X105 EXPANSION BOARD

KEY FEATURES

Input Voltage
– 6V to 23Vdc converted to 5V, 3A via step-down DC/DC converter to power the Raspberry Pi
VGA output

 – HDMI to VGA converter supporting up to UXGA (1600×1200) and 1080p with 10-bit DAC  

RS232 serial
communication
 – Control the Raspberry Pi over RS232 or connect to external serial accessoriesUSB Storage – Self-powered USB hub with 3 portsReal-time clock (RTC) –  Based on DS3231SN with included CR2032 batteryMicroSD Card
Reader/Writer
 – Supports microSD / microSDHC / microSDXC
– Convenient to write OS imageMisc – Power output socket
– Camera flex slot so camera can still be used with the expansion  board attached
– DIP switch to remove connection from RPi’s pin header
– Directly connected on top of the Raspberry Pi using the board GPIO header pins
– No wiring nor soldering is required
– Duplicated the 40-pin header of the R-Pi in order to support existing expansion boards
– Suitable for Raspberry Pi Model B+ and Raspberry Pi 2 Model B NEW!
Dimensions – 85 x 56mm (Same size as Raspberry Pi)

PACKING LIST

  1 x X105 expansion board

      1 x HDMI adapter

      1 x USB adapter

      4 x nylon spacers (M3 x 20mm)

      8 x nylon screws  (M3 x 6mm)X105 EXPANSION BOARD

QUICK START GUIDE

A. Fitting the expansion board
  B. Download and install the pre-built image – Optional
C.
Power supply
D.
HDMI to VGA converter
E. RS232 serial communication
F.
Setting RTC time
G.
MicroSD Card Reader/Writer

   A. FITTING THE EXPANSION BOARD
DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE PRE-BUILT IMAGE – OPTIONAL

SupTronics has produced a publicly available SD image of Raspbian (Version: January 2015) that is bootable on Raspberry Pi hardware and Xseries expansion boards. If you wish to install the X105 drivers on  a different kernel, skip to sections D and following for instructions.

Image Notes

      Based on RASPBIAN (Release date: 2015-01-30)

      Rpi-update is included

      Updated to the latest Raspberry Pi firmware and kernel as of Feb 15th  2015

      RTC time is configured

Download the Image

The 1.1GB image can be downloaded from Onedrive.com , pan.baidu.com

Image Install

To install the image file, you will need to unzip it and write it to a suitable 4G or larger SD card using the UNIX tool dd. Windows users should use Win32DiskImager. Do not try to drag and drop or otherwise copy over the image without using dd or Win32DiskImager – it won’t work. If you’re still not clear on what to do, the community on the Raspberry Pi Wiki has written a guide for beginners on how to set up your SD card.

Set RTC Time

<a> Get the right time set on the Pi ,

~ $ sudo date mmddhhmmyyyy.ss (mm= Month, dd= Date, hh= Hour, mm= Minute, yyyy= Year, ss= Second ) example: 2013 Jan 4 , 11:39:00 , sudo date 010411392013.00<b> Write the system time to the RTC , pi@raspberrypi ~ $   sudo hwclock -w<c> Verify the time , pi@raspberrypi ~ $   sudo hwclock -r IF THE PRE-BUILT IMAGED IS USED, RTC IS REQUIRED TO CONFIGURE AGAIN.
   C. POWER SUPPLY  
Xseries expansion board supplies the RPi with a regulated +5V through the GPIO header using a 2A poly-resettable (PTC) fuse. With the wide voltage input range (6~21Vdc), the RPi can be powered from a wide variety of external sources such as batteries, 12V power adapters, solar battery sources, etc.
Recommended Power Adapter : 110~240VAC input, 12VDC 2A output
Dimension of input plug (Unit: mm)

Warning: do not connect a +5V supply through the Raspberry Pi micro-USB connector when used with this expansion board.

 D. HDMI TO VGA CONVERTER   
See description on http://elinux.org/RPi_Screens#RGB_analog.2FVGA
Any HDMI to VGA adapter without external PSU might work for a time, but then burn out D1, therefore Do not use HDMI converters powered by the HDMI port! The solution is to either only use externally powered converters.

Xseries expansion board do not use power from RPi HDMI port and has many features that enable it to perform in a superior manner. Among those features you will find:

  • Easy to Use: No need of cable and setting
  • Conversion: It can convert complete HDMI into VGA video
  • Supports 165MHz/1.65Gbps per channel (6.75Gbps all channel) bandwidth for HDMI Input
  • Supports Analogue Video output up to UXGA and 1080p with 10-bit DAC

HDMI to VGA resolution setting


<1> Open the Config.txt

pi@raspberrypi ~ $   sudo nano /boot/config.txt


<2> Uncomment following three lines in config.txt by removing ‘#' located at start of the line. (check Images below)

hdmi_force_hotplug=1     pretends that HDMI device is always attached
hdmi_group                            specifies whether monitor is DMT type (Computers) or CEA type (TV)
hdmi_mode                            specifies the resolution of monitor.<3> For hdmi_group value selection : If you’re using output as Computer monitor then replace value ’1′ with ’2′, so the new config will be like :

hdmi_group=2
(Select value 1 for TV, Select value 2 for monitor)
<4> For hdmi_mode value selection :  Now open eLinux RPi config scroll down, there in hdmi_mode two tables are given, select the correct resolution as per your monitor. (Table1 if you’re using TV & Table2 if you’re using Monitor)
Since my monitor’s resolution is 1440×900 px, hdmi_mode=47 fits me the best. So, the modified config.txt will be like.

Overall my uncommented lines will look something like :
<5> Save your changes by pressing Ctrl-x then Y

<6> Reboot your Raspberry PiX105 EXPANSION BOARD Schematic

Introduction

The RS232 port is connected to the UART port on the Raspberry Pi using a MAX3232 interface. The MAX3232 IC converts the 3.3V UART port to RS232 voltages allowing communication with RS232 compatible devices over a DB9 serial cable or with the use of a null-modem cable the board allows terminal access with linux on the Raspberry Pi using a terminal application. The RS232 port can be accessed through the DB9 port.

Connecting to the RS232 Port

The RS232 port on the expansion board can be accessed through the male DB9 socket on the PCB. The DB9 socket is configured as a master socket like you will find on desktop computers allowing you to connect external serial devices with a standard RS232 cable. The pinout connections for the RS232 port are shown below:

For more detail: X105 EXPANSION BOARD


About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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