Beostore

Beostore

Long-Term Storage

This project is a small USB stick-like device that uses FRAM to store any kind of data. It works just like a regular USB stick.

Idea

Traditional flash storage has a limited lifespan and degrades over time. FRAM offers a significantly longer data retention, making it ideal for long-term archival storage.

Usage

Just plug it in and use it as a normal USB stick.

Before unplugging, it is advised to unmount all storage devices and wait until all LEDs turn green.

If the write protect switch is changed while plugged in, the computer/host will not notice this. The write protection is still active either way.

Hardware

This board uses the RP235xA and can support up to four storage devices. Storage devices may support SPI or I2C and can have different footprints.

There are two buses, each connected to up to two storage devices. Each bus can be either SPI or I2C (place pull-up resistors on the backside).

Bus 0: Storage device 1 & 3
Bus 1: Storage device 2 & 4

Each storage device has an ARGB LED, which indicates the current state of the storage device.

There is a global write protect switch.

There is theoretical support for extra flash/PSRAM if you use the RP2354A (not tested).

Supported footprints:

• 8-DIP (front side only)
• 8-UFLGA (front side only)
• 8-SOIC (both 3.90 mm and 5.3 mm)

Please see schematic for pinout!

LED colors:

Notes

Limitations & Testing

• Tested with up to two FRAM chips (CY15B104Q, 8-DIP only)
• Other footprints should work but are untested
• Only SPI mode has been tested; I2C is untested
• Only the CY15B104Q is currently supported in software, though adding others is straightforward

Write Protection

The write protection is software-controlled only

DIP Footprint Advantage

The DIP package allows the FRAM IC to be easily removed and placed into another device, should the flash chip or MCU fail.

Future versions

Hardware

• Add ESD protection to the USB port

Software

• Possible RAID-like functionality (linking two storage devices together)
• Manual access / backup over UART

Acknowledgements

This projects was inspired by Blaustahl/Kaltstahl/Ebenstahl Storage Devices by Machdyne. Go check them out.

© 2026 Leonhard Baschang ( ._.)