Well, well, well.
Are we really getting there?
Yes, it could be the case.
4GB RAM CPU Boards are working!
Finally, after a long, long search for the reason, Tony Lindgren found the real issue for 4GB RAM crashes.
It was a hardware and software fix. Even the previously produced boards work better now - and maybe a lot better with some changed timings
e.
That does mean... well, the CPU boards should now be 100% finished.
And we might even be able to use the 500 bare PCBs we already have - if they can still be populated (as they have been sitting around for quite a while now).
A memory stress test still crashes after 10 minutes, but that is due to overheating, as it doesn't do this if a heatsink is added to the CPU board.
10 minutes without a heatsink is quite good though, as a memory stress test both fully stresses the CPU and memory, and doesn't happen in real life.
Nikolaus ran a 4GB Board without heatsink and 1,5GHz and did an apt-get upgrade which installed 400 new packages... without any issues.
After a few hours, he shut it down again. Without any crash or overheating!
Once the mainboards are finished and the new case has arrived, I'll assemble a full unit including our cooling solution, and then we'll no for sure.
This issue together with the rotation issue we had are most probably due to TI mostly having abandoned the OMAP5.
There are not many devices out there using the OMAP5 and therefore, no one has run into that issue before.
So yes, we might have some more low-level software work ahead of us compared to the Pandora, but it surely will be fun seeing the system evolve
The Mainboards
Well, with the CPU boards and the DIsplay boards final now, the last thing missing are the mainboards.
What's up with those, you might ask?
Well, the have arrived at Global Components - but there was an issue. Some of the silk layer (that's the white print on the PCBs) are too close to some of the BGA pads. And as we don't populate single PCBs but multiple ones at once, the tolerance is an issue - and some BGAs might not be populated properly.
Unfortunately, the chinese manufacturer hasn't checked that thoroughly (last time, they fixed that issue themselves without telling us upfront). It would be possible to populate them by doing some VERY accurate measurements - but that would cost over 3000 EUR.
That was pretty annoying - but luckily, producing another set of bare PCBs WITHOUT this layer is a lot faster now, as all the tools have already been created and the software for the machines has been written.
The new PCBs will arrive June 18th (so in around a week) and will be populated shortly afterwards.
That leaves...
The Case
Well, according to my contact, a (hopefully) final case is already on the way to me.
It has been shipped a while ago via DHL but has not arrived yet.
He'll try to get a tracking number for me, and hopefully, it'll arrive this week.
This case should have the logo and everything glued in. But I won't assure that until we have it here.
... and then?
When the case is fine, 500 transparent cases will be produced, which will be used for the prototype preorders.
After that, the moulds will immediately be moved to the new company so we can produce the remaining cases in proper color. As most companies close down in August in Greece, we have to be fast here. Hopefully, that'll work out - then we could have a small release party at the GamesCom this year and who knows, maybe some users can already pick up their units there.
But yeah, that would be a miracle, as we also need to get the pre-cut material for the heat dissipation and I don't know yet how long the production will take. That said, it's existing material that just needs to be cut - so it shouldn't take long.
So who knows - one can dream, right?
With all the boards and the case finished, it's also time for CE / FCC testing, which we're planning for early July.
So yay.. we got another few steps closer to release
Final round... Fight!
Are we really getting there?
Yes, it could be the case.
4GB RAM CPU Boards are working!
Finally, after a long, long search for the reason, Tony Lindgren found the real issue for 4GB RAM crashes.
It was a hardware and software fix. Even the previously produced boards work better now - and maybe a lot better with some changed timings
e.That does mean... well, the CPU boards should now be 100% finished.
And we might even be able to use the 500 bare PCBs we already have - if they can still be populated (as they have been sitting around for quite a while now).
A memory stress test still crashes after 10 minutes, but that is due to overheating, as it doesn't do this if a heatsink is added to the CPU board.
10 minutes without a heatsink is quite good though, as a memory stress test both fully stresses the CPU and memory, and doesn't happen in real life.
Nikolaus ran a 4GB Board without heatsink and 1,5GHz and did an apt-get upgrade which installed 400 new packages... without any issues.
After a few hours, he shut it down again. Without any crash or overheating!
Once the mainboards are finished and the new case has arrived, I'll assemble a full unit including our cooling solution, and then we'll no for sure.
This issue together with the rotation issue we had are most probably due to TI mostly having abandoned the OMAP5.
There are not many devices out there using the OMAP5 and therefore, no one has run into that issue before.
So yes, we might have some more low-level software work ahead of us compared to the Pandora, but it surely will be fun seeing the system evolve
The Mainboards
Well, with the CPU boards and the DIsplay boards final now, the last thing missing are the mainboards.
What's up with those, you might ask?
Well, the have arrived at Global Components - but there was an issue. Some of the silk layer (that's the white print on the PCBs) are too close to some of the BGA pads. And as we don't populate single PCBs but multiple ones at once, the tolerance is an issue - and some BGAs might not be populated properly.
Unfortunately, the chinese manufacturer hasn't checked that thoroughly (last time, they fixed that issue themselves without telling us upfront). It would be possible to populate them by doing some VERY accurate measurements - but that would cost over 3000 EUR.
That was pretty annoying - but luckily, producing another set of bare PCBs WITHOUT this layer is a lot faster now, as all the tools have already been created and the software for the machines has been written.
The new PCBs will arrive June 18th (so in around a week) and will be populated shortly afterwards.
That leaves...
The Case
Well, according to my contact, a (hopefully) final case is already on the way to me.
It has been shipped a while ago via DHL but has not arrived yet.
He'll try to get a tracking number for me, and hopefully, it'll arrive this week.
This case should have the logo and everything glued in. But I won't assure that until we have it here.
... and then?
When the case is fine, 500 transparent cases will be produced, which will be used for the prototype preorders.
After that, the moulds will immediately be moved to the new company so we can produce the remaining cases in proper color. As most companies close down in August in Greece, we have to be fast here. Hopefully, that'll work out - then we could have a small release party at the GamesCom this year and who knows, maybe some users can already pick up their units there.
But yeah, that would be a miracle, as we also need to get the pre-cut material for the heat dissipation and I don't know yet how long the production will take. That said, it's existing material that just needs to be cut - so it shouldn't take long.
So who knows - one can dream, right?
With all the boards and the case finished, it's also time for CE / FCC testing, which we're planning for early July.
So yay.. we got another few steps closer to release
Final round... Fight!
️”
