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RockpiE/getting started

    ROCK Pi E >  Getting started

This guide is designed for ROCK Pi E enthusiast. The purpose is to learn about the ROCK Pi E board as well as how to prepare and set up for basic use. When you get a board, you need to know what Pi model it is and which hardware version it is. The information is printed in the top side of the board. We will introduce the board information as much as possible.

What you need

Necessary

  • ROCK Pi E main board
  • One of the Storage media below:
    • μSD card, larger than 8GB.
    • eMMC Module, larger than 8GB with eMMC to μSD converter board.
  • Power supply
    • The ROCK Pi E is powered by adapter with type C port and 5V only. If you power adapter supports USB PD, it's safe to power ROCK Pi E.
  • USB to TTL serial cable
    • ROCK Pi E exports a dedicated serial console, which can access the low level debug message.

Optional

  • ROCKPi eMMC USB Reader
    • For flashing the system image to eMMC Module.
  • μSD Card Reader with eMMC to uSD board
    • For flashing the system image to μSD Card or eMMC Module.
  • Ethernet cable
    • ROCK Pi E supports Internet access via WiFi or Ethernet.
    • One or two Ethernet cable are used to connect your ROCK Pi E to a local network and the Internet.
  • Audio cable
    • Audio can be played through speaker or headphones using a standard 3.5mm jack.

Close look of ROCK Pi E

  • ROCK Pi E front view

Rockpie view front.jpg

  • ROCK Pi E front with an angle view

Rockpie view angle.jpg

  • ROCK Pi E back view

Rockpie view back.jpg

Features

Model ROCK Pi E
Processor SoC RK3328
Quad Cortex-A53 ARM 64bits processor
frequency up to 1.3GHz
Memory 256MB / 512MB / 1GB / 2GB DDR3
Storage MicroSD(TF) up to 128GB
High performance eMMC module 16GB / 32GB / 64GB / 128GB
Wireless 802.11 b/g/n wifi
BT 4.0(rtl8723du/rtl8821cu)
external antenna
USB USB3.0 Type-A HOST x1
Key Reset key x1
Maskrom key x1
Ethernet 1x 1000Mbit ethernet, optional PoE(additional HAT required)
1x 100Mbit ethernet
IO 40-pin expansion header
USB 2.0 x1
I2C x1
SPI x1
UART x2
I2S x1
5V DC power in x2
3.3V DC power in x2
Others LEDs
Power USB Type-C DC 5V
Size 2.5x2.2 inch(56x65mm)


Starting the board for the first time

ROCK Pi E can be started with eMMC Module or μSD Card. Now, you are presented with three options when installing your new operating system onto your ROCK Pi E.

Prepare

  • When starting system with eMMC Module

(Option a) Inster the eMMC Module into ROCK Pi eMMC USB Reader. Then plug the ROCK Pi eMMC USB Reader into host PC.

(Option b) Insert eMMC Module into eMMC to μSD card converter board. Insert the converter board into μSD Card Reader. Then plug the Card Reader into host PC.

  • When starting system with μSD Card

(Option c) Insert the μSD Card into μSD Card Reader. Then plug the Card Reader into host PC.

Write Image

  • Download the official Ubuntu/Debian system image from Downloads.
  • Download the flash tool, etcher, from Downloads. Choose the right version for your host operation system. Here we operate on host Ubuntu 16.04.
  • After unpacking the package, we run the tool by executing the command
$ ./etcher-etcher-electron-1.4.5-x86_64.AppImage

If you get an error message: "No polkit authentication agent found" you can try and start it with sudo, but do know that this is running the tool as root.

  • In the etcher window, click Select image.

Linux etcher select image.png

  • In the etcher window, click Select Drive.

Linux etcher select driver.png

  • In the etcher window, click Flash.

Linux etcher select flash button.png

  • In the etcher window, once it shows us Flash Complete! It is done and can be put into the RockPi.

Linux etcher show complete.png

3. Boot the board

  • Now insert the system storage media, uSD Card or eMMC Module into the socket on the board.
  • (Optional) Use the USB to TTL serial cable to setup a connection between PC and ROCK Pi E board. See Serial Console.
  • Power on ROCK Pi E by adapter with type C port. The input voltage should be 5V.
  • ROCK Pi E will boot with the green power Led on. And after a while, the another green Led starts blinking.

4. Access from the Host PC/Laptop

Option 1: Serial console

Check Serial Console

Option 2: SSH

SSH server is enabled on port 22 of ROCK Pi E default image.

Please use angryip to find your board IP address.

To access ROCK Pi E by SSH, try

   ping rockpie.local
   ssh rock@rockpie.local

or if your router/network doesn't support Local Domain, you need to check your network/router administrator page and look for the ROCK Pi E ip address.

   ping ip-of-device
   ssh rock@ip-of-device

Note: You can also get the IP of ROCK Pi E from option 1 if you can not access network administrator page.

5.Network state

  • Look at network configure:
  $ sudo ifconfig
  • Test network:
  $ ping -c 5 www.google.com

6.WIFI Connection

Check WIFI Connection.

7.BT

Check BT.

8.LED

ROCK Pi E has Power LED and User LED.

  • Power LED

The power LED is green. It is always on when ROCK Pi E is given power by default,

  • User LED

The user LED is green. By default, its blink status shows the running kernel.

9.GPIO

ROCK Pi E has one 40-pin expansion headers. Each pin is distinguished by color, more information click here

Development for GPIO. ROCK Pi E supports libmraa GPIO library, click here to get more information.

Next Step

Troubleshooting