RoadTest: Beaglebone Bundle: BBB, Wireless Cape & Display
Author: gsgill112
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Development Boards & Tools
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?: Raspberry Pi 3 With 4.3" LCD HAT
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Unable to get the Wireless Connectivity Cape Working
Detailed Review:
BBB IoT Bundle RoadTest Review
Gurinder Singh Gill
NOTE : OFFLINE VERSION AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD AS ATTACHMENT
Introduction
First of all I want to Thank Element 14 and Ti for selecting me in this wonderful RoadTest. One fine Morning I got a crushed parcel from Element 14 
Hmm.. I wonder What’s inside ?
Lets unbox it to see ! Its Element 14 so definitely there may be something interesting 
;P
Unboxing
So unboxing was darn simple, just RIP it apart ;D and as expected some BIG Bubble Wrap Well thats just what electronics need
Getting rid of all the BIG Bubble wrap unfolds three beautiful packages . Its Mesmerising .. .. One Moment please .. .. ..
OK, so moving forward,
It was indeed a beautiful unboxing. So, Lets now Focus on the Actual Review
Review will be divided into FIVE (5) subsections :
1. The Beagle Bone Black
2. Wireless Connectivity Cape
3. 4.3” LCD Display Cape
4. Battery Modification to the Black (I am Not Racist !! was referring to the Beagle Bone)
5. Progress update and Video Review
I will cover the rest 2 in a separate Blog !!
Beagle Bone Black or just BBB or Black or Bone ##$$@@
Beagle Bone Black is one of the most feature rich SBC’s I came across and has a bunch load of GPIO’s. It is not exactly designed for kids to play with but it is pretty easy to use and have fun with.
If you have a Specific project you are working with, be rest assured you can get a million things done just with this SBC without any so called “HATs” (Opps.. I never said anything !).
The add-on boards which can extend the functionally to the board are referred to as “Capes” (I am not sure Who thought of a Dog, then Giving him a Bone and then putting a Cape on him sending him to outer space ??? I mean it is a Dog after all $$%%^##@@ WTF !!)
Ok, moving on The board is really easy to use for those trying to shove it in your dog’s mouth!! (B.T.W. Don’t Do It !!). Just plug in a USB HUB then plug the Keyboard and Mouse in it and an MICRO HDMI to HDMI Female Connector and then the HDMI cable and finally a 5V Power Adapter and you are all set up 
Just like a champ !! After complete Booting (VIDEO LINK) which takes about 80 sec you will be presented with a wonderful LXDE interface to play with
For those of you who don’t have the MINI HDMI adapter, you can just connect the Ethernet to the Bone and you will have a wonder full Node.JS based Cloud 9 IDE to get started with Bone. <local_ip_addr:3000>
The bestsellers in the bone
;P )
The Not So bestseller in the bone
Wireless Connectivity Cape
OK , So a Bit Disappointing One..
Well The specs of the Cape is like WoW. But Instructions on How to get it working is like Errr .. ..
As on date I am not able to get the board working !! Few details I can share:
Big NO as the PMIC wont support the power with default configuration.
4.3” Display Cape
OK, So After a Break , I went on with the 4.3” LCD Display Cape. And Damn the display is awesome. It is a 4.3” 470x272 RGB Resolution Display with Capacitive Touch . Yup It has Capacitive touch None of those Resistive Touch Rubbish !!
Moreover It also has an On Board EEPROM with Kit Identity So Bone recognises it like Men recognise Women You just need to plug the Display Cape, Connect the LCD using the connector,Flash the latest Debian IMAGE on to your Bone and You are Good to Go.
Click Here for The Full Booting Video
Coming to some Details
1. The display is quite Easy on Bone with a current consumption of about An Amp
2. With the Battery solution apparently the Display works just fine wit the PMIC getting a bit Heated but I have ran the system for about an hour on Battery and everything seems to work fine.
3. The Board had some flux residue on the connector pins ??? Hmm.. see Pic below.
4. This should have been the first point :: BUT the display connectors are fragile and can break very easily. Plus the connectors on the Interface board is also not reversible so it fits exactly the way in the photos.
5. The display is Manufactured by Rocktech Displays (Pic Below for Part No)
6. This Display uses a Ton of GPIO’s and Has Known Issues of WIFI and BLE not working Issues if using in conjunction with the above cape or with Beagle Bone Wireless. It uses the 24 BIT LCD bus
Few More Pictures just for fun
So on an Final NOTE It was an Interesting Review and A tone is wet to be done.
A sneak peek of Whats Coming is given Below
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL VIDEO REVIEW
REFERENCES :
Top Comments
Nice overview, are you going to set it up in an application to show extended use?
DAB
YES, My original plan was to have a OnDesk IoT enabled Information Hub, that would be able to control your home devices as well as show meaningful information as widgets on screen. But doe to misfortune…
HaHa , True I was more afraid of the 4.3" Display, But the soft form saved the day
