout of the coin cell connector:
Pin Signal name Description
1 VCC_LICELL Power supply for RTC
2 GND
Boot mode
By default, the ConnectCore 8X system-on-module boots from the internal board settings, allowing it
to boot from the internal eMMC flash memory. For advanced functionality, the ConnectCore 8X SBC
Express provides two switches (S3) to configure the SoM boot mode: