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  • Author Author: ninjatrent
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BoneCommander - A Ruggedized BeagleBone Linux Computer

ninjatrent

BoneCommander - A Ruggedized BeagleBone Linux Computer

 

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Model: AT ABBBW

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Description

 

The BoneCommander is a rugged and mobile BeagleBone Linux Computer powered by a BeagleBone Black Wireless SBC.

An Element14 BeagleBone 4.3" LCD Display Cape is the primary display interface for the BBB W. There is a 4 port USB Hub connected to the USB Host on the BeagleBone and a Wireless USB Keyboard with touchpad connected to this USB Hub. Power is provided by an Adafruit PowerBoost 1000C 5V Lipo USB Boost Charger and a 3.7v 2500mAh Lithium Ion Polymer Battery. The PowerBoost 1000C utilizes the TPS61090 boost converter from TI.

 

 

Parts List

 

BeagleBone Black Wireless

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http://beagleboard.org/black-wireless

http://www.newark.com/beagleboard/bbbwl-sc-562/sbc-bbb-wireless-with-wifi-bluetooth/dp/95Y0639?st=beaglebone

 

Element 14 BeagleBone 4.3 LCD Display

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http://www.newark.com/element14/bb-cape-disp-ct43/display-board-tft-lcd-beaglebone/dp/99Y9250?st=beaglebone

 

83-17317 -  Miniature Wireless USB Keyboard with Touchpad

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http://www.newark.com/stellar-lab-computer-plus/83-17317/miniature-wireless-usb-keyboard/dp/84Y8222

 

Zero4U - 4 Port USB Hub for Raspberry Pi Zero v1.3

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https://www.adafruit.com/product/3298

 

PowerBoost 1000 Charger - Rechargeable 5V Lipo USB Boost @ 1A - 1000C

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https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465

http://www.ti.com/product/tps61090

 

Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7v 2500mAh

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https://www.adafruit.com/product/328

 

Vaultz Locking Gadget Box, Black with Chrome Accents,

Dimensions:Height:2.75",Width:8.25",Depth:5.5",Internal Height:2"

Internal Width:4.625",Internal Depth:7.75"

 

Sandisk 32GB microSD Card

 

OS Image

 

Debian 9.3 2018-01-28 4GB SD IoT

https://beagleboard.org/latest-images

 

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Building the BoneCommander

 

     Last year I purchased the Element 14 BeagleBone 4.3 LCD Display for use with the BeagleBone Black Wireless. Even though this display was created before the BBB W, I was sure that it would be compatible. Well it is to a degree. The OS Image provided with the display was not fully compatible. Likely a result of the display cape's special OS Image, the WiFi and Bluetooth peripherals of the BBB W were not detected and therefore not accessible.

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The display cape was then tested with the official Debian 9.1 2017-08-31 4GB SD LXQT Desktop image provided by BeagleBoard.org.

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With this OS Image, the wireless peripherals are detected as present.

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Okay so we have the full desktop image operating properly. We even have a little Chromium Browser.

 

A sigh of relief, it works. Now to shutdown and begin work on an enclosure. If only it was that easy.

 

Upon shutdown the BBB W would get stuck in an infinite power down loop. The only way to stop this was by holding the power button down or unplugging the device (not recommended).

 

Unfortunately I didn't know how to resolve this issue so the display cape was put on the shelf until a solution could be found.

A few months had passed. I was sitting at my desk working with a BeagleBone Black Wireless late one night. After a few hours of staring at a terminal, fatigue sets in and I begin to see errors in my work. It is at this point that I need to make a choice, shutdown and lay it down or get some coffee and get back at it. Mmmm coffee.

 

So with the prospect of coffee in mind, I stood up for a little stretch and that's when I saw it. The display cape that had been placed on the shelf months ago. I felt a bit of guilt when looking upon it. I know, it's just a piece of hardware, but it's a piece of hardware that someone put time and effort into designing. This thing has a purpose, and that purpose was not be stuck in a box on a shelf.

 

Full of coffee and back at my desk, I made the decision to change direction and revisit the display cape. This time I decided to try out the Debian IoT image. What do you know, it works. None of the same issues that were experienced with the other images.

 

With the cape and the BBB W working together properly, now it's back to work on the enclosure.

 

The Enclosure

 

I found this Vaultz Locking Gadget Box on sale at a local shop last year. The box had also been put on the shelf sometime ago. You see, I didn't know exactly what this box would be used for. It's only when the BBB W and the display cape were assembled that I realized the box might be a good fit for this project.

 

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Here are some of the tools that were used to modify the enclosure. A cordless drill was also used.

 

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A hole was cut to the size of the LCD display and some hot glue was applied to secure the display to the inside of the enclosure.

In between the BBB W and the display, A piece of foam wrapped in electrical tape has been placed to protect the display. A few pieces of the foam were also used to protect the ribbon cables that run from the display to the cape. This foam was recycled from the packaging my Raspberry Pi Touchscreen.

 

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On the right side, I placed a temporary piece of foam and foam project board. After the setup was confirmed to work, these were removed and the BBB W and cape were secured with some hot glue.

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For the antennas and micro USB ports, a few holes were drilled. The micro USB plug wouldn't quite fit without  first removing some of the aluminum frame. You might be wondering, "What's up with the Stormtrooper?" Well the Stormtrooper is actually a streaming music player for my shop. Stormtrooper Pi Radio

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The BeagleBone Black Wireless only has one USB host so I have added a 4-port USB hub. This particular USB hub is a Zero4U 4-port hub that was designed for the Raspberry Pi Zero. With a very compact form factor, this USB hub is a perfect fit for this project.

 

On the right side, a breadboard and a few components that might be used. Opposite the breadboard, I have drilled a few holes to allow air to pass.

 

The BBB W has not yet been configured for use with the GPS module that is shown in the photo. There is a chance that it might be damaged or my wiring was incorrect. It did not appear on UART as it should but then I might have queried the wrong UART. There is another GPS Module to swap with this one, and that one is  confirmed working. The other GPS is currently attached to another BeagleBone project which is in the works. Eventually the BoneCommander will control them all.

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     Vader's Theme playing in background.

 

Powering the BoneCommander

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The Adafruit PowerBoost 1000C seemed to be the best choice for supplying battery power to the BeagleBone Black Wireless.

It was already known that the PowerBoost could sufficiently power the BBB W from previous experience.

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BeagleBone Black Wireless wireless...kind of.

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Will the Adafruit PowerBoost be able to power the BoneCommander?

 

We shall see...We shall see (regrettable acting image )

 

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   We have a command line.

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    sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

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   sudo look cool...Good BeagleBone

 

 

Thanks for checking out the BoneCommander Project.

 

Trent

https://www.instagram.com/trent_darkside/

https://plus.google.com/110467216231518640445

  • in reply to ninjatrent

    Correction. 109.1°F was the highest temp recorded from the BBB W. My apologies.

  • in reply to ninjatrent

    that lines really look like randomly pulling high of some lines... maybe there is no proper shielding between the cape and the Psu section of the Beaglebone.

     

    The screen flicker might be induced by a cap that has a small charge left or still charges and triggers the screen to turn on but is not enough(too short) to let it switch on completely.

     

    I encountered this with RPI screens that just need a line with 1,something Volts to trigger their backlighting.

  • in reply to mayermakes

    Hi Clemens,

     

    Thank you image I am glad that you enjoyed this project.

     

    The shutdown loop issue has only been encountered with this specific LCD Display Cape.

     

    When power is being supplied with a 5V barrel plug and proper shutdown is initiated, the BBB W completes shutdown process in normal time period and the LCD Display begins flashing like bad dance club.

     

    I would try to replicate this but it might cause damage to the BBB W.  With the micro USB 5V supply, shutdown occurs without issue but there is a faint LCD screen flicker at the same freq as the previously experienced shutdown loop until a on/off switch physically interrupts power or the plug is removed.

     

    The Debian Image with Desktop was working great until shutdown. At least with the IoT Image and microUSB supply there is no issue other than the faint screen flicker on the display after shutdown which can easily be solved by a switch between the power supply and BBB W or just removing the power. image

     

    EMI is a great suggestion as to the cause of this problem. There is another bug that was discovered last night and EMI could be the culprit.

     

    When the BBB W goes into idle state and screen blanker occurs, there is a glitch on the display that immediately disappears when awakened from sleep.

     

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    Like a boat, you fix one leak and find two more.

     

    Trent

  • Very cool Project!

    Weirdly enough I have never encountered a shutdown issue with my beaglebone Black (the old one and the wireless). I powerded them sometimes over Usb but mostly over the 5V dc jack in my Lunchbox dev kit.

    The Debian Image is stock as it Comes.

    I had a power down Loop twice with ATX based Computers. One was caused by electromagnetic interferrence with my old Laser Printer.

    The other case was caused by a ground Loop on behalf of the crappy old case, which caused the PSU to restart as soon as it got the shutdown Signal from the Motherboard. (I solved that by chaniging the power supply and Case)

    So my uneducated guess is you may have some interferrence going on.

  • in reply to shabaz

    Hi Shabaz,

     

    Thanks for your interest in this post. And thank you for the compliments to the design. I was very much angling for that dark and menacing look that one would find in a tool of the Darkside. No desktop, just cruel and unforgiving command line. The rebels and their fancy GUIs. image I will build  my own (this is going to be a fun challenge)

     

    I'm really starting to believe the shutdown issue might be caused by the eprom or maybe an issue with the design of the cape's circuitry. Even after proper shutdown with " sudo shutdown -h now " while power is still connected to the microUSB port, there is a faint flash of light on the LCD display that pulses around the same frequency as the shutdown loop that was experienced with the desktop image and the 5V barrel port.

     

    The Debian IoT Image is very similar to the Raspbian Lite Image. I like it.

     

    Configuration of the GPS has been a bit of a challenge. It is an Adafruit GPS ( they do have quite a few Arduino and Raspberry Pi tutorials )

     

    This was my first attempt of configuring the BBB W with a GPS. The same module worked previously when connected to a USB to TTL Serial cable and Pi 3. I am going to give it another try this weekend.

     

    Thanks again for checking out my project. It is always appreciated when other people dig these crazy ideas. The input is also greatly appreciated. Everything I know was learned from someone else.

     

    Trent