Board Bring Up Station P1 rk3399, M1 rk3328

[balbes150]

I checked the Renegade Elite hat on Station P1. 

Connected (with some additional steps), everything worked. NVMe is visible and can be used for system placement or other needs. But there is a nuance with the physical placement of the hat. I had to remove the WiFi antenna connector and add an insulator to the plane of the power connector, it touches the hat at the location of the POE elements. Also, because of this, it will not be possible to insert the hat contacts completely, to the full depth. And you need to replace the racks with lower ones, the regular ones are too high.

[JMCC]

@Werner How about changing this topic title, or splitting all posts except the very first ones to a new one, calling it "Station P1/M1 Board bring up"?

[Werner]

Just now, JMCC said:

@Werner How about changing this topic title, or splitting all posts except the very first ones to a new one, calling it "Station P1/M1 Board bring up"?

Sure. Go ahead

[gounthar]

On 1/17/2021 at 1:57 PM, NicoD said:

That's a good idea. I'll see what tool is best used in Android to burn the image. I've never used android for it, but since people with P1/M1 certainly have Android it is a great idea.
I've got a video planned where I show a full installation of Armbian Buster Legacy. I can start it in Android. I'll make the video when my NVMe hat arrives. Thanks for the idea. I wouldn't have thought about it. 

p.s. I've got a Mecool KM6 with S905X4 to review Android 10 on it. I don't suppose there will be Armbian for this? Just asking so I don't say anything wrong. 
I like the box, but I can't get used to Android. For watching video it's ok, but for productivity tasks it is bad.

I tried with an application Pi SDCard image writer, or something like that, but it does not allow to download images, and proposes only images for the Raspberry.
I then found another application that would burn whatever image you give it, but... it needs a rooted device.
I tried lots of one-click root application (bad idea), but none of them worked.
I then switched to recovery mode, and tried to install TWRP (specific to RK3399 TV boxes), but it fails with an error 21.
Even the opengapps fails the same way.
I tried it with adb sideload, but it fails the same way.
Would someone have a link to a working TWRP for this box, or to a way to root it properly?
As @balbes150 asked, the goal would be to write a tutorial for people wanting to switch from Android to Armbian in the case they have just this computer available, and nothing else.
Thanks.

[JMCC]

I just enabled the 1.5Ghz OPP for legacy. The board is clearly the fastest RK3328 I've used so far, most probably due to good emmc and memory, plus great thermal management.

 

Due to the good thermals , I dared to dial down just a few uV from our standard 1.5Ghz OPP patch (1425000 instead of 1450000). I tested it extensively and found it stable. Reducing it to 1400000 caused some occasional instabilities.

[balbes150]

16 часов назад, gounthar сказал:

I then found another application that would burn whatever image you give it, but... it needs a rooted device.

Have you tried asking the Firefly developers what they would add to the Android "root" firmware ? Perhaps they can immediately include this in their firmware.

 

12 часов назад, JMCC сказал:

I just enabled the 1.5Ghz OPP for legacy. The board is clearly the fastest RK3328 I've used so far, most probably due to good emmc and memory, plus great thermal management.

I have been using this mode for a long time in all ArmbianTV builds kernel 5.10, everything works well on M1. 

[jeanrhum]

Hi,

I received this week my M1 obtained from the giveaway .

I will try to report regularly the images I'll test, but there is 2 kinds of images: csc armbian and armbianTV images. Which one should be preferred?

 

[NicoD]

I received the NVMe hat last week. I tried it and it doesn't seem to be working.
The case also isn't made for it. You need to remove the case except for the bottom plate to be able to plug the hat in. 
The wifi antenna is also glued with hot glue to the board. I needed to remove that to have the space for the hat.

The spacers also were too high to be able to plug the hat.

So I replaced them with lower spacer.

 

Then I was able to plug in the hat. But using my 512GB Samsung EVO 970 I couldn't make it recognize it in either Buster Legacy and Focal Mainline. Neither in Android.
I also tried other NVMe's, and none did work. 

A bit a pity they didn't hold the NVMe hat into account when designing the case. 

[balbes150]

19 часов назад, NicoD сказал:

Then I was able to plug in the hat. But using my 512GB Samsung EVO 970 I couldn't make it recognize it in either Buster Legacy and Focal Mainline. Neither in Android.
I also tried other NVMe's, and none did work. 

 

But note that the PoE contacts must be isolated so that they do not touch the power connector housing. And no need to disconnect the WiFi antenna connector from the board, it does not interfere with the installation of the hat

 

I pay attention, when I checked, I did not insert the connectors to the full depth, I controlled that the board did not touch and did not bend. I was left with about 1-2 mm of contacts not inserted into the connector. The Samsung EVO 970 256Gb NVMe module is perfectly detected and works on ArmbianTV. I haven't tested NVMe on other systems.

[Werner]

1 hour ago, balbes150 said:

I did not insert the connectors to the full depth,

So you think something is shorted when the adapter is fully plugged in?

[NicoD]

3 hours ago, balbes150 said:

And no need to disconnect the WiFi antenna connector from the board, it does not interfere with the installation of the hat

The antenna wire is connected the the middle metal sqaure ring. You can't make it fit with that on because of the antenna connector. 

 

 

3 hours ago, balbes150 said:

I pay attention, when I checked, I did not insert the connectors to the full depth, I controlled that the board did not touch and did not bend. I was left with about 1-2 mm of contacts not inserted into the connector. The Samsung EVO 970 256Gb NVMe module is perfectly detected and works on ArmbianTV. I haven't tested NVMe on other systems.

I tried that. Nothing found.

[balbes150]

3 часа назад, Werner сказал:

So you think something is shorted when the adapter is fully plugged in?

Yes, it is possible.

 

23 минуты назад, NicoD сказал:

The antenna wire is connected the the middle metal sqaure ring. You can't make it fit with that on because of the antenna connector. 

I unscrewed the nut and pulled the connector out of the housing. The antenna can be installed on the corner, which is fixed on the mounting posts. I don't need WiFi , so the antenna is just lying around next to P1 (I don't disconnect the connector from the board).

 

30 минут назад, NicoD сказал:

I tried that. Nothing found.

Is there a possibility of its malfunction ? What image and with what settings are you trying ?

[balbes150]

I checked it again now. NVMe works with all ArmbianTV and Armbian images with the main core. I didn't check the legacy kernel. Here is a screenshot. Please note, the hat is very sensitive to the contact fit, if you put it on too tightly, NVMe does not work. You need to slightly raise the hat over the main board, so that there is no contact with other elements.

 

https://yadi.sk/i/cWmayDV-hH0D5Q

 

Disk /dev/mtdblock0: 16 MiB, 16777216 bytes, 32768 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disk /dev/mmcblk2: 29.12 GiB, 31268536320 bytes, 61071360 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x72dd71e9

Device         Boot   Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/mmcblk2p1        30720  1038335  1007616  492M  c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/mmcblk2p2      1040384 61071359 60030976 28.6G 83 Linux

Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 232.91 GiB, 250059350016 bytes, 488397168 sectors
Disk model: Samsung SSD 970 EVO 250GB               
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x95cda040

Device         Boot Start       End   Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1       2048 488396799 488394752 232.9G 83 Linux

Disk /dev/sda: 14.73 GiB, 15795748864 bytes, 30851072 sectors
Disk model: Transcend 16GB  
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xd59e383c

Device     Boot   Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1         32768  1081343  1048576  512M  e W95 FAT16 (LBA)
/dev/sda2       1081344 30542559 29461216   14G 83 Linux

 

 

armbianmonitor

https://yadi.sk/d/iw5-pIbZWEucmQ

 

 

[balbes150]

The old LEGACY kernel does not see NVMe. Need to understand the configuration and DTS. But there's no time for that yet.

[NicoD]

37 minutes ago, balbes150 said:

The old LEGACY kernel does not see NVMe. Need to understand the configuration and DTS. But there's no time for that yet.

It works  I upped it a bit more and used the Focal mainline image. 465.76GiB of Samsung EVO 970 goodness. 
That's nice.  Happy.

Now what image should I use for the video? I wanted to use the media script for buster on it to have a great desktop image. 
I could also make a gaming image on it, but I'm not sure many people are interested in that. Could you please share your link again with Armbian TV images? 
Also for N2+ if you've got one. I'd like to use it as headless armbian build server. Thanks.

[balbes150]

5 минут назад, NicoD сказал:

Now what image should I use for the video? I wanted to use the media script for buster on it to have a great desktop image. 

If @JMCC adds a script for the main kernel, then any version can be used. 

Personally, I like the latest Hirsute. I am testing the latest versions (Hirsute and Sid) and see a significant improvement regarding Focal and Bullsey. As far as I know (when building LE with the main core), the main core now has all the components for HW.

I am quite satisfied with the main core, even without HW, it is enough for full-screen video in 1080p mode (this is the main mode I use, 4k is too small for the desktop).

 

13 минут назад, NicoD сказал:

Could you please share your link again with Armbian TV images? 

I regularly update all the latest images on the site 

http://bbs.t-firefly.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=2781&pid=13344&fromuid=636914

 

15 минут назад, NicoD сказал:

Also for N2+ if you've got one. I'd like to use it as headless armbian build server. Thanks.

I don't have N2+. I try not to release versions for hardware that I don't have (this creates a lot of problems for me, users ask questions and describe problems, but I can't test and fix them, so I avoid creating such variants).

[NicoD]

It's looking better now. I removed the wire for the antenna from the frame, plugged it back in. And attached the frame.
 
They should have designed the case a bit higher so the hat would fit. But I like it like this. I'll try hirsute now. Been a while since I tried it. 

[NicoD]

Awesome. This performs better than my M4V2. M4V2 does 750MB/s max. This does 850MB/s.
@balbes150There seems to be an issue with Hirsute mainline. Some apps don't work right. Like gparted. It doesn't open when you click it in the applications menu. 
You can start it with 'sudo gparted'. 
For gnome-disks it doesn't as for a password to do a task, so it fails it. When you load it with 'sudo gnome-disks' it does work as expected.
Also when doing reboot it goes into AndroidTV instead of rebooting to hirsute. 
NVMe does work.
I'll try sid now. 

[JMCC]

3 hours ago, NicoD said:

I could also make a gaming image on it

Remember that our kodi-addons-full package installs all the libretro cores for Kodi retroplayer. However, it is a known limitation that cores needing 3D acceleration (N64, PSX, PSP, etc.) don't work with the built-in Retroplayer, you need to use a external app.

 

3 hours ago, NicoD said:

Also for N2+

Are you having any problem with the Armbian N2+ image? I used the Focal-Current image for a while, and worked perfectly at 2.4GHz. Only had some graphical glitches if you tried to enable Glamor, due to a lack of maturity on the Panfrost driver for S922X's Mali G52.

[Werner]

14 hours ago, NicoD said:

They should have designed the case a bit higher so the hat would fit.

How much additional height would be needed? Maybe I can design kind a adapter for it milled from aluminum...

[balbes150]

1 час назад, Werner сказал:

How much additional height would be needed? Maybe I can design kind a adapter for it milled from aluminum...

The ideal solution would be to place the NVMe connector on the main board itself. The main board itself is large and has enough space to accommodate the M2 connector.

[Werner]

I have no idea what you are talking about?

 

can you make a few high-res close-up pictures from the setup (top view, side view, isometric view) and measure how much clearance you have between the adapter board and the brass bolts that normally hold the P1 cover? Also how much clearance would be needed to put the cover back on?

[balbes150]

24 минуты назад, Werner сказал:

I have no idea what you are talking about?

I meant the release of a new model P1 (if the manufacturer releases one), in which the M2 connector will be built into the main board (for example, as it is done on the Firefly rk3399 or on the NanoPC T4).

 

27 минут назад, Werner сказал:

can you make a few high-res close-up pictures from the setup (top view, side view, isometric view) and measure how much clearance you have between the adapter board and the brass bolts that normally hold the P1 cover? Also how much clearance would be needed to put the cover back on?

As for the photos, this is @NicoD, we have a specialist, I hope he can make them.

 

 

18 часов назад, NicoD сказал:

Now what image should I use for the video? I wanted to use the media script for buster on it to have a great desktop image. 

The good news is, I'm currently testing a new "old " kernel (legacy) that runs NVMe, analog audio, and remote control on the P1. I hope to upload a new Buster-legacy image with this core to the site soon. By the way, do I need to build more versions of Focal \ Bullseye, etc. with this kernel ?

 

https://yadi.sk/i/jICyz61XLYsoGw

[Werner]

The reason why I am asking is I try to reproduce the issue virtually by making the housing from scratch and then maybe come up with a workaround

 

 

Unfortunately I could not find a STEP file for the nvme adapter

 

[balbes150]

@NicoD Can you try with the current version of Buster-legacy this DTB ? With it, you should have NVMe. There will also be a device for analog sound, but without patches in the core itself, the sound does not work (in the new image with patches, the sound and remote control work).

 

https://yadi.sk/d/VnNZwpT0Sfbf8Q

[JMCC]

3 hours ago, balbes150 said:

a new "old " kernel (legacy) that runs NVMe, analog audio, and remote control on the P1

Do you think the patches could be ported to one of our RK3399 kernels?

[NicoD]

@WernerIt is only about 2mm that it sticks out. With a redesign of only the top plate it could be fixed. Just give it a rim of about 3mm to have some spare. 
I don't mind to have the top open. I just need to be careful not to short anything. I've always used my SBCs open, and never did short any.
 

 

3 hours ago, balbes150 said:

The good news is, I'm currently testing a new "old " kernel (legacy) that runs NVMe, analog audio, and remote control on the P1. I hope to upload a new Buster-legacy image with this core to the site soon. By the way, do I need to build more versions of Focal \ Bullseye, etc. with this kernel ?

 

That is great. All I need is Buster. 
 

 

18 hours ago, JMCC said:

Remember that our kodi-addons-full package installs all the libretro cores for Kodi retroplayer. However, it is a known limitation that cores needing 3D acceleration (N64, PSX, PSP, etc.) don't work with the built-in Retroplayer, you need to use a external app.

 

Indeed, and I don't even need Kodi for that. I've always used the legacy images for gaming too.  With Mednaffe I can play most consoles that don't need opengl. And Dosbox, and some good linux games.

 

18 hours ago, JMCC said:

Are you having any problem with the Armbian N2+ image? I used the Focal-Current image for a while, and worked perfectly at 2.4GHz. Only had some graphical glitches if you tried to enable Glamor, due to a lack of maturity on the Panfrost driver for S922X's Mali G52.

Not really having a problem. I'm also running at 2.4Ghz Focal legacy. My only problem is that my 5Ghz wifi dongles ain't working on it. With mainline it does work, but then there's problems with display resolutions. 
I wanted a ArmbianTV image for it since Balbes installs all the needed files for native armbian build. But I've got the files on other armbiantv images.

[balbes150]

Только что, JMCC сказал:

Do you think the patches could be ported to one of our RK3399 kernels?

The DTS patch is sufficient to enable NVMe. For the rest of the elements-I'm just now preparing patches for the current Legacy kernel (rockchip64), which is used to build the version for P1 in the official GIT.

 

 

[NicoD]

8 minutes ago, balbes150 said:

The DTS patch is sufficient to enable NVMe. For the rest of the elements-I'm just now preparing patches for the current Legacy kernel (rockchip64), which is used to build the version for P1 in the official GIT.

 

Not working, this is what I get, stays on this.

[balbes150]

2 минуты назад, NicoD сказал:

It is only about 2mm that it sticks out. With a redesign of only the top plate it could be fixed. Just give it a rim of about 3mm to have some spare. 
I don't mind to have the top open. I just need to be careful not to short anything. I've always used my SBCs open, and never did short any.

In working condition, the top will be a radiator for the processor, and the NVMe module will be at the bottom, and there is enough plastic plate for protection, it can be installed with a blunt and a gap on the additional racks with which the hat will be attached. By the way, you can install a corner plate on these racks, on which to place the WiFi antenna mount.