VIA Technologies VAB-950 User manual

QUICK START GUIDE
VIA VAB-950
Yocto 2.6 EVK
1.00-23112020-173700

Copyright
Copyright © 2020 VIA Technologies Incorporated. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may be reproduced, transmied, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnec, opcal, chemical, manual or otherwise without the prior wrien permission of
VIA Technologies, Incorporated.
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Disclaimer
VIA Technologies makes no warranes, implied or otherwise, in regard to this document and to the products described in this document.
The informaon provided in this document is believed to be accurate and reliable as of the publicaon date of this document. However,
VIA Technologies assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of the informaon (including use or connecon of extra device/
equipment/add-on card) in this document and for any patent infringements that may arise from the use of this document. The informaon
and product specicaons within this document are subject to change at any me, without noce and without obligaon to nofy any
person of such change.
VIA Technologies, Inc. reserves the right the make changes to the products described in this manual at any me without prior noce.
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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Revision History
Version Date Remarks
1.00 23/11/2020 Inial release

VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Table of Contents
1. Introducon.................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 EVK Package Contents........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Firmware Folder Contents ............................................................................................................. 1
1.1.2 Document Folder Contents............................................................................................................ 1
1.1.3 Tool Folder Contents...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Version Informaon and Supported Features....................................................................................... 2
2. Image Installaon ........................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Installing with the SP Flash Tool............................................................................................................ 3
3. Hardware Funcons ....................................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Using the Debug Console...................................................................................................................... 7
3.2 Changing Kernel Debug Level................................................................................................................ 7
3.3 Checking BSP Version............................................................................................................................ 7
3.4 DVFS...................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.5 Display................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.6 Video Playback...................................................................................................................................... 9
3.7 Audio Output and Record ..................................................................................................................... 9
3.8 Camera.................................................................................................................................................. 9
3.9 Wi-Fi.................................................................................................................................................... 10
3.10 Bluetooth ............................................................................................................................................ 11
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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
1. Introducon
This Quick Start Guide provides an overview on how to boot the Yocto image for the VIA VAB-950 and congure
the supported hardware funcons in the build.
The VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK is developed based on the MediaTek Yocto 2.6 BSP and it enables the hardware
features of the VIA VAB-950.
1.1 EVK Package Contents
There are three folders in the package listed as below.
Firmware folder Descripon
VIA_VAB-950_Yocto_2.6_EVK.zip Yocto image and scaer-loading le
Document folder Descripon
VIA_VAB-950_Yocto_2.6_EVK_Quick_Start_
Guide.pdf Quick Start Guide
Tool folder Descripon
Driver_Auto_Installer_EXE.zip
UniversalAdbDriverSetup.zip
SP_Flash_Tool_exe_Windows.zip
MTK USB cable driver
Universal ADB driver
MTK SP Flash Tool
1.1.1 Firmware Folder Contents
VIA_VAB-950_Yocto_2.6_EVK.zip:contains scaer-loading le and the precompiled Yocto image for evaluang
the VIA VAB-950.
1.1.2 Document Folder Contents
VIA_VAB-950_Yocto_2.6_EVK_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf: This Quick Start Guide provides an overview on how to
boot the Yocto image for the VIA VAB-950 and congure the supported hardware funcons in the build.
1.1.3 Tool Folder Contents
Driver_Auto_Installer_EXE.zip: MTK USB cable driver.
UniversalAdbDriverSetup.zip: Universal ADB driver.
SP_Flash_Tool_exe_Windows.zip: MTK SP Flash Tool.

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
1.2 Version Informaon and Supported Features
• Kernel version: 4.4.146
• Evaluaon image: Yocto 2.6
• Development based on MediaTek Yocto 2.6 BSP
• Supports eMMC boot
• Supports HDMI display
• Supports HDMI audio output
• Supports MIPI DSI capacive touch panel
−AUO 10.1 B101UAN01.7 (1920×1200)
−eGalax I2C touch
• Supports COM1 as RS-232 mode (TX/RX) and COM as debug port
• Supports two 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports
• Supports MediaTek MT6358 Headphone and Mic-in
• Supports MediaTek MT7668 Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0
• Supports VIA EMIO-2574 (SIM7600JC-H) 4G LTE mobile broadband miniPCIe module
• Supports MIPI CSI OV5648 camera module

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
2. Image Installaon
This secon explains the setup requirements for boong from the eMMC.
The scaer-loading le and precompiled image are provided in the "Firmware" folder.
2.1 Installing with the SP Flash Tool
The rst step is to install the "MTK USB cable driver" and "Universal ADB driver" into your Windows 10 host
machine.
Then connect the Windows 10 host machine and the VIA VAB-950 through the Micro USB 2.0 port using the
Micro USB cable.
Micro USB 2.0 port diagram
Next, on the VIA VAB-950, set the two OS image jumpers (J7 and J5) to download mode as shown in the
diagram below.
OS image jumpers diagram
J5 and J7 Sengs Pin 1 Pin 2 Pin 3
Normal mode (default) Open Short Short
Download mode Short Short Open
OS image jumper sengs
Extract the VIA_VAB-950_Yocto_2.6_EVK.zip le, and run the ash_tool.exe from the SP_Flash_Tool_exe_
Windows folder on your Windows 10 host machine.
In the "Scaer-loading File" box, choose the MT8183_Yocto_AIV_scaer.txt from the \Firmware\ folder.
Next, click the drop-down arrow and select the "Download Only". Then click the "Download" buon.

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Plug in the AC-to-DC power adapter to power on the VIA VAB-950.
Note:
Make sure the Windows 10 host machine detects the VAB-950 as ADB device.
Press and hold the SW3 buon + Reset buon at the same me and then release them.
SW3 buon diagram
Reset buon diagram
If the bar on the ash_tool becomes red, it means the image installaon has started.
If the color does not change, press the Reset buon + SW3 buon at the same me again and then release
them.

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
When the image installaon is completed, the color of the bar will change to yellow. Then you will see the
"Download OK" pop-up message as shown below.

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Unplug AC-to-DC power adapter to power o the VIA VAB-950.
Set the two OS image jumpers (J7 and J5) back to the normal mode seng.
Unplug the Micro USB cable and plug the power adapter back in.
Press the Power Buon for 2 seconds and then release it to power on the VIA VAB-950.
When the boot process is completed, you will see the Yocto desktop.

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
3. Hardware Funcons
This secon explains how to enable and test the hardware funcons precompiled in the Yocto EVK including
using the debug console.
3.1 Using the Debug Console
The rst step is to connect the host machine and the VIA VAB-950 through the COM connector labeled as
"COM". Use a serial port communicaon program such as PuTTY or Tera Term to connect the debug console.
Set the console Baud Rate to "921600".
COM connector diagram
Next, power on the VIA VAB-950 to iniate the boot process.
When the boot process is completed, log in to the debug console. The default account is "username: root /
password: root".
3.2 Changing Kernel Debug Level
To disable many more kernel messages, modify the debug level using the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# echo 3 > /proc/sys/kernel/printk
3.3 Checking BSP Version
To check the BSP version, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# cat /proc/version

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
3.4 DVFS
To verify the DVFS (Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling) funcon and list all the supported features, use the
following commands:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# ls –al /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/
total 0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 aected_cpus
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 cpuinfo_cur_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 cpuinfo_max_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 cpuinfo_min_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 cpuinfo_transition_latency
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 related_cpus
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_available_frequencies
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_available_governors
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_cur_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_driver
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_governor
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_max_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_min_freq
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Dec 31 10:21 scaling_setspeed
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 0 Dec 31 10:21 stats
To check the supported and current CPU frequency, use the following commands:
:~# cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_frequencies
1989000 1924000 1846000 1781000 1716000 1677000 1625000 1586000 1508000 1417000 1326000
1248000 1131000 1014000 910000 793000
:~# cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/cpuinfo_cur_freq
793000
3.5 Display
The VIA VAB-950 supports a choice of HDMI and LCD Panel display devices. To set the display device, rst
connect the Windows 10 host machine and the VIA VAB-950 through the Micro USB 2.0 port using the Micro
USB cable.
Then set the two OS image jumpers (J7 and J5) to the download mode.
Press and hold the SW3 buon. Then plug in the AC-to-DC power adapter to power on the VIA VAB-950.
Make sure there is a "fastboot: processing commands" message in the debug console. Then release the SW3
buon.
Next, run the cmd.exe on your Windows10 host machine.
Use the fastboot.exe from the \Firmware\ folder to set the display device by using the following commands:
C:\>fastboot.exe oem display dsi
C:\>fastboot.exe oem display hdmi
Use the following command to check the current display device. In this example below, the current display
device is LCD panel output.
C:\>fastboot.exe getvar all
(bootloader) display: dsi
(bootloader) max-download-size: 0x4000000
(bootloader) version: 0.5
all: Done!!
Finished. Total time: 0.002s

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Power o the VIA VAB-950 and set the two OS image jumpers (J7 and J5) back to the normal mode seng.
Unplug the Micro USB cable, and then power on the VIA VAB-950.
When the boot process is completed, LCD panel output will be set as the display device.
Note:
The default display device is HDMI output. Aer changing the display device, you must restart the VIA VAB-950.
3.6 Video Playback
The VIA VAB-950 supports H.265 and H.264 video decoding up to 1080p@30fps/40Mbps.
To playback the video, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# gst-launch-1.0 -q playbin uri=le:///mnt/test.mp4 ags=0x42 video-
sink="mtkmdp width=640 height=480 ! mtkwaylandsink" audio-sink="fakesink"
3.7 Audio Output and Record
To set up the speaker audio output, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=4 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=12 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# aplay -Dhw:0,0 /mnt/test.wav
To set up the HDMI audio output, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# aplay -Dhw:0,28 /mnt/test.wav
To set up the headphone audio output, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=1 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=2 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# aplay -Dhw:0,0 /mnt/test.wav
To set up the Mic-in audio recording, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=35 ADC2
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=22 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=23 1
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=26 IN_ADC2
root@aiv8385-linux:~# amixer cset numid=44 IN_ADC2
root@aiv8385-linux:~# arecord -Dhw:0,1 -c 2 -r 48000 -f S16_LE /mnt/t1.wav
3.8 Camera
To preview an image from the CSI camera, use the following command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# gst-launch-1.0 -v v4l2src device=/dev/video3 ! video/x-raw,format=YUY2
,width=1280,height=720,framerate=30/1 ! videoconvert ! mtkwaylandsink sync=false

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
To record a video le from the CSI camera, use the following command.
root@aiv8385-linux:~# gst-launch-1.0 -v v4l2src device="/dev/video3" ! video/x-raw,format=\
(string\)YUY2,width=1280,height=720, framerate=30/1 ! mtkmdp width=1280 height=720 ! video/
x-raw,format=I420 ! v4l2h264enc bitrate= 9000000 gop=1 ! avimux ! lesink location=/data/
test.avi
3.9 Wi-Fi
To verify the Wi-Fi funcon, use the following commands:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# wpa_cli -i wlan0
wpa_cli v2.6
Copyright (c) 2004-2016, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.> and contributors
This software may be distributed under the terms of the BSD license.
See README for more details.
Interactive mode
>
To enter “interacve mode”, use the following command.
To exit “interacve mode”, type in the "q" command.
> add_network
0
> set_network 0 ssid "<your wireless AP SSID name>"
OK
> set_network 0 psk "<your wireless AP password>"
OK
> enable_network 0
OK
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS
<3>WPS-AP-AVAILABLE
<3>Trying to associate with 90:94:e4:aa:12:b2 (SSID='via_sw2_01' freq=2422 MHz)
<3>Associated with 90:94:e4:aa:12:b2
<3>CTRL-EVENT-SUBNET-STATUS-UPDATE status=0
<3>WPA: Key negotiation completed with 90:94:e4:aa:12:b2 [PTK=CCMP GTK=TKIP]
<3>CTRL-EVENT-CONNECTED - Connection to 90:94:e4:aa:12:b2 completed [id=1 id_str=]
> q
Type the commands below, and press the <Ctrl+C> when the “Adding DNS” message is shown.
To verify if the Wi-Fi connecon is workable, type the "ping" command:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# busybox udhcpc -b -i wlan0
udhcpc: started, v1.29.3

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VIA VAB-950 Yocto 2.6 EVK Quick Start Guide
Failed to revert interface conguration: Connection timed out
udhcpc: sending discover
udhcpc: sending select for 192.168.0.105
udhcpc: lease of 192.168.0.105 obtained, lease time 86400
/etc/udhcpc.d/50default: Adding DNS 192.168.0.1
^C
root@aiv8385-linux:~# ping 8.8.8.8
3.10 Bluetooth
To enter “interacve mode” for BT funcon vericaon, use the following commands:
root@aiv8385-linux:~# btut
<V> History le path: /home/root/.btut_history
<D> [Tools] btut_register_mod() returns: 0
<I> [GAP] btut_register_mod() returns: 0
……
<I> [GATTS] Register server callback :'0' server_if = 6
Press <Enter>
btut_cli> GAP status
……
Press <Enter>
btut_cli> GAP set_local_name i500_bt
……
Press <Enter>
btut_cli> GAP set_scan_mode 2
……
Press <Enter>
btut_cli>
Use your mobile phone or tablet with Bluetooth enabled to scan the VAB-950. Then you will see the “i500_bt”
device name.
To exit “interacve mode”, type in the "quit" command.
btut_cli> quit
……
root@aiv8385-linux:~#

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