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help omega2 not working

  • M

    Hi there I was never able to get that far... the wifi access point for the omega 2 never presents itself and the led on the board stays on solid until it reaches that last line where it turns off. I have absolutely no idea what is going on.

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  • M

    Hi

    Exactly, same problem here. Connected Omega2+ via the serial-to-usb (I have no dock).
    The led went on, then after these 18 seconds it went off and also the booting messages stopped....
    I've got my Omega 2 days ago (if it helps to determine faulty batch or so), but only had time today to try it out...

    Marek

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  • F

    Michael & Marek, using a good 3.3V supply? Looks to me like the Omega2 is starting to boot, and fall on its nose while activating further device components, but not enough current to feed them. Just an idea to explore... God! I want my Omega2 so bad...

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  • M

    Yeah I am using a good power supply the omega is getting 3.3 volts and is drawing 170ma but once it reaches that final line the led goes out and then only draws 60ma. So maybe the software is corrupt and because it is giving errors it turns itself off? It seems rather odd and it is unfortunate I can not just reinstall the software to test it out.

    0 A 1 Reply
  • A

    @Michael-Irvine Yesterday I had the same problem. It was due to the power supply. I was running my Omega 2+ powered by an Adafruit FTDI friend USB serial converter set for 3.3V power supply. At first it would hang and reboot at an earlier point than yours.
    When I inserted the USB serial converter in another USB port it went further and stopped at the same point as yours.
    Today I am using another USB serial converter suplying 5V power to 3.3V stepdown power supply powering the Omega 2+. Now wifi is working perfectly.

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  • M

    Oh man this is proving to be rather annoying. I am 99% sure that the power supply is fine as I am using an external power supply to the serial converter and when I try to use the command line in failsafe mode and try to set up the wifi that way I get failed to connect to ubus and so I can't even connect to wifi let alone update the firmware. Does anyone else have any idea what is going on? Thanks for the help so far I really appreciate it.

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  • W

    What about using a normal USB smartphone charger as power supply? Can work or would be too much "strong" for the device? Have you already tried (if works)?
    I have some here with 4.8v - 700mA, 5v - 850mA and 5.1v - 1500mA, and I would like to know too before my Omega 2+ arrives. Maybe can deliver proper power to Omega 2 and 2+, mainly during hard processes.
    Sorry I'm novice here.

    0 F 1 Reply
  • M

    Ok this just gets weirder and weirder it somehow must have been the power supply. When I had it connected via serial and connecting both the GND lines the omega 2 + would hang but powering it directly without serial works. So when using the omega without a dock make sure there is enough voltage and current and that the connections are not loose and start with connecting it only to power. Thanks everyone for your help.

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  • F

    @Walter-Filho said in help omega2 not working:

    What about using a normal USB smartphone charger as power supply?

    The Omega2 requires 3.3V. Judging from all the problems that has been reported in this thread, don't even think to try anything else than a good reliable 3.3V.

    Even better, use an Omega2 dock! This will save you a few pulled hair.

    1 W A 2 Replies
  • W

    @fossette Thanks, this got me better, I ordered with Expansion Dock, I hope I won' t have so much headaches.
    And I tried to help our friend, maybe some more mA's or a more stable one can handle the device on with all features. I don't know, I'm novice 😕

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  • M

    Need to try again then.
    I've used so far:

    1. USB-Serial powered from usb port of macbook pro
    2. 3A voltage regulator (normally used to power a breadboard with arduino) and powered by power supply
    3. same voltage regulator but powered by regular, 9V battery

    It always stopped at 18-th second, unless I've selected "f" to get to the failsafe mode. Then it was stable (but no network etc).

    p.s. I did not order the docking station as it breaks the whole idea of Omega2 for me - being small. Especially that I can use it with usb to serial (which I have) if I need to connect that way.

    Marek

    0 K 1 Reply
  • M

    Answering to myself 😉
    I did test another power sources (including 12V/10A power supply as a source to the 3,3V voltage regulator).
    Everything fails. It doesn't look like power, since raspberry pi 3 works like a charm on all of these power sources.

    I'm a one step from throwing my omega2 through open window....

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  • K

    @Marek-Szulen said in help omega2 not working:

    p.s. I did not order the docking station as it breaks the whole idea of Omega2 for me - being small.

    I would really recommend the Omega Mini Dock - it is still pretty small, and to quote from https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/omega2-5-linux-computer-with-wi-fi-made-for-iot#/ :

    Mini Dock

    0_1481924705481_mini_dock_d8nkcj.png
    The Mini Dock provides power to the Omega2, and it allows you to plug in USB devices. It is designed primarily for volume-constrained applications, as well as applications that do not require any Expansions (networking, for example). The Mini Dock has a USB-to-serial chip just like the Expansion Dock.

    This takes care of powering from micro USB and provides serial communication over USB if needed (I generally use a standard micro USB phone charger and just communicate over WIFI)

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  • luz

    Try adding a decoupling capacitor of 100nF as near as possible to the Omega pins between 3.3V and Ground, and another capacitor of ~10..47µF nearby in parallel.

    Also power wrining must be solid, some breadboard wires can have too much contact resistance, ruining the show even if the power source is ok.

    When you use a linear 3.3V regulator, make sure you use it as recommended in the datasheet (regarding capacitors). Some of these regulators tend to oscillate if not properly damped, which can produce all sorts of weird behaviour in connected chips.

    Don't blame Onion for this - properly providing power to digital circuits is not as simple as it seems, that's why they make the docks 😉

    1 M 1 Reply
  • M

    @luz I did use capacitors. Nothing helped. I've just ordered 3.3v power supply (I don't have zener diodes or linear regulators to build one now).
    The strange thing is, that the same power sources are working fine with arduino, esp8266 and even raspberry pi. Can't believe, that Omega2 needs more power....

    And I don't blame Onion. Shit happens. Many times I've had issues with firmware that was corrupt.

    0 luz 1 Reply
  • F

    Just like racing cars, fast engines rely on quality fuel. Slower microcontrollers are more flexible regarding their power supply input, but there are still limits in order for their internal timings to be met. When push comes to shove, manufacturers decide to provide their own power regulators, but they need to compromise on size, and boards become much bigger than the Omega(2)(+).

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  • luz

    @Marek-Szulen Arduino is a 8Mhz 8bit machine, the ESP8266 runs at 80Mhz clock, but the Omega has a 580MHz SoC, with complex i/o subsystems like a 5-port Ethernet switch built-in. The RPi is in the same liga (or above), but it has on-board power regulators. Even the Arduinos usually have their own regulators.

    So it's a fact that a naked Omega is a bit more difficult to power than many of the usual maker boards.
    To compare with other maker boards, you need to think "Omega2+dock".

    But I think offloading power supply (and USB-to-serial) to the docks was a clever decision - it allows the Omega to be really tiny, and really affordable, while providing a lot of High-Tech that can't be home brewed.
    On the other hand, making docks is well within reach of community designs. For example, have a look at what @Matthias-Nowak is doing.

    I've done an application-specific mainboard (with a WS2812 LED output and RS485 interface), and being lazy I found the ready-made Recom R78C3.3 regulator working well for both Omega1 and Omega2. See attached schematics.
    alt text

    0 WereCatf M 2 Replies
  • WereCatf

    @luz Doesn't seem all that sensitive or difficult to power to me. I just slapped one of the el cheapo, cheap-as-chips, eBay switching-mode step-down modules to it and POOF -- off she goes. Seems totally stable and all.

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  • J

    I am having the same problem, but I'm using an arduino as power source. I've already tested with a raspberry too but I'm having the same problem. I believe that the lack of current is causing this. I will try to build a step-down and post here the result.

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  • J

    I'm having the same stack trace with a 2 Amp 5v adapter connected to the expansion dock (also tried a usb wire directly to my pc), but I don't seem to have any problems with accessing the web ui or turning itself off. I have yet to connect any usb peripherals.

    [   11.254083] ------------[ cut here ]------------                                                                             
[   11.258782] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 476 at drivers/spi/spidev.c:719
init_module+0x533c/0x5dec [spidev]()                        
...                                               
[   11.649524] ---[ end trace 2720e5d9d588bb52 ]---
    0 WereCatf 1 Reply
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