Bargain 1G Rock64

Anyone wanting a bargain price on a Pine64 1GB Rock64 the Amazon listing for Recon Sentinel RECON1 is currently selling for $11.99. This contains the Rock64 with a 16GM SanDisk Ultra microSD card in a plastic case and LCD as can be seen in the listing. It also has a 5V 3A power supply and a 1 ft. Cat 5E cable!

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
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> Anyone wanting a bargain price on a Pine64 1GB Rock64 the Amazon listing for Recon Sentinel RECON1 is currently selling for $11.99. This contains the Rock64 with a 16GM
> SanDisk Ultra microSD card in a plastic case and LCD as can be seen in the listing. It also has a 5V 3A power supply and a 1 ft. Cat 5E cable!
>
> Ray

I wouldn't mind to get this device for this price if sold by NewEGG and/or any local electronics stores. It is a game changer for me not to shop at Amazon that requires a prime membership to get a free S/H.

Good deal. eBay has a bundle of Rock64 1GB + Power adapter + 16GB MicroSD for $20+$6 shipping.

I guess that bundle was from RECON1 since the seller is "recycl_4_u"

I got one from amazon. Only 8GB sd included. Still very good deal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2019 07:10PM by daviddyer.

Well, this board is not good... too much heat...

I wanted to use it as NAS / downloader, so I installed armbian and tried to compile aria2. However, make -j3 or up will generate a lot of errors in console / dmesg, So I rebooted...and it never went up... need to physically access it again later.

daviddyer Wrote:
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> Well, this board is not good... too much heat...
>
> I wanted to use it as NAS / downloader, so I
> installed armbian and tried to compile aria2.
> However, make -j3 or up will generate a lot of
> errors in console / dmesg, So I rebooted...and it
> never went up... need to physically access it
> again later.

To alleviate heat problem, you probably need to drill multiple holes on the case.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
bodhi's corner (buy bodhi a beer)

Well, I re-used the RECON1 case, I removed the 1602 i2c module(use that module on rpi 0 w to play), then covered the huge hole on top of the case with some packing tape. I will remove the tape to get better ventilation. Later, I will try to add some heatsink--if I can find one.

Since I will remove the tape, I will put a serial cable through the huge hole to debug problems.

The rock64 specs looks good, but it is not robust. The kirkwood boxes never had such problems.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2019 10:08AM by daviddyer.

Holly Cow! OfficeDepot is selling this item US $149.99 / each.I think one can buy it from OfficeDepot and then price match it. TBH, I really don't know the price match policy @OfficeDepot. However, if it is a 10% difference, then you will probably get this item for free + a US $5 to pocket?

daviddyer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I wanted to use it as NAS / downloader, so I installed armbian and tried to compile aria2. However, make -j3 or up will generate a lot of errors in console / dmesg, So I rebooted...and it never went up... need to physically access it again later.
>
When you opened up the case, do you see any GPIO ports (with or without PINs)?

It's a standard rock64 1gb board. Yes, with GPIO pins.

Just search for rock64 board picture. It's a standard one.

daviddyer Wrote:
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> It's a standard rock64 1gb board. Yes, with GPIO pins.
>
> Just search for rock64 board picture. It's a standard one.
>
Thank you. Does the board look like this? Can you please take a snapshot of the board and post here?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2019 09:13PM by habibie.

Yes. Exactly like that.

If you remove the hat that connects to the 1602 i2c board, you can find the 40 pins

daviddyer Wrote:
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> Yes. Exactly like that.
>
> If you remove the hat that connects to the 1602 i2c board, you can find the 40 pins
>
When you said the hat, did you mean the display socket (with wires connected to the display?

I think I am going to place some order from OfficeDepot with a free S/H cost, then a price matched to Amazon. There may be a problem with this though. I think I will have to wait until the order gets shipped and then ask for a price match or else they will ask me to pay for the S/H cost. Delaying a price match means I will have to hope the price on Amazon will stay remains for a few more days and that is a pretty risky task. BTW, I just checked local OfficeDepot stores and they are out of stocks. :(

Yes. Hat means the display socket (with wires connected to the 1602 i2c lcd display)?

The Price match might not work. It was not sold by amazon itself, but by third party.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2019 09:51AM by daviddyer.

daviddyer Wrote:
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> Yes. Hat means the display socket (with wires connected to the 1602 i2c lcd display)?
>
> The Price match might not work. It was not sold by amazon itself, but by third party.
>
OK. Unless I can find a US $1.02 filler, it looks like I need to place an order of 3x (US $35.97) to get a free S/H (which is not bad for a quad core system with 1 GB of RAM and a GPIO port + a USB3 port).

BTW, can you provide some instructions on how to install ARMbian? I am particularly interested in getting this device to run ARMbian and/or Kali Linux off an external USB storage and leave the original firmware intact (don't know if that requires an upgrade to a 3rd party u-boot).

1 Install uboot.

Download image here

https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-u-boot/releases

Use https://github.com/ayufan-rock64/linux-u-boot/releases/download/2017.09-rockchip-ayufan-1065-g95f6152134/u-boot-flash-spi-rock64.img.xz

write the image to microsd, boot rock64 with the microsd, wait till the led flashes about once per second. I just waited about 3 minutes to be safe. power off, remove the micro sd.

2 download raspbian from https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/ROCK64_Software_Release

write the image to usb3 hard drive, connect, everything, boot.

No, you don't need micro SD now. You can boot from usb 3.0 hard drive directly.

3 Prepare to get system hangs / heat death, etc. Install the biggest heat sink / fan you can find.

Could be a quality control issue with these boards? I bought this same deal, but I opted not to flash the "boot from usb" uboot linked above. Instead I picked up a small heatsink meant for the RPI 3/4 as well as a fan + case. So far it's been pretty stable. Temps hover around 45C-52C.

I'm running a Recalbox/Retropie/Lakka community image with a slight overclock and so far no issues to report. Besides it having the odd quirk of needing a jumper on the emmc pins to get hdmi out and a MAC address that changes on every boot everything else is fine. I have been doing some reading on the subject and it seems like power delivery can be a huge issue for these boards. You might find stability improves if you connect your hard drive to a powered USB hub before connecting it to the Rock64.

Try to compile something, eg, compile aria2 from source, or try to compile linux kernel

Use j4 or j5 option to use all cores.

For me, make will go through
make -j 2 will go through
make -j 3 and up will fail

Ordered some heat sink from eBay. Hope that helps.

Under normal conditions, it runs very well.

Well, for $12, I really should not complain. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2019 06:23PM by daviddyer.

That's fair, i've yet to try to compile something for long periods of time on it yet. When i was first testing it out (no heatsink or fan) I noticed temps were nearing the 80C range doing some very light web browsing. Decided not try again till i put a heatsink and a fan on it. Will try installing armbian and doing further tests during the week.

alexr Wrote:
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> ...I noticed temps were nearing the 80C range doing some very light web browsing.
>
I am a bit lost here. R U saying this device has an HDMI port that you can connect to an HDMI TV to display? From the pictures on on OfficeDepot site, I don't see any HDMI port. However, the picture shown here seems to indicate there is some sort of ports, i.e. audio, HDMI, and power ports, located behind the RJ45 port. Perhaps, this is the earlier version and the version shown on the OfficeDepot site is a different version?

RECON1 -- the box has no openings for the HDMI, but if you take the board out, you can have the HDMI port ---it's on the board.

As I said, it's a standard ROCK64 board.

Check for pictures / details here for the stardard ROCK64 board:

https://www.pine64.org/devices/single-board-computers/rock64/

It actually has an IR receiver and one power / one reset button!

Installed armbian a few days ago, so far no issues compiling aria2, pihole-FTL, and a couple other things here and there. Even with a fan the cpu gets pretty toasty at around ~60C with all 4 cores going, Still well within the operating spec though. Still pretty impressive considering ambient temp here in Southern California has been in the high 80's to low 90's

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> daviddyer Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > Yes. Hat means the display socket (with wires
> connected to the 1602 i2c lcd display)?
> >
> > The Price match might not work. It was not sold
> by amazon itself, but by third party.
> >
> OK. Unless I can find a US $1.02 filler, it looks
> like I need to place an order of 3x (US $35.97) to
> get a free S/H (which is not bad for a quad core
> system with 1 GB of RAM and a GPIO port + a USB3
> port).
>
> BTW, can you provide some instructions on how to
> install ARMbian? I am particularly interested in
> getting this device to run ARMbian and/or Kali
> Linux off an external USB storage and leave the
> original firmware intact (don't know if that
> requires an upgrade to a 3rd party u-boot).

habibie,

If you'd like one of these PM me and I'll see about getting one to you.

Ray

Maybe I can chime in a couple questions if no one minds...

1. A USB 3.0 port is mighty enticing. I wonder, if you plugged in a USB 3.0 hub (which probably costs more than the board!) if the OS "hard drive" could be one of the ports off the hub?
In theory I'm thinking of those powered hubs wit individual switches.

2. The 4 cores and their management: is this something that can be activated with a high load (so as to keep the heat low for background tasks like torrents but throttle up for more intensive things), or does it require reboot, or ???

I don't know if I can get one of these, but it sure captures the imagination. And I have a bag of heat sinks LOL

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe I can chime in a couple questions if no one
> minds...
>
> 1. A USB 3.0 port is mighty enticing. I wonder, if
> you plugged in a USB 3.0 hub (which probably costs
> more than the board!) if the OS "hard drive" could
> be one of the ports off the hub?
> In theory I'm thinking of those powered hubs wit
> individual switches.
>

It's far easier to make use of the included eMMC connector to add an eMMC device for the OS. I purchased a few of these eMMC devices that range from $12 for 8GB to $39 for 64GB. You could hang a hard drive off a USB 3.0 hub and Armbian can be configured to boot the u-boot and kernel from SD card and the OS root from the hard drive.

> 2. The 4 cores and their management: is this
> something that can be activated with a high load
> (so as to keep the heat low for background tasks
> like torrents but throttle up for more intensive
> things), or does it require reboot, or ???
>

Armbian has the armbian-config application that allows you to change the SOC minimum and maximum core speed and which governor handles the processor speed. It defaults to a low of 408Mhz and a high of 1512Mhz using the ondemand governor and this can be modified.

> I don't know if I can get one of these, but it
> sure captures the imagination. And I have a bag of
> heat sinks LOL

rayknight Wrote:
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> I purchased a few of these eMMC devices that range from $12 for 8GB to $39 for 64GB.
>
I don't know much about eMMC. However, looks like AliExpress is having a 11.11 sales today with lots of bargain and may be eMMC is one of them, too. For instance, I don't know if this (a USED H26M78208CMR eMMC 64GB NAND flash memory) is any good deal or not.

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

Thanks a lot Ray! Life is tricky for me right now but if it works out I'll maybe use it for audio plugins over LAN.

Hey, just one more for now, is this ARM supported?
(Reaper's description)

Linux armv7l
REAPER v5.984 - 8MB
ARM 32-bit HF (raspberry pi 2+)

Linux aarch64
REAPER v5.984 - 8MB
ARM 64-bit

If so, I'm not saying 1G RAM is so glorified, but then again it would work the other way too and have this as DAW and use a monster fire-breathing dragon computer nearby as the satellite.

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2019 08:32PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rayknight Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > I purchased a few of these
> eMMC
> devices that range from $12 for 8GB to $39 for
> 64GB.
> >
> I don't know much about eMMC. However, looks like
> AliExpress is
> having a 11.11 sales today with lots of bargain
> and may be eMMC is one of them, too. For instance,
> I don't know if
> this
> (a USED H26M78208CMR eMMC 64GB NAND flash
> memory) is any good deal or not.

You need to ensure that the eMMC is compatible with the connector on the board! What you're looking at on aliexpress is a bare/raw eMMC chip. You would then need to figure out how to create the board/connector to plug it onto the Rock64 board.

Ray

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rayknight Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks a lot Ray! Life is tricky for me right now
> but if it works out I'll maybe use it for audio
> plugins over LAN.
>
> Hey, just one more for now, is this ARM
> supported?
> (Reaper's description)
>
> Linux armv7l
> REAPER v5.984 - 8MB
> ARM 32-bit HF (raspberry pi 2+)
>
> Linux aarch64
> REAPER v5.984 - 8MB
> ARM 64-bit
>
> If so, I'm not saying 1G RAM is so glorified, but
> then again it would work the other way too and
> have this as DAW and use a monster fire-breathing
> dragon computer nearby as the satellite.

It is a 64 bit ARM aarch64 architecture. If you're wanting to use it for something audio related you may want to check out one of the downloads they offer at Rock64 Wiki.. Volumio is a linux-based headless DAP (digital audio player), which connects to your home stereo system or your DAC.

Ray

Update: After I added a heatsink (without fan), it seems to be able to finish compiling aria2.

It seems stable. But if you run "reboot" or "systemctl reboot", it will not be able to reboot. I need to power off and then reconnect the power. Googled, it seems an old problem since the pine64....

Well, at least much better performance than dockstar in samba / nfs /etc... and it seems stable now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/20/2019 08:56PM by daviddyer.

daviddyer Wrote:
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> Well, at least much better performance than dockstar in samba / nfs /etc... and it seems stable now.
>
I sure would like to know what is your settings and/or the performance R/W you got form an NFS connection.