A13-SOM-256 and A13-SOM-512
Contents
1. ET E oos TA 25 6 3 Power pins for external power supply sn fL m 8 to the ERRRTIRIRREURRNENERERIERREERRENTIUERIUNT 32 8 1 Doc melit vedo VR 32 8 2 Board ua uuu E Da P 32 8 3 Useful web links and Coles scsesosso esa poos L EEA ETETE 33 Page 4 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW 1 Introduction to the chapter Thank you for choosing this single board computer from Olimex This document provides a user s guide for the A13 SOM boards It covers both the 256 and the 512 version board In the text below A13 SOM is used to address both A13 SOM 256 and A13 SOM 512 if a specific feature is available to only one of the boards then this is specifically mentioned and the board is addressed with the RAM indicating suffix As an overview this chapter gives the scope of this document and lists the board s features The document s organization is then detailed The A13 SOM development board enables code development of applications running on the A13 microcontroller manufactured by Allwinner Technology from China The A13 SOM board is typically used together with A13 SOM WIFI or A13 SOM WIFI 4GB which provides the following expansions over the origin2. ce iso socr 70 pias ane crisi cuc Q5 rae noge pce noge 3002_0 174 pcs noon soca D1 72 Note that signals PING PWMO PIN7 PIN8 PINO respectively pins 9 11 13 15 are also available at the LCD_TR connector Avoid multiplexing Rz 2 gt gt ujo HH 2 2 ujo HH 2 2 Aju 10 12 14 16 8 1 U 2 UJ UJ Ea 5 E 9 11 PIN7 Ea ET 17 EM Ea EN 11 13 15 17 19 21 7 9 2 Rz H z P N be z 3 3 w w wje 6 4 2 GPIO 2 General Purpose Input Output 10pin connector ore oo 2 jw owe 93 a jucm oes o 5 feor 2 kw o e econ s jme G8 10 Page 27 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 6 4 3 GPIO 3 General Purpose Input Output 10pin connector GPIO 3 connector 1 5 12 cse PE CSI_PCLK SPI2_CS EIN14 114 2 USB VBUSDET PGi EINT1 154 Gus ___ P6i2 sPIa_MISO UARTS_ATS 15 7 pewesrwemcsenwso Jewrmazse Gen _ o oor Jeesernaz sox 6 5 LCD TR 40pin connector The pins used for LCD display connection are led out to a separate 40pin connecter for ease We have tested the ability of the board to interact with such a d
3. A13 SOM 256 and 13 5 512 System on Module boards capable of Linux boot USER S MANUAL Revision B March 2015 Designed OLIMEX Ltd 2014 lead free All boards produced by Olimex LTD are ROHS compliant OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual DISCLAIMER 2015 Olimex Ltd Olimex logo and combinations thereof are registered trademarks of Olimex Ltd Other product names may be trademarks of others and the rights belong to their respective owners The information in this document is provided in connection with Olimex products No license express or implied or otherwise to any intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of Olimex products The hardware designs of A13 SOM 256 and A13 SOM 512 development boards are considered intellectual property to Olimex The hardware design files are considered copyright material and would not be distributed The hardware designs of the boards that can be attached over A13 SOM 256 and A13 SOM 512 e g A13 SOM WIFI A13 SOM WIFI A13 SOM LTE etc are considered open source hardware The source design files are published online and accessible by everyone The software is released under GPL It is possible that the pictures in this manual differ from the latest revision of the board The product described in this document is subject to continuous development and improvements All particulars of the product and its use contained in this document ar
4. 512 THEY ARE CONSIDERED SUITABLE ONLY FOR A13 SOM 256 AND A13 SOM 512 RESPECTIVELY Page 2 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Table of Contents DISCLAIMER uns gagasssusascqaqakisqunasyassasyaqsasisasus qhaqe ustssshusssupsssasiaswssqs 2 CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW oracin ieat 5 1 Introduction to th chapter ancse aa dense oa a quu casas aai 5 1 1 Introduction to SOM System On a Modulle csccscscssssssssssssssssssssssscssssssscsssssssscesensaceess 5 2 3 2 Mounted pONWOELHIQu si 11 2 4 Button f nctions miei la eere EI Ren ERE sa saus sassassssesassssssssasss ssssssssssSsssssesssassssassssssssss 11 2 1 Android CAL DATO uu uuu luu Sus uusssisssashashuskashisussaysakayasqayisqasqqkashasisssisssuass sqassasaskaqastaspiq ssa 16 2 72 Debian CAM RAO uuu an aus epe sa CE Duas u 16 CHAPTER 6 CONNECTORS AND 6 6 23 6 Introduction to the Chapter ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssosscsssess 23 Page 3 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual inter fACE sinioreso ane e EEEN ESKATE 24 6 2 MicroSD card PUDE aui asd riui du Ca ec lii a ntc 24 6 2 E 5 D MIMCESIQU uuu ia re ver aeos rrr ea VE Ee eus
5. alone mode e g it is neither attached to A13 SOM WIFI nor to any other board of peripherals there are fewer options for powering it There is no standard jack for the powering circuit you might need to make own adapter Consider that you might need additional cables or connectors You would need to provide 3 3V DC to one of the two following locations 1 UART1 pin named 3 3V you can use any GND pin available at the board Or 2 Connector GPIO 1 s pin 1 3 3V and pin 2 GND The minimum consumption is 0 33W equivalent of 0 1A of current at 3 3V of voltage Do not provide AC voltage to the A13 SOM board Do not provide more than 3 3V of voltage directly to the A13 SOM board Providing 5V or more would instantly cause permanent hardware damage Consider that the board lacks hardware wake up button This means that if your OS enters sleep mode you will probably be unable to wake the board using only the LCD The sleep and stand by modes had been disabled in the default images The Android release has an application that disables stand by Page 10 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Sometimes when starting Android it is possible the board to enter battery save mode even before booting fully Especially if you have turned off the board without quick boot mode enabled In this case you should press the PWR button for at least 5 seconds which would allow the board to start 2 3 2 Mounted powering Typically A13 SOM get
6. download link you visit clearly indicates that the image is suitable for the NAND memory since there are images suitable for microSD card also The images suitable for the microSD memory and those suitable for microSD card are different However the upload method is almost identical using LiveSuit 3 Go to firmware tab of the program and point to the already downloaded and extracted Android image 4 Disconnect the power supply and USB cable from the A13 board 5 Press and hold UBOOT HOME button apply power supply the requirement varies release UBOOT HOME button 6 Connect USB cable to the mini USB connector of A13 SOM WIFI 7 You will be asked for drivers for the bootloader Navigate to the folder where you extracted the LiveSuit and install the drivers from the respective executable or manually point the installer to the drivers folder in the LiveSuit installation path 8 LiveSuit will detect the board and would ask whether you wish to also of writing the image Choose method of writing the image and confirm your wish to write the image 9 Wait till upgrade succeeds Note that it is not recommended to have your mini USB connected to an external USB hub This might cause delays and might distort the signal levels Always test with the USB connected straight to the USB ports of your computer Page 35 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 8 5 Product support For product support hardware information and error reports m
7. for connection depends on the specific board you are using and more specifically it depends on the pitch of the LCD connector of the board We have two cables both 40 pins ones but one for the bigger pitch 0 1 and the other for the smaller one 0 05 Each of the displays listed in the table above has two connectors suitable for both cables CABLE IDC40 6cm long cable suitable for 0 1 step connectors Product page CABLE 40 40 10CM 10cm long cable suitable for 0 05 step connectors Product page Page 15 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 2 7 1 Android calibration Calibrating a display under Android is pretty straightforward from the Android application Important initially the boards are calibrated for a specific display and resolution If you re write the image no matter whether the SD card or the NAND memory you might need to use a mouse to calibrate the display initially It might be impossible to calibrate it only by using the touch component over the display 2 7 2 Debian calibration The command that allows calibrating in Debian Linux is ts_calibrate The default Debian video output configuration is set to 7 inch LCD display 800x480 If you want to change to other video output resolution refer to chapter 2 6 Changing the default image resolution If the problem is under Debian Linux make sure you are properly logged in the LXDE interface Else applying calibration would not happen for the cur
8. nowadays We distribute such a cable Even if you already have such a cable or you decide to purchase it elsewhere it is advisable to check this product page for a reference Product page You need to connect the serial cable lines as follows RX line to UART1 TX pin TX line to UARTI RX pin GND to GND The last pin of UART1 connector is named 3 3V and it can be used to power the board if you have other ways of power the board leave 3 3V pin unconnected Be careful to avoid the connection to the serial cable else there would be a short circuit Make sure that the serial cable is connected to your personal computer and recognized properly after driver installation Then open a terminal program on the serial COM port which the cable is associated with After everything else is set you would need to power the board as explained in 2 3 Powering the board If the A13 SOM is attached to A13 SOM WIFI in addition to the serial communication you might also use one or more of the two additional mediums to interact with the board 1 a compatible display via the LCD CON connector 2 a remote computer using the WIFI capabilities probably via SSH connection Using the LCD CON or the WIFI might require additional configurations Furthermore it is possible to corrupt the output settings over those interfaces and thus lose the output In such cases you can always use the serial cable USB SERIAL CABLE F as a reliable way to establish connection t
9. 3 SOM 256 the 256MB DDR3 RAM version of the product A13 SOM 512 the 512MB DDR3 RAM version of the product A13 SOM WIFI expansion board that can be directly mounted over A13 SOM it adds USB mini port a WIFI module with built in antenna LCD display connector with 0 1 step and routes a number of frequently used signals to the easier to access 0 1 row of pinholes The sources schematics of A13 SOM WIFI are available for download and the board is considered open hardware USB SERIAL CABLE F female USB serial console cable provides the easiest way of debugging A13 SOM 256 DEBIAN SD tested class 10 micro SD card with the latest by the time of leaving the Olimex facilities official Debian release suitable for the 256MB version of the board A13 SOM 512 DEBIAN SD same as above suitable for the 512MB version of the board A13 SOM 512 ANDROID SD tested class 10 micro SD card with the latest by the time of leaving Olimex facilities official Android Linux release USB MINI CABLE standard USB type A to USB type mini cable How to purchase You can purchase directly from our online shop or from any of our distributors Note that usually it might be faster and cheaper to purchase Olimex products from our distributors List of confirmed Olimex LTD distributors and resellers https www olimex com Distributors Please visit https www olimex com for more info Page 33 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 8 4 Freq
10. 61x53 mm 1 4 Board variants There are two major board variants named A13 SOM 256 and A13 SOM 512 The 256 version has 256MB of DDR3 RAM memory compared to the 512 version that has double the amount It is important to notice that the 256MB of DDR3 RAM are insufficient to run Android OS properly If you are interested in Android development for Allwinner A13 I recommend you to get the 512MB version of A13 SOM A similar board is A13 OLinuXino it is meant for fully evaluating the capabilities of A13 processor if you are going to implement A13 SOM into custom design it would be a good idea to first check on the A13 OLinuXino it would be easier to evaluate the capabilites of the A13 processor due to the The other Olimex board with close characteristics is A20 SOM board It is a bit bigger and a bit more expensive However has a generation newer dual core processor that is better for heavy computations for instance high resolution video decoding and encoding The A20 SOM board also has a bigger extension shield with almost all of the peripherals supported by the A20 processor This extension is named A20 SOM EVB 1 5 Board version used in the manual 13 5 256 revision D board and A13 SOM 512 revision D boards were used while writing this document It is possible that part of the information is outdated Page 7 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 1 6 Document organization Each section in this document covers a separ
11. D Engine VPU m HD Video Decoding m 1920 1080 30fps m Support H 264 263 1 Mpeg1 2 4 Divx 3 4 5 6 Xvid VP6 8 AVS etc m HD Video Encoding m Support encoding in H 264 format m Upto 1920 1080 at 30fps DPU m LCD Interfaces CPU RGB Memory m DDR2 DDR3 Up to 533MHz m 16 bits Data Bus Memory capacity up to 512MB m MLC TLC SLC EF NAND m 2 flash chips ECC 64 bit m Support NAND of 5xnm 4xnm 3xnm 2xnm m Support NADN of Samsung Toshiba Hynix Peripherals USB2 0 OTG USB2 0 HOST OHCI EHCI SD Card V 3 0 eMMC V 4 2 SPI TWI and UART integrated Audio Codec m CSI R TP Controller 4 wire resistive TP interface m 2 points and gesture detection Boot Devices m NAND Flash B SPI Nor Flash Page 20 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual m SD m USB m Powerful Acceleration m Graphic 3D Mali400 MP m VPU 1080P m APU E Reader Ultra low System Power Consumption Smart Backlight auto adjust backlight to the image display m Package eLQFP176 More information can be found on Allwinner s web site at the following web address http www allwinnertech com product A13 html 4 2 Block diagram The block diagram is taken from Allwinner s web site Page 21 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 5 CONTROL CIRCUITY S Introduction to the chapter Here you can find information about reset circuit and quartz crystals locations the power supply circuit is also
12. Linux machine using one of the following commands dd bs 4M oflag sync if debian 2g img of dev sdX or cp debian 2g img dev sdX where X is the uSD card Page 34 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Q How to generate boot able SD card Debian Linux image for A13 SOM 256 The building instructions might be found at the following link google drive Official Wordpress post on Debian image release Wordpress post Q How to detect and enable the Ethernet controller if it is disabled by default A You can enable it by following these two steps 1 To check under what name the LAN is associated write ifconfig a 2 If for example it is under eth0 name then write dhclient This should enable the Ethernet and then SSH would also be available You can also enable auto detection of Ethernet on power up by removing the comment auto in etc network interfaces in the Linux image How to download Android image to the NAND memory of my A13 SOM board The only A13 SOM setup suitable of booting Android from the NAND memory is A13 SOM 512 with A13 SOM WIFI shield To repair the image on the NAND re upload it following these steps 1 Install and run LiveSuit can be found here google drive Another location for LiveSuit at the Linux sunxi wiki http linux sunxi org LiveSuit 2 Download and extract the latest official image from the Android section of the wiki A13 SOM 256 article Make sure that the
13. M user s manual Note that signals PIN6 PWMO PIN7 PIN8 PIN9 respectively pins 36 33 34 35 are also available at the LCD TR connector Avoid multiplexing 6 6 Jumper description The board has a couple of hardware SMT jumpers which are used during the testing of the board It is not recommended to change the position of any jumpers located on A13 SOM Board jumpers 1 5V E smr CLOSED open disables 1 5V to the A13 1 2V E smr ctoszp open disables 1 2V to the A13 6 7 Additional hardware components The components below are mounted on the A13 SOM but are not discussed above They are listed here for completeness Reset button used to reset the board Power button used to reset the board A13 SOM 256 has 256MB RAM 1x 2Gb 128M x 16 DDR3 SDRAM the exact memory used in the board revision mentioned is Hynix 5TQ2G63BFR A13 SOM 512 has 512MB 1x 4Gb 256M x 16b DDR3 SDRAM the exact memory used currently in the board is SAMSUNG K4B4G1646D BCKO The DDR3 memory part name in the schematic might be outdated We have used a number of different but fully compatible DDR3 memories due to supply unavailability It is always recommended to check the exact memory name printed on the component itself LED green user programmable LED turns after a successful boot Page 29 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 7 SCHEMATICS 7 Introduction to the chapter In this chapter is l
14. O SDC _DATA1L SDCO DAT82 DL UR SDC _DATAZ2 DAT2 RES L1 C370nH 0885 1 76R 250mR C 5J 22uF 76 3 SDC _SCK CLK SCLK TFC WPAPR 8 SD MMC slot is a microSD card slot connector located on the top of the board This slot is typically used for booting the OS due to the larger capacities of the microSD cards compared to SD or MMC cards It is suggested to have an SD card with a proper Linux Android image especially if you have ordered a version of the board without NAND memory It is also recommended to use Class 10 10MByte sec card for faster read write operations lower class cards especially higher capacity ones might slow down the whole system The table with the microSD card signals might be found below SD MMC1 connector Pin Connector signal name Wire name processor pin number 1DAT2 RES SDCO DATA2 113 2 CD DAT3 CS SDCO DATA3 112 3 CMD DI SDCO CMD 111 4 VDD SD_VCC 5 CLK SCLK SDCO SCLK 110 6 55 GND 7 DATO DO SDCO DATAO 108 8 DAT1 RES SDCO DATA1 107 9 CARD DETECT SYMBOL SDOCARD DETECT 155 13 GND GND 6 3 Power pins for external power supply There are two power pins suitable for powering the board These are located on different places of A13 SOM at the UART1 connector the other GPIO1 connector To power the board you need to provide 3 3V to one of them You can us
15. ading Also the web page for your device is listed Be sure to check it after a purchase for the latest available updates and examples S 1 Document revision Document revision changes 99 page A 26 11 14 Initial manual release All Updated RAM memory to reflect latest B 17 03 15 schematic Updated board revision 8 2 Board revision Remember to check the schematics and the board design files to compare the differences D release of the board 1 All component libraries were updated 2 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 and R30 pull ups NA to I2Cs were added 3 Lowered the heat generated under heavy loads the GND polygons under the MCU were enlarged as much as possible especially in Route2 Page 32 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 8 3 Useful web links and purchase codes A13 SOM web pages are here https www olimex com Products SOM A13 A13 SOM 256 https www olimex com Products SOM A13 A13 SOM 512 Wiki article of the board https www olimex com wiki A13 SOM A place for general questions FAQ or friendly talk https www olimex com forum You can get the latest updates on the software at the GitHub https github com OLIMEX SOM tree master A13 You may may join our IRC channel olimex freenode net http webchat freenode net channels olimex The sunxi community is the main force behind the Allwinner Linux support http linux sunxi org Main Page ORDER CODES A1
16. age 9 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Recommended items A13 SOM WIFI expansion board that can be directly mounted over A13 SOM it adds USB mini port a WIFI module with built in antenna LCD display connector with 0 1 step and routes a number of frequently used signals to the easier to access 0 1 row of pinholes The sources schematics of A13 SOM WIFI are available for download and the board is considered open hardware Some of the above suggested items can be purchased by Olimex for instance USB SERIAL CABLE F female USB serial console cable provides the easiest way of debugging A13 SOM 256 DEBIAN SD a tested class 10 micro SD card with the latest by the time of leaving the Olimex facilities official Debian release suitable for the 256MB version of the board A13 SOM 512 DEBIAN SD same as above suitable for the 512MB version of the board A13 SOM 512 ANDROID SD tested class 10 micro SD card with the latest by the time of leaving Olimex facilities official Android Linux release Probably you noticed that we don t sell A13 SOM 256 ANDROID SD that is because we consider that A13 SOM 256 is not capable of running Android smoothly 2 3 Powering the board The powering requirements of the A13 SOM are different depending on whether you use it in stand alone mode or mounted atop A13 SOM WIFI The sub chapters below deal with both scenarios 2 3 1 Stand alone powering If you use the board in stand
17. ail to support olimex com All document or hardware feedback is welcome Note that we are primarily a hardware company and our software support is limited Please consider reading the paragraph below about the warranty of Olimex products All goods are checked before they are sent out In the unlikely event that goods are faulty they must be returned to OLIMEX at the address listed on your order invoice OLIMEX will not accept goods that have clearly been used more than the amount needed to evaluate their functionality If the goods are found to be in working condition and the lack of functionality is a result of lack of knowledge on the customers part no refund will be made but the goods will be returned to the user at their expense All returns must be authorized by an RMA Number Email support olimex com for authorization number before shipping back any merchandise Please include your name phone number and order number in your email request Returns for any unaffected development board programmer tools and cables permitted within 7 days from the date of receipt of merchandise After such time all sales are considered final Returns of incorrect ordered items are allowed subject to a 10 restocking fee What is unaffected If you hooked it to power you affected it To be clear this includes items that have been soldered to or have had their firmware changed Because of the nature of the products we deal with prototyp
18. al design 1 an USB OTG connector for easier powering or adding USB modules to the board via a splitter or adapter 2 a built in WIFI module Realtek 8188CUS 3 an LCD display connector with 0 1 step 4 4GB NAND memory only A13 SOM WIFI AGB All of the features listed above are also supported in the software releases suitable for the board The hardware design of A13 SOM development board is considered intellectual property to Olimex The hardware design files are considered copyright material and would not be distributed The expansion boards available for A13 SOM are an open source open hardware projects and all documentation is available to the customer The software support for both boards is open source and released under GPL license 1 1 Introduction to SOM System On a Module OLIMEX System on Module SOM boards are powerful Linux capable boards They follow a low cost modular design which allows rapid product development Each of these boards has two parts a main part which nests the processor the memory and the power control unit and the peripheral part which contains the USB ports the video output and most of the connectors SOM designs are targeted at customers who want to apply custom modifications and own solutions based on a specific processor without having to deal with multi layer PCBs with controlled impedance and BGA assembly This makes it possible to create simple boards that might be manufactured by
19. ate topic organized as follows Chapter 1 is an overview of the board usage and features Chapter 2 provides a guide for quickly setting up the board and software notes Chapter 3 contains the general board diagram and layout Chapter 4 describes the component that is the heart of the board the A13 Allwinner processor Chapter 5 is an explanation of the control circuitry associated with the microcontroller Chapter 6 covers the connector pinout peripherals and jumper description Chapter 7 provides the schematics and the dimensions of the board Chapter 8 contains the revision history useful links and support information Page 8 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 13 5 user s manual CHAPTER 2 SETTING UP THE A13 SOM BOARD 2 Introduction to the chapter This section helps you set up the SOM development board for the first time Please consider first the electrostatic warning to avoid damaging the board then discover the hardware and software required to operate the board The procedure to power up the board is given and a description of the default board behavior is detailed 2 1 Electrostatic and electrical polarity warning A13 SOM boards are shipped in a protective anti static package The board must not be exposed to high electrostatic potentials A grounding strap or similar protective device should be worn when handling the board Avoid touching the component pins or any other metallic element If you connect other electrical devices t
20. briefly discussed 5 1 Reset The board can be reset by the RST button The reset circuit includes Microchip s MCP130T 3001 designed to keep a microcontroller in reset until the system voltage has reached the proper level and stabilized The board should be turned off either by the standard OS menu or poweroff command or any other software shutdown procedure After the choice is confirmed it is safe to disconnect the power supply unit from the board 5 2 Clocks 24 MHz quartz crystal Q1 is found at pins 91 X24MOUT and 92 X24MIN of the A13 processor 5 3 Power supply circuit The current consumption for A13 SOM when used separately is around 0 1A when connected to a 3 3V voltage source provided either at GPIO 1 s pin 1 or UART1 3 3V pin There are several GND pin and pinhole locations You can use any of the board s GND for powering purposes The typical consumption of the 512 for the board when combined with A13 SOM WIFI 4GB might be found below etu Operating Typical current consumption P system in Amperes at 5V of voltage A13 SOM 512 Al3 SOM WIFI 4GB 0 45A A13 SOM 512 A13 SOM WIFI 4GB A13 LCD7 TS 0 75A A13 SOM 512 A13 SOM WIFI 4GB A13 LCD7 TS 0 40A The current consumed usually reaches peaks during start up when different modules are initialized Make sure the supply you provide is capable of powering the board Note that if there are additional modules powered by the board the total power supply req
21. d need to remove the microSD card and explore it in a microSD card reader You would need to edit the configuration file script bin and edit the settings inside This file is usually located in the main partition of a prepared microSD card Script bin can t be opened in the binary format so you would need to convert it to fex file format first There are ready to use tools that convert script bin lt gt script fex Note that script bin fex contains configuration settings and definitions not only for the video output but also for the pin descriptions and names power setting and much more If you really want to modify and customize the default images to change port functions port names to disable specific peripherals you would need to be able to edit the script files Please refer to the Page 14 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual following web page for more information http linux sunxi org Fex Guide More information on script editing might be found in the following wiki artice edit The typical A13 SOM user would not need to edit the files however 2 7 Connecting and calibrating a display A13 SOM itself has no direct way of connecting an Olimex display with or without touchscreen component Using a display without A13 SOM WIFI is possible via cables but hard to accomplish and impractical It is recommended to try to use a display only if you also have A13 SOM WIFI at your disposal Unlike other OLIMEX Allwinner boa
22. d to use the board with a monitor or display Serial cables usually have built in MAX232 convertor In case you set wrong display settings you would be able to recover the settings via the connection For more information please refer to chapter 2 5 Interacting with the board Page 23 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 6 1 1 UARTI interface The UART1 interface might be used for serial communication between the board and a personal computer by default In case of video output problem a cable might provide needed feedback and greatly reduce the efforts needed to repair the board or to adjust the software setting Note that by default only UART1 is defined as a port suitable for serial debug You can use our USB SERIAL CABLE F for debugging Even when A13 SOM is mounted on A13 SOM WIPFI the default debug port remains UART1 despite that it gets additional pins on the big board also for easier access Consider table below when connecting the USB SERIAL CABLE F according to the wire color code The RX line of the cable GREEN wire should go to TX line of the target board the TX line of the cable RED wire should go to the RX line of the target board The BLUE wire should go to the target s GND line Make sure to leave free the first pin named 3 3 when connecting the serial cable The table of UART1 signals might be found below URRT1 RX 1N5819 984S0D 123 H HX 1x4 LF 6 2 MicroSD card connect
23. e any of the pins or the pinholes named GND The required current may vary depending on the peripherals connected to the board The power supply should be capable of providing at least 0 5A of current Page 25 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual The recommended way of powering the board is via A13 SOM WIFI More information about the powering can be found in chapter 5 3 Power supply circuit of this manual 6 4 GPIO connectors There are 3 female GPIO connectors all located on the top side of A13 SOM They ease the access to processors pins These connectors also provide a way to mount the board to a board with peripherals like A13 SOM WIPFI The first of the GPIO connectors is a 40 pin one and the other two are 10 pin ones Below you would find a general overview of the board s GPIO and LCD pins They might be also found in the tables further down in the chapter To understand better what each processor pin does it might be a good idea to refer to the datasheet of the A13 processor The schematic of the board of peripherals A13 SOM WIFI might also help you identify the main function of the pins Bow www gt m gt ICTU TNLLTSTELETET SES cis Moo Dem 999 N N Nh w 79 lt D4 gt aun v 999999999999 S N OCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0OO0O0O0O To keep the form factor as small as po
24. e can give you full details for things we have tried We can point you to a resource or a guide We can give you general directions to solving a specific problem or places to look for more information However we won t install a piece of software for you or write custom program for you We won t provide a specific software solution to a specific software problem Page 17 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 3 BOARD DESCRIPTION 3 Introduction to the chapter Here you get acquainted with the main parts of the board Note the names used on the board might differ from the names used below to describe them For the actual names check A13 SOM board itself 3 1 Layout top view The picture below shows the top side of the board and highlights the most important parts MAIN PROCESSOR GPIO 1 2 RAM MEMORY GND PINHOLE GPIO 3 LCD TR Page 18 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 3 2 Layout bottom view microSD UBOOT HOME Page 19 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 4 THE ALLWINNER A13 MICROCONTROLLER 4 Introduction to the chapter In this chapter is located the information about the heart of A13 SOM its microcontroller The information is a modified version of the datasheet provided by its manufacturers 4 1 The processor The full list of features might be found below CPU GPU B ARM Cortex A8 Core 32KB D Cache 32KB I Cache m 256KB L2 Cache m Mali 400 3
25. e given by OLIMEX in good faith However all warranties implied or expressed including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for purpose are excluded This document is intended only to assist the reader in the use of the product OLIMEX Ltd shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of any information in this document or any error or omission in such information or any incorrect use of the product This evaluation board kit is intended for use for engineering development demonstration or evaluation purposes only and is not considered by OLIMEX to be a finished end product fit for general consumer use Persons handling the product must have electronics training and observe good engineering practice standards As such the goods being provided are not intended to be complete in terms of required design marketing and or manufacturing related protective considerations including product safety and environmental measures typically found in end products that incorporate such semiconductor components or circuit boards Olimex currently deals with a variety of customers for products and therefore our arrangement with the user is not exclusive Olimex assumes no liability for applications assistance customer product design software performance or infringement of patents or services described herein THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE DESIGN MATERIALS AND THE COMPONENTS USED CREATE A13 SOM 256 AND A13 SOM
26. hat it is normal that when the board is powered some integrated circuits might appear hotter than others This is perfectly normal for some electronic components for instance the voltage regulators and the main processor 2 4 Button functions The two buttons usually are supported under both Android and Debian RESET used to perform software turn off software turn on used to turn on board when powered by battery has to be held down for at least 5 seconds to perform each action UBOOT HOME used to boot up the board can be used for navigation in Android Note that the board lacks recovery button This is not a problem if you are using Debian Linux However it would make it impossible to wake the board in Android You would need to disable Page 11 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual automatic sleep It is recommended to always make a software turn off of the board After that you can safely remove the power supply If you disconnect the power supply either the USB or the power supply before turning off the board you may corrupt your SD card If your board has NAND memory you can corrupt the image located on the NAND memory 2 5 Interacting with the board The typical and recommended way of interacting with a stand alone A13 SOM board is via a serial cable connected to a personal computer You would probably need a cable suitable for such a connection due to the fact that most personal computers lack a serial port
27. ing electronic tools we cannot allow returns of items that have been programmed powered up or otherwise changed post shipment from our warehouse All returned merchandise must be in its original mint and clean condition Returns on damaged scratched programmed burnt or otherwise played with merchandise will not be accepted All returns must include all the factory accessories which come with the item This includes any In Circuit Serial Programming cables anti static packing boxes etc With your return enclose your PO Also include a brief letter of explanation of why the merchandise is being returned and state your request for either a refund or an exchange Include the authorization number on this letter and on the outside of the shipping box Please note It is your responsibility to ensure that returned goods reach us Please use a reliable form of shipping If we do not receive your package we will not be held liable Shipping and handling charges are not refundable We are not responsible for any shipping charges of merchandise being returned to us or returning working items to you The full text might be found at https www olimex com wiki GTC Warranty for future reference Page 36 of 36
28. isplay These pins also allow the user to attach additional hardware check readings or perform hardware debug Important it is a good idea to use A13 SOM WIFI that provides a 0 1 step connector Alternatively the connector can be used standalone but you would need to either use wires or male male connector and two different 40PIN ribbon cables to connect an Olimex display and the LCD CON Please note that the smallest display 4 3 480x272 is not suitable for the official Android images we provide however it can be used with Debian Linux The biggest display 15 6 1366x768 or 1920 1080 is not supported by the A13 SOM design The core processor lacks the required computing power for a smooth operation i v 3 av rower concurs s jesus as 6 or comecreo comecreo 5 eis 9 as jme pono Gan 6 npa napa Ga as onca an homs js Ges 22 Jor commectre ronsico o2 away em Fas Jes poao as 25 Jp fosos Ges Ca ios ponon ae 3s ens enerserzcswtmm 36 s2 un sPI2 HOSU EINTIS 999 Pas a mao eje je _ j Page 28 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SO
29. o the SOM board make sure that they have equal electrical polarity This is also true for a serial cable connected between a PC and the board s DEBUG port In rare cases different polarity might cause hardware damage to the board 2 2 Requirements In order to set up the A13 SOM board optimally one or more additional items may be needed They might be generally placed in two categories Required items that are needed in order to achieve minimum functionality Recommended items that is good to have in order to be able to interact with the most important of the features of the board Note that if A13 SOM WIFI A13 SOM WIFI 4GB is mounted on A13 SOM the requirements would be different The requirements below are for a stand alone use of A13 SOM Refer to A13 SOM WIFT s user s manual for adjusted requirements Required items 5V external power supply with proper connectors A13 SOM has no power jack only powering pins BVEXT GND Output device USB SERIAL CABLE F personal computer for Linux and or Android debugging A13 SOM lacks other options for debugging you would need a serial cable with level shifter to interface the board SD card with compatible image if you have the board version with NO additional NAND memory you will need it to use one of the images available If you decide to use Debian you would also need a card Official Android and Debian images are available at the wiki article for the board P
30. o the board 2 6 Changing the default image resolution Depending on the display or the screen you want to use with the A13 SOM you might need to apply software changes to the prebuilt Android or Linux image The typical A13 SOM user would not need to edit the files however To ease the process of changing the resolution we have compiled a number of Android images for the Android users with hard coded video output settings Alternatively for Debian Linux users we Page 12 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual have provided a shell script that can be executed in order to set preferred video output and resolution For Android that you boot from the NAND memory you would need an image suitable for the specific resolution Download locations to such images might be found at the wiki article for the A13 SOM board here https www olimex com wiki A13 SOM For Linux Debian you would need to execute a shell script to be able to change the resolution It is very good idea to use a serial cable for connection to the board from a personal computer since in this case you are dependent on a video resolution a cable like USB SERIAL CABLE F When the board boots type change_display or change_display_a13 sh It looks like this Then the main menu of the video configuration script shows up Select output type Disable all screens Set configuration for LCD Set configuration for VGA Choose the resolution and
31. ocated information about the schematics describing logically and physically A13 SOM 7 1 Eagle schematic OLinuXino schematics may be found it on the OLinuXino s GitHub repository https github com OLIMEX SOM tree master A13 You can download the whole repository as zip without having a GitHub account We mostly use Eagle by Cad Soft 4 16r2 for designing However the files should be compatible with the latest Eagle available Cad Soft offers a trial version of their software that allows you to inspect schematics and board files without being able to modify them This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3 0 Unported License To view copy of this license visit http creativecommons org licenses by sa 3 0 If you are looking for a schematic of an older revision of the board and it isn t available at our web site you may request it by the support e mail Page 30 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 7 2 Physical dimensions Note that all dimensions are in mils 2100mil 150mil 0000008 0 H 1300mil Lal zm EE AEE oe LLLE E pgp 893mil 2400ml Page 31 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 8 REVISION HISTORY AND SUPPORT 8 Introduction to the chapter In this chapter you will find the current and the previous version of the document you are re
32. or The micro SD card slot is primarily used for booting the operating system The board works with micro SDHC cards up to 32GB of storage As a general precaution be careful with the SD cards you purchase There is a big percentage of fake cards due to the low effort required to counterfeit popular brands and the big demand for SD cards worldwide When in doubt try the same operation with another card from another brand Olimex sells microSD cards prepared with Linux or Android images that have been tested please refer to chapter 2 2 Requirements Currently these are with either 4GB and 8GB of storage depending on the purchase date Of course if you already have a large enough microSD card you can download the official Linux image from the wiki pages https www olimex com wiki A 13 SOM When removing the card please make sure that you release it from the connector by pushing and NOT by pulling the card directly this can damage both the connector and the microSD card Page 24 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 6 2 1 SD MMC slot A13 SOM user s manual The schematic related to the SD MMC microSD connector is shown below SDCO CMD MICRO SD CD DAT3 CS SDCO0 DATAS Coa 22u77 6 37 CMD DI USS UDD MiG k SDOCARD DETECT AUS St 52598 SDC _DATA 62 L DAT 1 CUTE BC8 DaTa2 SDC _DATA2 Lhar X0603 258 100K SDCO_DATAO DATO D
33. rds the A13 SOM lacks a row of pins that allows the user to connect a display out of the box The board s LCD TR connector is female and has a smaller 0 05 step This means that if you use a display made by OLIMEX you would need additional 2x20 MALE MALE 0 05 header to convert the female connector to male The 0 05 headers are somehow hard to find so we sell them here 0 05 step connectors There is also something very important to notice since a stand alone A13 SOM gets powered by 3 3V this means that you will not be able to power the display via the board the Olimex made displays require 5V of voltage You would need to power the display externally Newer displays made by Olimex have both 0 1 and 0 05 step connectors So if you are going to need only the display and a cable sold separately The displays recommended for the board at the moment of writing might be found in the table below Display name Size of Native Official Official Link to product display resolution Debian image Android image page in inches in pixels support support LCD OlinuXino 4 3TS 4 3 480x272 Yes No Product page LCD OLinuXino 7 7 800x480 Yes Yes Product page LCD OLinuXino 7TS 7 800x480 Yes Yes Product page LCD OLinuXino 10 10 1024x600 Yes Product page LCD OLinuXino 10TS 10 1024x600 Yes Yes Product page The displays whose names contain TS include a resistive touch screen component The cable used
34. re a stand alone A13 SOM without other peripheral extension boards attached board might not be suitable for you 1 If you are a beginner with single board Linux computers 2 If you are an OSHW purist 3 If you are looking for more straight forward software development and you are not going to implement the A13 SOM in own hardware products In the cases above it might be a better idea to take a look at the OLinuXino boards like A13 OLinuXino It is highly recommended to use A13 SOM with A13 SOM WIPFI initially unless you have previous experience with SOM or OLinuXino boards manufactured by OLIMEX A13 SOM might be is used altogether with A13 SOM WIFI In that case the board s target market widens drastically the reason for this alteration is the additional hardware that A13 SOM WIFI provides easier powering and Internet access among others Generally the processors features are much easier to access Page 6 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual 1 3 Features of A13 SOM boards The A13 SOM board has the following set of features Allwinner A13 Cortex A8 processor typically running at 1Ghz 256MB or 512 DDR3 memory depending on the board version please note that the 256MB version is not suitable for a smooth Android experience Power management DCDC MicroSD card UART console connector 4connectors 0 05 step Status LEDs RESET UBOOT HOME buttons Dimensions 2400x2100 mil
35. rent user if you are calibrating from the X graphical interface make sure that you are logged as user olimex if calibrating without the X the user is root su olimex enter the password olimex then calibrate the touch screen and reboot the board sudo reboot 2 8 Software support We maintain Linux and Android images for SD card which might be downloaded for free and modified as the user wishes The latest images and updates are featured at the wiki article of the device https www olimex com wiki A13 SOM We usually try to provide details on how to build the Linux and the Android images at our wordpress page http olimex wordpress com Another useful place is the Olimex forums where a lot of people share their experience and advice https www olimex com forum The official images are a constant work in progress newer releases are packed with better hardware support newer kernels and extra features You are more than welcome to send or share your suggestions and ideas at our e mail the public forums or irc channel We would attempt to help in almost every case We listen to the feedback and if the majority of users suggest a software change or update we try to implement such Customer feedback is very important for the overall state of the software support However do not expect full Page 16 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Linux or Android software support We can share our experience W
36. s evaluated when mounted connected with A13 SOM WIFI In this case the former is powered via the latter The power line altogether with a number of other important processor lines is transferred via the 10 pin and 40 pin headers A13 SOM receives power from A13 SOM WIFI but what are the requirements to power A13 SOM WIFI There are two main scenarios for the powering A13 SOM WIFI and respectively A13 SOM 1 a miniUSB cable connected to either a personal computer or a 5V power source A13 SOM WIFI has miniUSB connector note that USB ports of personal computers usually provide up to 0 5A of current this might be insufficient in certain cases For example if you have a lot of peripherals or a display powered by the board 2 5V directly provided to GPIO row of pinholes the pinholes are called 5V and GND near the PWR LED and the USB these pins can be used to connect a power jack Some typical consumptions are listed below A13 SOM 512 A13 SOM WIFI 4GB running Debian consumption 0 45A 5V A13 SOM 512 A13 SOM WIFI 4GB A13 LCD7 TS running Debian consumption 0 75A 5V A13 SOM 512 A13 SOM WIFI 4GB A13 LCD7 TS running Android consumption 0 40A 5V Do not provide AC voltage to the A13 SOM WIFI board Do not provide more than 5V of voltage to the A13 SOM WIFI board The default username password combination for the default Linux image on the SD card if purchased is root olimex Note t
37. ssible the GPIO connectors have 0 05 step IMPORTANT the connectors are very fragile if you attempt to disconnect the board by pulling only one side out it might break Furthermore you might bend the board s pins Use pliers or other suitable object to disconnect the connectors carefully Page 26 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual OLIMEX sells additional and replacement male and female 0 05 50 mil step connectors We also have a female female cable named CABLE 40 40 10CM suitable for the 40 pin connectors The only power line at the GPIO connectors that might be used as input is the 3 3V one at GPIO1 The rest of the power signals are outputs and it would be incorrect to try to power the board from there 6 4 1 GPIO 1 General Purpose Input Output 40pin connector eser eser 59 Pru TWro scr Jeorraro scr G2 N32 azalw njw mi lt 4 2 7 Pins rur0 son_ psi 1w1a s0n aen 6 PB2 PWM SPI2_MOSI EINT16 103 PIN37 LED1 Bm P53 T8 bns peu mvemnis 64 puss za bns paueyspra_csayennr2e 8 bna Qu pnus mais puis mm soc 0195 pms prvaa Titi som easy 190 pay FCO WE SPI esr pei wutrsi 07 a puse fesser misoa a Las nes P ucsrossocos Qu 2 s ness muere care n Pme ewe D
38. the interface LCD or VGA Note that VGA output is hard to implement and requires both additional hardware and good soldering experience The supported resolutions are listed on the next page Page 13 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual For LCD 1 4 3 480x272 2 7 800x480 3 10 1024x600 For VGA A13 SOM lacks VGA support on hardware level 1680x1050 1440x900 1360x768 1280x1024 1024x768 800x600 640x480 1920x1080 1280x720 uUi gt QO N O Depending on the display or the screen you want to use with the A13 SOM you might need to apply software changes to the prebuilt Android or Linux image The easiest way would be to do it on the board itself but it can be done offline too manipulating the image located on the microSD card via a microSD card reader The tools for script bin changing are located in opt sunxi tools directory cd opt sunxi tools chscr sh This will convert script bin file from sdcard to script fex file and the file will be opened using nano editor Now you can change the board modules and parameters save the changes CTRL X confirm with Y and exit CTRL X again from nano editor wrscr sh this will convert script fex to script bin and the script bin file will be written to the microSD card reboot Reboot the board and the new settings would be enabled Alternatively you can do the changes on the microSD card off the board You woul
39. uently asked questions Q I powered my board it showed a logo and then nothing happened What might be the problem A This might be due to a number of reasons but it is recommended to try the following 1 Download latest official image from our wiki preferably Debian for SD card and upload it to an SD card again There are instructions how to do it in the other questions below Try if the board works now 2 Check if your power supply provides enough current try with different better power supply 3 If using A13 SOM WIFI please check the USB hub you are using plug the USB cable directly to the back of your personal computer check the USB cable 4 The board might enter sleep mode very fast especially if the Android was turned off without the Quick Boot mode being ticked on Try pressing or holding down the PWR button for a couple of seconds to wake it up Q How do I write the Linux image to a micro SD card to use with my A13 board A First visit the wiki article for the board and download the archive with the image Then write the Linux image to a microSD card Under Windows we use Win32 Disk Imager http sourceforge net projects win32diskimager Download Win32 Disk Imager software Insert card Start program Select file Click write To write a Linux image to an SD card under Linux For instance you have an image with the file name of debian 2g img It would be downloaded to the SD card connected to a
40. uirement would grow For example bigger LCD displays powered via the A13 SOM almost double the current consumption For more info on how to power the board refer to chapter 2 3 Powering the board Page 22 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual CHAPTER 6 CONNECTORS AND PINOUT 6 Introduction to the chapter In this chapter are presented the connectors that can be found on the board all together with their pinout and notes about them Jumpers functions are described Notes and info on specific peripherals are presented Notes regarding the interfaces are given 6 1 Communication with A13 SOM There is only one way to communicate with A13 SOM without hardware modifications it is via a serial cable If A13 SOM WIFI is also used you might also interface the setup via a display or via SSH The direct communication method is via the serial interface Through male UART1 connector capable of delivering some information on the COM port of your computer and then use your favorite terminal program puTTy teraterm etc to receive the data send commands You can use USB SERIAL CABLE F with the UART1 interface allowing you to connect to a personal computer with a free USB port Note that the levels at board s UART1 are in CMOS levels 3 3V and you would need MAX232 convertor to bring them to TTL ones This includes the RX and TX line It is highly recommended to have an USB SERIAL CABLE F or similar product even if you inten
41. your local board manufacturer containing only the peripherals you need with the dimensions and shape suitable for your specific solution Page 5 of 36 OLIMEXO 2015 A13 SOM user s manual Both the main part and the peripheral part of the SOM system have support in the official Android and Debian images distributed by Olimex and maintained by Olimex and the Linux community These images are typically available at the wiki articles of the boards The peripheral part of the SOM design is considered Open Source HardWare OSHW and the customer has access to the board source files that we used to manufacture it The part of the design that has the main microcontroller is considered proprietary design and design files would not be shared If you are looking for open source design of the processors used please check the OLinuXino boards OLinuXino board designs are fully open source but harder to implement in own solutions and require more of a hardware experience to do so Nevertheless OLinuXino boards are pretty good choice for evaluating the capabilities of the embedded processors 1 2 Target market of the board Using the A13 SOM as a stand alone development board would be more suitable for users with some hardware experience or people already familiar with other single board Linux boards and designs As mentioned in the previous chapter the board is meant to be implemented in a hardware design Please refer to the list of possible scenarios whe
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