Hawkboard/BeginnersGuide

Introduction
Hawkboard is a open-hardware project which uses Texas Instrument's (TI) OMAP Processor(OMAPL-L138) (Which contains both DSP and ARM Processor)


 * ARM-This Normally runs Operating System Such as Linux or Android etc.ARM in OMAPL-138 ,is ARMV5/ARM926
 * DSP-This is normally used to perform Audio/Video encoding and Decoding as it is specifically designed to perform these operations faster.DSP in OMAPL-138 ,is C674x Floating Point DSP.

Mix of ARM & DSP (OMAP) gives high performance and low power computing platform,Which are normally used in embedded Devices Like Mobile etc.

A Similar kind and very popular Open-hardware platform is  beagleboard that uses Faster OMAP from TI.

Things you will need
1. Hawkboard

2. 5V 1Ampere Power Supply (Higher than 1A recommended)

3. USB Hub (Hub that provides external power supply is recommended) Since in future you might want to connect multiple peripherals like Keyboard,mouse ,USB Storage devices.A USB Hub is highly recommended.

4. Cross Cable DB-9 Female at both ends See wiring diagram below how to make one.

5. SD Card or USB Pendrive (1GB Minimal)

6. Ethernet Cable

7. Ethernet HUB or Switch If you PC/laptop/Router has only one LAN Port which is already in use ,Then might consider purchasing it.

8.System Running Linux either on Real Machine or Vmware/VirtualBOX

Preparing Hawkboard
Before all first thing is to check that the board is properly working or not.

a) Connect a 5V and 1A Power supply (Inner Pin +Ve and Outer GND)

b) Connect VGA monitor cable to Hawkboard

c) Power on the Device ,you will see Hawkboard Logo on the monitor as below ,this is due to Bootloader (U-boot) present in the Hawkboard.

d) Further Also check whether you are receiving the Data from Hawkboard on PC/Laptoo Serial port. Serial port will be used to tell bootloader(u-boot) where the Kernel image & File-system (Rootfile system) is present.

For this Connect serial port of Hawkboard on to PC by Serial cable which has DB-9 Female at both ends & It must be crossed i.e and 2 & 3 Pins at both ends should be crossed.

Below is Wiring Diagram



e) Once cable has been connected open following software depending on your system.


 * Hyperterminal or Teraterm -if you are using windows.
 * Cutecom or minicom -if you are using Linux

& Set following parameters to see uboot messages
 * Bits per Second: 115200
 * Data Bits: 8
 * Parity: None
 * Stop Bits: 1
 * Flow Control: None
 * Transmit delay: 0 msec/char, 10 msec/line (Optional)

As shown below screenshot of Hyperterminal settings

Now power on the Device you should see some text message on Serial Console (Hyperterminal or minicom etc)



Pressing enter will again give a new "Hawkboard.org>".

This shows that serial port is working to send and receive messages to/from hawkboard

Introduction to uImage & File-system
As a normal system needs kernel and various application to be useful ,Similar and embedded devices too need a Kernel that manages/allocates resources & Schedule task & Set of Applications to perform user task.

The components here are:

can be either on SD Card / USB Drive or on Another Network PC through NFS Protocol.
 * uImage :- uImage is a Linux Kernel (2.6.x) that Bootloader(Uboot) Loads which then finally mounts the Filesytem present

Filesystem is also known as Root Filesystem ,It basically contains all the application (ls,cat,vi etc ),directory structure /dev, /proc, /bin, /etc, /lib, /usr, /tmp & necessary scripts (rc, inittab, fstab etc) etc.
 * RootFS :-Kernel itself is manager of resource and dose nothing ,you need a filesystem for Kernel to manage and you to work upon.

Bootloader in Hawkboard is U-boot.Similar to Like GRUB for Linux and NTLDR for Windows
 * U-boot  :- There is third component Known as Bootloader that actually initially Loads Kernel in RAM

Booting Kernel & Root FS
Download the Sample uImage & Root Filesystem(RootFS) from The Link

Getting Started
1.Powering the Device: Hawkboard can be powered through USB OTG port(mini USB) or Separate 5V Source. Since the USB port of a PC/laptop or hub are often limited to 500 mA, it is advisable to use a separate power supply of 5VDC that supplies at least 1.5 A of current.  Note: It is recommended to use a separate 5VDC Power supply with at least a 1.5 Amps current rating instead of USB Power for Normal Operation of the Board

2.Connecting VGA Monitor: Once the power supply has been attached, Hawkboard boots to Uboot Bootloader and will show Hawkboard Logo on Screen.

3.Connecting UART: To transfer images to Hawkboard and to set other parameters, the UART/serial cable needs to be attached to Hawkboard and PC. A NULL Modem(Crossed Cable i.e 2 and 3 Crossed) is needed for that. Run a terminal session (such as Minicom on Linux or TeraTerm on Windows) on the Host PC and configure it to connect to that serial port with the following characteristics:
 * Bits per Second: 115200
 * Data Bits: 8
 * Parity: None
 * Stop Bits: 1
 * Flow Control: None
 * Transmit delay: 0 msec/char, 10 msec/line



After powering the device you should be able to see the following:


 * On Hyperterminal (Any other Serial Console) (Left) On VGA Monitor you will see HawkBoard Logo (Right)

Command prompts in this guide
In this guide, commands are preceded by prompts that indicate the environment where the command is to be typed. For example:


 * host$
 * Indicates command to be typed into the shell window of the host Linux workstation.


 * Hawkboard.org>
 * Indicates commands to be typed into the U-Boot shell in a console window connected to the Hawkboard's serial port.


 * target$
 * Indicates commands to be typed into the Linux shell in the terminal window connected to the Hawkboard's serial port or TTY..