FPP v6 changes related to BeagleBone, PocketBeagle, & Raspberry Pi pixel outputs

[CaptainMurdoch]

I saw who you are referring to here selling Scott's boards prebuilt for what seemed like for a profit and was wondering how that would be handled.

In order to be fair to the end user, we will grandfather-in the capes made by that person building Scott's designs as if they were bought from a real store, but once the deadline has passed, users purchasing capes from him would be required to purchase a license since they didn't build the cape themselves as a DIY project.

How will the distinction be made between someone who is selling them for profit and someone who may just be selling extras that they built since when you order from JLCPCB they come in multiples of 5? I wont need all 5 that I'm building and I wouldnt mind giving one or 2 away at cost but I'd want to make sure that wouldnt get me classified as selling for profit. If that would I'll just keep all 5 and have some backups on hand in case they're ever needed.

If you have a few extra capes that you built and want to get rid of them, either because you have too many or you were able to build yours cheaper by buying more than quantity 1 or 2, that is not an issue.  You can request a DIY voucher for those and redeem it and then we can transfer the license if you ever sell one of those capes.  If we see the same person keeps coming to us saying they built more DIY capes and more and more, then that will definitely set off a red flag.  That and the fact that we are on the forum, on FaceBook, etc. and would probably see the person selling them anyway.   We're not going to red-flag you for selling a few of the boards you built.

[Sawdust]

I have a few questions on this subject. I have read everything I could find on this subject and just need a little direction.

These have all been answered

With regards to what I believe falls into DIY but I'm not totally sure.  I have 5 San Devices (3xE682 + 2xE6804) boards which I'm currently re-soldering up to use the PB cape instead of the old propeller chip I soldered in the original pack. 
Does this mean they falls into the DIY category?

San Devices are not capes, or using the enhanced DPIPixel strings - no license key required

I also have two capes for BBB matrix screens that I'm unsure if I need to request licensing since I'm unclear if they are grandfathered in, these the P10 Scroller V1.2 boards from DIYLEDExpress.com.

Per Key Announcement: All other FPP Channel Outputs are NOT affected by this announcement and will continue to function as-is in FPP v6.  This list of Outputs which are NOT affected includes but is not limited to the RPIWS281X output used to drive 2 strings of WS281X pixels on the Raspberry Pi, the LED Panels outputs including directly attached as well as the ColorLight/Linsn outputs, WS2801 outputs and spixels, DMX, E1.31, DDP, GPIO, Pixelnet, Renard, etc..

I run a main player FPP RPi that syncs to all other FPP's and sends audio to my FM transmitter and speakers. No capes but it does send data to my Falcon v2 16 board w/16 extension, I'm unclear on this one since this is a standalone board and I need the audio from the FPP for the FM transmitter.  Do I request a voucher here too?

no capes, or using the enhanced DPIPixel strings - no license key required

Last, I have multiple capes I purchased from Dan Kulp this year, but I didn't purchase the PB's or BBB's from him since those were not available at the time.  From what I was reading I'm just a bit fuzzy about those, should I just request a voucher for those capes to be sure I have everything I need?

No license key required Applies to cape, not BBB or Pi's

[sonic777]

Thank you for your reply Sawdust, I don't usually ask too many questions unless I'm confused. I was confused, this helped a lot.

[mrpburke]

If you have a few extra capes that you built and want to get rid of them, either because you have too many or you were able to build yours cheaper by buying more than quantity 1 or 2, that is not an issue.  You can request a DIY voucher for those and redeem it and then we can transfer the license if you ever sell one of those capes.  If we see the same person keeps coming to us saying they built more DIY capes and more and more, then that will definitely set off a red flag.  That and the fact that we are on the forum, on FaceBook, etc. and would probably see the person selling them anyway.   We're not going to red-flag you for selling a few of the boards you built.

Thanks Chris. I just wanted to make sure that wouldn't be an issue.

[aclarksr]

Will there be virtual licenses for Dan's early boards? I have original F32B, F8-PB, F40-PB and a couple F8-B pcb's all purchased from Dan when he was testing his designs. I don't believe any of these have eeprom's onboard. I think the F40-PB and one of the F8-PB's probably have them but not the originals. I think I helped Dan clean out a junk drawer when he was just developing the Pocket Beagle boards.


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[yo3ham]

Please clarify the EEPROM issue.
I built my own DIY "cape" for the BBB, by soldering a buffer chip to the outputs of a BBB according to instructions from this forum, how to choose the pins by looking in the json files, i.e. I use 8 pins: P8-28,P8-27,P8-30 etc, and select a 8-output controller such "F8-B-16" in Falcon Player channel outputs.

Even if, of course, I don't have any real F8-B cape, but because the FPP on the BBB does not have the option "directly connect to pins P8-XXXX" like there is an option on the RPi FPP version - you MUST select one cape or another. But this is basically what I do - I connect directly to 8 pins of the BBB to have 8 channels (more than 50 pixels per channel).

To be very clear, what I built is a minimalistic board with only the buffer chips, no EEPROM (I don't even know what the EEPROM is for). 

Is this kind of DIY construction supported by the "DIY free license"? because I see no way to "sign the EEPROM" since there is no such thing.

[CaptainMurdoch]

Will there be virtual licenses for Dan's early boards? I have original F32B, F8-PB, F40-PB and a couple F8-B pcb's all purchased from Dan when he was testing his designs. I don't believe any of these have eeprom's onboard. I think the F40-PB and one of the F8-PB's probably have them but not the originals. I think I helped Dan clean out a junk drawer when he was just developing the Pocket Beagle boards.

Dan created Virtual EEPROMs for his early boards and added them to FPP.  On both the Initial Setup page that pops up for new installs and the Pixel Strings config page, you will have the ability to install a Virtual EEPROM by selecting from a list of available EEPROMs.  The early F8-B, F8-Bv2, F32-B, F8-PB, and PocketScroller have virtual EEPROMs included with FPP.

[CaptainMurdoch]

Is this kind of DIY construction supported by the "DIY free license"? because I see no way to "sign the EEPROM" since there is no such thing.

Yes, it would be considered DIY.

In FPP v6, every string cape will require either a physical EEPROM or a virtual EEPROM.  FPP v6 will include virtual EEPROMs for all cape options which were previously listed on the Pixel Strings config page.  Virtual EEPROMs can be installed via the Initial Setup page or the Pixel Strings config page.  In your case, you would install the virtual EEPROM for whatever config you are currently using.  The Pixel Strings config UI will warn you if the virtual EEPROM needs to be signed to support more than 50 pixels.  You can also go to the Cape Info page to see if the EEPROM supports signing or not.  Some virtual EEPROMs do not need signing and some only need signing when they are used in a specific configuration.

[rayhjr]

Questions, One cape photo per key request? or can I do a group photo of capes in one photo? With my email address.
In requesting Keys for Scott's BBB or PB capes do I need Receipt of purchase from Cape Manufacturer (JLCPCB)?

[CaptainMurdoch]

Questions, One cape photo per key request? or can I do a group photo of capes in one photo? With my email address.
In requesting Keys for Scott's BBB or PB capes do I need Receipt of purchase from Cape Manufacturer (JLCPCB)?

One pic is fine and for the DIY capes you have we just need to see the board itself, no receipt or other proof needed.

For now while we are grandfathering in the other non-DIY capes, a pic is fine for those as well because we know that the board was purchased prior to the end date.   After the transition period ends on July 31, 2022, that is when we will need to see a receipt to confirm the commercial cape was purchased prior to August 1, 2022.

[algerdes]

The scenario:
8 RPi connected via a slew of NetGear switches 
12 Falcon F16 (v2, v3 [no V4])
2 Falcon F48
5 SanDevices 
3 J1Sys Boards
10 Renard based AC Boards (models not known at this time)
3 DIYLEDExpress 6 output boards
5 RPi with Falcon PiCaps
1 Kulp K8
2 Kulp K16
1 Kulp K32A-B
1 Kulp K4-PB
2 Kulp K40D-PB

Is there anything in this menagerie that would require all this fancy licensing?

[CaptainMurdoch]

The scenario:
8 RPi connected via a slew of NetGear switches
12 Falcon F16 (v2, v3 [no V4])
2 Falcon F48
5 SanDevices
3 J1Sys Boards
10 Renard based AC Boards (models not known at this time)
3 DIYLEDExpress 6 output boards
5 RPi with Falcon PiCaps
1 Kulp K8
2 Kulp K16
1 Kulp K32A-B
1 Kulp K4-PB
2 Kulp K40D-PB

Is there anything in this menagerie that would require all this fancy licensing?

As long as your Kulp capes are the 'K' models and not Dan's original F8-B or F32-B models, then they are new enough to have an onboard EEPROM, and you should be good to go as-is.  No key required.

None of the other boards require keys.  On the PiCaps, when you upgrade to FPP v6, you will need to select the "PiHat" Virtual EEPROM from the Pixel Strings Channel Outputs config page and that will let FPP use your existing configs which don't need the key.

[Frenchie King]

How will the distinction be made between someone who is selling them for profit and someone who may just be selling extras that they built since when you order from JLCPCB they come in multiples of 5? I wont need all 5 that I'm building and I wouldnt mind giving one or 2 away at cost but I'd want to make sure that wouldnt get me classified as selling for profit. If that would I'll just keep all 5 and have some backups on hand in case they're ever needed.

So first off, let's talk about the elephant in the room. If you know how much the parts cost, then you'd know that buying parts from Digikey would cost in the range of around $107 for parts for the THT type board, then add in the $70 for the BBB, which is at cost and then letting the end user setup FPP on their own. So if you like math, then you'll see there wasn't much profit being made when sold for $180 plus shipping. Remember, the PB and SMD technology is cheaper and requires less parts. Second, do not try to make yourself out to be a saint because you wouldn't want to be one of the "for profit" guys. If you're nervous about falling into that category, then don't build the other four boards. Sell the bare boards for the cost you got them at or better yet, build them and donate them. If you build them and sell them, then consider your hypocrisy when you think you know what you're talking about to make yourself look good to the Devs.

[Frenchie King]

@CaptainMurdoch i tried reaching out to you on FB messenger to talk about vouchers. May have to check your message requests. 

[CaptainMurdoch]

@CaptainMurdoch i tried reaching out to you on FB messenger to talk about vouchers. May have to check your message requests.

FB wasn't popping up those alerts on my phone or setting a badge on the icon.  Thanks for the heads up, I will send you a message.