I’ve become increasingly interested in RISC-V hardware due to the risks associated with other processors and their potential backdoors (Intel Management Engine (ME) and AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP) etc) and so an air-gapped RISC-V SBC seems like a good option (no hidden/proprietary/closed-source subsystems). I need the SBC to work on a sensitive piece which I would like to be as secure as possible (hence air-gapped) so only need it temporarily, however thinking ahead it would be nice if I can later re-use the hardware for something Nerves related
Hence wondering what the current status of RISC-V and Nerves is, and whether anyone has successfully used any RISC-V SBCs with Nerves or has any recommendations. One I quite liked the look of was the VisionFive2, as it ticks a lot of my boxes.
The Nerves system I will want to use it for eventually will basically be an intelligent sauna fan, to pump warm air from the top back into the bottom (so a bit like a Saunum heater).
It’s definitely not a computing powerhouse, at only 1GHz single core, based on the Allwinner D1 chipset. But it does have a rich set of peripherals. I think you can buy them on AliExpress for around €30.
It’s probably the lowest barrier to entry to get started with RISC-V and Nerves. At the very least it would be a good reference if you choose some different hardware
The MangoPi MQ Pro looks very cool, though the SBC I need for this particular piece can’t have wifi or bt, hence was looking at the VisionFive2 and the Milk-V Mars (which I really like but it’s been out of stock for a while). Would either of those work with Nerves or is it more a case of having to try to see?
It’s not a big deal that I get to re-use this SBC with my Nerves sauna project, but just thought it was worth asking just in case. (Think we probably beed a “What’s the best/easiest MCU or SBC to use with Nerves” if we haven’t already got one )
The easiest to use is a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 (because USB-C) soon to be beaten by Nerves Starter Kit (soon™)
It is perfectly doable to bring any board that can run Linux with about 200MB RAM up with Nerves. So those boards you mentioned are probably fully feasible. I don’t know of anyone having done work to pave the way. But then again, people get a new system up with Nerves via LLM all the time these days. It is mostly about pulling together some buildroot, some linux sources and any vendor nonsense needed.
That’s good to know - thanks! I guess I could always post here if I get stuck, but it’s good to know it’s more than likely feasible. Just need to find the time now
