Hi all,
In past i was a tester on debian for Netgear RN102 with @bodhi.Thanks to him.
Now i need some advice/guidance for another device but this time it is not a Network Attached Storage. It is an old barcode reader/rugged pc from 2011-2012 era. My goal is to port an relatively updated kernel to it and boot linux.Since it is close enough SOC model to my RN102 i believe i can find suggestions on forum doozan.
Let me introduce this thing to you.I had to dissassemble unit and read some of part numbers.
Model No: BIP-5000(Black)
Manufacturer:Pidion (https://www.ruggedpcreview.com/3_handhelds_pidion_bip5000.html)
CPU:Marvell PXA320 (88AP320-BGR2) 806MHz
CPU Supported Instruction Set:ARM
Type of processor core:Intel XScale
RAM:64MB(K4X51163PI-FGC6 TWO CHIPS 512Mb DDR 32Mx16)
FLASH:125MB?(K9F2G08U0C-SCB0)
Wifi:Atheros (AR6002) 2.4/5GHz
LCD:GST3D5014 QVGA 240RGB*320dots Parallel RGB 18-BIT
Power Management IC:MAX8660
Serial Port(RS-232) IC:SP3220E
AC’97 Audio + Touchpanel CODEC:WM9713L
PCB MARKING: BIP-5000MC75i MAIN REV:1.1
Original OS:Windows CE 5.0.1400
Original Bootloader:EBOOT 2.1.1
I made an archive for all chips datasheets above here.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/6oz46kjt8plbdm9nlgtv7/h?rlkey=zmbe2k1dawy4l5zhw8h33xh09&dl=0
I have the below resources:
- NANDO Nand Flash programmer (https://github.com/bbogush/nand_programmer)
- 4 channel 50 MHz scope (Rigol-DS1054Z) with serial decoding capabilities
- Cheap logic analzyer (FX2LP CY7C68013A USB)
- Usb to serial converer (FT232)
- Tl866ii Plus Universal Programmer
- SMD Soldering-Desoldering skills
- Linux build enviroment
I searched web about what people do with this SOC and linux before and found out that toradex (some kind of SBC manufacturer i think) made an u-boot bootloader, toolchain and rootfs and shared source codes and binary files and instructions for PXA320 in here.
https://files.toradex.com/Colibri/Linux/Images/PXA-as-is/toradex-bsp-2011.02/
https://developer-archives.toradex.com/knowledge-base/linux-colibri-pxa-flashing
The question i have is it possible to port relatively up-to-date kernel/u-boot for this device? My first plan is to backup original flash chip with NANDO programmer and flash u-boot from above link and try to read serial port output.Some of you may say why i don't get RPI or similiar SBC but i am doing this just for fun and to learn new things about embedded systems.
The device came with only itself no charging cable or dock so i reverse engineered exposed pins above and found out +5v GND USB DATA+ USB DATA- SERIAL TX AND RX as today. Sharing in here if someone needs it in future.I will update this folder regularly with my findings.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pgn11cyc6owngok4wk5zx/h?rlkey=xgpf71cu1399fm6vukq2px5p8&dl=0
Could someone point me to right direction about booting kernel/porting debian on PXA320?