Tiny Core Base > piCore Test Releases
piCore-6.1alpha4 for RPi2
CentralWare:
@bmarkus:
1) Pin 2 of which connector? Pin 2 (Vcc) of the GPIO connector (In theory it should, but it bypasses the onboard regulator)
2) Class 4 is ok for generic use aswell as 2GB. There are certion cards are not recognized by the RPi firmware. It has not related to size, vendor, ... I have seen issues with uSD card adapters also. Try your cards. If they are booting, use them. Thanks for the head's up. I use as small as 128MB cards on x86 boards, but not familiar with Pi's prerequisites as I hear everywhere "8GB Class 10 is the only way to go"
3) Check the -SSH and -X images with a second mmcblk0p2 partion with preinstalled tcz's in /tce and a preconfigured backup file. I loaded the -X image, fdisk'ed the second partition (dropping the built in extensions) and reloaded. There's a few quirks to iron out, but nothing horrific/breaking noticed yet.
4) python.tcz is in the repo. Thanks, found it!
5) Do not understand. Are you saying that your Pi doesn't boot at all and you get only the coloured screen? Just for kicks I loaded an ARM6 image of TC6 and it just sat at the video test image. I remember reading somewhere that there was a way to disable the test image (rainbow) but God knows where I read that. With piCore-6 (arm6) image, you see the LED flicker a couple times while attempting to start the kernel and then it just hangs. I was considering picking up a B+ or two but considering the differences (hardware and the very little price difference) I went for all Pi2B models for the testing phase. If all works out I'll be clouding them together internally, but first I have to push them to see where their limitations stand.
6) Pi2 CPU is 32-bit. Pi (armv6) extensions work fine with Pi2 (armv7). 32-bit with multiple cores... this should prove interesting! :)
Little things I've noticed thus far:
*) Once video is reset (CLI), the 2B has a tendency to skip a few lines at the top when scrolling. (There are about 40 rows, 36 or so scroll while leaving the others where they are. A "clear" tends to this and it doesn't seem to happen again until rebooting... but nothing horrible.
*) I haven't looked into the arm6 repo, but web browsers and similar tools will eventually become a high demand request :)
*) No documentation regarding MPG and other licensing that I've found thus far (integration into TC for hardware based decoding.)
*) Video playback (XBMC, VLC, etc.) is staggered at high motion, but that's somewhat expected due to the speed of the unit.
*) Netflix use... well... would have been nice, but I haven't ironed out all of the DRM specs yet :)
**) Otherwise, things are looking terrific!!! The USB based network interface somewhat kills the concept of turning a Pi into a router/gateway (adding a second USB based NIC tends to bog the channel.) I still have to trace out the composite (none of my 4-pin A/V cables work on this unit, but it may be due to my configuration being less than perfect... we'll see.)
Thanks again and take care!
~TJ~
CentralWare:
For those interested:
Raspberry Pi Power System
I took a quick look at the Pi spec sheet and my theory is correct... the Pi can be powered through the GPIO power leads; WITH PRECAUTIONS.
1) When feeding Vcc (5v) from the GPIO, use a solid power supply, preferably one listed as "regulated" (such as a computer PSU) and/or utilize a 5 volt, 2 amp 3 pin regulator and a filter capacitor rated approx. 1600uF at 6.3 volts or higher.
2) Add a 1, 1.5 or 2.0 amp 5 volt "fast blow" fuse to the circuit feeding the GPIO pin as we're bypassing the polymer fuse that normally protects the Pi with using the uUSB connection. (Shunting the onboard fuse can be a nightmare without the right soldering iron and a steady hand, so this also makes it more convenient for hardware designers in case something goes wrong, you don't have to modify the Pi board... just your PSU circuit.)
3) The Pi has a very small tolerance (up to ~0.,25 volt drop) before it runs on a threshold of becoming unstable. An external 5v regulation circuit can help prevent USB devices from draining the uUSB connector's normal way of feeding the device without the need for a powered USB hub (adding more cables to the mix and a bad power supply with a USB hub can blow the poly fuses on that circuit.)
4) Always add more amperage than you need as power supply devices themselves have a waste level. (A PSU rated at 5v 1A does not usually mean it can sustain 1A worth of draw, but allows an intermittent "peak" of 1A for short durations.)
5) For those wishing to use a computer PSU (ATX power supply) the task is very simple. First, it's most convenient to use a PSU with a "Vacation Switch" (on/off) on the back allowing you to disconnect power without disconnecting anything from the Pi. Secondly, to "turn on" an ATX power supply, find the one GREEN wire in the 20-pin side that normally goes to the computer's motherboard (or 24 pin if it's a solid connector) and run a wire between the GREEN lead and any of the black leads directly next to it. Grounding the green wire tells the PSU to engage. Finally, using one of the D-Sub (4 pin hard drive connectors) connect the 5v rail to Pin 2 (5Vcc) of the GPIO (image here: http://elinux.org/RPi_Low-level_peripherals) and one of the black leads to Pin 6 (Ground) or one of the other ground lines shown. This is UN-PROTECTED as most power supplies will allow more drain on a single 5v rail than the Pi can handle, thus the suggestion for filtering and a fuse noted above.
We're going to be creating an array (8x8) of headless Pi boards and one of the goals is to minimize wiring. The power supply feeding all these boards was the first step. The second step might also be useful for those wanting to limit wasted copper and space:
Network: Since the Pi has merely a BASE-100T network interface, and we'd prefer wired over wireless, you can literally cut your cables in HALF as you only need four wires (instead of the eight within a single CAT-5 cable.) If you have (or are willing to purchase) a crimper/stripper and some RJ-45 ends to crimp, generic flat telephone cable is all you need to create your own T-100 network cables. (Or you can use standard CAT wire and share one cable for two Pi.) To do this, you need to utilize only pins 1, 2, 3 and 6 on each end (leaving the other four pins empty.) If connecting to a hub or switch, you need only connect pin 1 on one side to pin 1 on the other, then repeat for the other three listed. If connecting a Pi to a Pi you need to create what's called a cross-over cable, which is pin 1 to 3, 2 to 6 in the following fashion:
STANDARD CROSS-OVER
==============================
Pin 1 -> Pin 1 Pin 1 -> Pin 3
Pin 2 -> Pin 2 Pin 2 -> Pin 6
Pin 3 -> Pin 3 Pin 3 -> Pin 1
Pin 6 -> Pin 6 Pin 6 -> Pin 2
WARNING: For anyone over-clocking the Pi, heat-sink modules on the processor is an almost-must, but if they're enclosed (poly cases that don't breathe) the heat-sink isn't likely going to do much as there's nowhere for the heat to "go." If you implement a cooling fan, be sure the fan is connected to a power supply NOT fed from USB or the micro-USB cable. The start-up current for a fan is quite a bit AND when powering off, the fan turns into a DC generator which could lead to data problems and the likes. A diode placed on the + lead of the fan will help prevent the fan from "feeding" the Pi electricity as it spins down and a 6-16v capacitor (~2700uF) across the leads will assist with the spin-up issues.
bmarkus:
SD cards: 8GB Class 10 is the most widely available and reletively the cheapest category, thats all. Lower capacity cards are slow, but may work. If your apps are not using the card after boot, you van copy all tcz's to RAM. It slows down startup but system will run fast. Up to you.
Browsers: I will update NETSURF browser to the latest. It is fine for most tasks. Do not expect FIREFOX ot CHROMIUM on piCore, these are not for such hardware. I tried to build webkit many times but it always failed for same reason and still it is too heavy. User contribution welcome. On RPi2 compilation is faster :)
Video: If you are interested in video playback, you can contribute building omxplayer or the hardware accelerated gstreamer or SDL2 and find a player working with SDL2. It is at the bottom of my priority list of extensions.
But as I wrote, user contribution are highly welcome. Make and submit what is important for you and can be useful for others :)
curaga:
@centralware
Typo: "D-sub". That means VGA, I guess you mean Molex.
sodface:
@centralware
RPi network port is Auto-MDIX so crossover cable is not needed if connecting host to host.
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