Very useful add on to use ATX power supply PI4 CMIO Board
For ATX Watchdog for Compute Module 4
Today I finally had the time to apply ATX Watchdog in my setup.
I wanted to migrate my DVB-S2 server to low power system. So my setup consists of a PI4 CM Lite 8GB, CM4 IO Board and a quad tuner DVB-S2 PCIE-X1 card (TBS 6905) overall consuming less than 36W. After assembling my proof of concept and finishing software setup, I wanted to put everything in a 1 U server rack. ATX Watchdog enabled me to easily use an Flex-ATX power supply and power button. I had some problems after connecting my PCIE tv card. System shutdown after some seconds. Looks like the power drain was too high. However I found a workaround by not using the power cable supplied connecting ATX-Watchdog to CM4IOB and instead I connected the floppy connector from the PSU directly to CM4IOB.
Now it's working for me as expected.
Another thing is the orientation of the ATX-Watchdog ATX connector. It's impossible to mount the CM4IOB in a case and make use of the back ports. In my case it would have been better to change orientation by 180 degrees. This way, one could connect ATX cable and use the HDMI, LAN and USB ports with a custom IOShield.
Overall I am happy with the product and it enables me to use my setup in a 19" 1U case. That's all I wanted and ATX-Watchdog is a convenient addon to solve the PSU problem.
Response from Pod Bay 3 | Jan. 15, 2023
Thank you Christian for your thoughtful and detailed review. I'm happy that the board is working out for you. Most of the time, I do not know what people are using these boards for so feedback is always welcomed. Next time this board comes up for redesign, I will keep in consideration that people may want to have the ports of the CM4IOB be flush with a side of an enclosure.
Again, thank you!
