From a Pi2 to a BBB?

[m00dawg]

I realize it's late in the season to be considering switching from a Pi2 to a BBB but was curious if anyone made the switch and how things went? Given that the F16v2 mentions an rPi specifically, is the BBB still something I should be looking at?

My big issue was needing RTC support since I tend to power off my system during the day (all the stuff is controlled on the circuit with a timer) and I didn't see too many options for that. It sounds like the Wifi adapter I use should be supported (one of the bigger Edmax 802.11n USB adapters).

I started thinking about this when wrestling with the Vast FMT static issue, but that's a silly reason to switch now So maybe this is more for seeing what I might want to do in 2016. The FMT issue was more of an annoyance while I try to tune the transmit power, though once set, just using analog audio off the rPi isn't that big of a deal.

[Materdaddy]

I switched last night.  I don't have everything configured for this year, so it was an easy change.  I swapped out my main FPP instance for a BBB and moved the Pi to be a multisync remote node in the enclosure driving my mega tree.  You should be able to swap the two, take the USB card from your Pi and put it in the BBB and it should "just work."

I'm not sure about the falcon hardware.  As you mentioned, the Edimax is supported on the BBB for wireless support, which I'm also using.

I actually changed for the same reason you're contemplating it (VastFMT robot audio) and I'm the developer supporting that support!

[m00dawg]

I actually changed for the same reason you're contemplating it (VastFMT robot audio) and I'm the developer supporting that support!

Haha oh nice! Well my thought was, I can grab a BBB on Amazon and have it here by the weekend and swap it out, and just deal with the rPi2 + analog out to the VAST for now. Sound quality via USB seems better (save for some oddball high frequency noises but I think that's something in my office during my tests) so it would be nice to go that route. RDS support isn't really much of an issue as much as making the whole setup simpler with fewer wires but it's a nice bonus.

My main stumbling block was RTC. I use Rasclock now and I didn't find any information on making that work with the BBB. I'd normally just keep the BBB powered on all the time, no biggie, but I have no way to do that while also shutting down everything out in the lawn. It will have network connectivity so it can hit an NTP server, but as I recall, if the time is too far off, NTP won't work.

Until I can get that going, sort of a hard change. On paper I like the Beaglebone's ideology better (aka more open) and it seems to be a more flexible solution for next year. I mentioned the F16v2 because I was likely going to start putting pixels out in more places next year (right now it's just on a 16x25 Pixeltree using an E682) and since it also supports some RS485/Renard outputs, it could result in less overall hardware and shenanigans to deal with.

But if the project is moving back towards rPi's...I dunno. I guess plus for 2016, chances are good there may be an updated BB by then?

[rayhjr]

I got a BBB and now have a few questions. If I use sd card for storage then I can plug a USB Hub into the USB port and then install my wireless adapter  and Vast 212r into hub? What is the best way to use BBB with Vast? Thanks, Ray.

[m00dawg]

I got a BBB and now have a few questions. If I use sd card for storage then I can plug a USB Hub into the USB port and then install my wireless adapter  and Vast 212r into hub? What is the best way to use BBB with Vast? Thanks, Ray.

I was planning on a USB hub regardless. The rPi2's USB ports I think are all tied to one hub if I'm not mistaken anyway, so the difference isn't really big at that point. Having said that, installing FPP on the on-board memory and using the SD card for storage is likely what I was going to do. Seems like you can get more predictable performance numbers from SD cards than USB memory sticks (I had to go to BestBuy today in fact to try another memory stick out on my rPi2 setup as I was getting laggy performance).

A USB hub also lets you use a powered hub which should give you some headroom with all the stuff you might need to drive with it.

[Materdaddy]

m00dog is right, you can use a USB hub with the BBB regardless and he's also right that the Pi's got an internal hub that connects it's ports (the onboard ethernet is even on the USB bus on a Pi).

On my BBB I have a 4-port hub.  Each one is used.
* BBB Power (one of the "high output" ports, not used for data, only power)
* USB Flash media drive
* USB Wifi Dongle (Edimax)
* VastFMT

[rayhjr]

Thanks Guys. I am really new at this and I really want to learn. Got a lot to learn in networking and computers but I am willing and as of now, able.

[m00dawg]

In regards to the RTC issue, I found this which is also available on Amazon (for $20). Expensive for an RTC since that's all I'd need this for (though I perhaps could add an FPP plugin for a temp sensor which might be fun). Thinking about grabbing it up to see if I can make all this work and then can relegate my Pi2 to a backup (albeit a pretty expensive backup solution overall )

I use a case for my Pi2 (although just hot glued standoffs on my shelf in the garage for my E1.31 Bridge so any suggestions on a case to use for the BBB?