Waveshare has released the CM5-ETH-RS485-4G-BASE, a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 carrier board built for industrial and edge computing applications. The board crams dual Ethernet ports (Gigabit and 2.5GbE), four RS485 serial channels via terminal blocks, a relay output, and an M.2 B-Key slot for optional 4G LTE or 5G cellular modules into a compact 10.8 x 10.0 cm (4.3 x 3.9 inch) footprint. It supports all CM5 variants with up to 16GB of RAM and 64GB eMMC, and accepts a wide 7V to 36V DC power input, making it suitable for deployment in factory floors, remote enclosures, or anywhere standard 5V USB power is impractical.
Connectivity extends well beyond the industrial I/Os. An HDMI 2.0 port handles 4K output, two MIPI DSI/CSI connectors support displays or cameras, and USB is covered by one USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port alongside USB 2.0 Type-A and Type-C ports. An M.2 Key-M socket (PCIe Gen2/3 x1) accepts 2230, 2242, or 2280 NVMe SSDs or AI accelerator modules, while CM5 Lite users can still boot from a microSD card. The board also includes an onboard encryption chip, a PWM fan header, an RTC battery connector, a buzzer, and ten blue LEDs covering RS485 activity, network state, and relay status.
Waveshare also offers a fanless metal enclosure version called the CM5-ETH-RS485-4G-BOX, which measures 13.3 x 11.2 x 3.5 cm (5.2 x 4.4 x 1.4 inches) and exposes all ports including a MIPI opening for flat cables. The case supports DIN rail mounting for panel installations. As is typical for Waveshare, the documentation page is sparse at launch, though existing CM5 carrier board docs should apply for initial setup with Raspberry Pi OS. The carrier board alone starts at $56 (€52), while the boxed version runs $73 (€67).
