How to get started?

[riahim]

Hello,
I apologize if this has been asked, but is there a tutorial or a quick-start guide? I"m not really sure where to start.
I'm familiar with using other microprocessor based FPGA boards which require downloading a program (i.e libero) and using verilog/C. However, as far as I can tell this is not needed for the pine64...? Basically, if anyone could help me get started, that'd be great.
Thanks

[Ghost]

Hello,
I apologize if this has been asked, but is there a tutorial or a quick-start guide? I"m not really sure where to start.
I'm familiar with using other microprocessor based FPGA boards which require downloading a program (i.e libero) and using verilog/C. However, as far as I can tell this is not needed for the pine64...? Basically, if anyone could help me get srated, that'd be great.
Thanks

Hey there!

An official quick start guide is in the works, but for now I'll help you out as best I can. 

Useful reference page - Pine64 wiki
Helpful thread: The 6 most common reasons why Pine64 won't boot

Needed:
Pine A64 board
Power Supply (PSU and micro USB cable)
MicroSD card
HDMI cable
Input device(s) - (keyboard, mouse, remote, pointer, etc)

Firstly, be careful handling the Pine A64 board to make sure it is not subjected to electrostatic discharge. Wearing and correctly utilising a grounding strap can help to mitigate the risks of ESD. At any rate, handle the board at the edges, avoid touching components on the board, and place on a safe surface (avoid carpets and any other material that is prone electrostatic build-up).

Then you'll need a reliable 5 volt, 2 amp (or higher) power supply. This is very important. If the amperage rating of the power supply is too low, the board will not boot properly. A marginally higher voltage for the PSU is ok (such as 5.1 volts - due to the nature of the micro usb connection, a 5.1v supply can help protect slightly against voltage drops which can cause undesirable function), but a significantly higher voltage will damage the Pine A64 board and may render it inoperative.

If using a power supply with a separate micro USB cable, try to use a cable with low resistance. Cables with high resistance will cause improper function and the unit may have trouble booting up. The thicker the internal cabling, the better (i.e. AWG (American Wire Gauge) 20 is better than AWG 28).

You will also need a decent microSD card. There are many sub-standard and fake microSD cards in circulation, and using just such a card will cause issues booting up. There are ways of testing microSD cards prior to installing the operating system to make sure they are ok for use. The main one is H2testw 1.4. Another is F3.

Next, you'll want a decent HDMI cable. As with micro USB cabling, quality of HDMI cable can vary a lot, so try and go for quality rather than cheapness. If you are using a HDMI to VGA/DVI adapter, be aware that some work better than others.

Finally, you will want to have a way of controlling the on-screen cursor and of typing, thus you will need a keyboard, mouse, touchpad/trackpad, or some kind of combo device that combines these two things. 

After you have all the physical things you need, you will need to download and install the operating system to microSD card. 

For the Android image, you will need to use the PhoenixCard software. A guide to using this software can be found on the Pine64 wiki, specifically here:
http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PhoenixCard

Android images now available for both dd (in a variety of micro sd card sizes) and PhoenixCard methods.

Android (and other OS) images are to be found here:
http://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/Pine_A6...re_Release

There are also user-posted images on the forum, some of which allow you to circumvent use of PhoenixCard. Example:
http://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=537

Linux-based OS do not require use of PhoenixCard and can be burned using Win32 Disk Imager in Windows, or via the dd command in Unix-based systems.

Booting up the Pine A64 simply requires you to connect up the power supply via the micro USB input (you should also connect the HDMI cable and input devices, obviously).

[riahim]

Thanks for the help Ghost, I appreciate it.

I just installed remixOS and it seems to have boot up fine. I still have a few questions:

1.it seems to be really slow, is this normal (maybe normal for first boot)? For example, if I press settings, it takes about 2 min to lod. Even the mouse sees to move pretty slowly on the screen.
2. Is there somewhere I can purchase accessories for the board? Such as a Bluetooth/wifi module

[chrwei]

Just want to add that I had trouble using PhoenixCard. after several failures, this is what worked:

start PhoenixCard, insert SD card, select img file, select Startup mode, click Format to Normal, then click burn. if I skipped any of this steps or dids them in a different order it would give a fail message.

[macman]

Just as a followup - is there actually a getting started document out there that takes you from unboxing to actually booting up?  I don't even know if all my parts have arrived, how to make the connections, what to do with the little button hanging out the the bag, etc etc.  I think this is something you really need to have available the day you ship something.

[Ghost]

Just as a followup - is there actually a getting started document out there that takes you from unboxing to actually booting up?  I don't even know if all my parts have arrived, how to make the connections, what to do with the little button hanging out the the bag, etc etc.  I think this is something you really need to have available the day you ship something.

An official Getting Started document is apparently in the works. The process is reasonably simple, though.

[chrwei]

right now I'm feeling the pine64 is more of a developers board than an end-user board like the Pi. things are still evolving at quite a pace, and the info that's out there is only just now getting past the "this only makes sense if you know how it works" point. such as, only just this morning was the required SD card size added to the wiki.

it's going to take a while to get it user friendly.

[rahlquist]

right now I'm feeling the pine64 is more of a developers board than an end-user board like the Pi.  things are still evolving at quite a pace, and the info that's out there is only just now getting past the "this only makes sense if you know how it works" point.  such as, only just this morning was the required SD card size added to the wiki.

it's going to take a while to get it user friendly.

Hmm its a piece of hardware, it is for everyone, just depends how much effort you are willing to put into gathering the knowledge needed to use it. Has it been grossly oversimplified like the dominant OS and HW platforms in the world, Nope. Is it as easy as the Pi, no, but the Pi has a 4 year head start. 

The SD sizes are arbitrary if some knowledge is had and common sense used. 

Your SD must be bigger than the image to be installed on it. If you are using an OS that can be installed via "dd" or win32diskimager and the file is 8GB in size, or was built from an image installed and fully expanded on an 8GB card, then yes its going to require an 8GB card.

Some of the images are less than 2gb and likely would work on a card smaller than that. 

For the Android/Remix images 8GB sounds like a good starting point to me.

[chrwei]

the Android/Remix are less than 2GB and give zero indication of their requirement by looking at it, and the phoenixcard app just generically fails if the card is too small.

[rahlquist]

the Android/Remix are less than 2GB and give zero indication of their requirement by looking at it, and the phoenixcard app just generically fails if the card is too small.

Again knowledge is power. Lets empower some people.

http://imgur.com/IsnHS2i

The data in the blue box, is for the dd image. The dd image was created by a kind soul who did the phoenix install to a 8GB card for those who cannot use phoenix. It absolutely required an 8gb card as thats what it was made from and it is compressed to 1.2GB in size.

The data in the green box is for the phoenix image. It is under 500MB in size and will likely fit on 1 or 2GB microsd thought I admit I have not tried. I will in a  few mins though.


Just put the latest Rem image on a 2GB Samsung microsd. 

Code:

[2016/4/27 13:14:48] Find 4 device,Please select correct the one.
[2016/4/27 13:16:4] Formatting the card...
[2016/4/27 13:16:17] Start Burning...
[2016/4/27 13:16:18] [pheonix card_00]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:16:19] [pheonix card_10]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:16:19] [MBR]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:16:21] [bootloader]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:16:21] [env]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:16:23] [boot]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:18:29] [system]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:18:31] [misc]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:18:32] [recovery]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [DATA File]Burn Sucess
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [pheonix card_00]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [pheonix card_10]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [MBR]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [bootloader]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [env]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:52] [boot]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] [system]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] [misc]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] [recovery]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] [DATA File]Check Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] Magic Complete
[2016/4/27 13:18:54] Burn End...

And just did it to a 1gb as well.
So yes the Phoenix images can be burned to as small as a 1GB card at this point.