- arm-netbook - Mailman test

Fwd: Where are the 93 Computer Cards ?
by Franck Sinimalé 18 Jan '23

18 Jan '23

Hi all, Here is Chris's answer. Since I do not understand everything very well, I would ask you (Luke ?) what should I (we?) answer. My first idea could be : "Hi Chris, many thanks for you answer. Nice to read that you have some cards. Could you please send them to [this direction]. The next step that will be communicated is [this next step]." Ok, as the end of his answer suggest, I won't ask on mastodon or other people for now. I wait your answer (Luke ?) before replying to Chris. I don't know which direction to send cards nor what message to communicate about next step. Regards, Franck -------- Message transféré -------- Sujet : ... Date : Fri, 25 Nov 2022 13:25:06 -0500 De : Christopher Waid <chris(a)thinkpenguin.com> Pour : Franck Sinimalé <franck(a)sinimale.fr> On 11/24/22 10:14, Franck Sinimalé wrote: > > Hi Chris, > > Hope things are as welle as possible for you. > > I'm one of the backers of EOMA68 Computing Devices > (https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop). > > Could you please tell me (and us) : Where are the 93 Computer Cards ? > > Best regards, > Franck Sinimalé > https://franck.sinimale.fr/ > Not sure if it's 93 cards, but yes, I have some # of cards. We need an OS image and directions and probably some clear communications as to what to do next. If we're sending them to someone he should probably email me an address. It would also probably help if he email'd rather than asked other people to ask me where things stand. I have no idea other than this.

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Re: [Arm-netbook] U-boot and Towboot
by Giovanni Lostumbo 17 Jan '23

17 Jan '23

"it's possible to reconfigure u-boot (etc) to have the OS on the Card's micro-sd." Not sure if this helps, but I read that Towboot supports an additional feature: "On boards with dedicated storage for the firmware, the/Tow-Boot/build should be independent from, and not care about the installed system media." https://github.com/Tow-Boot/Tow-Boot https://tow-boot.org/ On 1/17/2023 3:05 AM, arm-netbook-request(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk wrote: > Send arm-netbook mailing list submissions to > arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > arm-netbook-request(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk > > You can reach the person managing the list at > arm-netbook-owner(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of arm-netbook digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: next step is a boot image (Andreas Grapentin) > 2. Re: next step is a boot image (Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton) > 3. Re: next step is a boot image (Andreas Grapentin) > 4. Re: next step is a boot image (Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton) > 5. Re: next step is a boot image (Pablo Rath) > 6. Re: next step is a boot image (Pablo Rath) > 7. Re: Fwd: Where are the 93 Computer Cards ? (Pablo Rath) > 8. Re: next step is a boot image (Andreas Grapentin) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2023 19:55:47 +0100 > From: Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> > To: Eco-Conscious Computing<arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [Arm-netbook] next step is a boot image > Message-ID:<ED1673BE-4B32-4CB9-B176-CD881100B059(a)grapentin.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > >> On 13. Jan 2023, at 04:12, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> wrote: >> >> On Thursday, January 12, 2023, Andreas Grapentin <andreas(a)grapentin.org <mailto:andreas@grapentin.org>> >> wrote: >>> >>>> On 12. Jan 2023, at 15:44, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> >> wrote: >>>> On Thursday, January 12, 2023, Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> >>>> wrote: >>>>> I'm curious -- does the old parabola image no longer work?? >>>> from 2016? unfortunately the MicroSD card with the only >>>> copy destroyed itself. >>> I still have a copy, I think. I’ll go looking for it. >> yes please. do you use bittorrent, can you publish a magnet link? >> i will grab and seed it if you do? > I’ve found the parabola image I used back in 2021, and tried to boot it on an EOMA card revision 2.7.4 and a microdesktop revision 1.7 > > In the process of attaching peripheries, I must have blown something on the microdesktop, the power LED no longer lights up, tested multiple chargers. I’m fairly certain that the LED did light up green when I started working on the board today. Is it possible that I blew a fuse somewhere? > > Apart from that, I currently can’t get the system to boot. I have output from the boot loader, but it’s not much: > > U-Boot SPL 2017.01-2 (Jan 18 2017 - 21:30:38) > DRAM: 2048 MiB > CPU: 912000000Hz, AXI/AHB/APB: 3/2/2 > Trying to boot from MMC2MMC Device 1 not found > spl: could not find mmc device. error: -19 > SPL: failed to boot from all boot devices > ### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ### > > This is when I insert the sd card in the EOMA card directly. When I insert the sd card into the microdesktop, I don’t get anything. Still working on it though. > > I’m confident that this is salvageable, considering that I do get boot loader output through UART. I’ll keep looking into it. If you have any hints, I’d appreciate it. > > in the meantime, I’ll prepare a magnet link / http direct download for the image I’m using, in case it’s useful for someone else. I’ll send those links to the list ASAP. > > Best, > Andreas > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2023 19:01:03 +0000 > From: Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> > To: Eco-Conscious Computing<arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [Arm-netbook] next step is a boot image > Message-ID: > <CAPweEDxrHiGLFry5ex3P7DXoBDvnavfSxcCx_R7U05QTWF4PXQ(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > On Mon, Jan 16, 2023 at 6:56 PM Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> wrote: > >> I’ve found the parabola image I used back in 2021, and tried to boot it on an EOMA card revision 2.7.4 and a microdesktop revision 1.7 > brilliant > >> In the process of attaching peripheries, I must have blown something on the microdesktop, the power LED no longer lights up, tested multiple chargers. I’m fairly certain that the LED did light up green when I started working on the board today. Is it possible that I blew a fuse somewhere? > yes it should. no there's no fuse. you'll need a multimeter, be *careful*. > i suggest taking the Card out. if it's really borked you can power it > with a 5V USB "charger" cable (into the 2 standard USB sockets). > > also, check you inserted the Card correctly: not one row along or one > pin along, and make sure no contact between the two PCBs. > >> Apart from that, I currently can’t get the system to boot. I have output from the boot loader, but it’s not much: >> >> U-Boot SPL 2017.01-2 (Jan 18 2017 - 21:30:38) >> DRAM: 2048 MiB >> CPU: 912000000Hz, AXI/AHB/APB: 3/2/2 >> Trying to boot from MMC2MMC Device 1 not found >> spl: could not find mmc device. error: -19 >> SPL: failed to boot from all boot devices >> ### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ### > ok if you've no power on the MD then the Level Shifter IC will not > be powered up and the MicroSD card socket obviously > will not be recognised. > >> I’m confident that this is salvageable, considering that I do get boot loader output through UART. I’ll keep looking into it. If you have any hints, I’d appreciate it. > it's possible to reconfigure u-boot (etc) to have the OS on the Card's micro-sd. > >> in the meantime, I’ll prepare a magnet link / http direct download for the image I’m using, in case it’s useful for someone else. I’ll send those links to the list ASAP. > awesome. > > l. > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2023 20:10:08 +0100 > From: Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> > To: Eco-Conscious Computing<arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [Arm-netbook] next step is a boot image > Message-ID:<BE68C5FA-7F51-4F90-ADF8-DB4F8456508B(a)grapentin.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > > >> On 16. Jan 2023, at 20:01, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> wrote: >> >> On Mon, Jan 16, 2023 at 6:56 PM Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> wrote: >> >>> In the process of attaching peripheries, I must have blown something on the microdesktop, the power LED no longer lights up, tested multiple chargers. I’m fairly certain that the LED did light up green when I started working on the board today. Is it possible that I blew a fuse somewhere? >> yes it should. no there's no fuse. you'll need a multimeter, be *careful*. >> i suggest taking the Card out. if it's really borked you can power it >> with a 5V USB "charger" cable (into the 2 standard USB sockets). >> >> also, check you inserted the Card correctly: not one row along or one >> pin along, and make sure no contact between the two PCBs. > forgot to mention, I’m using the expansion header on the micro desktop for the UART connection. Power to the EOMA card directly through the microUSB works, that’s what I’m doing right now. I haven’t tried the USB sockets on the micro desktop though, that might be worth a shot. > >>> I’m confident that this is salvageable, considering that I do get boot loader output through UART. I’ll keep looking into it. If you have any hints, I’d appreciate it. >> it's possible to reconfigure u-boot (etc) to have the OS on the Card's micro-sd. > I believe I’m using a quite old u-boot boot script. Included below. I’m not too familiar with u-boot, any tips what needs to be changed to switch the microSD slot, or maybe include a fallback option to try booting from the internal microSD if the external one is unavailable? > > > if test -n ${distro_bootpart}; then setenv bootpart ${distro_bootpart}; else setenv bootpart 1; fi > part uuid ${devtype} ${devnum}:${bootpart} uuid > > setenv bootargs console=${console} root=PARTUUID=${uuid} rw rootwait > > if load ${devtype} ${devnum}:${bootpart} ${kernel_addr_r} /boot/zImage; then > if load ${devtype} ${devnum}:${bootpart} ${fdt_addr_r} /boot/dtbs/${fdtfile}; then > if load ${devtype} ${devnum}:${bootpart} ${ramdisk_addr_r} /boot/initramfs-linux.img; then > bootz ${kernel_addr_r} ${ramdisk_addr_r}:${filesize} ${fdt_addr_r}; > else > bootz ${kernel_addr_r} - ${fdt_addr_r}; > fi; > fi; > fi > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2023 04:29:06 +0000 > From: Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> > To: Eco-Conscious Computing<arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [Arm-netbook] next step is a boot image > Message-ID: > <CAPweEDyfDVVRnqrycPhms+Q15e-dO75EmVuvNwywz-SW5gQPgQ(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > On Monday, January 16, 2023, Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> > wrote: >> >>> On 16. Jan 2023, at 20:01, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton<lkcl(a)lkcl.net> > wrote: >>> On Mon, Jan 16, 2023 at 6:56 PM Andreas Grapentin<andreas(a)grapentin.org> > wrote: >>>> In the process of attaching peripheries, I must have blown something on > the microdesktop, the power LED no longer lights up, tested multiple > chargers. I’m fairly certain that the LED did light up green when I started > working on the board today. Is it possible that I blew a fuse somewhere? >>> yes it should. no there's no fuse. you'll need a multimeter, be > *careful*. >>> i suggest taking the Card out. if it's really borked you can power it >>> with a 5V USB "charger" cable (into the 2 standard USB sockets). >>> >>> also, check you inserted the Card correctly: not one row along or one >>> pin along, and make sure no contact between the two PCBs. >> forgot to mention, I’m using the expansion header on the micro desktop > for the UART connection. > > yep ido that. > >> Power to the EOMA card directly through the microUSB works, that’s what > I’m doing right now. > > the SY6280 is *only* powered by the 5v MD Power rail. > you *cannot* power the MD through the USB-OTG and if it > was possible it would damage everything as the power > drain would be exceeded. > > the 5v rail connects to 3.3v which then powers the > Level Shifter and the microsd socket. > > you abolutely cannot expect the VREF of the Card to > power the microsd socket. > > > it is imperative that you provide independent 5v power. > >> I haven’t tried the USB sockets on the micro desktop though, that might > be worth a shot. > > if 12v is not working it will be your only option. > >>> it's possible to reconfigure u-boot (etc) to have the OS on the Card's > micro-sd. >> I believe I’m using a quite old u-boot boot script. > that is irrelevant. u-boot-spl.bin is what needs compiling > and that is done with compile options. "make config". > > i think. > > you need to establish which phase has been achieved. > there are MULTIPLE phases. > EVERY ONE OF THEM needs properly configuring. > > l. > >

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Status update
by Felix 25 Nov '22

25 Nov '22

Hey Luke, hope you and your and fam are doing well ;) We haven't heard anything from you in a while, and would be great to have an status update or something similar :P -- Felix

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EOMA68 and 2021 podcast referencing the matter
by Giovanni Lostumbo 24 Nov '22

24 Nov '22

Open Source Voices is a great podcast. I've listened to Lukes, Maddog Halls' and Chris's interviews. Still getting around to listening to more. I listened to this whole podcast yesterday. 1:10:00-1:20:00 worth a listen (even before that) (it mentions EOMA68): https://www.opensourcevoices.org/13 4/6/2021 I think it might help explain why some are wondering- some view Crowdfunding as a donation for R&D, not as a purchase. I'm not here to side with a view, but I just wanted to help witth this info in case some were trying to figure out if anyone feels entitled to a product- whether it is binding or not. etc is not something I'm privy to, but seems explained in previous messages. When someone makes a public statement on a podcast, It's not unreasonable to believe that they are stating what they actually believe, and may act that way. Happy Thanksgiving! -G

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Re: [Arm-netbook] You have been unsubscribed from the arm-netbook mailing list
by Tzafrir Cohen 23 Nov '22

23 Nov '22

Hi, Despite the mail suggesting otherwise, I was not. I have already mailed admin@ and such. I guess it's time to redirect mailing list messages elsewhere. Just wanted to note this in case this is an issue of someone else. I guess someone need to kick the list server at the right spot. Anyway, thanks to all list members for everything I learned here. Cheers, On Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 07:53:18AM +0000, arm-netbook-bounces(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk wrote: -- mail / xmpp / matrix: tzafrir(a)cohens.org.il

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Various projects somewhat related to the EOMA initiative
by Paul Boddie 29 Jun '22

29 Jun '22

Hello, There doesn't seem to be much EOMA68 news any more, but I was reminded of some of the ideas brought up in the context of the initiative by a few products or projects that came to my attention recently. One interesting product is the Mixtile Blade 3 which just about met its funding goal on Crowd Supply: https://www.crowdsupply.com/mixtile-limited/mixtile-blade-3 The interesting idea that this implements is the ability to daisy-chain the boards using PCI Express, and there is also a cluster box that provides a switched PCI Express bus. In the context of EOMA68 or similar efforts there was this idea: https://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/cluster_server/ The Mixtile Blade 3 uses the Rockchip RK3588, which has also been introduced in products from PINE64: https://www.pine64.org/2022/03/15/march-update-introducing-the-quartzpro64/ Another notable development from PINE64 is an impending introduction of a RISC-V-based product (these having started to emerge from various other places, often based on the Allwinner D1): https://www.pine64.org/2022/06/28/june-update-who-likes-risc-v/ >From the choice of GPU technology, it seems like this might be the basis of the SoC being used: https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/imagination-and-andes-jointly-validate… ImgTec have now started to work on Free Software drivers for various products, as I understand it, although I doubt that older products will be supported, and the firmware will most likely remain non-free. I would love to be proved wrong, though. It's a shame ImgTec didn't have the same level of ambition and pragmatism when they owned MIPS. On that topic, David posted news of an interesting project on the Tinkerphones mailing list: https://lists.goldelico.com/pipermail/community/2022-June/002206.html To summarise, someone has been pursuing the development of a featurephone using the Ingenic X1000E: http://www.ingenic.com.cn/en/?product/id/9.html That SoC has a relatively small amount of on-board RAM (64MB, which counts as small these days), but it could run a very modest Linux distribution. Unlike earlier Ingenic SoCs, but like the JZ4780, it has a hardware floating-point arithmetic unit. And it also has the different on-chip peripherals for easy integration into portable devices. Relevant EOMA-related ideas include the following: https://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/games_console/ https://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/hybrid_phone/ https://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/pocket_qwerty_computer/ https://rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/zipit_refit/ I haven't spent or pledged any money towards any of these initiatives, but for anyone wondering whether some of the EOMA-related ideas were ever taken up in some sense, I thought they might be of interest. Paul

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Green (literally photosynthetic!) technology to team with EOMA-68
by Richard Wilbur 14 May '22

14 May '22

EOMA-68 seems uniquely positioned to benefit from this type of technology! Low-power, long-endurance designs could make some pretty cool applications. “Algae-powered energy cell can keep a microprocessor running around the clock anywhere with sunlight” https://www.zmescience.com/science/algae-powered-energy-cell-can-keep-a-mic…

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Door bell cameras can pickup conversations from up to 25ft away.
by David Niklas 03 May '22

03 May '22

Dear luke, The data from these cameras and microphones is stored in the cloud. This means that all the audio and video captured is vulnerable to interception and unauthorized access by other people and the US government. https://www.consumerreports.org/video-doorbells/video-doorbell-cameras-reco… Sincerely, David PS: I did not think they had microphones.

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Schematic and PCB layout CAD files
by Arun Isaac 01 Feb '22

01 Feb '22

Hi, Are the schematic and PCB layout CAD files for the EOMA68 computer card and the various housings available for download? I'm wondering if I can fabricate some of the housings on my own using a CNC mill. Hence, my interest in them. Sorry I had to ask. I searched very hard through the crowdsupply page and the rhombus-tech site, but couldn't find them. Thanks, Arun.

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links at rhombus-tech recent changes -> 404 not found
by Pablo Rath 18 Jan '22

18 Jan '22

Hello, It seems to me that the recent changes listed here: http://rhombus-tech.net/recentchanges/ do no longer work correctly (broken links). kind regards Pablo

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SparkFun MicroMod
by David Boddie 27 Dec '21

27 Dec '21

This looks like another interesting reuse of an existing connector: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-micromod Not quite at the System on a Chip level hardware, but still useful for certain applications, I'm sure. David

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Crowd Supply update
by David Boddie 02 Nov '21

02 Nov '21

For those not subscribed to updates: 100 A20 Computer Cards Ready for Testing https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates/100-a20-computer-c…

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Hardware description language Clash.
by David Niklas 30 Aug '21

30 Aug '21

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA256 Dear luke, I found this project that is similar to Haskell. IIRC, you said you'd like to use Haskell as it can be formally verified when designing what will hopefully be a silicon FLOSS processor. So, I think this project might interest you. https://clash-lang.org/ I hope you're doing well. Sincerely, David -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQIzBAEBCAAdFiEEL2N7+xWmVOJDQxWGm3XCrhg2YP8FAmEtbbgACgkQm3XCrhg2 YP9sphAAjAkuUJ++H4TRXaR+HJxthjIGSGoUWGBCG6zKFPAPC1gHnvtCix+5MDky SgO1HkajBNJZWCcmxzt4Ci1hRXyRBKr6sApy6uDPnpAPMdY6ftPzyqbxYCoxR9zZ bX2pUvzboYgU00t/4v8/JYLY+w278k/+GEtWbsJNZdEHvsxaSePORgcqmJ37309Y eXuzIMdg/RNgzcHEeSZ9MxuBBU741J/9qD3IjcjMol2laTL0Ku5EhcRXbF0xvZOB qhh21mn5UH280QCtDe5DvQWXuZ+blPPSNTBSvSgPkYfDRd3uT5dO0YhSu/nnwenZ L70sscb97/FFT5cAt1WV5mk3Vgpzzp8Nhg1DDnKRO4mklAv3sEXEBPTUuM0ppw+G +EZcwaxxOLAJaDD+CJcsJ1dDf7skdQVoU9pqZSzN7xbiKatopVifFwj/F7agWDBj hCWJYAnNiCnnXPqL1BIyLFH4fd6wfLnU95z9dyfeBNpuesSu/jIb0DWZ9IJEZvmP R+iQUv2BPcQixPSi2KTG2tRyeh3mwVIsgJO7RyfL3V/7LNa5PlcdW9Sr3eWfPVGc 2vBM0ug/OoFezBCttQY0hU259xS9tokO8pH9dvcKK04qEUMAECJOMlrmwnIneKwT ArwxiNZpsrq+u/3LO6hgcO+zcttJwlrKtwshZYRPD9h3VijSvpg= =Z2g6 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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June status
by Felix 30 Jun '21

30 Jun '21

Hi Luke. Any relevant update (or news from Chris) from two months ago until now? -- Felix

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Pluton: M$ firmware and TPM to be built into your processor...
by David Niklas 13 Dec '20

13 Dec '20

Hi, It has been a while since I posted. Today I have bad news. Apparently, M$ has been working with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm to place a new type of TPM into their CPUs, APUs, and SoCs. It's already inside of the new XBox processors. It runs firmware which is, according to M$, produced by them. Here's an official link, and a tech site link for those of you who don't want to visit M$'s site. https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/11/17/meet-the-microsoft-pluto… https://www.anandtech.com/show/16269/microsoft-pluton-hardware-security-com… I've done some research googling, but at this stage the data on what sort of access this new processor has and what it can do is anyones best guess. It sounds like the firmware might have unrestricted Internet access: "One of the other major security problems solved by Pluton is keeping the system firmware up to date across the entire PC ecosystem." I hope I'm panicking unnecessarily... David

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Current status
by George Sokolsky 28 Nov '20

28 Nov '20

Hi, sorry to interrupt - does that look like we're not getting our EOMAs this year again, if ever? How people are moving forward with their computing needs? What's the 'next best thing' to invest here? George

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Any progress?
by Jan Wielkiewicz 04 Nov '20

04 Nov '20

Hello Luke and others! Are there any news about the cards? We're slowly reaching the next estimated shipping date (30 September), so let us know if there's anything new (I know the answer for the shipping date is the same as always). I also have a stupid question: would it be possible to combine the power of several computer cards, so that all GPUs together would be capable of running real time 3D graphics? Also good job with Libre SoC, I look forward to see it ready and working! Thank you for your commitment to libre hardware. Proprietary hardware is really annoying and often unusable, especially on free operating systems, making their adoption harder. Your work is crucial. Jan Wielkiewicz

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Off Topic: Ingenic JZ4760B trying to get manual need someone with access to wechat
by Alexander Ross 11 Oct '20

11 Oct '20

dev needs help getting manual for ingenic JZ4760B https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,53576.0.html rockbox is open source DAP firmware :D. i love it. off topic again: Amazing how long players with x1000 soc from ingenic last battery wise :D. Compared to socs in DAPs from 10years ago!

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OpenPOWER virtual coffee continues every Tuesday UTC 22:00
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 08 Oct '20

08 Oct '20

with many thanks to Hugh Blemings the Virtual Coffee calls were a lot of fun. in LibreSOC we liked them so much that it would be a shame to stop. the time and day is the same: every tuesday, UTC 22:00 hrs. this turns out to be a reasonably sane time for both US and AU, a little late for EU though. it is on jitsi meet, if you would like the URL (which does not have a password set) please email me and i will privately provide the link. if you cannot use jitsi meet directly (web, android) there is a dialup number available as well. discussion is, as usual, eclectic and entirely informal. even OpenPOWER can be a topic for discussion. l.

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Free ASIC fab. for open designs
by Philip Hands 26 Aug '20

26 Aug '20

Hi, This seemed like it might be of intrest to someone here: https://fossi-foundation.org/2020/06/30/skywater-pdk It seems that is a 130nm fab, based in the USA somewhere. It came up in the "Debian Electronics BOF" session at DebConf20 (which is going on this week, as an online event): https://debconf20.debconf.org/talks/86-debian-electronics-bof/ The video of that session should appear within a day or so. Cheers, Phil. -- |)| Philip Hands [+44 (0)20 8530 9560] HANDS.COM Ltd. |-| http://www.hands.com/ http://ftp.uk.debian.org/ |(| Hugo-Klemm-Strasse 34, 21075 Hamburg, GERMANY

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EOMA68-A20, MD 1.7 severe Power Problems
by Pablo Rath 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

I am very sorry to inform everyone on this list that I had a severe power problem with my Micro Desktop 1.7. I applied power to the DC Jack and the area right to the jack burned out. (see attached picture). One thing that I noticed today was that UART worked when the card was powered up whilst attached to USB OTG alone (DC Jack on MD not connected)! But according to the wiki this should not work at all because of the Y6280 current control IC set at 1A acting as a diode in this case. When I applied power only to the MD I noticed that UART output was complete garbage (random characters). I don't know if only sometimes or everytime. When on DC power, board in FEL-mode with no card and pressing '2', then connecting USB OTG and booting U-Boot sunxi over FEL everything worked flawlessly. As I said I am very sorry that I screwed up. Luke, do you have any ideas what went wrong? Do you think this +also destroyed the computer card? If the error is on my side (embarassing but still the better +case) I will have to swallow the bitter pill that I screwed up badly. I am still going to cover the costs of computer card and MD so there will not be a financial loss to the project. I am very disappointed as I have made could progress. Had sunxi U-Boot, sunxi 3.4.104 kernel running and booting Debian Stretch rootfs... On the other hand if this is a general problem better we know it now and can take the necessary steps. Pablo

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2.7.5 latest pre-production boards tested and working
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

yes, a few months ago, mike sent me 2 new prototypes, using "single-panel" PCB from a high-quality manufacturer. i tested them just now (yes, long story, very busy with Libre-SOC) and they work fine. boot off of the usual micro-sd card i've been using. l. --- crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68

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Resending: EOMA68-A20, MD 1.7 severe Power Problems
by Pablo Rath 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

Resending without attachement: I am very sorry to inform everyone on this list that I had a severe power problem with my Micro Desktop 1.7. I applied power to the DC Jack and the area right to the jack burned out. (see attached picture). One thing that I noticed today was that UART worked when the card was powered up whilst attached to USB OTG alone (DC Jack on MD not connected)! But according to the wiki this should not work at all because of the Y6280 current control IC set at 1A acting as a diode in this case. When I applied power only to the MD I noticed that UART output was complete garbage (random characters). I don't know if only sometimes or everytime. When on DC power, board in FEL-mode with no card and pressing '2', then connecting USB OTG and booting U-Boot sunxi over FEL everything worked flawlessly. As I said I am very sorry that I screwed up. Luke, do you have any ideas what went wrong? Do you think this +also destroyed the computer card? If the error is on my side (embarassing but still the better +case) I will have to swallow the bitter pill that I screwed up badly. I am still going to cover the costs of computer card and MD so there will not be a financial loss to the project. I am very disappointed as I have made could progress. Had sunxi U-Boot, sunxi 3.4.104 kernel running and booting Debian Stretch rootfs... On the other hand if this is a general problem better we know it now and can take the necessary steps. Pablo ----- End forwarded message -----

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DDR3 RAM Design Rules and Techniques
by Paul Boddie 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Hello, One thing that just came up in another forum is the matter of routing PCB tracks for DDR3 RAM, and this is probably a topic that was encountered by both the Pyra... https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/analyzing-4gb-ram.81687/ https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/is-there-really-a-light-at-the-end… ...and the EOMA68 initiatives. Is there any pertinent documentation describing this exercise in the EOMA68 board design process? Searching for DDR3 on the Rhombus Tech site [*] indicates that some boards were done with guidance (at some level) from the vendors: http://rhombus-tech.net/ingenic/jz4775/news/11jul2014_routing_completed/ http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner/a31/news/ Previous discussions of KiCad and Olimex boards, which presumably involved DDR3 routing, can be found via this message: http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/pipermail/arm-netbook/2019-May/016062.html I ask about this in the context of someone who just made design files available for a board using the Ingenic JZ4780 that they had been working on. Those files are here: https://gitlab.com/igagis/cranberrypi Paul [*] http://rhombus-tech.net/cgi-bin/rhombus/ikiwiki.cgi?P=DDR3

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Current not intel Laptop/UMPC/Handheld Options
by Alexander Ross 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Been wondering if theres any new products from the last say 2years? As i’ve not kept up with whats new else where. I know pyra is progressing and dare i say, nearly ready. For a laptop/umpc the more ram the better but a netbook size keyboard thats easy for large adult hands to type on. when i was a teenager i think keyboards like GPD pocket 1 where not so hard to type on but the pocket came at a time when i was at the end of teenage years and had grow more/fully and now i find it it bit awkward to type on, unlike my 10inch asus netboot. Any fav chrome books to librate? new handheld computers?, including intel cpus out of curiosity. like pyra, smaller or a bit bigger. or heck large laptops but not intel or amd? I do know of power cpu laptop projects. https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/forums/pyra-news.250/

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