BeagleBrick

The BeagleBrick is a handheld software defined radio integrating the BeagleBoard with Angstrom Linux, SoftRock 6.3 transceiver, and an LCD touchscreen into an all-in-one radio unit. It's goal is to be an easy to use "iPad for hams."

= Current Status = The project is currently in a transitional period. This page will document our progress on interfacing with hardware using the BeagleBoard and Linux. More information can be found here.

= Preparing the OS =

SD Card Setup
First, follow the BeagleBoardBeginners guide in formatting your SD card.

Next, on the first partition, copy these files in this order.
 * 1) MLO
 * 2) u-boot
 * 3) uImage

Kernel Source
We used Git for tracking changes that were made to the kernel source. This git repository can be accessed here.

For those not comfortable with Git, a tarball of the complete, configured kernel source can be downloaded. This can be built with a simple "make uImage".

Root File System
The ext2 partition on the SD card contains the file system for Linux, where all your regular programs and data reside. There are three options for getting this:


 * 1) Our complete filesystem with FLDigi and hamlib configured is available here.
 * 2) You can also compile a distribution remotely from the Angstrom site. This has FLDigi, but you will need to add the BeagleBrick's hamlib module.
 * 3) Finally, you can create the rootfs yourself, by following ECE497_Lab02_Installing_The_Angstrom_Distribution_Old This is much more involved than the previous two methods.

Hamlib
We created a new back-end module for hamlib which controlled the tuning, filter switching, and push-to-talk functionality of the BeagleBrick. Again, Git was used to track these changes, and the git repository can be found here. A tarball of hamlib, including our modifications, can also be downloaded.