Presale device assembly and validation
Introduction
This document describes the assembly procedure of the PiKVM (device based on Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi Zero 2W) with components specified in requirements.
Requirements
Note that the PiKVM build might be basing on two types of Raspberry Pi: RPi 4 or RPi Zero 2W.
Hardware components necessary to build PiKVM on RPi Zero 2W:
- Raspberry Pi Zero 2W,
- microSD card 16 GB,
- USB-A 5 V 3.1 A charger (female socket),
- HDMI to CSI-2 bridge,
- Raspberry Pi Zero Camera Cable,
- HDMI-HDMI cable,
- USB A - micro USB cable (male, male),
- Y-splitter cable.
- (Optional) UART -> USB converter
Hardware components necessary to build PiKVM on RPi 4:
- Raspberry Pi 4,
- microSD card 16 GB,
- USB-A 5 V 3.1 A charger (female socket),
- HDMI to CSI-2 bridge,
- HDMI-HDMI cable,
- USB A - USB C cable,
- Y-splitter cable.
- (Optional) UART -> USB converter
Device assembly
The following section of the documentation shows the assembly procedure for PiKVM including setting up a WiFi connection and methods for reading device IP.
Set based on RPi Zero 2W preparation
The section below describes the method of preparing PiKVM hardware based on RPI Zero 2W.
-
Connect SD card and HDMI to CSI-2 bridge with camera cable:
-
Block USB power from device under test by preparing USB cable:
-
Connect HDMI cable from the device under test to HDMI -> CSI-2 bridge.
- Connect the USB splitter to the Raspberry Pi micro USB port.
- Connect one side of the splitter to USB-A 5 V 3.1 A charger.
- Connect other side to device under test via USB cable with blocked power.
Set based on RPi 4 preparation
To build PiKVM on RPi 4, use the RPI 0 set documentation and replace the cable for connecting to the RPi and the cable for connecting with the CSI-2 bridge.
OS image building and flashing
-
Prepare the OS in accordance with the PiKVM Handbook.
-
Flash the SD card using
bmaptool
orbalenaEtcher
.- to do this by
balenaEtcher
go to the producer site and follow his procedure on how to download and flash an SD card. -
to do this by
bmaptool
reproduce the following steps:-
install
bmaptool
by opening the terminal and typing the following command:sudo apt install bmap-tools
-
create the bmap by typing the following command:
bmaptool create /path/to/your/image > /path/where/you/want/bmap/file/saved/bmapfilename.bmap
-
flash image to the SD card by typing the following command:
sudo bmaptool copy --bmap ~/path/where/your/bmap/file/is/located /path/where/your/image/is/located /path/to/memory/device
-
- to do this by
-
Insert the flashed SD card into the SD card slot on the PiKVM.
Set up WiFi
The section below describes the method of setting up a WiFi connection for the PiKVM. This section is dedicated especially to the PiKVMs based on RPi Zero 2W, which is not equipped with an Ethernet port.
-
Mount the first partition of the memory card.
-
Edit or make the
pikvm.txt
file in the following convention:FIRSTBOOT=1 WIFI_ESSID="name" WIFI_PASSWD="password"
Note: Do not remove line
FIRSTBOOT=1
orFIRST_BOOT-1
line. It may occur with troubles with the device starts. -
Unmount the first partition of the memory card.
Note: In some countries, in which WiFi channel 13 is in use, the device might not connect to the WiFi. To prevent this, the router should be configured properly: channels 12-14 or Auto Scan mode should be disabled.
Read IP address
The section below describes the known methods of reading PiKVM IP.
-
First option: from
os
repository run the following command:make scan
Example output:
. . . ===== Toolbox image is ready ===== ===== Searching for Pis in the local network ===== docker run \ --rm \ --tty \ --net host \ pi-builder-arm-toolbox arp-scan --localnet | grep -Pi "\s(b8:27:eb:|dc:a6:32:)" || true 192.168.4.13 dc:a6:32:aa:aa:aa Raspberry Pi Trading Ltd
-
Second option: open the web interface of your router and find the list of issued IP addresses. Localization of the mentioned list depends on the router model.
-
Third option:
-
solder pins for serial output as on images below:
-
Check Raspberry Pi Zero2W IP by booting to system and reading information via serial (eg.) UART -> USB converter.
-
Device validation
- Connect the device to the mains.
- Login to RTE via
ssh
(by using earlier obtained IP address) orminicom
(by using USB-UART converter with 3 wire cables).
Where to buy?
The PiKVM is available in our online shop.