Why did they offer to buy ONLY the Omega ?

Because it keeps the Omega package small when the 3.3V supply is available. If not, the mini-dock is a nice alternative.

Ok, but i have a question: Why did they offer to buy ONLY the Omega ?! How are we supposed to use it without the proper alimentation ?!

There are clients who want to substitute their omega1 with a omega2. So they will have docks to use them.
And just for your information ... as soon as more ppl work with the new hardware we will get the necessary info's ... hopefully soon

I wired the Omega to my Raspberry Pi GPIO pin and the Omega don't turn on. It's 3v3 also...

As long as you not have a schematics with the correct pin-out i would not play around without the necessary docks.
Without a working wifi you will not be able to access the Onion itself. The old docks (excluding the power dock) have a UART chip on it that you can connect with a USB over serial.

So in general - to power up a Omega without access to a dock, you need a proper 3.3V power source.

There are many 3.3V power converters available for breadboard experiments, for example this one which accepts anything between 4.5 to 12V as input.

Its just a marketing trick to say "$5 world smallest linux server",....

They also mentioned "to be as Tony Stark " ... so if you don't have the knowledge of him it is just a piece of electronics you bought
I also find it very lousy how they treat their clients. "Let them down here in the forum and elsewhere ... "

Min operation voltage : 2.6v @ 250ma
Max operation voltage : 3.6 @ 250ma

Seems it does not start if < 250 ma or similar. Funny thing is voltage around > 3.8V it works for cuple of seconds and restarts. Clever marketing I would say, they want there Power Dock to sold to us. Which it will not be smallest and cheapest Linux server.

Also you can power it up using 3V3 zenor with 20Ohms resistor for 5V/250ma USB input like Computer or a cheap mobile charger. (https://www.google.lk/search?q=3v+zener+diode+circuit&rlz=1C1CHBF_enLK714LK714&biw=1920&bih=919&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwisuazDwqnRAhXKsI8KHXzYBQ4Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=HZaFavh62ZO4FM%3A)

Or u can also try LD1117 as author has mentioned on page https://docs.onion.io/omega2-docs/hardware-prep-no-dock.html. Which is not very famous part anyway.

but you can buy it from following link for cheap.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10PCS-LD1117V33-TO-220-LD1117-3-3-TO220-free-shipping/32714864337.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.12.AAzBYj&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10065_10068_10000009_10084_10083_10080_10082_10081_10060_10062_10056_10055_503_10054_10059_10099_10078_501_10079_426_10103_10073_10102_10096_10052_10053_10050_10107_10051_10106-501_503,searchweb201603_3,afswitch_2,single_sort_0_default&btsid=65dec8f5-3d07-425f-838d-7985d4fabc85

It's not viable for the same stuff as you might use e.g. an RPi; it's a niche-product and it has its own, sweet spot, and there are definitely cases where it's more viable than the alternatives.

Clever marketing I would say, they want there Power Dock to sold to us. Which it will not be smallest and cheapest Linux server.

You are totally unfair on this one. Doesn't the 3.3V pin go directly to the SoC? If so, Onion has nothing to do with this particular specification. MediaTek, the maker of the MT7688 IC did.

Funny thing is voltage around > 3.8V it works for cuple of seconds and restarts.

About the Linkit (a close Omega2 cousin), MediaTek says: Requires a regulated 3.3V. If a higher voltage is used, the board will be damaged. So there you go! Don't go over 3.3V +- 10%. Read the datasheet!

maybe you are just not experienced enough to use the module. This is a system-on-module (SOM) that can be used to embed on your own PCB. A bit like the Intel Edison.

I think you should get a Raspberry Pi or Arduino, they are more beginner friendly

I understand what you mean, it would be useful for plug n' play and having the less components possible.
I think the creator wanted to make the module as generic as possible. Depending on what your are trying to interface to, you would probably have to add different power supply to a custom dock. For example, I have a project where I have 6x 24V solenoid valves that consumes 75mA each and a large NEMA23 stepper motor that I supply 5V to.

On the Arduino Pro Mini, the max voltage is 12V supply and the regulator can supply 150mA. What you do if you have a 24V power source? What you do if you need more than 150mA on the 5V (driving a stepper or relay)?

The less components you have, the more freedom you have to design what you want and choose your own parts. Personally the only thing that interest me is to have a CPU running Linux with RAM, Flash and WiFi. This is not something that can be done easily by an hobbyist on a 2 layer PCB. The others components such as power supplies/sensors/actuators are easy to integrate after that.

The less components you have, the more freedom you have to design what you want and choose your own parts. Personally the only thing that interest me is to have a CPU running Linux with RAM, Flash and WiFi. This is not something that can be done easily by an hobbyist on a 2 layer PCB. The others components such as power supplies/sensors/actuators are easy to integrate after that.

This is what I was trying to say earlier on. The lack of all the extra circuitry is actually one of the Omega2's strengths, it's the one feature that sets it apart from so many other Linux-running devices, as you can more easily precisely tailor it to your needs. Omega2's are far from being powerhouses or easy to pick up and get going, but I like them for what they are.

maybe the problem is just the way it is being marketed. In the kickstarter campaign, they state : A simple & affordable development board for everyone. Starting at just 5$

I would say : a cheap Linux brain for your next robotic/electronics project. To be useable as a dev board, you need to pay 24$. 15$ for the dock and 9$ for the module.

Nobody will pay 5$ for the module with half the memory of the 9$ module. 16MB of storage is just too small for me... you install Python but you don't have any space left to install some libraries.

For my projects these are just perfect. When you do projects needing many modules, lower cost (and power consumption!) per module does make a difference.

Regarding marketing - I'd say the kickstarter title was pretty precise, "Omega2: $5 Linux Computer with Wi-Fi, Made for IoT", while the "..for everyone" subtitle is marketing blurb. No product is for everyone.

Of course it's much easier to get started when you buy a dock along with the Omega and that will make the entry price $20, agreed.

However, I very much like that the dock is separate: Once I prototyped something using the dock, I can multiply it for $5 - because by then I've figured out how to power and wire the Omega directly (manually or on a PCB) for the case at hand.

The board by itself is meant for DIY projects or for those who want to hack their own cool device together. It is entirely possible to use the Omega2 on its own, but to get the most out of it it's best to use a Dock.

We've already crammed in all the goodies we could onto the board while keeping it bare enough for people to integrate with their own applications