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September 26, 2015November 3, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 44 Comments

Status of Orange Pi Boards GPIO Support

Yesterday, one person asked me to make a video showing GPIO control on Orange Pi 2 mini on YouTube, and since I have just completed a post about Orange Pi camera, I thought it might be fun to check GPIO support too. This post focuses on Allwinner H3 boards, but the instructions and status should be very similar for Allwinner A20 and A31s versions. One of the first things you want before starting playing with GPIOs is the expansion header’s pinout chart, and I could not find any until I had the idea to check for schematics, which are available on Orange Pi resources page. I downloaded the schematics for Orange Pi 2, which should be the same as for Orange Pi 2 mini as the only difference is the lack of WiFi module. Orange Pi PC is a little different, and the schematics are nowhere to be found, but […]

September 26, 2015July 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 40 Comments

How to Use Orange Pi Camera in Linux (with Motion)

Earlier this month, I wrote a Quick Start Guide for Orange Pi Allwinner H3 boards such as Orange Pi PC, and showed how to install and configure Debian on the boards. I’ve also received the $5.90 Orange Pi camera, which when combined an Orange Pi PC, costs around $27 including shipping. So today, I’ve attached the CSI camera to my Orange Pi 2 mini board, and used it with motion to transform for the board into an IP camera. First, you’ll need to insert the camera into CON1 connector with the camera facing the ceiling, and close the black clip to keep it in place. Now connect all cable and power on your board. First, I studied the steps described on that forum thread, and modified Allwinner configuration files, but after one or two hours, I found out some work at been done since May, and it was now much […]

September 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Android TV Box and OpenELEC Video Tutorials

WeTek has released several video tutorials explaining how to configure WeTek TV boxes such as WeTek Play or WeTek OpenELEC, as well as the upcoming WeTel Core. The tutorials includes instructions for both Android and OpenELEC available in 6 languages: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and German. Some tutorials are clearly specific to WeTek products, such as “How to Activate WeTek Play membership”, but many of the tutorials are more generic starting from simple configurations steps like configuring HDMI output resolution and framerate, or configuring the network, to more advanced tasks such as configuring a DVB-S2 tuner on TVHeadend in OpenELEC. I’ve embedded the latter video tutorial below for reference. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

September 1, 2015March 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 66 Comments

Getting Started with Orange Pi PC, Pi 2 and Pi Plus Development Boards

I’ve recently received a kit based on Orange Pi mini 2 development board powered by Allwinner H3 quad core processor, but contrary to most other devices or boards I reviewed, this one what sent to me by one of my reader (thanks Jon!) as for various reasons he did not need to get it shipped to him. Today, I’ll start by showing off the kit I received, before writing a quick start guide showing how to install a Debian, and build your own Linux image. The instructions will work for all Orange Pi Allwinner H3 boards, including Orange Pi 2, Orange Pi Plus, and the recently launched Orange Pi PC, which has been rather popular thanks to its low $15 price tag. Orange Pi mini 2 Board Kit and CSI Camera This is what I got in the package… The board with a regulatory compliance and safety information sheet, as […]

August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Connect an Android Smartphone or Tablet to a Monitor, USB Keyboard and Mouse Easily with a DisplayLink Docking Station

Following my post featuring Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition smartphone with 256GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, I had an interesting discussion about mobile and desktop convergence, and we had different views on how this may pan out and what the consumers want, but we all basically agreed this was still work in progress. Another reader pointed me to his various attempts to conveniently connect his Android smartphone and tablet to a large monitor together with keyboard and mouse. He basically considered – and in most cases tested – four choices: Wireless Display solution (Miracast, Chromecast, EZcast…) together with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Micro USB port with MHL using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Slimport adapter based on MHL but with USB port for keyboard and mouse. Here’s on example of Slimport to HDMI adapter ($10). Displaylink docking station with HDMI and VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 Wireless display […]

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Windows 10 on MeLE PCG03, PCG01 and Other Intel Atom Z3735F Devices

For some reasons, after installing Ubuntu 15.04 on MeLE PCG03 a while ago, I had to re-install Windows 8.1 on the device. The backup I used with dd did not work, so I had to download the firmware from MeLE forums, and it worked OK. Right after the re-installation was complete, it asked me if I wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, and I have given it a try, especially a few days ago somebody asked about Windows 10 on MeLE PCG01. So I’ll describe the update process on PCG03, show benchmarks results, and write about my experience with Kodi 15.0 in Windows 10. Upgrading to Windows 10 Once you are ready to update to Windows 10, the system will check for updates, and ask whether you want to download and install Windows 10. The download is over 2GB large, so it may take a while. It took […]

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

ps_mem Shows Programs RAM Usage in Linux

There are several ways to see how much RAM is used in a Linux system with tools like free, vmstat, top, etc…, but today I’ve come across ps_mem which displays the RAM used for each program in a neat way. The post on lintut.com explains how to install it on Centos / Fedora:

yum install ps_mem -y

1	yum install ps_mem -y

As a Ubuntu user, I immediately tried apt-get install ps_mem, but there isn’t such package. After running apt-file search, I found it in w3af-console package:

sudo apt-get install w3af-console
sudo chmod +x /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py
sudo ln -s /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py /usr/sbin/ps_mem

sudo apt-get install w3af-console

sudo chmod +x /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py

sudo ln -s /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py /usr/sbin/ps_mem

Another way to install the script is to simply get it from Github. Running the command without options will list of programs with RAM usage from the smallest to the largest:

sudo ps_mem
 Private  +   Shared  =  RAM used	Program 

  4.0 KiB +  33.0 KiB =  37.0 KiB	inetutils-inetd
  4.0 KiB +  35.0 KiB =  39.0 KiB	rpc.idmapd
  4.0 KiB +  39.5 KiB =  43.5 KiB	rpc.mountd
  4.0 KiB +  48.5 KiB =  52.5 KiB	rpc.statd
  8.0 KiB +  62.0 KiB =  70.0 KiB	atieventsd
 44.0 KiB +  46.5 KiB =  90.5 KiB	rtkit-daemon
 96.0 KiB +  18.5 KiB = 114.5 KiB	cat
............
150.5 MiB +   5.1 MiB = 155.6 MiB	gimp-2.8
186.5 MiB +   9.5 MiB = 196.0 MiB	plugin-container
270.8 MiB +  12.1 MiB = 282.9 MiB	compiz
348.5 MiB +  19.0 MiB = 367.5 MiB	nautilus
409.3 MiB +   3.4 MiB = 412.7 MiB	thunderbird
393.8 MiB +  28.0 MiB = 421.8 MiB	Xorg
  2.1 GiB +  11.0 MiB =   2.1 GiB	firefox
---------------------------------
                          5.0 GiB
=================================

sudo ps_mem

Private + Shared = RAM used Program

4.0 KiB + 33.0 KiB = 37.0 KiB inetutils-inetd

4.0 KiB + 35.0 KiB = 39.0 KiB rpc.idmapd

4.0 KiB + 39.5 KiB = 43.5 KiB rpc.mountd

4.0 KiB + 48.5 KiB = 52.5 KiB rpc.statd

8.0 KiB + 62.0 KiB = 70.0 KiB atieventsd

44.0 KiB + 46.5 KiB = 90.5 KiB rtkit-daemon

96.0 KiB + 18.5 KiB = 114.5 KiB cat

............

150.5 MiB + 5.1 MiB = 155.6 MiB gimp-2.8

186.5 MiB + 9.5 MiB = 196.0 MiB plugin-container

270.8 MiB + 12.1 MiB = 282.9 MiB compiz

348.5 MiB + 19.0 MiB = 367.5 MiB nautilus

409.3 MiB + 3.4 MiB = 412.7 MiB thunderbird

393.8 MiB + 28.0 MiB = 421.8 MiB Xorg

2.1 GiB + 11.0 MiB = 2.1 GiB firefox

---------------------------------

5.0 GiB

=================================

You can also check the full command line for the programs: sudo ps_mem -s Private + Shared = RAM used Program 4.0 KiB + 31.5 KiB = 35.5 KiB /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty5 4.0 KiB + 32.0 KiB […]

August 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

How to Install and Run Linux on Zidoo X1 TV Box

Now that I’ve completed Zidoo X1 review, I’ve decided to try out Ubuntu on the mini PC following a tip from one reader that Orange Pi 2 images can run on the platform since it’s based on the same Allwinner H3 processor, but with some limitations such as WiFi not working. There are three Linux firmware images for Orange Pi 2 on the download page: Lubuntu, Raspbian, and Debian server. I decided to go with Lubuntu image. First you need to download Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img.xz image from Google Drive or Baidu, uncompress it, and then flash the image to a Class 10 micro SD card in Windows or Linux. I ran the following command line in a computer running Ubuntu 14.04:

sudo dd if=Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img | pv | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=16M

1	sudo dd if=Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img \| pv \| sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=16M

Where X in sdX is the letter of your micro SD card, which you can find with lsblk. In some platforms, it might be /dev/mmcblkX instead of /dev/sdX. Once it’s […]