For the break down of everything that changed and everything that's new, take a look at our blog post announcing balenaFin v1.1. Rest assured the new hardware revision is backward compatible with the previous v1.0 version.
No! Any recent OS distribution (2018+) for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B should be compatible with the balenaFin. This includes Raspbian and balenaOS 2.x targeting the “balenaFin” device-type.
Yes. In order to fully support all peripherals (WiFi+Bluetooth, RTC, RGB LED, mPCIe airplane mode switch, DSI and CSI connectors) it's required that you enable the balenaFin device tree overlay (dtoverlay=balena-fin in config.txt).
Yes, balenaFin is designed to meet the hardware specifications for Raspberry Pi HATs, and so any HAT that meets this specification is supported, alongside power via the HAT/GPIO interface (5V @ 2.5A).
Yes, we support mixed device types within a fleet, provided they share the same architecture - read more.
No. The real-time clock (RTC) only runs on its battery when the device is powered off. This means that the lifetime of the battery is greatly extended.
You can power balenaFin from the DC 5.5/2.1mm barrel jack connector or the 2 position phoenix connector with any input voltage between 6 and 24V with at least 12.5W (12V @ 1A, for example). You can also power balenaFin from the 5V HAT pins with 5V @ 2.5A.
The minimum requirements to be able to use balenaFin are a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3/3+ Lite (CM3L/CM3+L) and a 6-24V PSU. These are included in the balenaFin Developer Kit, as seen here.
The balenaFin supports the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 and 3+ Lite (CM3L/CM3+L).
We offer the option to depopulate the board of certain components that don’t fit for a particular use case, given a minimum order quantity. We don't currently have the ability to take custom hardware modifications or to add components. Please contact us at fin@balena.io and let us know your requirements to learn more.
The availability of the balenaFin boards compatible with those sold today was guaranteed until 2024. On February 1st 2023 we made the decision to cease manufacturing the balenaFin due to production and supply chain challenges, the balenaFin design files have been released to the public and will be available indefinitely.