87 lines
No EOL
3.2 KiB
Markdown
87 lines
No EOL
3.2 KiB
Markdown
# Initial Bring-up: Orange Pi 3B
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Get the board running on Armbian for hardware validation.
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## What You Need
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| Item | Notes |
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|------|-------|
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| microSD card | 8-32GB Class 10 (SanDisk recommended) |
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| HDMI cable + monitor | 1920×1080 or whatever you have |
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| USB keyboard + mouse | Standard USB-A peripherals |
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| USB-C power supply | 5V/3A — any phone charger you already have works |
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## Step 1: Download Armbian
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Grab an image from the [Orange Pi 3B page on Armbian](https://armbian.com/boards/orangepi3b).
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**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.
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Images are built as recently as May 2026 — freshness is good.
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## Step 2: Flash to microSD
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**On Linux (Rowan/Lucy):**
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```bash
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# Find your SD card device
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lsblk
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# Flash the image (replace /dev/sdX with your card — be careful!)
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xzcat Armbian_*.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
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```
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**On Windows/macOS:** Use [Balena Etcher](https://www.balena.io/etcher/) — GUI, hard to mess up.
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## Step 3: First Boot
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1. Insert microSD into OPi 3B
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2. Connect HDMI, plug in USB keyboard
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3. Connect USB-C power supply
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4. Board powers on automatically (no power button needed on first boot from SD)
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**First boot takes longer** — Armbian runs its first-run setup (resize filesystem, generate SSH keys, etc.). Give it 2-3 minutes.
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You'll see:
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- U-Boot splash
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- Kernel boot messages scrolling by
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- Armbian first-run wizard (set root password, create user, configure locale)
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## Step 4: Hardware Validation
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Once booted, run through these:
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- [ ] **HDMI output** — Display at correct resolution? No artifacts?
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- [ ] **USB ports** — Both USB 3.0 ports detect peripherals? Both USB 2.0 ports work?
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- [ ] **Ethernet** — Plug in cable, does `ip a` show a link?
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- [ ] **WiFi** — `nmtui` or desktop network manager — scan and connect?
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- [ ] **Bluetooth** — `bluetoothctl` can scan?
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- [ ] **Audio** — 3.5mm jack output?
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- [ ] **eMMC** — `lsblk` should show `/dev/mmcblk1` (the onboard 256GB eMMC)
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- [ ] **RAM** — `free -h` shows ~7.5GB usable (of 8GB)
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- [ ] **Temperature** — `cat /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp` — divide by 1000 for °C. Should idle below 50°C without a heatsink for short tests.
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## Step 5 (Optional): Install to eMMC
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Once you're happy the board works, you can move Armbian to the eMMC and stop using the SD card:
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```bash
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sudo armbian-install
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```
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Follow the prompts — select eMMC as the target. This copies the system to onboard storage. After it finishes:
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```bash
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sudo poweroff
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```
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Remove the microSD, power back on. Board boots from eMMC automatically.
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## Next Steps After Bring-up
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- [ ] Test with your salvaged display + controller board (when it arrives)
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- [ ] Test HDMI A/B switch for internal/external display switching
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- [ ] Start case design with real board measurements
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- [ ] Order remaining parts from BOM
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## References
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- https://armbian.com/boards/orangepi3b — Armbian images
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- https://docs.armbian.com/User-Guide_Getting-Started/ — Official Armbian guide
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- http://www.orangepi.org/orangepiwiki/index.php/Orange_Pi_3B — Official OPi 3B wiki |