BeagleBoardFAQ

This page collects frequently asked questions (FAQ) about TI's ARM based OMAP3 Beagle Board. See "official" BeagleBoard FAQ and eLinux BeagleBoard wiki page, too.

=Board revisions=

Q: What is the difference between BeagleBoard revision B4 and B5?

A: Revision B5 removes capacitor C70 to fix errata #7.

=Shipped hardware=

Q: I like to buy a BeagleBoard from DigiKey, what hardware is included?

A: Only the board itself. To make board as cheap as possible, for most peripherals you need additional adapters.

=Shipped software=

Q: I like to buy a BeagleBoard from DigiKey, what software is included?

A: 2nd stage loader (X-Loader) and bootloader U-Boot in diagnostic version is flashed to Beagle's NAND flash. No further operating system, e.g. Linux, is included.

=Peripherals needed=

Q: As shipped BeagleBoard doesn't contain any peripherals and adapters, what else will I need?

A: There are some adapters necessary to bring up and some are nice to have for diagnosis etc.:


 * IDC10 to DB9M serial adapter (necessary)
 * Serial null modem cable (optional, depends on your serial adapter and your serial PC port)
 * USB serial adapter (optional, depends if your PC has still DB9M serial connector)
 * SD card >= 256MB (necessary, at least for some fun with demos)
 * USB-A to mini USB cable to power BeagleBoard (necessary, or optional if you have additional 5V power supply, see below)
 * 5V, >= 500mA, 2,1mm/5,5mm plug, stabilized power supply (optional)
 * HDMI to DVI-D cable (optional)
 * USB Standard-A to Mini-A Adapter (optional, for USB usage external 5V power supply is necessary)
 * Self power USB hub (optional, and some USB peripherals like keyboard and mouse)

=New board, and now=

Q: Hurray, I got my board. And now?

A: See out of the box page.

=Serial connection #1=

Q: If I power my new board, after some seconds USR1 and USR2 LEDs are switching on, but I can't get anything in terminal program (minicom, kermit, hyperterm etc,).

A: Review wiring of your IDC10 to DB9M serial adapter, try with and without NullModem cable, try to use DB9 serial port of your PC or USB serial adapter. Try all combinations.

BeagleBoard only implements RS-232 signals RX, TX, and GND. These are pins 2, 3, and 5 of BeagleBoard 5x2 header P9 and also the DB9 connector on the serial adapter. To see if there is any activity at all on the serial port, use an RS-232 LED monitor or break-out box or a digital oscilloscope to see if there is a bit stream on TX.

=Serial connection #2=

Q: I tried everything from serial connection #1 above but still nothing. It seems that I sometimes get some random characters, though.

A: If there is a bit stream, check that you have configured your terminal program to:


 * BAUD RATE: 115200
 * DATA: 8 bit
 * PARITY: none
 * STOP: 1bit
 * FLOW CONTROL: none

This will work with most PCs. However, your PC may want to see DSR before it transmits to BeagleBoard and needs to have DTR (pin 4) wrapped back to DSR (pin 6).

=Serial connection #3=

Q: Hurray, I got my new board, I'm quite sure that my serial connection is correct using the above two FAQs. Unfortunately, I get (boot) output, but can't type anything at U-Boot prompt.

A: Try test proposed from John: Here's a useful experiment: disconnect BeagleBoard and jumper TX (DB9 pin 3) to RX (pin 2) at the end of your serial cable. See if your jumper echoes to your terminal emulator. If not, try jumpering DTR (pin 4) to DSR (pin 6) and repeat test. You can also jumper RTS (pin7) to CTS (pin 8) if you don't trust your software to have turned off flow control.

=Serial connection #4=

Q: I tried all three serial FAQs above, and I'm really really sure that anything is fine with my local serial configuration. But I still can't type anything at U-Boot prompt.

A: If you get TX data from the BeagleBoard OK but do not get RX data from your terminal program to BeagleBoard, check P9 pin 2 with a digital 'scope or an LED with 1K series resistor to see if there is any activity there. If there is data and you are really, really sure that everything is correct with your serial connection, then most probably your board suffers from errata #8. Then it's time for the Beagle Hospital. Sorry, you have to replace/repair it using RMA process.

=Graphics accelerator=

Q: OMAP3530 used on BeagleBoard contains a graphics accelerator (SGX) based on the SGX core from Imagination Technologies. Are Linux drivers available for this? If not, when will they be available? Will they be OpenSource?

A: See Graphics accelerator section at BeagleBoard wiki page.

=Expansion connector #1=

Q: I got my new BeagleBoard Rev. xx board. But expansion connector (#5) isn't soldered. Is this wrong?

A: No, this is correct. All boards are shipped without mounted expansion connector.

=Expansion connector #2=

Q: Which signals are available at expansion connector?

A: See BeagleBoard HW Reference Manual Table 18. Depending on the pin mux you have:


 * MMC2
 * McBSP1
 * McBSP3
 * I2C2
 * McSPI3
 * McSPI4
 * UART2
 * GPIO

=Expansion connector #3=

Q: Should I mount expansion connector at top or bottom side?

A: Do as you like and as it fits your application. This is the reason why it isn't soldered by default

=Expansion connector #4=

Q: How much current can the Beagle supply to peripherals?

A: You are limited to 100mA @ 1.8V. This is referenced in the BeagleBoard HW Reference Manual in section 5.20.

=Boris=

Q: Who is Boris?

A: You don't know Boris?