# Dell Edge Gateway embedded box



## Phishfry (Jun 7, 2018)

Has anyone had any experiences with the Dell Gateway boxes? They have a small box with a 3xxx model number and a larger box with a 5xxx part number. These all have different BayTrail E38xx CPU's in them and different features.
I just bought a Dell Edge Gateway 3003 for cheap to checkout:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/182971455351


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## michael_hackson (Jun 7, 2018)

What will you do with it? Using a vending machine at home? x)


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## Phishfry (Jun 7, 2018)

No I dabble in digital signage. I have done video editing since '97 on Canopus DVRex so looping video comes easy.

http://www.dvformat.com/htm/news/1999/Canopuspricedrops.htm


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## michael_hackson (Jun 7, 2018)

That is an area of expertise I really never even have thought of. Surprising.


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## Phishfry (Jun 9, 2018)

Depending on the slot arrangement inside I might make this an Wireless Access Point.
No pictures of the inside so it was on my ebay list for a while.

I see  Supermicro has gotten into the embedded arena too.
https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/Box_PC/SYS-E100-9S.cfm

I still have not found the perfect platform for a WAP. So I am still looking.
Checkpoint U5 is an antique and has no slot for cellular modem.
It does make a nice edge router.

APU2/3 would be in contention but lack of video really hurts. It is very affordable,
I have some SBC Jetway boards but they cost too much for a dedicated WAP.


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## Phishfry (Jun 13, 2018)

So the real reason I bought it is I liked the way it looked.
Being a person who designs things I like buying things to simply tear it apart.
It is a sickness. Brand new or used it don't matter.
I tear apart everything I buy just to see how it works.

That is how I learn embedded hardware. Buy it and tear it open.
It has been cheaper than any technical schooling.
Some of this is being a creator, I like to see how others do it.
I really didn't buy this box with a purpose in mind I wanted to see what Dell put together.
For 80 bucks it was a great deal.

So this is my assessment:
PRO:
Heatsink is very large for this cool running E3815 CPU.
Very Small Size.(5"x5") and VERY rugged enclosure. Excellent engineering.
Dual Gigabit Ethernet
Single POE Jack
uBlox GPS module
8GB eMMC and a microSD card slot.
Silent PC

CON:
Realtek Gigabit  Ethernet
Has Wifi Onboard. Not a module. Soldered on. (Brand: unknown)
Has no MiniPCIe slot at all. There are solder pads for it though. (socket only found on the WWAN model)
Phoenix Connector for power connector. (not included)

The BIOS looks like it came straight out of my Latitude laptop. Came with Ubuntu onboard.


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## michael_hackson (Jun 14, 2018)

Actually I think it is a very nice thing or "sickness" as you put it. 

I was like that as a kid, teared everything open to see how it worked on the inside. Then my father taught me not to "break" things and I stopped after a while.

Now like 22 years later I realised I learn much more if I start to tear things open so I relearn my old 5 year old habit. Lol.

Keep it up.


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## Phishfry (Jun 14, 2018)

The real issue is putting the machines back together. If it has stinky interfaces like this box, it might get shoved back in the box and put on the shelf.

Recently I bought a monster Wifi card and I am really shopping for a home for it.
Such a whopper that it hangs over both sides of the slot. As such it wont work on APU2 and alot of platforms.
http://www.embeddedworks.net/wlan551.html


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## michael_hackson (Jun 15, 2018)

Following some of your recent posts: What exactly are you trying to do?


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