How to start the A13 WIFI?

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 12:51:08 AM

Hello to the forum,

I just got a A13 WIFI board in the mail. Connected it to a VGA screen and powered the board. I see a red led lit, but no image on the Screen.

Is there anything I need to do prior to be able to see an image on a VGA screen?

Thanks,

J

vaishali · May 14, 2013, 08:23:46 AM

hi JoaoPinto ,

NO , nothing else is needed to start your board with vga screen.
Just check your power supply is proper like i am using 6 v 3 A power supply to power my board.

please connect the below thing to check what is happning at the boot time in your board.

please connect a usb to serial connector between your computer and a13 wifi board and open the serial terminal in your computer like putty or something else just checkout in forum there are steps how to do connection of this.
this will tell you the errors in start up of the a13 wifi if there is any.

BJFreeman · May 14, 2013, 09:45:50 AM

if you don't have an bootable SD, then the Board will come up in android.
you need a usb keyboard and mouse.
if your wifi Ap is open then you will connect to it automatically.
otherwise you need to aet the ssid and key for your Ap

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 10:17:13 AM

Quote from: vaishali on May 14, 2013, 08:23:46 AM
hi JoaoPinto ,

NO , nothing else is needed to start your board with vga screen.
Just check your power supply is proper like i am using 6 v 3 A power supply to power my board.

please connect the below thing to check what is happning at the boot time in your board.

please connect a usb to serial connector between your computer and a13 wifi board and open the serial terminal in your computer like putty or something else just checkout in forum there are steps how to do connection of this.
this will tell you the errors in start up of the a13 wifi if there is any.

Thank you for your reply. Its a relief to know that I am not doing anything wrong. The power supply that I am using I bought straight from Olimex. It is 12V 0.5A, max power 6W.

I will do as you suggest and build a USB to serial cable to check the error messages. Can you or someone else point me into the correct forum thread?

Thank you all,

J

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 10:20:21 AM

Quote from: BJFreeman on May 14, 2013, 09:45:50 AM
if you don't have an bootable SD, then the Board will come up in android.
you need a usb keyboard and mouse.
if your wifi Ap is open then you will connect to it automatically.
otherwise you need to aet the ssid and key for your Ap

hi,

I tried with no bootable SD card as well as with a bootable SD card. I bought a SD card straight from Olimex and I also created my own SD card from instructions somewhere in the internet. No noticeable diference though: just a blank screen. All black with nothing on it, I wonder if the board is even sending any information at all to the VGA plug.

Just to be thorough, my board is A13 WIFI revision E.

J

BJFreeman · May 14, 2013, 11:00:25 AM

just to make sure
1) have the power led showing.
2) your board has the raised part that is the wifi
3) no SD in the SD slot

also you use the power down button next to the power connector.

watch the sceen to see if the back light comes on, then wait about a minute
you should see the Android symbol then a minute or so later see the unlock.

if nothing happens in this time, click on the reset button next to the USB ports and the black
connector

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 11:13:09 AM

Quote from: BJFreeman on May 14, 2013, 11:00:25 AM
just to make sure
1) have the power led showing.
2) your board has the raised part that is the wifi
3) no SD in the SD slot

also you use the power down button next to the power connector.

watch the sceen to see if the back light comes on, then wait about a minute
you should see the Android symbol then a minute or so later see the unlock.

if nothing happens in this time, click on the reset button next to the USB ports and the black
connector

Thank you for your reply.

1. Yes, the power led (red led) is lit.
2. Yes, it has the raised, WIFI, board
3. No SD card on the slot.

The steps I just did are:
1. disconnect everything and remove the SD card.
2. connect the VGA to the screen
3. turn on the screen
4. connect the power
5. press the power button
6. wait 1 or 2 minutes - NOTHING HAPPENS
7. press the reset board reset
8. wait 1 or 2 minutes - NOTHING HAPPENS

The screen is completely black, just the red led is glowing in the board.

How long should I press the buttons?

Do I have to have a mouse, or some other device connected?

I am lost...

olimex · May 14, 2013, 11:23:18 AM

Hi
please re-flash the android image on the board with livesuite
Tsvetan

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 11:36:20 AM

Quote from: olimex on May 14, 2013, 11:23:18 AM
Hi
please re-flash the android image on the board with livesuite
Tsvetan

Hello,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will give it a go and post here an update.
I will follow this link:
https://www.olimex.com/wiki/A13-OLinuXino#Software

What is the USB cable are they referring to? Is it the USB SERIAL CABLE F?

J

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 11:44:43 AM

Quote from: JoaoPinto on May 14, 2013, 11:36:20 AM
Quote from: olimex on May 14, 2013, 11:23:18 AM
Hi
please re-flash the android image on the board with livesuite
Tsvetan

Hello,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will give it a go and post here an update.
I will follow this link:
https://www.olimex.com/wiki/A13-OLinuXino#Software

What is the USB cable are they referring to? Is it the USB SERIAL CABLE F?

J

Hello again,

Can I try to run the board with the SD card without re-flashing the NAND? At the momment I don't have the usb serial cable f.

J

BJFreeman · May 14, 2013, 11:49:11 AM

using the SD you should see the back light of the VGA come on and within a minute have the login

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 11:52:16 AM

Quote from: BJFreeman on May 14, 2013, 11:49:11 AM
using the SD you should see the back light of the VGA come on and within a minute have the login

So I should just start the board with the SD card in it and press the power button?

Thank you for your suggestion.

J

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 12:08:30 PM

Quote from: JoaoPinto on May 14, 2013, 11:52:16 AM
Quote from: BJFreeman on May 14, 2013, 11:49:11 AM
using the SD you should see the back light of the VGA come on and within a minute have the login

So I should just start the board with the SD card in it and press the power button?

Thank you for your suggestion.

J

I powered the board with the SD card in it. Pressed the power button and waited. Nothing appears on the screen. Not even the backlight. The only way to see if the screen is on is by the blinking small led on the screen.

I have tested with two different screens with the same result.

How long should I press the buttons (power, reset) in order for them to work?

When I press the power or reset button, is the board red led supposed to blink or do something?

Thank you all for your help.

J

JoaoPinto · May 14, 2013, 01:12:41 PM

I leave here a picture illustrating the steps I have done without the SD card.

vaishali · May 14, 2013, 03:09:16 PM

hi JoaoPinto ,

if possible please buy a usb to serial cable f.
this will let you know that whether the board is starting or not.
And from the user manual pdf of a13 wifi schematich diagram try to check the connection between vga and a13 processor are coming or not.
check the hardware properly there may be problem in it.