OLIMEX A13-OLinuXino-MICRO User manual

A13-OLinuXino-MICRO
Open-source single-board
mini-computer
USER S MANUAL
Revision A, December 2012
Designed by OLIMEX Ltd, 2012
All boards produced by Olimex LTD are ROHS compliant

OLIMEX© 01 A13-OLinuXino-MICRO User's Manual
DISCLAIMER
© 01 Olimex Ltd. Olimex®, logo and combinations thereof, are registered trademarks of Olimex Ltd.
Other product names may be trademarks of others and the rights belong to their respective owners.
The inform tion in this document is provided in connection with Olimex products. No license, express
or implied or otherwise, to ny intellectu l property right is gr nted by this document or in connection
with the s le of Olimex products.
The Hardware project is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States
License. You may reproduce it for both your own personal use, and for commercial use. You will have to
provide a link to the original creator of the project https://www.olimex.com on any documentation or
website.
You may also modify the files, but you must then release them as well under the same terms. Credit can be
attributed through a link to the creator website: https://www.olimex.com
The software is released under GPL.
It is possible that the pictures in this manual differ from the latest revision of the board.
The product described in this document is subject to continuous development and improvements. All
particulars of the product and its use contained in this document are given by OLIMEX in good faith.
However all warranties implied or expressed including but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for purpose are excluded. This document is intended only to assist the reader in the
use of the product. OLIMEX Ltd. shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of any
information in this document or any error or omission in such information or any incorrect use of the
product.
This evaluation board/kit is intended for use for engineering development, demonstration, or evaluation
purposes only and is not considered by OLIMEX to be a finished end-product fit for general consumer use.
Persons handling the product must have electronics training and observe good engineering practice
standards. As such, the goods being provided are not intended to be complete in terms of required design-,
marketing-, and/or manufacturing-related protective considerations, including product safety and
environmental measures typically found in end products that incorporate such semiconductor components or
circuit boards.
Olimex currently deals with a variety of customers for products, and therefore our arrangement with the user
is not exclusive. Olimex assumes no liability for applications assistance, customer product design, software
performance, or infringement of patents or services described herein.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE DESIGN MATERIALS AND THE
COMPONENTS USED TO CREATE OLINUXINO. THEY ARE CONSIDERED
SUITABLE ONLY FOR OLINUXINO.
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Table of Contents
DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 5
1. Introduction to the ch pter ....................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Fe tures ..................................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 T rget m rket nd purpose of the bo rd .............................................................................. 6
1.3 Bo rd v ri nts .......................................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Org niz tion ............................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 2: SETTING UP THE OLINUXINO BOARD ..................................... 8
2. Introduction to the ch pter ....................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Electrost tic w rning ............................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Requirements ........................................................................................................................... 8
2.3 Powering the bo rd .................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 Prebuilt softw re .................................................................................................................... 10
2.5 Softw re instructions nd v il ble SD c rd im ges ........................................................ 10
CHAPTER 3: A13-OLinuXino-MICRO BOARD DESCRIPTION ..................... 11
3. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 11
3.1 L yout (top view) ................................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 4: THE ALLWINNER A13 MICROCONTROLLER ....................... 12
4. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 12
4.1 The microcontroller ............................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Block di gr m ........................................................................................................................ 14
CHAPTER 5: CONTROL CIRCUITY ................................................................... 15
5. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 15
5.1 Reset ........................................................................................................................................ 15
5.2 Clock ....................................................................................................................................... 15
5.3 Power supply circuit .............................................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 6: CONNECTORS AND PINOUT ...................................................... 16
6. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 16
6.1 Communic tion with the A13 ............................................................................................... 16
6.1.1 USB communication ..................................................................................................................................... 16
6.1.2 UART1 interface ........................................................................................................................................... 16
6.2 SD/MMC slot .......................................................................................................................... 17
6.3 UEXT module ......................................................................................................................... 18
6.4 GPIO-1 (Gener l Purpose Input/Output) 10pin connector ............................................... 19
6.5 GPIO-2 (Gener l Purpose Input/Output) 40pin connector .............................................. 19
6.6 LCD_CON 40pin connector ................................................................................................. 21
6.7 PWR J ck ............................................................................................................................... 22
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6.8 He dphones nd microphone connector .............................................................................. 22
6.9 VGA video connector ............................................................................................................. 23
6.10 Jumper description .............................................................................................................. 23
6.10.1 1.2V_E, 1.5V_E, 3.3V_E ............................................................................................................................ 23
6.10.2 HOST_EN ................................................................................................................................................... 24
6.11 Addition l h rdw re components ...................................................................................... 24
CHAPTER 7: SCHEMATICS .................................................................................. 25
7. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 25
7.1 E gle schem tic ...................................................................................................................... 25
7.2 Physic l dimensions ............................................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 8: REVISION HISTORY AND SUPPORT ........................................ 28
8. Introduction to the ch pter ..................................................................................................... 28
8.1 Document revision ................................................................................................................. 28
8.2 Bo rd revision ........................................................................................................................ 28
8.3 Useful web links nd purch se codes ................................................................................... 29
8.4 Product support ..................................................................................................................... 30
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OLIMEX© 01 A13-OLinuXino-MICRO User's Manual
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW
1. Introduction to the chapter
Thank you for choosing the OLinuXino single board computer from Olimex! This document
provides a user’s guide for the Olimex OLinuXino board. As an overview, this chapter gives the
scope of this document and lists the board’s features. The document’s organization is then detailed.
The OLinuXino development board enables code development of applications running on the
microcontroller A13, manufactured by Allwinner Technology from China.
OLinuXino is an open-source, open-hardware project and all documentation is available to the
customer.
1.1 Features
•A13 Cortex A8 processor at 1GHz, 3D Mali400 GPU
•56 MB RAM (1 8Mbit x 16)
•5VDC input power supply, noise immune design
•1 USB Host
•1 USB OTG which can power the board
•SD-card connector for booting Linux or Android image
•VGA video output – 800 x 600 maximum resolution
•LCD signals available on connector so you still can use LCD if you diasble VGA/HDMI
•Audio output
•Microphone input pads (no connector)
•1 User key
•4 Mount holes
•UEXT connector for connecting addtional UEXT modules like Zigbee, Bluetooth, relays,
etc
•GPIO connector with 68/74 pins and these signals : 17 for adding NAND flash; for
connecting LCDs; 0+4 including 8 GPIOs which can be input, output, interrupt sources; 3x
I C; x UARTs; SDIO for connectinf SDcards and modules; 5 system pins: +5V, +3.3V,
GND, RESET, NMI
•(Optional low cost 7" or 4.8'' LCD with/without touchscreen)
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1.2 Target market and purpose of the board
The boards from the OLinuXino family are powerful and easy to setup. They are suitable for
embedded programming enthusiasts, Linux and Android gadget fans and also professionals (since
its low cost makes it very good solution for application orientated embedded systems). The main
usage of the board is software embedded development without the urge of understanding perfectly
the hardware.
The strong points of the boards are the processor speed, the mobility of the board and the low ratio
price to productivity.
A13-OLinuXino-MICRO aims at the lowest possible cost while maintaining the key OLinuXino
features. It is suitable for cases when a number of boards are used. It is suitable for different Linux
distributions.
Customers have full access to the technical documentation of the board. The software is released
under General Purpose License and the board is considered open-hardware.
1.3 Board variants
There are two major board variants. According to the names: A13-OLinuXino and A13-
OLinuXino-MICRO.
The base model has also two flavors: A13-OLinuXino and A13-OLinuXino-MICRO-WIFI. The
first one is the base model that goes without any operating system image on board, while the second
has two additional components – a WIFI module on the board and NAND memory with stored
Android image.
The A13-OLinuXino-MICRO is the other less populated but cheaper board in the family. It also
lacks Android out-of-the-box.
1.4 Organization
Each section in this document covers a separate topic, organized as follow:
–Chapter 1 is an overview of the board usage and features
–Chapter provides a guide for quickly setting up the board and software notes
–Chapter 3 contains the general board diagram and layout
–Chapter 4 describes the component that is the heart of the board: the A13 – Allwinner
processor
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–Chapter 5 is an explanation of the control circuitry associated with the microcontroller to
reset. Also shows the clocks on the board
–Chapter 6 covers the connector pinout, peripherals and jumper description
–Chapter 7 provides the schematics
–Chapter 8 contains the revision history, useful links and support information
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CHAPTER 2: SETTING UP THE OLINUXINO BOARD
2. Introduction to the chapter
This section helps you set up the OLinuXino development board for the first time. Please consider
first the electrostatic warning to avoid damaging the board, then discover the hardware and software
required to operate the board.
The procedure to power up the board is given, and a description of the default board behavior is
detailed.
2.1 Electrostatic warning
OLinuXino is shipped in a protective anti-static package. The board must not be exposed to high
electrostatic potentials. A grounding strap or similar protective device should be worn when
handling the board. Avoid touching the component pins or any other metallic element.
2.2 Requirements
In order to set up the OLinuXino optimally, the following items are required:
- 5V, 5W required (5V @ 1A) – for optimal power
- LCD (preferably with touchscreen panel) display for the LCD_CON OR TV monitor with RGB
port (or suitable connector) – note the maximum display resolution should be 800x600
- USB hub (for splitting the USB) – else you will be unable to connect your USB devices
- A USB mouse – if you use touchscreen LCD you might skip the mouse
Additional items include:
- USB keyboard – for convenience with text input
- USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F – for serial communication with UART1 connector (note that it has to
be female)
- USB-MINI-CABLE – for connecting with the USB OTG and being able to firmware update to
power A13-OLinuXino-MICRO
- Wireless internet connectivity or USB modem – for browser access and access to the Android
market
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Some of the suggested items can be purchased by Olimex, for instance:
SY0605E - power supply adapter 5V/1A for A13-OLinuXino-MICRO
USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F - USB serial console cable female
USB-MINI-CABLE – standard USB type A to USB type mini cable
A 7'' LCD display with optional touch screen panel is available for purchase also:
https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A13/A13-LCD7/
https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A13/A13-LCD7-TS/
2.3 Powering the board
There are two possible ways of powering A13-OLinuXino-MICRO – via external supply using the
power jack, or via the USB OTG connector. Depending on your preferred way of powering A13-
OLinuXino-MICRO you might need additional hardware.
The preferred way of powering board is via the PWR jack with 5Vdc with a power of 5W (e.g.
5Vx1A ). This will make the board fully powered and able to power most peripherals connected to
it.
The board can also be powered by the USB OTG connector (mini USB standard) but the power
provided by a standard USB is not enough to power a lot of peripherals - either a LCD (connected
tothe LCD_con) or USB peripherals (connected to the USB type B) but not to power both. If you
still wish to use USB power there are is the option to use adapter xUSB type A to 1xUSB type
mini.
If you have a standard LCD display connected to LCD_con, Android and WIFI running the typical
consumption is around 450mA depending on the current load. While the board is in stand-by mode
it consumes a minimum of 70mA. All the three approximate values above were taken when I
applied 5V to the board.
For the European customers we sell a power supply adapter 1V/0.5A – SY0605E. We also sell USB
type A to USB mini cables if you lack such.
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2.4 Prebuilt software
Note that the A13-OLinuXino and A13-OLinuXino-MICRO lack NAND memory and WIFI and
there isn't OS uploaded on the shipped boards.
So far we have been successful in using Debian booting from SD card with both of the boards. The
same can't be said for booting Android from SD card.
2.5 Software instructions and available SD card images
This can vary depending on what the owner of the board want to achieve. Good collection on
information on the subject can be found at the following WIKI articles:
https://www.olimex.com/wiki/A13-OLinuXino-MICRO
https://www.olimex.com/wiki/A13-OLinuXino
Other good sources are:
1) the Wordpress site where a lot of side projects are published and explained:
http://olimex.wordpress.com/
) the Olimex forum in its A13 section
https://www.olimex.com/forum/
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OLIMEX© 01 A13-OLinuXino-MICRO User's Manual
CHAPTER 3: A13-OLinuXino-MICRO BOARD DESCRIPTION
3. Introduction to the chapter
Here you get acquainted with the main parts of the board. Note the names used on the board might
differ from the names used below to describe them. For the actual names check the A13-
OLinuXino-MICRO board itself.
3.1 Layout (top view)
The picture above shows the initial revision B of A13-OLinuXino-MICRO.
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CHAPTER 4: THE ALLWINNER A13 MICROCONTROLLER
4. Introduction to the chapter
In this chapter is located the information about the heart of OLinuXino – its microcontroller. The
information is a modified version of the datasheet provided by its manufacturers.
4.1 The microcontroller
CPU/GPU
ARM Cortex-A8 Core
3 KB D-Cache/ 3 KB I-Cache
56KB L Cache
Mali-400 3-D Engine
VPU
HD Video Decoding
19 0*1080@30fps
Support H. 64, H. 63, VC1, Mpeg1/ /4
Divx 3/4/5/6, Xvid, VP6/8, AVS etc
HD Video Encoding
Support encoding in H. 64 format
Up to 19 0*1080 at 30fps
DPU
LCD Interfaces: CPU, RGB
Memory
DDR /DDR3: Up to 533MHz
16 bits Data Bus
Memory capacity up to 51 MB
MLC/TLC/SLC/EF-NAND
 flash chips, ECC 64-bit
Support NAND of 5xnm, 4xnm, 3xnm, xnm
Support NADN of Samsung, Toshiba, Hynix
Peripherals
USB .0 OTG, USB .0 HOST
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(OHCI/EHCI）
SD Card V.3.0, eMMC V.4.
SPI, TWI and UART
integrated Audio Codec
CSI
R-TP Controller
4-wire resistive TP interface
 points and gesture detection
Boot Devices
NAND Flash
SPI Nor Flash
SD Card
USB
Powerful Acceleration
Graphic (3D, Mali400 MP)
VPU (1080P）
APU
E-Reader
Ultra-low System Power Consumption
15~ 0% lower than competitors
Smart Backlight: auto adjust backlight
acc. to the image display
Package
eLQFP176
More information can be found on Allwinner's web site at the following web-address:
http://www.allwinnertech.com/product/A13.html
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4.2 Block diagram
The block diagram is taken from Allwinner's datasheet.
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CHAPTER 5: CONTROL CIRCUITY
5. Introduction to the chapter
Here you can find information about reset circuit and quartz crystals locations, the power supply
circuit is discussed.
5.1 Reset
The reset line is handled by MCP130T-300-I. This is a voltage supervisory device designed to keep
a microcontroller in reset until the system voltage has reached the proper level and stabilized. It also
operates as protection from brown-out conditions when the supply voltage drops below a safe
operating level. The reset goes to processor pin 195. The reset circuit is connected to button
RESET, which means pressing RESET would perform a hardware reset on the board.
5.2 Clock
4 MHz quartz crystal Q1 is connected to pins 91 and 9 of the A13 processor.
5.3 Power supply circuit
The 5V power supply is handled by three voltage regulators for the 1. V, 1.5V and 3.3V power
lines.
The board can be powered from the USB_OTG connector. Note that powering from the USB limits
the current available for peripheral devices (like mouse, keyboard, LCD display, UEXT modules,
etc.).
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CHAPTER 6: CONNECTORS AND PINOUT
6. Introduction to the chapter
In this chapter are presented the connectors that can be found on the board all together with their
pinout and notes about them. Jumpers functions are described. Notes and info on specific
peripherals are presented. Notes regarding the interfaces are given.
6.1 Communication with the A13
The chip has a built-in bootloader but the communication for this type of board is not very useful
via the mini USB – the board lacks NAND. However, there is a second option which is the male
UART1 connector capable of delivering some information on the COM port of your computer. You
can use USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F with the UART1 interface allowing you to connect to an USB
port.
Note that we haven't still managed to run Android from the SD card so it might require tweaking
the image to be able to do it.
We have had a successful Debian booting from SD card.
6.1.1 USB communication
There is only one USB type A host wired to a USB-controller. This means that an external USB hub
is required to ensure you have enough room for all USB devices you might want to use (keyoard,
mouse, etc).
6.1.2 UART1 interface
The UART interface might be used for COM communication. You can use our USB-SERIAL-
CABLE-F for debugging via the UART1 or UART0. Note that in both cases the connectors and the
signals are named at the bottom of the board.
Note that UART0 has only pinholes available, while UART1 has male connectors.
Consider the below table when connecting the USB-SERIAL-CABLE-F according to the wire color
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code of the cable - GND=BLUE, RX(INPUT)=GREEN, TX(OUTPUT)=RED; note that RX of the
cable has to connect to TX of the board and vice versa.
UART0 UART1
Pin # Signal Name Processor Pin # Pin # Signal Name Processor Pin #
13.3V - 13.3V -
2SDC0_SCK 110 2UART1_TX 152
3SDC0_DATA3 112 3UART1_RX 151
4GND - 4GND -
Note that UART0 is multiplexed with the SD card.
6.2 SD/MMC slot
The microSD card slot is a standard 8pin connector.
The SD card can be used for booting the operating system for A13-OLinuXino-MICRO. It is
suggested to have an SD card with a proper Linux/Android image especially since you have ordered
a board from the A13 family without built-in memory.
We have tested a number of microSD cards on the OLinuXino boards and all of them worked fine
regardless manufacturer or capacity. However, keep in mind that some of the lower quality
microSD cards might draw too much current from the slot which might cause power-state problems.
If you suspect the microSD card is causing problems please try using another one of better quality
for better results.
microSD card connector
Pin # Signal Name Processor Pin #
1DAT2/RES 113
2SDC0_DATA3 112
3SDC0_CMD 111
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4VDD -
5SDC0_SCK 110
6VSS -
7SDC0_DATA0 108
SDC0_DATA1 107
When removing the card, please make sure that you release it from the connector by pushing and
NOT by pulling the card directly (this can damage both the connector and the microSD card).
6.3 UEXT module
A13-OLinuXino-MICRO has an UEXT connector and can connect with Olimex's UEXT modules.
For more information on UEXT please visit:
https://www.olimex.com/Products/Modules/UEXT/resources/UEXT.pdf
UEXT connector
Pin # Signal Name Processor Pin #
13.3V -
2GND -
3UART1_TX 152
4UART1_RX 151
5TWI2_SCK 161
6TWI2_SDA 160
7SPI2_MISO 117
SPI2_MOSI 116
9SPI2_CLK 115
10 SPI2_CS0 11
The UEXT pinout is also printed at the bottom of the board under the connector.
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6.4 GPIO-1 (General Purpose Input/Output) 10pin connector
The GPIO connector numbers are printed at the bottom of the board for your convenience.
GPIO-1
Pin # Signal Name Processor Pin #
15V -
2GND -
33.3V -
4GND -
5RESET_N 159
6NMI_N 158
7PIN0 -
PIN3 -
9PIN1 -
10 PIN2 -
PIN0, PIN1, PIN and PIN3 are connected to the power regulator module AXP 09.
6.5 GPIO-2 (General Purpose Input/Output) 40pin connector
The GPIO pins are led out on a separate 40pin connecter. They allow the user to attach additional
hardware, check readings or perform hardware debug. The GPIO- connector numbers are printed
at the bottom of the board for your convenience.
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GPIO-2 connector
GPIO Pin# Signal Name Processor pin# GPIO Pin# Signal Name Processor
pin#
15V - 2GND -
33.3V -4GND -
5PIN /TWI0-SCK 101 6PIN39/USBH_EN 1
7PIN5/TWI0-SDA 102 PIN38/VGA_DIS 13
9PIN6/PW0 103 10 PIN37/LED1 12
11 PIN7 150 12 PIN36 125
13 PIN8 10 14 PIN35 12
15 PIN9 10 16 PIN3 123
17 PIN10/TWI1-SCK 105 1 PIN33 122
19 PIN11/TWI1-SDA 106 20 PIN32 121
GPIO Pin# Signal Name Processor pin# GPIO Pin# Signal Name Processor
pin#
21 PIN12/NWE 8 22 PIN31 120
23 PIN13/NALE 7 24 PIN30 119
25 PIN1 /NCLE 6 26 PIN29 118
27 PIN15/NCE1 3 2 PIN28/NDQS 162
29 PIN16/NCE0 2 30 PIN27/NDQ7 165
31 PIN17/NRE 1 32 PIN26/NDQ6 166
33 PIN18/NRB0 176 34 PIN25/NDQ5 167
35 PIN19/NRB1 175 36 PIN2 /NDQ 168
37 PIN20/NDQ0 17 3 PIN23/NDQ3 170
39 PIN21/NDQ1 172 40 PIN22/NDQ2 171
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