Seperis

My birthday board arrived! As I had become wary of the Zima, I decided to be super impractical and dramatic and went for the board that has haunted me for a bit.

#Beaglebone AI-64: https://docs.beagleboard.org/latest/boards/beaglebone/ai-64/index.html

One of the reasons I got into SBCs very hardcore was that they could be both general usage AND task-dedicated. I do get the attraction to mini computers and smaller computers, but I really like that I no longer have to scrub my server every three months because I wnated to learn something.

#BeagleBoneBlack #ThisMayBeWorking

OS: Debian 12.4 Bookworm
Image: BeagleBoard.org Debian Bookworm IoT Image 2023-12-11

I fllashed directly to the eMMC (4 GB drive, no less), then updated the kernel, and suddenly everything is just smooth.

Unfortunately, I can't use eMMC and the wireless cape since they use the same pins. So. Time to see what wifi adapters I have that it supports. Hopefully not just the crappy ones I bought on sale to test with.

#BeagleBoneBlack #AdventuresInUpgradeHell

Bookworm 12.4 failed very slowly and weirdly with pieces just kind of falling apart, not unlike how I imagined people dying of leprosy (I read a lot of historical fiction as a child and it was my number one fear of dying from).

But I have time, so trying again and switching types. We're going mmc and 2 GB.

OS: Debian 12.2 Bookworm
Image: am335x-eMMC-flasher-debian-12.2-minimal-armhf-2023-10-07-2gb.img.xz

And may God have mercy on my soul.

#BeagleBoneBlack #DebianBookworm #IIsIWDMadeBySatan? Yeah, I am deeply not vibing with this.

In its defense it does connect easily. IT also disconnects easily and loses interfaces, so.

#BeagleBoneBlack update.

Medusa is now updated to Debian GNU/Linux 12.4 Bookworm. It took me several image burns to get one that worked.
So far, this is the only Bookworm image that would work:

BeagleBoard.org Debian Bookworm IoT Image 2023-10-07

I also found out why this one and 12.2 are not official or shouldn't be: for both BBB and BeaglePlay, there's a shocking number of Beagle specific packages missing.

While surfing the wilds of new #SBCs, I stopped by #BeagleBone, saw they had two (2!) new boards and went to look

#BeagleV-Fire: https://www.beagleboard.org/boards/beaglev-fire

Reading the specs, I was pretty sure I either suffered a random bout of brain damage or I was hallucinating, then I got to Storage where I recognized some of the words. Not all of them, but some. So that was fun.

#BeagleV-Ahead: https://www.beagleboard.org/boards/beaglev-ahead

I am not brain damaged and that is how to organize new (to me) hardware words.

I am seriously, seriously vibing on #EndeavourOS. This is a really fun OS.

That's my good news.

Asking for a friend why does #inotifywait hate them and refuse to do anything? Why?

Currently experiencing a minor triumph over the inexcusable error of Solus not having #figlet so I had to hunt for source to compile.

Note to anyone using this: no matter what the notes say about switching up the folders, just use the ones already entered in the Makefile, create them yourself if you have to.

Also, solus dev tools package: system.devel

As I've lost this link twice (along with my package equivalent llist for ubuntu/mint-->solus), adding it here: https://github.com/cmatsuoka/figlet

Pre-notes:

All state on Amazon website (and the places I got the original recs) that they are compliant with #AppleHomekit, #GoogleHome, #AmazonAlexa, and #SmartThings.

#Orein also claims compliance with #AiDot. Gosh, that sounds familiar for a company/brand I never hard of before yesterday while testing #Lindkind bulbs. Come to think these look super alike, but $3 less.

Aqara added a fifth: compliance with #homeassistant Okay, my feelings on #Aqara are definitely softening.

In the case of #LIFX, they do one better: their bulbs have a 10 year warranty and if they go out before that, they will replace them free of charge.

I know this is true because they replaced two of mine after two years.

That concludes this episode of Random Smart Devices Convo.

So I have finally come to the conclusion that if I want to activate the bluetooth on my #BeagleBoneBlack, I have to compile them myself. I've compiled drivers before--with lots of instructions--so okay. I know this. I can do this.

So I just didn't know shit.

I can't do this on my Beagle; I need to do it on my regular Linux server. Okay. However, my Beagle must be attached to it by USB and UART at the same time.

I also I have to run my beagle on a special image flashed to a new SC card.

Note: I am frantically lining up coding projects as tomorrow, #RedditGoesDark and also with the end of the #RIF app for mobile, I am going to lose pretty much all my ability to read #Reddit on my phone, where I do most of my Reddit surfing.

Dear God June has become depressing.

Every time I get frustrated with insanely undocumented hardware, I go to my #BeagleBoneBlack wifi add-on board and remember it has two tiny dip switches sandwiched in the middle and I still have no idea what they do or why they're there.

So I've been flashing different versions of BeagleBone's debian OS on my #BeagleBoneBlack and #BeaglePlay and I have feelings.

Current Images:
BeaglePlay: beagleplay-debian-11.7-xfce-arm64-2023-05-18-10gb.img.xz
BeagleBoneBlack: am335x-debian-11.7-xfce-armhf-2023-05-03-4gb.img.xz

As I have my first Cybersecurity exam tomorrow, of course I decided to flash some new SD cards to check out the new images and how stable they are.

Short version: very stable
Long version: coming next!

I think I got bluetooth working on #BeaglePlay and #BeagleBoneBlack. I just have no idea why that worked or what it was I was actually doing. Or--literally any part of that.

But! It's up!

I still cannot quite work out how to get the bluetooth up on #BeaglePlay, #BeagleConnectFreedom, or #BeagleBoneBlack I dowloaded the bluetopia stack from TI and was looking at the SDK and sample programs, but this is way above my max working knowledge.

Currently looking at the BeaglePlay at 70% of 16 GB eMMC memory, I'm trying to decide how useful the GUI really is. The only thing I use it for to note I have a desktop for backup.

Okay, here's the thing.

#BeaglePlay #BeagleBoneBlack

1.) I got both hostaps up, changed the SSIDs and passwords so I can enable the bb-server on each and direct connect to them.
2.) Bluetooth not working is going to be an ongoing theme with me here, just warning you now. It's bothering me.

Carry on while I try not to break this.

#BeagleBoneBlack #GatewayCape #HowTo
Image: am335x-debian-11.7-iot-armhf-2023-05-03-4gb.img.xz

sudo nano /boot/uEnv.txt:
dtb_overlay=/lib/firmware/BB-GATEWAY-WL1837-00A0.dtbo
disable_uboot_overlay_emmc=1
disable_uboot_overlay_video=1
disable_uboot_overlay_audio=1
disable_uboot_overlay_wireless=1
disable_uboot_overlay_adc=1

sudo nano bb-wl18xx-fw
TETHER_ENABLED=no

sudo shutdown -r now

After this restart, choose yoru network manager, then shut down and put the cape on the board.

#BeagleBoneBlack But systemdnetworkd makes up for it by being ridiculously complicated and...do people really use this?

#BeagleBoneBlack So this asshole of a board just--accepted my cape immediately without drama.

...seriously?

#BeagleBoneBlack however, has decided that All the Wifi Will Never Work Again, and that's after the hellscape of making that goddamn gateway cape work. Not just that: my dependable wifi usb dongle also wouldn't work; it just--stopped recognizing wifi as a whole.

Testing: #BeagleBoneBlack #RasperryPi Zero W, Raspbery Pi Zero 2 W

Silicon Power had me quite literally at boot: it was that fast, as in, I actually jumped when the OS appeared on my monitor because wtf how are you here. This thing made a Pi Zero stop dawdling around and get down to business.

Regular performance: I'd say it equalizes with Samsung for regular work.

Active Use: this is where I'm not sure. For setting up a thing to do a job and leaving it alone--like a Pi Hole--I think ideal.

Before Blue, I ran HA off a PI 4b 8GB with attached NVME storage and I used a goddamn Samsung 970 Pro. Now granted that was off a USB 3.0 and not PCIe so I lost performance, but when I was running off #BeagleBoneBlack eMMC (4 GB) it was the same.

But: what on earth would use that much storage for, and I mean not philosophically but in terms of a dedicated home automation hub? Don't get me wrong, I, too, have been tempted to wish I could make HA wear all the hats but--1 TB is a lot of hats.

I've temporarily given up on Assignment 11 for #Java as I quite literally cannot make anything work.

This is a very new experience for me; I can't even work out the first principles of it. The only clue I have is that to get histogram to display as required, the four least significant digits of the final color of each pixel must be 0000.

I have tried multiple ways to get that to happen, but I am not getting the result and honestly, I think I'm doing everything wrong.

So. #PocketBeagle.

Returning to #BeagleBoneBlack and the #BeagleBoard now:

Specifically, those capes.

I'm going to sit down and try to go through the scripts but honestly, it's such a part of the specific Beagle portion of the entire OS infrastructure I'd probably need someone who works on the OS and Beagle itself to walk me through this.

Due to character limits, I'm going to start a new set of posts for this under #BeagleBoardCapes

And I can't say this enough; my #BeagleBoneBlack has a freaking FAST SD boot. And unless I'm in very very heavy usage, it runs faster than SD ever did on any of my Pi's (Zero W, Zero 2 W, Pi 3).

The only thing it really lacks is a working GUI. In general, I don't use one for most tasks--I can do it much faster on command line or with a batch script--but depending on the machine, there are certain tasks and programs where I need a three dimensional reference.

So in other news, I am going to have the happy tasks of deciding what to do with my #BeagleBoneBlack as it now has no tasks. For now, I'm going to leave the SD card OS install as-is and try testing the more recent test OS's in the eMMC.

I have to admit, I am appreciating more and more having an SD card boot and a eMMC boot that can be separate (you can boot to eMMC and use SD as storage, of course, but I do that with a USB like a normal person).

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

So according to the chip being used and the board instructions, my precious is also an OTBR platform. It comes with BLE, BT, Dual Wifi, Ant 1, 2, and 3 (there are three?????), and Zigbee, NFC, RF.

Reference: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Texas-Instruments/WL1837MODGIMOCT?qs=S0GpHP26UDJXqS5ihoDD%252Bw%3D%3D

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

J26--take the jumper OFF or leave it on pin 2.

Dip Switch-put both in the on position When both LEDS are on, you nailed it.

Please do not do these things while teh board is on because I have no idea if it's dangerous. I did but honestly I am very careless and have been told the only reason I am alive is I have the luck of children and fools. This is likely true.

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

Until I get a chance to post new pics:

The alignment of the board during instructions should be with all text right side up; yes, you'd think that would be obvious but you'd be surprised how often it's not.

Alignment is left to right, one, two three on the pins. I don't know how much it matters if the jumpers are turned around during the move so the metal bar is on which relative side of the pin, so make this a lateral moves so it matches how it looks new.

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

My hardware build turned out to be correct but for one tiny part; I'm going to post a pic.

The weirdly undocumented part of this--because the instructions use goddamn random artist renderings--is this golden place in the middle that Noid on Discord told me was a dip switch.

Why? We just don't know, but I untaped it and it looks like mine came in the 'off' position, and I have both switches in the on.

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

The good news is, if you do it like that--and means the only thing you do iis the basics of bringing it up to scratch, do not uninstall anything or change network managers,--you're fine.

If you want to switch to NetworkManager, however, two changes, gotten from the OTBR Codelab, but honestly, use it either way and just skip the NetworkManager part if you're not using that. This is the perfect tutorial:

https://openthread.io/guides/border-router/beaglebone-black

#BeagleBoneBlack Disaster Flash

It was not, after all, a disaster flash. But it could have been for entirely unexpected reasons;the build iself was great, for anyone curious.

Image:bone-debian-10.13-iot-armhf-2023

I also think I know why this cape feels so impossible; this is actually kind of funny.

From what I can tell of the files involved, you need a freshly-installed unaltered build that has never known the touch of a man or a woman (I almost said virgin and started giggling).

#BeagleBonesBlack To-Test (cont):
4.) Explore the practicality of booting from either eMMC and sd card for different purposes.

Yes, that would mean making sure to update the OS on both, but using the internal memory intact for regular use and booting to SD for specific tasks that require larger packages isnt the worst idea. I just have to remember to use press on the boot button on the board when I want to go to SD.

#BeagleBonesBlack To-Test:
1.) Check how it performs wiht pihole (or if i t can run pihole).

My #RaspberryPiZeroW is fine but it does have slowdown points; I do kind of wish there was an easy way to cluster two to act as autobackups for each other. I should research that.

2.) Check if the OS will let me mount a USB as a bin or sbin or use it hold bin/sbin programs and link them into bin/sbin.

3.) See if there's a better OS or if the more recent BB Kernel updates are compatible with BB's.

PHP Part 2:

Header and Footer are static; Update is where the last update date and any messsages go; form is where the button is that you use to trigger the script; main is where all the preformatted network data is dumped by my script.

With the help of #readable.css by the grace of @benjaminhollon, I had my network status page; it was amazing. I even got it into crontab the first time to run hourly.

It was beautiful. And obviously doomed.

#RaspberryPiZeroW really really hated Raspberry OS lite. I am noting this here so I remember and don't try that nonsense again.

For the life of me, though, I can't work out why.

Note: #RaspberryPiZeroW really is the perfect #pihole. And it's tiny.

Install Raspberry Pi Lite OS; anything else is overkill. You do not need anything but terminal here.

After a few test runs, I worked out a profile which turned out to be the very bare basics.. It's about an hour to do everything, but it only takes that long because sd cards are unholy slow and Zero only has one processor.

Zero's name is Hecuba, joining Andromeda, Jocasta, and Eurydice among my Pis

So once a year I'm called in for regression, because though other people have tested it---and I trained almost all of them--no one has all of it. It's not that I actively and proactively remember everything--that's why I keep my own documentation--but because I can tell when something is Eh, That Happens, Wrong Check This, Wrong Okay Get the Devs, or Oh God Nope Call Everyone Now when inevitably, a test fails.

#InstitutionalMemory is remembering the context of how complex systems interact.

One of the things that people watching the real time breakdown of twitter but don't ever seem to get is that #institutionalmemory isn't about having enough documentation, comments, test and dev history on the code, database, infrastructure; most places do have that.

Its about the practical real tie knowledge of how those things actually interact in real time.

I am institutional memory for several parts of the programs we test. I was not just the first tester; I sat in on design sessions.

#UAT #QA I finally got the correct Linux permissions to run tests for backend processes. Sure, it's been over a year since I started being assigned to testing backend processes and having to frantically get at least two other people to run parts of my test so I could do the third part (screenshot) but you know, better late than never I guess?

"To help some of the newcomers make connections: name 5-7 things that interest you but aren't in your profile, as tags so they are searchable. Then boost this post or repeat its instructions so others know to do the same. Add #introductions to the post."

#HomeAssistant, #ddwrt
#raspberrypi, #makemkv
#handbrake, #plex, #linux, #hardware, #BuildingNewThings

#introduction #reintroduction #reintroductions

via @darylsun https://fosstodon.org/@darylsun/109296399768457679