That took a while...


The cases are looking nice.
I remember that the older prototype version from the gamescom, had a few serious issues, like a to loose hinge and the shoulder buttons where quite bad.
It is fun to see, how all issues get dissolved :)
Now the hinge looks fine even when supporting a screen and the shoulder buttons are nice and clicky.

I like the black case, i also would like a dark gray color like my thinpad or something :)

I hope the 4 GB ram issue is fixable without another hardware change.

keymat is done
case is mostly done
main board is done
cpu board is (hopefully) done
sealing needs one more revision
logo plate is done
metal plate for cooling, has a short lead time, and is quite simple
ribbon cable is done
most parts with a long lead time are already in stock at global components (if i remember correctly)

so far everything looks nice :)

I have a few questions to the (mostly final) hardware:
  • is the audio still as good as planed? My thinkpad for example has relay bad audio chip set, but my oneplus one is okay for me.
  • is there still an software controllable modem kill switch outside of the modem chip? And if so what is it default, and if the default is "on" can the modem be switched of immediately when you turn the device on using some simple uboot change?
The reason i ask is because i pre ordered an EU model to later replace my smart phone but while the software gets developed and matures, i dont want do deal with the modem and its power drain all the time.


Only to more months™ ;)
 
is there still an software controllable modem kill switch outside of the modem chip?
Yes:
There's an CPU-GPIO controlled FET switch to disconnect the whole Modem from Power so you don't have to rely on the Closed-Source Modem Firmware. Also there's an Current Sensor to detect if the Modem is doing unwanted Things.​
Have a look at Pyra Wiki and that Board message.
 
@bubblebee
thats great. Maybe i will add the default off feature to u-boot if it is not off by default.
That would give me reason to learn more about the omap, u-boot and arm assembly. :)
And if this is to much trouble i can simply shut the modem of if the system starts as i think GPIO support should just work on linux as the drivers are probably in the mainline kernel.
I could even add an shortcut in the xfce toolbar, to toggle it back on.
 
And if this is to much trouble i can simply shut the modem of if the system starts as i think GPIO support should just work on linux as the drivers are probably in the mainline kernel.
I could even add an shortcut in the xfce toolbar, to toggle it back on.
Yes you can:
2. there is an external power FET switch (TPS22964CYZP) on the Pyra mainboard controlled through a gpio from the CPU. It can be turned on/off to cut power to the modem. So if you want to have it really off, do some "echo 0 >/sys/class/gpio/...".[1]
 
The cases are looking nice.
I remember that the older prototype version from the gamescom, had a few serious issues, like a to loose hinge and the shoulder buttons where quite bad.
It is fun to see, how all issues get dissolved :)
Now the hinge looks fine even when supporting a screen and the shoulder buttons are nice and clicky.

I like the black case, i also would like a dark gray color like my thinpad or something :)

I hope the 4 GB ram issue is fixable without another hardware change.

keymat is done
case is mostly done
main board is done
cpu board is (hopefully) done
sealing needs one more revision
logo plate is done
metal plate for cooling, has a short lead time, and is quite simple
ribbon cable is done
most parts with a long lead time are already in stock at global components (if i remember correctly)

so far everything looks nice :)

I have a few questions to the (mostly final) hardware:
  • is the audio still as good as planed? My thinkpad for example has relay bad audio chip set, but my oneplus one is okay for me.
  • is there still an software controllable modem kill switch outside of the modem chip? And if so what is it default, and if the default is "on" can the modem be switched of immediately when you turn the device on using some simple uboot change?
The reason i ask is because i pre ordered an EU model to later replace my smart phone but while the software gets developed and matures, i dont want do deal with the modem and its power drain all the time.


Only to more months™ ;)
Well don't forget, there's always gonna be something that happens (e.g., cases crushed)
 
The matte-black and the blue cases look great. Please try to get the dark red. I'm getting a bit concerned about the 4GB flaws.
 
Me too, I get the feeling it's gonna turn out to be the hardware not the software.

Iff it turns out that it's a hardware problem with the 4GB-RAM units after they are sent out to customers: Is it possible to turn on/off 2 of the 4GB's of RAM with a hardware switch and use the Pyra with only 2GB's of RAM?
Altough I would really need the additional 2GB's of RAM (Java programming is very memory hungry) I could live with 2GB's
 
Iff it turns out that it's a hardware problem with the 4GB-RAM units after they are sent out to customers: Is it possible to turn on/off 2 of the 4GB's of RAM with a hardware switch and use the Pyra with only 2GB's of RAM?
Altough I would really need the additional 2GB's of RAM (Java programming is very memory hungry) I could live with 2GB's
Well as long as the 4GB units haven't already been mass produced, it should be pretty straightforward to fix it if it is a hardware issue. But wasn't there 500 boards already produced where we had that eMMC drama? Can anyone confirm if those 500 were 2GB or 4GB boards?
 
AFAIK only blank PCBs have been ordered. Whether those become 2GiB or 4GiB boards depends on what chips are put on them.
 
Is the emmc speed issue confirmed to be resolved?
Sorta, it turned out in the tests the speed difference was next to nothing (103mbps while disabling the microsd/fix made it 113mbps or something like that.) so wasn't worth tossing out the boards to fix an issue so minor. So it will be left as is afaik.
(my phone copies files at about 20mbps just for comparison).
AFAIK only blank PCBs have been ordered. Whether those become 2GiB or 4GiB boards depends on what chips are put on them.
Oh that's good to know then!
 
Is the Pyra still 3.2cm thick? It looks thicker in the Video.
 
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Iff it turns out that it's a hardware problem with the 4GB-RAM units after they are sent out to customers: Is it possible to turn on/off 2 of the 4GB's of RAM with a hardware switch and use the Pyra with only 2GB's of RAM?
Altough I would really need the additional 2GB's of RAM (Java programming is very memory hungry) I could live with 2GB's
The 4GB memory chips work fine in standard 2GB software mode on all prototype CPU boards I have tested so far.
Only trying to make 4GB available in U-Boot (different EMIF config) and use it in kernel (LPAE enabled) raises issues in kernel.
The kernel boots, shows 4GB being available but runs instable.
Which might either be
- pure software (imprecise memory controller config, wrong virtual memory management, wrong cache management) or
- hardware (more noise, more power demand, more whatever, as soon as the second bank inside the 4GB chip becomes active).
Further tests to find out are planned but not yet done.
So turning 4GB off and using 2GB is just using the standard 2GB U-Boot and Kernel. No need for a hw switch.
 
@hns that means the pyra can run stable in 2GB mode, even when there is a 4gb chip soldered on it?


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