A question about ARM computers.

[nixnerd]

Did you check it out online? Looks like it might be more compact.

[__]

Yeah, I actually was referring to the size and the fact that it’s “cape-shaped.” But it looks like it also does a good job breaking out from the BBB: labels all the pins and gives you 5v and 3v connections.

[nixnerd]

Dude…. I don’t know anything about any of this. I’m a little scared but excited to learn.

[__]

When it comes to hardware, I’m in the same boat. I just don’t [apparently] have as much free time to jump into it.

Where are you buying? I got mine from Adafruit. They have decent resources (from what I’ve seen) and a discussion board. And I’m sure they could point you somewhere else if need be. They’re very Maker-oriented.

If you can do it all with capes, then you should have a fairly easy time. If you need to work out your own circuits, GPIO connections, etc., then it’ll take more effort and research, but I’m sure it’s all achievable. Go for it! I’m interested, and I’ll help out where I can.

[nixnerd]

I’ll be buying from Adafruit. However… they’re on a 5-10 wait to get a Beaglebone Black. Apparently, they’re out of stock. I’m really excited about the tactile nature of hardware. I can see how it wouldn’t be quite as abstract in some ways. That being said, I’m a total noob. But… I’m down to learn for sure.

If I have any questions along the way, I’ll post them here to see what you think. And of course, when my project is done, I’ll post pics!!!

[__]

Yeah, it’s a “hot” item. I missed it twice. As soon as you get that stocking email, go place your order!

[nixnerd]

I will. I’ll be all over it. But… There will come a time with this project where I will need 10 or more. What will I do then?

[nixnerd]

If you can believe this… I might want to order as many as 100 six months from now. Can I order direct from Texas Instruments?

[nixnerd]

I found the company… CircuitCo/Mouser. You can order as many as you like but the factory lead time is 10 weeks!

[__]

hell, if you get a good deal order extra ones.

[nixnerd]

I’m trying to figure out how to do that right now. I wrote an email to CircuitCo about how to order a lot of BBBs. I was just looking on the Mouser website but apparently that’s not the same as CircuitCo even though the website kind of looks that way.

10 weeks lead time is a little much. My project is relatively time sensitive and I don’t really want to wait that long.

I’ll wait for a response from CircuitCo to see what it looks like ordering directly from them.

Are you still thinking about making your cluster? Did you ever get your BBB set up as a media server?

[__]

10 weeks lead time is a little much. My project is relatively time sensitive and I don’t really want to wait that long

Well, for that quantity, it may be what you’re stuck with.

Are you still thinking about making your cluster? Did you ever get your BBB set up as a media server?

I have done literally nothing since we discussed it last. I’ve had other stuff to deal with. : (

I’m thinking less about the cluster and more about a custom router+firewall using pfSense. I’d start with a single-board setup, but I’ve been imaging I could use one for the firewall, and then split off into two different networks (work+rec). I could probably wrap a print server and NAS in with it.

I don’t really know yet if/how well it’ll work. And, like I said above, I don’t have much free time right now. But it’s something to look forward to.

[__]

I have done literally nothing since we discussed it last.

Ha!

Just a little nudge… Tried it out again today. I know wifi dongles use a lot of power, and I have been using an actual 5v power supply (not just plugging it in via USB). I moved the wifi to a powered USB hub today, and now it works perfectly.

Have to mess around with wpa_supplicant now, to actually connect with my network (using PSK). Cool.

[nixnerd]

You did all that in 2 hours? Damn!

Are you doing it that way so you don’t have to install iw and dialog?

[__]

I’m using iw. (I’m liking it, actually.)

By “dialog,” do you mean this? (I’m thinking you mean something else, but that’s all I can find.)

You did all that in 2 hours? Damn!

Well, after a couple weeks of doing the same thing over and over, it goes really quick when everything finally stops going wrong. AFAICT, it was only a power issue: damn thing just wanted its own juice.

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