ballsystemlord

Why was it a mistake to trust the Rock Pi vendor? I ask because it seems to me that I'd need to know what's going on if I were to help support the project's efforts for this SBC.

1: Flow control, both HW and SW, is disabled. 2: Considering it worked with one of the previous Armbian releases, yes I'm certain I am using the right voltage. Could the serial interface have been disabled by accident in the latest focal release? Or perhaps the serial port is a different set of pins now? I'm using the v1.2 PCB which uses different pins than the v1.0 board. See: https://wiki.radxa.com/RockpiS/dev/serial-console

Hi, I've already installed Armbian once before onto the SD card of my Rock PI S (Non-flash version). Before upgrading to Focal, I plugged it into my serial receiver in order to verify that I got the procedures correct so when I upgrade I'd get a console. I was glad I did that as I had forgotten I couldn't get screen(1) to work with my serial device as it can't send and receive data at the 1.5Mbs. I ended up using minicom(1). I downloaded the Focal Edge version of Armbian, verified the data with the ASC key, and wrote it to the Micro-SD card. I then booted it and the blue LED started blinking indicating an alive and working kernel. But I got no data over the serial console. I tried re-writting the image and reversing the RX and TX lines with no success. I then double-checked that my initial wiring was correct for my board and it was. I tried again without success. My procedure is as follows. 1: Plug in the serial adapter which is connected to the board. 2: Start minicom. 3: Plug in the SBCs power cable. How do I get a serial console on my Rock Pi S? Thanks!

I got it fixed! As it turns out, I was trying to work on multiple SBCs at the time. One of them, the Firefly RK3399 requires that it's MMC be modified via USB-C using a propriety program that requires root privileges. In my infinite wisdom, I decided to run it in an apparmor confinement cell -- not a proper totally virtualized machine. So what happened is that, in spite of being only given a minimal allowance of access, it some how caused my computer to have persistent Micro SD cards (/dev/sdX). Then when I plugged a Micro SD card in it would identify it as /dev/sdX1. There were a few other quirks like this with my Micro SD cards, nothing I really understood or can explain. Now I need to figure out how to run an Xen machine and I have to file a bug about their tool which didn't even do what it was supposed to anyway after wasting half a day pulling my hair out over nothing... Quick, someone tell me they envy my life.

Hmmm, I'm having a bigger problem with my main Linux box then just a failed SD boot. Hold still. I'll reboot.

Here's what I get when trying to boot (data is from my serial adapter): I2C_WriteByte nack returned I2C Device Address Write Abitration Error I2C_WriteByte nack returned I2C Device Address Write Abitration Error I2C_WriteByte nack returned I2C Device Address Write Abitration Error I2C_WriteByte nack returned I2C Device Address Write Abitration Error Wakeup Sub CPU 1234567 CPU Wakeup done! WFI is expected. CPU0 is Master! U-Boot 2016.01-armbian (Sep 02 2019 - 08:57:37 +0200) DRAM: 1 GiB MMC: NEXELL DWMMC: 0, NEXELL DWMMC: 1 loaded from SD, getting env from MMC 1 *** Warning - bad CRC, using default environment MIPI: display.0 HDMI: display.0, preset 0 (1280 * 720) HDMI: phy ready... LCD: [HDMI] dp.0.1 1220x680 16bpp FB:0x46000000 In: serial Out: serial Err: serial Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0 ** File not found /boot.scr ** ## Executing script at 40000000 Wrong image format for "source" command 1277 bytes read in 31 ms (40 KiB/s) ## Executing script at 40000000 Wrong image format for "source" command Card did not respond to voltage select! ** Bad device mmc 0 ** ## Executing script at 40000000 Wrong image format for "source" command ** Bad device mmc 0 ** ## Executing script at 40000000 Wrong image format for "source" command nanoPi# Here's what gpg and sha256sum output: % gpg --verify Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img.asc gpg: assuming signed data in 'Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img' gpg: Signature made Mon Jan 20 00:04:11 2020 EST gpg: using RSA key DF00FAF1C577104B50BF1D0093D6889F9F0E78D5 gpg: Good signature from "Igor Pecovnik <igor@armbian.com>" [unknown] gpg: aka "Igor Pecovnik (Ljubljana, Slovenia) <igor.pecovnik@gmail.com>" [unknown] gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature! gpg: There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner. Primary key fingerprint: DF00 FAF1 C577 104B 50BF 1D00 93D6 889F 9F0E 78D5 % sha256sum -c Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img.sha Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img: OK Output of mount: # mount --ro Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img /mnt/usb mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/loop0, missing codepage or helper program, or other error In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try dmesg | tail or so. dmesg doesn't mention anything about the mounting problems. Gdisk outputs: # gdisk -l Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.1 Partition table scan: MBR: MBR only BSD: not present APM: not present GPT: not present *************************************************************** Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format in memory. *************************************************************** Warning! Secondary partition table overlaps the last partition by 33 blocks! You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility. Disk Armbian_20.02.0-rc0_Nanopifire3_buster_legacy_4.14.166.img: 2957312 sectors, 1.4 GiB Logical sector size: 512 bytes Disk identifier (GUID): 9FF78C6C-5C9B-4B4D-A4F3-B0B52827C119 Partition table holds up to 128 entries First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 2957278 Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries Total free space is 8158 sectors (4.0 MiB) Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name 1 8192 2957311 1.4 GiB 8300 Linux filesystem The board I'm using is the Nano PI Fire3 LTS. It has worked before, although with a different Micro SD card. I accidentally erased it's SD card and I'm trying to reinstall. My current Micro SD card is a SanDisk Ultra 32GB rated USH-I, (10), U with a 1 inside, and A1. I used dd if=IMG of=DEV BS=8192 status=progress to place the image onto the Micro SD card. I also tried with my original SP Micro SD card without success. If you need anything else, just yell. Thanks!

Cool, I hadn't thought to check that because I assumed, perhaps foolishly, that being a new SoC it would need a "special" kernel if it supported plain old linux. My bad. What's a better place for information on Rockchip SoCs? Thanks!

Recently, a new SBC, the Rock Pi S by Radxa, was launched. Here's it's wiki page: https://wiki.radxa.com/RockpiS It's a 4 core A35 design. I'm debating getting one, but I can't find any information anywhere as to whether or not it's supported on Linux, or Armbian. Of course, if it's not listed in the download section it's not supported, but there's a difference between, "I need to add 100 lines of code and it will work." to "Geez, I need to redesign most of the Linux kernel after pulling my hair out." I did search the sunxi wiki and the local armbian wiki without success. Anyone know anything? Thanks!

@codnoscope You need to place more load on it then that. You should get all the USB ports loaded down. A HDD is good (unless it is externally powered), I'd hook a cd/dvd drive to the USB 2.0 ports. The USB C you could charge a phone or something on it using an adapter cable. Then you cat the HDD into /dev/null, write a cd/dvd from a file on the internet which you live download, play an audio file from the speakers, and load the processor down with stress-ng. Watch the processor's speed the whole time and verify the burn. I know that that seems outrageous for a running system, but I and probably you too would be using the MIPI-CSI and eDP interfaces, audio jack, M.2 slot, internet (WIFI or Ethernet), USB ports for the keyboard and mouse, and processor at the same time for a video conferencing call. That is just one example of a real world use case. @tkaiser Thanks for the M.2 info, I would not have guessed! You saved me a lot of wasted money! BTW: Did you intend for your pic look like you're dead on your feet? @hjc Really good to know! I can't think of a reason not to use the emmc though...

I was writing from memory. Let me read the exact details of the board. Docs can be found here: http://en.t-firefly.com/doc/download/page/id/3.html I was referring to the power delivery schematic in "Firefly-RK3399_V10_SCH_(2017-2-8).pdf" on page 4. The 12v 2A power supply is connected to several bucks (fet type), and a Mosfet. A SY8113B capable of putting out 9W total, 3V at 3A with 1W power dissipation to the M.2 slot. I have read (sorry, I don't remember where) that the M.2 slot is rated at 10W. 9W - 10W = -1W. A 12v fan switch at 3.6A. I do not think I have a schematic for it. The fans resistance is 132K ohms, which is too high to make sense (I don't know what to do with the third pin). So, I'm not going to do the math to find the amperage that way. A MP1495 capable of 3A at 3V for an M.2 4G module, which I'm not planning on using currently. A TPS563200 buck outputting 5v at 3A with ~1.5W power dissipation to everything but the above. Total of 15W. The TPS563200 is the most worrying. I have no idea how much power the MIPI-CSI interfaces (2x), processor, DDR3 RAM, and EDP interface uses. I have tried to find this information out without success. All the above I plan on using, plus the USB ports. The USB 3.0 interface, as per the specs should output 9A at 5V for 4.5W, the USB C is the same and the USB 2.0 interfaces should output 0.5 amps at 5V each for a total of 5W. Add that together for a total of 14W. That leaves 1W for all the aforementioned peripherals, the processor, and RAM. I bought a 1080p screen for this SBC, 1W will not fill the power budget! And did I mention that I might connect the SBC to a projector someday which will use the DP or HDMI interfaces for ever more power draw?! Now onto the board's input supply which as you might recall from above is 24W. 10W for the SY8113B. I'll assume 6W for the fan. 16.5W for the TPS563200. Add that up and you get 32.5W, too much for the 24W power supply, and that is without the M.2 4G module (another 9.5W). That sums up my concerns. I might be able to do something with the 3V battery terminal (it is for discharging only), . I really want some advice before trying anything. I am not an expert at electricity yet, and the board does cost $300 USD. Thanks!

@TonyMac32 I have bought a Firefly-RK3399 from firefly ( http://shop.t-firefly.com/goods.php?id=45 ). I did not realize it at the time of purchase, but the Mosfets are unable to provide sufficient power for the board plus the USB ports, EDP connector, MIPI-CSI interface, M.2 slot, etc. I really love the IO of the board and want to try to find a way to get it to work (plus I don't have the money to go trying out more boards ). Would your idea help such a board? Thanks!