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Unboxing  the  Beaglebone  Black  Wireless

ninjatrent

Unboxing  the   Beaglebone  Black  Wireless 

 

      I would  like  to  start by  thanking  the  Element  14  community  for allowing  me  the  privilege  of participation  in  the  testing  and review  of this  product . It is my intention  to  provide  an informative  review  of  the  BBB  Wireless  for  you, the  reader. I hope  that  you will  find  this report  helpful  and thank  you  for  your  time reading  it. Okay  let's  get   started. It is with  great  honor  I present  to you, the Beaglebone  Black  Wireless.

 

      The BBB Wireless  arrived  from  Newark  Element  14 on time  as promised. It was found securely  packaged and intact upon  opening  of box. Packaging  is   of good  quality  with  Newark  Element  14 website  printed on  box. Inside  the   box  protected with  recyclable  packing  paper  and pink antistatic  bubble  wrap  is the  box containing  the  BBB  Wireless  and some  documentation  from  Element  14. The  box containing  the  BBB W is of very  good  quality. Glossy  printed color  image  of device  on box, on reverse some  information   about  the  device  and country  of  origin which  is  Madison Heights, Michigan,USA.

 

     Inside  the  box  I found  a printed  card from beagleboard.org containing easy to follow  instructions  for  the  first  boot. On the  reverse  of card are found   two different  methods  of getting  started  with  the  device. The first  option  is “Tethered  to  a PC” and the  directions are as follows:

  1. Connect the  USB cable  to the  board
  2. Connect  the  other  end  of  the  USB  cable  to  the  PC
  3. Look  for  a  new  mass storage  drive  to appear  on  PC
  4. Open the  drive  and click  on START.HTM
  5. Follow  the  instructions  on the  PC

 

    And  the  second  option  is  “Stand alone  Beaglebone  Black”. Here  are  the  directions  as listed. I would  like  to  mention  that  this method  will  require  peripherals  not  included  with  the  board. They  are  an USB  keyboard  and  mouse, an USB  hub, a HDMI  TYPE  A  to  HDMI MICRO   TYPE  D  cable, and  a 5V  1A  DC Power  Supply with  a  2.1mm ID x 5.5mm OD Coaxial DC Barrel Plug all of  which  are  available  from  Newark Element  14  and  Premier  Farnell  Element  14. The  start up  guide  states a 5V 1A DC power  supply  but  the  Adafruit  power supply  that  is  listed  on  Newark  as being  associated  with  the  BBB  Wireless  is a 5V  2A  DC Switching  Power  Supply with  US 2 prong Plug. If purchasing  for   use  in  another   country, you  will  need  to  get  a  5V 1A DC power  supply  with  that  country's  power  plug. I believe  that  the  2A version  is safe  to  use  as with   the  recent  addition  of  the new wireless  chip and any  USB  peripherals connected, the  1A might  not  be sufficient anymore. This  is  just  an assumption  and  I   will  refer to beagleboard.org  to clarify what  exact  specs are required. I was able  to  download  the  Beaglebone  Black System  Reference  Manual from  the  site  but  I was not  able  to  find a  specific  manual  for  the  Wireless  version yet. The  supplier  might  be  in the  process  of  creating  a revised  copy  with  the recent  hardware updates. If  you  have  the  necessary  peripherals  to get started  with  the  stand alone  Beaglebone  then here  are  the  simple  instructions  for  that method as stated in provided  quick  start guide.

  1. Connect the keyboard/mouse to the USB Host port
  2. Connect  the  HDMI  cable  to the  board 
  3. Connect  the  HDMI  cable  to  the  HDMI  monitor 
  4. Plug  in  a 5V  1A  DC  power  supply 
  5. Board  will  boot without  password 
  6. Desktop  will  appear  on  the  monitor 

 

      I am  about  to  purchase  a HDMI  TYPE  A  to  HDMI  MICRO  TYPE  D  cable  and  a 5V 1A  DC  power  supply  to test  the   BBB  Wireless in the  second  method  but  in the  meantime  I will  be   performing  what  tests  I can  with a  PC.