RoadTest: Atmel SAMA5D3 Xplained, Add-On Boards + LCD Bundle
Author: gregoryfenton
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Independent Products
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: TBC
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Lack of available information, but that's what this review aims to provide :)
Detailed Review:
Latest news
08:22 AM, 10 October 2004
I have successfully installed Linux Debian on the board and am trying to get the framebuffer working.
I believe the issues I am having are caused by the onboard power regulator, an act8865 power regulator that uses i2c to communicate with the host board and causes device contention.
To get to the same stage I am at currently follow the guide at https://eewiki.net/display/linuxonarm/ATSAMA5D3+Xplained
I have been playing about with various options such as disabling the 8865 when I run build_kernel and sending the disable bytes over i2c. I'll get there 
When running with the debian image you get a nice startup screen, I have also edited the file atmel.bmp and added custom strings to the startup page.
To get wifi working, when doing the build-kernel step:
[*] Networking support -> Wireless -> [*] cfg80211 wireless extensions compatibility
2:27 AM, 27 September 2014
I have the frame buffer working in a fashion, I can display RGB565 images (currently upside down and back to front but it is a massive start!)
This is a placeholder for my review and will change as the review progresses.
The board works in linux and appears on my system as
/dev/ttyACM0
when plugged in via the micro USB port.
When plugging in via network, the device can get its own IP address using DHCP. Be aware that the MAC address changes at each reboot to a random address. You could (possibly) fix this using /etc/network/interfaces
The blue flashing light will rapidly become little more than an annoyance. Luckily we can log into the board using SSH over the network or the micro USB port using a serial terminal program such as putty or minicom.
To turn the blue LED off, type in the following:
echo none > /sys/class/leds/d2/trigger
To see what else the LED will automatically flash to, type in the following:
cat /sys/class/leds/d2/trigger
which will give the following list:
none nand-disk timer [heartbeat] gpio mmc0 mmc1
By default, the trigger is heartbeat which pulses like a well, pulse.
none means the light does not flash
nand-disk happens whenever the internal NAND memory is accessed
timer flashes once a second
heartbeat pulses like a heart
gpio flashes whenever a GPIO port is accessed
mmc0 flashes whenever the bottom SD card slot is accessed
mmc1 flashes whenever the optional top SD card slot is accessed
Top Comments
The ribbon going into the Atmel board is upside down, yes, you have to have a 180 twist in it to connect... go figure
look carefully at the top picture that Greg Posted