OLIMEX A13-OLinuXino, A13-OLinuXino-WIFI User Manual

A13-OLinuXino and A13-OLinuXino-WIFI

Open-source single-board

Android 4.0 mini-computer

USER’S MANUAL

Revision G, October 2014

All boards produced by Olimex LTD are ROHS compliant

DISCLAIMER

The information in this document is provided in connection with Olimex products. No license, express or implied or otherwise, to any intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of Olimex products.

The Hardware project is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. You may reproduce it for both your own personal use, and for commercial use. You will have to provide a link to the original creator of the project http://www.olimex.com on any documentation or website.

You may also modify the files, but you must then release them as well under the same terms. Credit can be attributed through a link to the creator website: http://www.olimex.com

The software is released under GPL.

It is possible that the pictures in this manual differ from the latest revision of the board.

The product described in this document is subject to continuous development and improvements. All particulars of the product and its use contained in this document are given by OLIMEX in good faith. However all warranties implied or expressed including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for purpose are excluded. This document is intended only to assist the reader in the use of the product. OLIMEX Ltd. shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of any information in this document or any error or omission in such information or any incorrect use of the product.

This evaluation board/kit is intended for use for engineering development, demonstration, or evaluation purposes only and is not considered by OLIMEX to be a finished end-product fit for general consumer use. Persons handling the product must have electronics training and observe good engineering practice standards. As such, the goods being provided are not intended to be complete in terms of required design-, marketing-, and/or manufacturing-related protective considerations, including product safety and environmental measures typically found in end products that incorporate such semiconductor components or circuit boards.

Olimex currently deals with a variety of customers for products, and therefore our arrangement with the user is not exclusive. Olimex assumes no liability for applications assistance, customer product design, software performance, or infringement of patents or services described herein.

THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE DESIGN MATERIALS AND THE COMPONENTS USED TO CREATE A13-OLINUXINO AND A13-OLINUXINOWIFI. THEY ARE CONSIDERED SUITABLE ONLY FOR A13-OLINUXINO AND A13-OLINUXINO-WIFI.

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Table of Contents

DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................................. 2

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 5

1. Introduction to the chapter ....................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Features ..................................................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Target market and purpose of the board ............................................................................... 6

1.3 Board variants .......................................................................................................................... 6

1.4 Organization ............................................................................................................................. 6

CHAPTER 2: SETTING UP THE OLINUXINO BOARD ..................................... 8

2. Introduction to the chapter ....................................................................................................... 8

2.1 Electrostatic warning ............................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Requirements ........................................................................................................................... 8

2.3 Powering the board .................................................................................................................. 9

2.4 Prebuilt software .................................................................................................................... 10

2.5 Button functions in Android .................................................................................................. 11

2.6 How we configured the Android image ................................................................................ 11

2.6.1. Getting the Android SDK tools ................................................................................................................... 11

2.6.2. Adding information for the board in the Linux ........................................................................................ 11

2.6.3. Installing the SDK tools .............................................................................................................................. 12

2.6.4. Connecting the A13-OLinuXino ................................................................................................................ 13

2.6.5. Downloading the default config file and script tool .................................................................................. 14

2.6.6. Applying the script and uploading the confing ......................................................................................... 14

2.6.7. Restarting the A13-OLinuXino .................................................................................................................. 14

2.7 GPIO under Debian ............................................................................................................... 14

2.8 I2C and SPI under Debian .................................................................................................... 16

2.9 Software support .................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER 3: A13-OLINUXINO BOARD DESCRIPTION ................................. 17

3. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 17

3.1 Layout (top view) ................................................................................................................... 17

CHAPTER 4: THE ALLWINNER A13 MICROCONTROLLER ....................... 18

4. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 18

4.1 The microcontroller ............................................................................................................... 18

4.2 Block diagram ........................................................................................................................ 20

CHAPTER 5: CONTROL CIRCUITY ................................................................... 21

5. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 21

5.1 Reset ........................................................................................................................................ 21

5.2 Clocks ...................................................................................................................................... 21

5.3 Power supply circuit .............................................................................................................. 21

CHAPTER 6: CONNECTORS AND PINOUT ...................................................... 22

6. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 22

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6.1 Communication with the A13 ............................................................................................... 22

6.1.1 USB communication ..................................................................................................................................... 22

6.1.2 UART1 interface ........................................................................................................................................... 23

6.2 SD/MMC slot .......................................................................................................................... 24

6.3 UEXT module ......................................................................................................................... 25

6.4 GPIO-1 (General Purpose Input/Output) 10pin connector ............................................... 26

6.5 GPIO-2 (General Purpose Input/Output) 40pin connector ............................................... 27

6.6 LCD_CON 40pin connector .................................................................................................. 28

6.7 PWR Jack ............................................................................................................................... 29

6.8 Headphones and microphone connector .............................................................................. 29

6.9 Battery connector ................................................................................................................... 30

6.7 VGA video connector ............................................................................................................. 30

6.8 Jumper description ................................................................................................................ 31

6.8.1 CE_NAND_E ................................................................................................................................................ 31

6.8.2 3.3V_OPTION, 1.5V_E ................................................................................................................................ 31

6.8.3 5V_E .............................................................................................................................................................. 31

6.8.4 HOST_EN, 5V_E_WIFI, WIFI-3.3V/5V_USB .......................................................................................... 31

6.9 Additional hardware components ........................................................................................ 31

CHAPTER 7: SCHEMATICS .................................................................................. 33

7. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 33

7.1 Eagle schematic ...................................................................................................................... 33

7.2 Physical dimensions ............................................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER 8: REVISION HISTORY AND SUPPORT ........................................ 35

8. Introduction to the chapter ..................................................................................................... 35

8.1 Document revision ................................................................................................................. 35

8.2 Board revision ........................................................................................................................ 36

8.3 Useful web links and purchase codes ................................................................................... 37

8.4 Product support ..................................................................................................................... 38

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW

1. Introduction to the chapter

Thank you for choosing the OLinuXino single board computer from Olimex! This document provides a user’s guide for the Olimex OLinuXino board. As an overview, this chapter gives the scope of this document and lists the board’s features. The document’s organization is then detailed.

The OLinuXino development board enables code development of applications running on the microcontroller A13, manufactured by Allwinner Technology from China.

OLinuXino is an open-source, open-hardware project and all documentation is available to the customer.

1.1 Features

• A13 Cortex A8 processor at 1GHz, 3D Mali400 GPU

• 512 MB RAM

• 6-16VDC input power supply, noise immune design

• 3 + 1 USB Host, 3 available for users 1 for (optional) WIFI RTL8188CU 802.11n 150Mbit

module on board

• 1 USB OTG which can power the board

• SD-card connector for booting the Linux image

• (optional) 4GB NAND flash

• VGA video output – 800×600 resolution

• LCD signals available on connector so you still can use LCD if you diasble VGA/HDMI

• Audio Output

• Microphone input

• RTC PCF8536 on board for real time clock and alarms

• 5 Keys on board for android navigation

• UEXT connector for connecting addtional UEXT modules like Zigbee, Bluetooth, Relays,

etc

• GPIO connector with 68/74 pins and these signals : 17 for adding NAND flash; 22 for connecting LCDs; 20+4 including 8 GPIOs which can be input, output, interrupt sources; 3x I2C; 2x UARTs; SDIO2 for connectinf SDcards and modules; 5 system pins: +5V, +3.3V, GND, RESET, NMI

• (Optional low cost 7" LCD with touchscreen)

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1.2 Target market and purpose of the board

The boards from the OLinuXino family are easy to setup and powerful. They are suitable for embedded programming enthusiasts, Linux and Android gadget fans and also professionals (since its low cost makes it very good solution for application orientated embedded systems). The main usage of the board is software embedded development without the urge of understanding perfectly the hardware.

The strong points of the boards are the processor speed, the mobility of the board and the low ratio price to productivity.

Customers have full access to the technical documentation of the board. The software is released under General Purpose License and the board is considered open-hardware.

1.3 Board variants

There are three major processor variants. According to the names: A13-OLinuXino and A13OLinuXino-MICRO and A13-SOM.

The base model has also two flavors: A13-OLinuXino and A13-OLinuXino-WIFI. The first one is the base model that goes without any operating system image on board, while the second has two additional components – a WIFI module on the board and NAND memory with stored Android image.

The A13-OLinuXino-Micro differs from the base A13-OLinuXino by having only 1 USB host, 1 USB OTG, no power connector, no NAND memory, no WIFI, no audio out connector, less buttons.

If you are looking for an A13 board with tiny dimensions and suitable for implementing in own designs then refer to A13-SOM board – it has tiny dimensions.

There are more powerful A10 and A20 designs that Olimex manufactures nowadays. Boards like A20-OLinuXino-LIME; A20-OLinuXino-MICRO and A20-OLinuXino-LIME2 are generally faster and capable of better video output.

1.4 Organization

Each section in this document covers a separate topic, organized as follow:

– Chapter 1 is an overview of the board usage and features – Chapter 2 provides a guide for quickly setting up the board and software notes – Chapter 3 contains the general board diagram and layout – Chapter 4 describes the component that is the heart of the board: the A13 – Allwinner

processor

– Chapter 5 is an explanation of the control circuitry associated with the microcontroller to

reset. Also shows the clocks on the board

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– Chapter 6 covers the connector pinout, peripherals and jumper description – Chapter 7 provides the schematics – Chapter 8 contains the revision history, useful links and support information

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CHAPTER 2: SETTING UP THE OLINUXINO BOARD

2. Introduction to the chapter

This section helps you set up the OLinuXino development board for the first time. Please consider first the electrostatic warning to avoid damaging the board, then discover the hardware and software required to operate the board.

The procedure to power up the board is given, and a description of the default board behavior is detailed.

2.1 Electrostatic warning

OLinuXino is shipped in a protective anti-static package. The board must not be exposed to high electrostatic potentials. A grounding strap or similar protective device should be worn when handling the board. Avoid touching the component pins or any other metallic element.

2.2 Requirements

In order to set up the OLinuXino optimally, the following items are required:

- 6V to 16V, 6W required (6V @ 1A or 16V @ 0.4A) – for optimal power

- LCD (preferably with touchscreen panel) display for the LCD_CON OR TV monitor with RGB port

- A USB mouse – if you use touchscreen LCD you might skip the mouse

Additional items include:

- USB keyboard – for convenience with text input

- USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F – for serial communication with UART1 connector

- USB-MINI-CABLE – for connecting with the USB OTG and being able to firmware update ot power A13-OLinuXino

- Wireless internet connectivity or USB modem – for browser access and access to the Android market

Some of the suggested items can be purchased by Olimex, for instance:

SY0612E – power supply adapter 12V/0.5A for A13-OLinuXino USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F – USB serial console cable female USB-MINI-CABLE – standard USB type A to USB type mini cable

A 7'' LCD display with optional touch screen panel is available for purchase also:

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https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A13/A13-LCD7/ https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A13/A13-LCD7-TS/

Note that if you wish to use one of the LCD displays mentioned above you need to upload different Android image – configured for 480×800 screen resolution.

2.3 Powering the board

There are three possible ways of powering A13-OLinuXino – via external supply using the power jack, via a battery using the battery connector or via the USB OTG connector. Depending on your preferred way of powering A13-OLinuXino you might need additional hardware.

The preferred way of powering board is via the PWR jack with 6Vdc to 16Vdc with a power of 6W (e.g. 6Vx1A to 16Vx0.4A). This will make the board fully powered and able to power all the peripherals connected to it.

When powered by the typical 3.7V Lithium-polymer battery the board will be fully functional and you will be able to operate with most of the peripherals. However when using all three USB-A connectors and an LCD connected to the LCD_con it might cause flickering and not sufficient power. If you suspect the power is not enough for the peripherals you have connected use the PWR jack.

The board can be also powered by the USB OTG connector (mini USB standard) but the voltage provided is not enough to power a possible LCD connected to the LCD_con. However, this power option is capable of driving the board when using external display connected to the VGA connector.

If you have a standard LCD display connected to LCD_con, Android and WIFI running the typical consumption is between 150mA and 350mA depending on the current load. While the board is in stand-by mode it consumes a minimum of 60mA. All the three approximate values above were taken when I applied 12V to the board.

Important! Avoid disconnecting the power supply while Android or Linux is running, since that might corrupt the operating system and you will need to install the OS again (for Android install instructions check chapter 2.6. Use the PWR_BUT before disconnecting the supply.

If the board has entered power-down state you can bring it back without restart using the PWR_BUT.

For the European customers we sell a power supply adapter 12V/0.5A – SY0612E. We also sell USB OTG to USB type A cables if you lack such.

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2.4 Prebuilt software

The A13-OLinuXino-WIFI board comes with Android 4.0 ready to use. The default settings of the software are followed.

Note that the A13-OLinuXino (standard version without WIFI) lacks NAND memory and there isn't OS uploaded on the shipped boards (no Android).

How we have installed the software? We have configured an Android image with settings suitable for A13-OLinuXino. Then using LiveSuit tools we uploaded the image to the board. To activate A13 bootloader do as follows: run Livesuit, disconnect the power supply and USB cable, then press HOME button, apply power supply, attach USB cable and release the button, Livesuit will detect the bootloader and will ask which file to program to the NAND flash. The image will be available for users to try and tweak the settings. You can find and image with the view of the progress window in LiveSuit:

Download links to all available images (and tools needed) can be found at the A13-OLinuXino wiki page: https://www.olimex.com/wiki/A13-OLinuXino.

Helpful information about the Android and Linux images can be found at the OLIMEX forums.

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2.5 Button functions in Android

The following buttons represent functions in the Android:

PWR_BUT – used to wake the board from stand-by HOME – shows the home screen; note that HOME is also used to enter bootloader mode for

firmware update

ENTER – to select a choice MENU – brings up the main menu VOL+ – increases the volume VOL- – lowers the volume

For more information on the button functions check the Android documentation.

Note that RESET button will perform a hardware reset of the board, not controlled by the OS.

2.6 How we configured the Android image

This is a detailed explanation of how we got to tweak the Android image configuration files. It is worth mentioning that we used Ubuntu with Linux Kernel 3.2 for the steps below.

2.6.1. Getting the Android SDK tools

Download the Android SDK tools for Linux from: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html Note that you have to click “Other platforms” and get the one for Linux. Then you extract it:

tar zxfv android-sdk_r20.0.3-linux.tgz

Note that the above line would vary depending on the version you have downloaded (by the time of writing 20.0.3 was the latest one).

2.6.2. Adding information for the board in the Linux

Create the following file:

.../etc/udev/rules.d/70-android.rules

and add the following line inside:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb_device", SYSFS{idVendor}=="18d1", MODE="0666"

then we save the file and change its properties with chmod +x 70-android.rules and reboot the computer.

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2.6.3. Installing the SDK tools

Navigate to the folder where we extracted the tools (folder tools) in point 1 and start it: ./android

From the check boxes select to install Android SDK Tools, Android SDK Platform Tools and Android 4.0 API

2.6.4. Connecting the A13-OLinuXino

Power the A13-OLINUXINO. Now connect the miniUSB to the board and wait a bit for the USB to enumerate.

After the tools are installed we navigate to “platform-tools” folder located in the directory of the tools (where we extracted in point 1), then we enter:

./adb devices

which will show us the list of the available devices. The output should would like:

List of devices attached 20080411 device

However if we get “bash: ./adb: No such file or directory“- we have to check if the ia32-libs are installed if not, we install them with:

apt-get install ia32-libs

If again the device is not listed we try to stop and run the server again with the following (we have to be logged as root!):

cd /home/android-sdk/platform-tools/ ./adb kill-server ./adb start-server

Exit the root and enter the shell of the device

./adb shell

We then create mounting point for the NAND memory :

mkdir /sdcard/nanda

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+ 25 hidden pages

OLIMEX A13-OLinuXino, A13-OLinuXino-WIFI User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual