In this video I go through the steps required to build the Linux kernel for the Beaglebone and show the steps that are required to deploy the kernel to an existing distribution. I download the Ubuntu Arm minimal distribution and deploy it and the kernel together. I then show how we can get Wi-Fi working using two small USB Wifi adapters that are based on the Realtek RTL8192CU chipset. Both of these adapters are less than €10 ($13 USD) in price and can be bought directly from suppliers such as Amazon: The “Edimax EW-7811” and the “Duronic IR786” are the two devices that are tested in this video. Finally, I demonstrate how I would compile and deploy a custom driver using the 8192CU driver that is available from the Realtek website.
This video is based on the work of many helpful guides that are available online, such as:
http://embeddedgeeks.wordpress.com/
http://wiki.debian.org/WiFi/HowToUse
http://www.cianmcgovern.com/getting-t…
http://wikidevi.com/wiki/Edimax_EW-78…
And the README that is available with the RobertCNelson linux-dev release.
Will this work with an Angstrum distribution?
For Angstrom it is better to build the kernel by following the steps in my posts: http://derekmolloy.ie/custom-kernel-and-angstrom-distribution-recipe/ and the linked post on bitbaking Angstrom for Beaglebone from Source. If you mean building the WiFi adapter driver then yes, the majority should be the same.
Hello Derek,
Great work it helped me a lot.
One question, When I connect to the board through ssh it ask me a passowrd , I tried number of default password but no luck.
Please advise.
Thank You.
Hello, i like this article. I need a tutor who can help me with one of my school assignments on this topic. would anyone be available please?
Hey Derek,
Great tutorial, however, when I try to copy the files over to my SD card which already has a copy of bootable angstrom 3.8.13 on it, I get an error that I have no space left on the drive. I can see the SD card mounted under /sdb1 and /sdb2 (one is the beaglebone root and the other is the angstrom partition).
appreciate your help
YSK
Thanks to Robert C Nelson solved my issue. The trick is to delete some unnecessary files form the /boot partition of the angstrom build such as drivers directory and then copy over to the SD card using the script. if you do a df -k, you’ll notice that your /sdb1 is mounted to a directory on the Linux-dev directory. go to this directory, delete some of the junk and then all works well.
simple trick, had me going for days.
another note from Robert, recommended that I pull 3.8. or 3.12 from the Linux-dev environment as 3.2 will not boot on BBB anyway. you live , you learn.
3.12.x didn’t seem to boot up for me. 3.8.3-bone47 is working. However, every time when I boot up with microSD card, it tries to reflash my MMC. Any idea how to fix this?
Thanks, Derek. Do you know if this procedure would also apply to the BBB (as opposed to just BB)? I would like to build Linux Kernel on BBB and deploy the Ubuntu distribution on it.
HI All
I want to remove the beaglebone banner that is on the startup when Angstrom boots. Would creating a new Kernel and swapping it accomplish this? or do i need to remove an image file from somewhere in the file system?
Thanks in advance.
Hello,
I followed your explanations and got WiFi to run with my Samsung BluRay Player WiFi stick, because it also used the RT8192 chip. It worked fine with the built-in driver. Later I switched to the Medimax WiFi stick and ran into several problems (including not being able to boot some times). Finally I rebuild the driver as you showed and replaced the built-in one with the newly built one. This made the stick work better, but not reliable. I saw a lot of USB failures in dmesg. After some further research I found out that ESD could be an issue so I used a USB extension cable and plugged the stick in there … approx 1m away from the BB. From that point on it worked fine and my bone now also runs as a WiFi Access point. Maybe the use of the own-built module and the use of a USB extension cable is something you want to mention in your tutorial (I am using a BB Rev A6).
Really great blog!
Regards,
Thomas
hello derek…
thank you for your tutorial on wonderful basics of bbb..
it helped me a lot though the process of using bbb…thanks a ton…!!!
but i am struck up with setting of wifi adapter….
i am using angstrom distribution….and am using a wifi dongle net gear wna1100…with atheros97_htc driver…
please help me out….
Regards
Sunanda
Hi All,
I am unable to download the source code of “RTL8192CU” from the RealTek website. Anyone has any idea why it is so or some other link from where i can download the source code.
Is there a tutorial on using UART communications
Not yet. It’s on my list.
Howya Derek,
thanks for taking the time to share so much good stuff. I keep swearing to myself that I will give back something in the way of a web site one of these days.
A quick question for you. I’m using a BBB as an “intelligent node” with an arduino attached for switching how water and measuring energy. The BBB sends and receives info using MQTT to / from an MQTT broker.
I’ve all but given up on getting reliable WiFi comms on the BBB. (I’m currently using a Rasp Pi). Since I’m using Ubuntu 13.1, I downloaded the back level Linux kernel headers, and built the Realtek driver as described in many places on the net. It builds, and works for a little while, but is very flaky. I’ve tried many adapters.
So… do you have a solid reliable WiFi setup on your BBB? If so, could you tell me what router you are using? I’m using Apple base stations, and the 2.4Ghz network is on channel 11, I wonder whether that might be the problem.
Cheers,
Con
Hi Con, I have found there to be excellent stability with the Realtek chipset (Edimax) adapter from the video and the latest BBB Debian distribution. It is running fine for days at a time. I am using a regular netgear wireless access point with WPA. Derek.
Thanks Derek,
I’ll get back to it at the weekend and see if I can get to the bottom of it. Enjoy the long weekend.
Cheers, Con
I have a Rev C Beaglebone Black with the Debian 3.8.13 distribution. I bought the Edimax wireless adapter and have it working without much trouble. The problem I’m seeing however, is when I log in with putty, the command line is very slow and sporadic when accepting keystrokes and displaying results. ie, I can type ls -ltr and it may take 3-4 sec just for the command to show in the putty window. At times it gets slower and slower the longer i have the putty session going.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance Derek.
I have the same problem, super slow over ssh terminal wifi connection. I have a raspberry pi on the same network and that is snappy. same wifi chipset on both (RTL8188CUS chipset). Let me know if you found a solution to this…
Hello,
I have an Ralink5370 wifi adapter.
I also have beaglebone black.(Angstrom)
I downloaded driver for wifi adapter. I unzip it and move to my flash drive.
I plug the flash drive to BBB.
What must I do now?
Thanks for helping.
I’m having Beaglebone Black, Angstrom 3.8.13. I could successfully build and boot up with 3.8.13-bone47 by following your steps. However, after that I can’t boot up without SD card and it seemed to try to reflash MMC everytime booting up with SD. So I left SD card in there for about half an hour to let it finishing reflashing MMC. But when I booted up with MMC, it’s still 3.8.13. It didn’t reflash it with 3.8.13-bone47.
1. How do I boot up with SD card without reflashing MMC?
2. How to reflash it with 3.8.13-bone47 on SD?
PLease advise. Thank you!
-Feng
The 108Mbps 802. 11g Excessive Power Wifi USB 2.0 Adapter allows you to connect wirelessly with higher variety and also overall performance. This piece of equipment functions WEP and also WPA encryption and also IEEE 802. 1x consumer assist for attached wireless files transmission.
For more info: http://www.dueltek.com.au/collections/wireless-adapters
Hi Derek,
I am running Linux beaglebone 3.8.13-bone47 #1 SMP Fri Apr 11 01:36:09 UTC 2014 armv7l GNU/Linux
I was trying to follow your tutorial on how to set a static ip address but I have found that I don’t have connman. Could you advise me on how to get connman on my BBB? I am new to Linux and BBB. Thanks!
Hi Derek,
I just completed my beagle bone project based on android accessory but i am facing one last problem, Beagle-bone USB Host port becomes unresponsive if I connect Android Device having USB-OTG. But after resetting Beagle-bone it works fine on both devices i.e. Android Device with USB-OTG and without USB-OTG. But again if I disconnect and try to reconnect, it won’t work. Also the power supply on USB-Host of Beagle-bone seems unavailable.
At the back-end, my script is executing continuously, there is no problem on script, as I checked my script on Linux too, and it also works fine on all Android Device(*with & without USB-OTG facility). Also there is no problem on multiple connects and disconnects with different devices.
please,
let me know where i’m wrong.
hello how are you recently bought a beagleabone card and I’m not very familiar with, was watching your videos and followed it to the letter all but does not allow me to clone the git can do it is of utmost urgency
We’re working on connecting linux & android through WiFi-direct Beaglebone black and android & we need your help.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/34725440/connecting-linux-and-android-through-wifi-direct-beaglebone-black-and-android-a
Dear Derek,
Thank you so much for your post and your book. Without these, it would have been difficult to imagine learning BeagleBone Black. One little but critical request, can you please extend your assistance in figuring out the WiFi-Direct interface? The RTL driver is supposedly causing issues. Can you please suggest alternatives if possible?
The detailed question is here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/34725440/connecting-linux-and-android-through-wifi-direct-beaglebone-black-and-android-a and https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-M2-M2-Aqua/WiFi-Direct-issues-of-Sony-Xperia-Dual-M2/m-p/1084309#U1084309 .
Thanks for your time and consideration.
Prasad N R