# Initial Bring-up: Orange Pi 3B

Get the board running on Armbian for hardware validation.

## What You Need

| Item | Notes |
|------|-------|
| microSD card | 8-32GB Class 10 (SanDisk recommended) |
| HDMI cable + monitor | 1920×1080 or whatever you have |
| USB keyboard + mouse | Standard USB-A peripherals |
| USB-C power supply | 5V/3A — any phone charger you already have works |

## Step 1: Download Armbian

Grab an image from the [Orange Pi 3B page on Armbian](https://armbian.com/boards/orangepi3b).

**Which image?** For initial testing, grab a desktop image (Resolute or Trixie). That way you get HDMI output, a GUI, and network manager for WiFi setup immediately. Minimal/server images are fine if you prefer CLI — but desktop saves fiddling on first boot.

Images are built as recently as May 2026 — freshness is good.

## Step 2: Flash to microSD

**On Linux (Rowan/Lucy):**
```bash
# Find your SD card device
lsblk
# Flash the image (replace /dev/sdX with your card — be careful!)
xzcat Armbian_*.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
```

**On Windows/macOS:** Use [Balena Etcher](https://www.balena.io/etcher/) — GUI, hard to mess up.

## Step 3: First Boot

1. Insert microSD into OPi 3B
2. Connect HDMI, plug in USB keyboard
3. Connect USB-C power supply
4. Board powers on automatically (no power button needed on first boot from SD)

**First boot takes longer** — Armbian runs its first-run setup (resize filesystem, generate SSH keys, etc.). Give it 2-3 minutes.

You'll see:
- U-Boot splash
- Kernel boot messages scrolling by
- Armbian first-run wizard (set root password, create user, configure locale)

## Step 4: Hardware Validation

Once booted, run through these:

- [ ] **HDMI output** — Display at correct resolution? No artifacts?
- [ ] **USB ports** — Both USB 3.0 ports detect peripherals? Both USB 2.0 ports work?
- [ ] **Ethernet** — Plug in cable, does `ip a` show a link?
- [ ] **WiFi** — `nmtui` or desktop network manager — scan and connect?
- [ ] **Bluetooth** — `bluetoothctl` can scan?
- [ ] **Audio** — 3.5mm jack output?
- [ ] **eMMC** — `lsblk` should show `/dev/mmcblk1` (the onboard 256GB eMMC)
- [ ] **RAM** — `free -h` shows ~7.5GB usable (of 8GB)
- [ ] **Temperature** — `cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp` — divide by 1000 for °C. Should idle below 50°C without a heatsink for short tests.

## Step 5 (Optional): Install to eMMC

Once you're happy the board works, you can move Armbian to the eMMC and stop using the SD card:

```bash
sudo armbian-install
```

Follow the prompts — select eMMC as the target. This copies the system to onboard storage. After it finishes:
```bash
sudo poweroff
```
Remove the microSD, power back on. Board boots from eMMC automatically.

## Next Steps After Bring-up

- [ ] Test with your salvaged display + controller board (when it arrives)
- [ ] Test HDMI A/B switch for internal/external display switching
- [ ] Start case design with real board measurements
- [ ] Order remaining parts from BOM

## References

- https://armbian.com/boards/orangepi3b — Armbian images
- https://docs.armbian.com/User-Guide_Getting-Started/ — Official Armbian guide
- http://www.orangepi.org/orangepiwiki/index.php/Orange_Pi_3B — Official OPi 3B wiki