Orange Pi CM5 in uConsole

uConsole
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After myriad of problems, hardware mods and 1.5 months of use I can confirm that it works.
Tested to work with Linux kernel 6.16+

What doesn’t work:

  • Audio: “Possible” to add support for “mono”(literally for one ear);
  • WiFi: Pins are not connected in any form;
  • RTC: There is simply no Real-Time Clock on-board.

Encountered problems that MAY be fixed with hardware mods:

  • 3.3V line is “very noisy” (SYS_3V3 never goes to 0V even if system is off) with this CM;
  • System won’t turn off (Probably related to a previous issue);
  • System won’t reset(and restart) properly 9/10 times (Probably software problem);
  • HDMI Hot Plug circuit is not functioning properly.
    • There is in-fact another kernel for Radxa CM5 whose author claims that it’s possible to “make a hard. mod” that will fix HDMI out. But he did not provide any description of performed modification

Encountered problems that CAN be fixed with hardware mods:

  • System starts by itself (required);
    • Need to change R106 resistor (0402) from 10K to 120-130K.
  • No Real-Time Clock (optional).
    • Can be fixed by adding cheap ds1307 I2C RTC clock;
    • After booting the system, synchronize time with the NTP servers.

Software problems:

  • Hardware video decoding: It exists. But not working. Currently. Or Indefinitely;
  • Kernel 6.16.0: In Krash Desktop Environment 6 “hardware” cursor has broken alpha-channel. Currently fixed in new versions of kernel (or mesa).

Not tested:

  • Modem;
  • Any “Will it work with my %thing%?”.

Notes:

  • Debug console (UART2) is available both on CM itself and expansion board(mini pci-e) slot (UART33/32 - RX/TX - pin 28/26)

PS:
I’ve installed Gentoo and it’s rk3588s able to able to compile clang and LLVM at decent speed.
With stock cooling it heats up to 60°C.

I have no intention to provide precompiled kernel or create some sort of debian or arch (b.t.w.) based distributions, but I can provide patchset that you can throw at portage and it will compile kernel for you :slight_smile:

Patchset: GitHub - si6Och4j/uconsole-opi-cm5: uConsole Orange Pi CM5 support patchset

If anyone is interested in performance tests, I can try to do them, but I can’t guarantee anything.

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