After a long wait, the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Development Kit finally arrived at my desk, ready for its road test.
My proposed plan is to test the Compute Module 5 with Software Defined Radio (SDR), using both RTL-SDR and Ettus Research USRP B205mini-I hardware. I’ll be using a range of SDR software, including GQRX, OpenWebRX, GNU Radio, and SDR++.
Before diving into the actual testing, I’ll start with some general information about the kit, including the unboxing and initial assembly.
There were two boxes in the package: the CM5 Development Kit and a 27 W USB-C power supply.
The Development Kit itself also included a power supply, but it came with a UK plug. Since I’m located in the Netherlands, the additional power supply with a suitable plug was provided separately.
The big box contains some more boxes, some cables and an antenna:
One of the boxes contains the IO Case, with the IO Board already mounted, the small boxes contains the CM5 module and a heatsink:
Closeup of the CM5 and the heatsink:
Opening up the case, shows the IO board and the fan, looks nice that the IO board already is remounted, but it needs to be removed in order to install the heatsink that need to be screwed from the back of the PCB.
The heatsink comes with four M2.5 nylon washers, two 1.5 mm high and two 3 mm high. For the CM5 module, the 1.5 mm washers need to be placed between the IO board and the CM5. The heatsink is then secured to the CM5 using screws inserted from the back of the IO board. Thermal silicone connects the components with the heatsink.
More details here: Raspberry Pi Cooler For Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5
Here is a short video showing how I mounted the heatsink:
The next step was to mount the Wi-Fi antenna. Connecting the U.FL antenna connector to the CM5 board proved to be a bit of a challenge. In hindsight, it would have been much easier to connect it before mounting the heatsink. After some careful pushing and a bit of fiddling, however, I eventually managed to get it connected.
And here is the final result:
