Electrum FAQ - Revision history

Support: /* What keypad is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's keypad connector? */

Support — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:33:55 GMT

What keypad is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's keypad connector?

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:33, 11 April 2012
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	==What keypad is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's keypad connector?==		==What keypad is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's keypad connector?==
		+	A Grayhill 4x4 matrix keypad or equivalent keypad will work with the Electrum 100. For example Grayhill’s part number 96BB2-006-F.

	=Frequently Asked Questions - Software=		=Frequently Asked Questions - Software=

Support at 16:09, 11 April 2012

Support — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:09:55 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:09, 11 April 2012
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	Copy to DataFlash... done		Copy to DataFlash... done
	Electrum> reset		Electrum> reset
		+
		+	==What character LCD is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's LCD connector?==
		+	AZ Displays ACM2004D series is recommended for use with the Electrum 100.
		+
		+	http://www.azdisplays.com/index.php?id=Character_Modules&product=c2004d
		+
		+	==What keypad is recommended for use with the Electrum 100's keypad connector?==

	=Frequently Asked Questions - Software=		=Frequently Asked Questions - Software=

Support at 16:43, 7 February 2012

Support — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:43:43 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:43, 7 February 2012
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	==Can the Atmel SAM-BA utility be used to update the NAND filesystem?==		==Can the Atmel SAM-BA utility be used to update the NAND filesystem?==
	No. The NAND geometry assumed by SAM-BA is different than the one used by the NAND on the Electrum controllers. You can update the NAND filesystem using U-Boot as explained in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Windows and Linux versions of SAM-BA can be used to update the Dataflash.		No. The NAND geometry assumed by SAM-BA is different than the one used by the NAND on the Electrum controllers. You can update the NAND filesystem using U-Boot as explained in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Windows and Linux versions of SAM-BA can be used to update the Dataflash.
		+
		+	==How can I find out the installed kernel and Debian versions?==
		+	These are the commands to check the installed versions:
		+
		+	# uname -r
		+	2.6.33.20-1-at91
		+
		+	# cat /etc/debian_version
		+	6.0.3

	==How can the JFFS2 root filesystem be copied to a directory for NFS mounts?==		==How can the JFFS2 root filesystem be copied to a directory for NFS mounts?==

Support: /* How can I mount a JFFS2 file on a Linux PC? */

Support — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:07:22 GMT

How can I mount a JFFS2 file on a Linux PC?

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:07, 3 August 2011
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	using NFS.		using NFS.

-	==How can I mount a ~~JFFS2~~ file on a Linux PC?==	+	==How can I mount a file with a JFFS2 filesystem on a Linux PC?==

-	A simple way to mount a JFFS2 filesystem on a Linux PC is to use the loop and block2mtd modules. Example commands are listed below using loop0 and mtdblock0. Change the directory names to match your PC.	+	A simple way to mount a file with a JFFS2 filesystem on a Linux PC is to use the loop and block2mtd modules. Example commands are listed below using loop0 and mtdblock0. Change the directory names to match your PC.

	# losetup /dev/loop0 /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2		# losetup /dev/loop0 /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2

Support at 21:05, 3 August 2011

Support — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:05:08 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:05, 3 August 2011
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	# mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o rootfs.armel.jffs2		# mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o rootfs.armel.jffs2

-	For developers that prefer compressed tar archives, the [~~Electrum_Docuemntation~~\|Electrum wiki] has the microSD card filesystem in tar.bz2 format. You can extract the compressed tar archive to a local directory to use via NFS, which is simpler than mounting the JFFS2 image.	+	For developers that prefer compressed tar archives, the [[Electrum Documentation\|Electrum wiki]] has the microSD card filesystem in tar.bz2 format. You can extract the compressed tar archive to a local directory to use via NFS, which is simpler than mounting the JFFS2 image.

Support at 21:04, 3 August 2011

Support — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:04:17 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:04, 3 August 2011
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	Note that cross-compiling on a multi-core PC with Debian or Ubuntu Linux is significantly faster. The [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Toolchain_installation manual] explains how to set up an ARM cross-toolchain. If your project build times are significant, that would be a more productive route. To avoid file transfers during development you can share a filesystem between the PC and the board		Note that cross-compiling on a multi-core PC with Debian or Ubuntu Linux is significantly faster. The [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Toolchain_installation manual] explains how to set up an ARM cross-toolchain. If your project build times are significant, that would be a more productive route. To avoid file transfers during development you can share a filesystem between the PC and the board
	using NFS.		using NFS.
		+
		+	==How can I mount a JFFS2 file on a Linux PC?==
		+
		+	A simple way to mount a JFFS2 filesystem on a Linux PC is to use the loop and block2mtd modules. Example commands are listed below using loop0 and mtdblock0. Change the directory names to match your PC.
		+
		+	# losetup /dev/loop0 /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2
		+	# echo /dev/loop0 >/sys/module/block2mtd/parameters/block2mtd
		+
		+	# mkdir -p /home/electrum100/rootfs
		+	# mount -t jffs2 /dev/mtdblock0 /home/electrum100/rootfs
		+
		+	These commands assume you have the MTD utilities installed, the relevant modules loaded and the mtdblock0 node available. These would be representative commands to check if mtd-utils is installed, load the modules and create the mtdblock0 node.
		+
		+	# dpkg --get-selections \|grep mtd
		+	mtd-tools install
		+	mtd-utils install
		+
		+	# modprobe loop
		+	# modprobe mtdblock
		+	# modprobe block2mtd
		+	# modprobe jffs2
		+	# mknod /dev/mtdblock0 b 31 0
		+
		+	Some developers prefer to copy the JFFS2 filesystem to a local directory. Afterwards you can recreate the JFFS2 using the mkfs.jffs2 utility in mtd-utils.
		+
		+	# mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o rootfs.armel.jffs2
		+
		+	For developers that prefer compressed tar archives, the [Electrum_Docuemntation\|Electrum wiki] has the microSD card filesystem in tar.bz2 format. You can extract the compressed tar archive to a local directory to use via NFS, which is simpler than mounting the JFFS2 image.

Support: /* How can I compile applications on the board? */

Support — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:44:52 GMT

How can I compile applications on the board?

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:44, 13 January 2011
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	# apt-get install --no-install-recommends binutils cpp cpp-4.3 gcc gcc-4.3 gdb libc6-dev make		# apt-get install --no-install-recommends binutils cpp cpp-4.3 gcc gcc-4.3 gdb libc6-dev make

-	Test the installation by compiling a simple "Hello, world" program.	+	Install g++ if you will be compiling C++ applications. Test the installation by compiling a simple "Hello, world" program.

	/* hello.c */		/* hello.c */

Support: /* How can I compile applications on the board? */

Support — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:44:03 GMT

How can I compile applications on the board?

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:44, 13 January 2011
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	You can use 'apt-get install' to install gcc, gdb and any other packages you need for your projects. This allows you to do all your software development on the board. The board should have Internet access so 'apt' is able to download and install packages from the Debian armel repositories. The command below installs a base development system. You should execute 'apt-setup' and 'apt-purge' before/after installing packages if your root filesystem is in NAND.		You can use 'apt-get install' to install gcc, gdb and any other packages you need for your projects. This allows you to do all your software development on the board. The board should have Internet access so 'apt' is able to download and install packages from the Debian armel repositories. The command below installs a base development system. You should execute 'apt-setup' and 'apt-purge' before/after installing packages if your root filesystem is in NAND.

-	# apt-get install --no-install-recommends binutils cpp cpp-4.3 gcc gcc-4.3 gdb libc6-dev	+	# apt-get install --no-install-recommends binutils cpp cpp-4.3 gcc gcc-4.3 gdb libc6-dev make

	Test the installation by compiling a simple "Hello, world" program.		Test the installation by compiling a simple "Hello, world" program.

Support: /* How can the JFFS2 root filesystem be copied to a directory for NFS mounts? */

Support — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:48:22 GMT

How can the JFFS2 root filesystem be copied to a directory for NFS mounts?

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:48, 16 December 2010
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	modprobe -r loop		modprobe -r loop

-	To generate a JFFS2 image from the exported directory you can use the mkfs.jffs2 command from the mtd-utils package. This assumes an erase block size of 128KB and a page size of 2KB. The directory should not be mounted when building the image. The updated JFFS2 image can be copied to NAND using the bootloader as ~~indicated~~ in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Using a JFFS2 image is a common alternative for deploying the same NAND filesystem to multiple installations. You can also consider deploying the updated root filesystem on the microSD card.	+	To generate a JFFS2 image from the exported directory you can use the mkfs.jffs2 command from the mtd-utils package. This assumes an erase block size of 128KB and a page size of 2KB. The directory should not be mounted when building the image. The updated JFFS2 image can be copied to NAND using the bootloader as explained in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Using a JFFS2 image is a common alternative for deploying the same NAND filesystem to multiple installations. You can also consider deploying the updated root filesystem on the microSD card.

	mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2		mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2

Support: /* How can a rootfs directory be populated for NFS mounts? */

Support — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:47:08 GMT

How can a rootfs directory be populated for NFS mounts?

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:47, 16 December 2010
Line 36:		Line 36:
	No. The NAND geometry assumed by SAM-BA is different than the one used by the NAND on the Electrum controllers. You can update the NAND filesystem using U-Boot as explained in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Windows and Linux versions of SAM-BA can be used to update the Dataflash.		No. The NAND geometry assumed by SAM-BA is different than the one used by the NAND on the Electrum controllers. You can update the NAND filesystem using U-Boot as explained in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Windows and Linux versions of SAM-BA can be used to update the Dataflash.

-	==How can a ~~rootfs~~ directory ~~be populated~~ for NFS mounts?==	+	==How can the JFFS2 root filesystem be copied to a directory for NFS mounts?==
	The [http://www.micromint.com/updates/electrum/rootfs.armel.jffs2 JFFS2 image] can be mounted on a Linux system and copied to the directory exported via NFS. Below are the typical commands used, The image is assumed to be at /home/electrum100 and the exported directory at /home/electrum100/rootfs so you should modify it when using other locations.		The [http://www.micromint.com/updates/electrum/rootfs.armel.jffs2 JFFS2 image] can be mounted on a Linux system and copied to the directory exported via NFS. Below are the typical commands used, The image is assumed to be at /home/electrum100 and the exported directory at /home/electrum100/rootfs so you should modify it when using other locations.

Line 59:		Line 59:
	modprobe -r loop		modprobe -r loop

-	To generate a JFFS2 image from the exported directory you can use the mkfs.jffs2 command from the mtd-utils package. This assumes an erase block size of 128KB and a page size of 2KB. The directory should not be mounted when building the image.	+	To generate a JFFS2 image from the exported directory you can use the mkfs.jffs2 command from the mtd-utils package. This assumes an erase block size of 128KB and a page size of 2KB. The directory should not be mounted when building the image. The updated JFFS2 image can be copied to NAND using the bootloader as indicated in the [http://wiki.micromint.com/index.php/Electrum-100_Manual/2#Updating_the_Linux_kernel_and_root_filesystem manual]. Using a JFFS2 image is a common alternative for deploying the same NAND filesystem to multiple installations. You can also consider deploying the updated root filesystem on the microSD card.

	mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2		mkfs.jffs2 -l -n -p -q -e 0x20000 -s 0x800 -d /home/electrum100/rootfs -o /home/electrum100/rootfs.armel.jffs2