Hardware Assembly
The initial prototype of the hardware includes a 4.2inch e-ink display module from WaveShare. This is to simplify the hostname and IP address discovery of the board for development. This display module is not planned to be included in other units.
The full assembly can be seen in the following image:
- Connect the external USB SSD with the provided USB A to micro USB B cable. Use one of the blue ports in the Raspberry pi to ensure best performance (since both the drive and the blue ports support USB 3.0, at up to 5 gbps).
- Connect the display as indicated below to the 40-pin header of the Raspberry Pi.
- Plug the micro SD card in the micro SD slot on the bottom of the Raspberry Pi.
- Connect an Ethernet cable from the Router to the Raspberry Pi.
- Finally, connect the Raspberry Pi power supply to the USB C port of the Raspberry Pi.
The display connection requires a bit more care, since the right cables need to be connected to the right pins of the Raspberry Pi 40-pin header.
The display includes a number of pins labeled:
-
VCC, which provides 3.3 V power to the display. -
GND, for the ground reference of the display. -
DIN, corresponding to the SPI line known as MOSI or SDI. -
CLK, corresponding to the clock line of an SPI interface. -
CS, corresponding to the chip select line of the SPI peripheral. -
DC, a custom digital line used to select between data or command mode. -
RST, a reset pin for the display. -
BUSY, a busy indicator pin.
The Raspberry Pi 40-pin header offers the following pinout:
The numbers inside each pin indicate the Pin number. They should not be confused with the GPIO number (of the BMC SoC) indicated in each pin description. This guide uses Pin numbers to describe the connection between display and the Raspberry Pi.
| e-Paper | 40-pin header pin number |
|---|---|
| VCC | 1 |
| GND | 6 |
| DIN | 19 |
| CLK | 23 |
| CS | 24 |
| DC | 22 |
| RST | 11 |
| BUSY | 18 |
The following pictures can be used to double-check the connections:
