[Gta04-owner] Upgrade to GTA04

[Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller]

Hi,

Am 24.11.2014 um 04:50 schrieb Karsten Düsterloh <kd-gta04 at duesterloh.eu>:

> Moin!

indeed (04:50) :)

> 
> To all those who thought they were the last one to do the upgrade:
> you weren't. ;-)
> 
> I finally got around to upgrade my neo freerunner to GTA04 including the
> camera. And it's running! \o/

Great!

> 
> Well, mostly. ;-)
> 
> I do have some questions and some remarks:
> 
> (1) The camera isn't working with neither QTMoko nor Replicant (stable
> versions as linked from
> <http://projects.goldelico.com/p/gta04-main/page/Software/>), both apps
> just say "closed" and don't work.
> Is that expected? How can I test if everything is connected correctly?

Yes. Neither QtMoko nor Replicant images come with kernels that support the camera.
To test the camera, please use the Debian/LXDE image and the camera test script in
/root

> 
> (2) The AUX button blocks (being always on) if the front cover is fully
> pressed on. I can make it work/release it by forcing the case open a
> tiny bit with a finger nail, but that won't last.
> I might file off a bit of the upper side of the AUX button or of the
> case, I just wanted to know if that has happened to others …

yes, that sometimes happens if the camera is installed. The camera is filling
the plastics case to the last µm. So if something is a little different (tolerances)
the AUX button is stuck.

Yes, you can use a tiny rasp to make a little more room for the AUX button to
move in the case. It is a little difficult to describe how it works.

There might also be other methods to twist the case a little (maybe inserting
a small piece of paper).
 
> 
> (3) The UBoot menu shows three test buttons in the lowest row.
> I'm not sure what they should do/if they work as expected.
> (I didn't upgrade the NAND, this is the menu as it came with the GTA04.)
> - "Button LED":
>  The screen becomes green for about three seconds, then the main menu
>  reappears. No LED does change, either AUX nor start button.
> - "Blink":
>  The screen becomes blue for about three seconds, then the main menu
>  reappears. No LED does change, either AUX nor start button.
> - "Touch":
>  The screen shows random garble, with some flickering yellow bars on
>  cyan background at the top. The bars react somehow to touching the
>  screen. The main menu is shown again when pressing either AUX or
>  the start button.

Their function is immediately stopped if the AUX button is pressed (which
is in your case).

> 
> (4) I partitioned my SD card along the QTMoko suggestion under
> <http://sourceforge.net/projects/qtmoko/files/GTA04/>, i.e.
> - partition #1: small FAT32 with bootscript etc.
> - partition #2: QTMoko
> - partition #3: Replicant
> - partition #4: extended partition, containing
>  - partition #5: FAT32 for media stuff
>  - partition #6: ext4
>  - partition #7: ext4
> I intended to add SHR (which I used on the freerunner) to partition #6,
> and later maybe test other system in #7.
> 
> Obviously, the UBoot-Menu can't boot into #6 and I didn't find the
> QTMoko way to do that. :-/
> 
> If I understand the UBoot mechnism correctly, partition #1 isn't
> actually needed for booting QTMoko on #2, hence I could put SHR onto a
> repartioned #1?

If you have the boot loader and boot script in NAND, you can boot SD
cards without a FAT partition.

> 
> That won't help with other systems in partition #6 etc., so what's the
> most sane way to do that?
> 
> (5) Did anybody actually try to create a Replicant-based Firefox OS for
> GTA04 et al.?

I am not aware of, but if someone works on it, please raise your hand!

> 
> (6) Some notes on the upgrade instructions (the System Manual, Rev 4):
> - 4.3 (8): "carefully unplug GPS antenna from UFL socket"
>         → the image is fuzzy and I had no idea in which direction
>           the plug is meant to come off
> - 4.4 (2): The PCB connector is opened, but the cable is never
>           mentioned to be removed. ;-)
> - 4.5 (3): "carefully position and glue the Module to the new PCB"
>         → carefully position *where exactly*?
> - 4.6 should contain a reference like "if you have a camera module,
> commence now with the camera installation in section X before putting
> the PCB back into the case".
> - 5.1 should have some notes on the GSM antenna position (like "metal
> pin on the edge should point upwards to touch the GAT04 PCB").
> - 5.1 probably should contain info for drilling a camera hole into the
> back cover, for example putting the back cover on while drilling.
> - 5.1 (5): The first image is fuzzy and it's not quite clear from the
> two images which stuff is meant to be cut off. A red circle in the first
> one might help. ;-)
> - 5.1 (6): It's unclear how much of the snap fit is to be cut off.
> Is the second image meant to show the problem?
> - A magnifier is helpful with most of the bricolage. :-)

Ok, thanks for these comments. We will integrate it into the GTA04A5 manual.

BR,
Nikolaus