Introduction

This How-to provides a guide for connecting the Wi-Fi adapter to PHYTEC's phyBOARD SBCs. Currently, this manual is suitable for phyBOARD‑Wega AM335x, phyBOARD‑Segin i.MX 6UL/ULL and phyBOARD‑Mira i.MX 6.

The phyBOARD‑Segin i.MX 6UL/ULL is used as an example to describe all steps necessary to connect the Wi-Fi adapter and to enable the expansion boards configuration in barebox, as well as to change the wireless network configuration in Linux.

Requirements

The following hardware and software is required to implement WiFi on a phyBOARD SBC with the WiFi expansion add on. Deviations from these requirements may suffice, or may have other workarounds.

 Hardware:

Be sure to select the appropriate power supply for your phyBOARD. phyBOARDs delivered with the PEB-POW-01 (Power Module) require a 12 V – 24 V DC (min. 500 mA) power supply connected to the 2-pole Phoenix Contact MINI COMBICON base strip on the PEB-POW-01.

phyBOARDs without the Power Module require a 5 V DC power supply  (min. 1 A) connected to the 2-pole Phoenix Contact MINI COMBICON base strip on the phyBOARD.

The supply current required depends on the phyBOARD you are using and additional expansion boards or displays connected to it, and thus, might be lower or higher than the specified value. For details please refer to the QuickStart Guide of your phyBOARD Kit.

 Software:

If you are using another phyBOARD, you must use a BSP that supports the PEB-WLBT-01 expansion board:

  • phyBOARD-Mira i.MX 6:       PD16.1.0 or newer
  • phyBOARD-Wega AM335x: PD17.1.1 or newer

Getting Started

Ensure pin 1 is aligned on both boards as pictured below to avoid damaging the hardware.

 


Start your favorite terminal software (e.g. Minicom, or Tera Term) on your host PC and configure it for 115200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8n1) and no handshake.

Enable Wi-Fi Expansion Boards in barebox

The BSP has already been configured to support the Wi-Fi adapter and must be enabled as an expansion board by editing the file config-expansions in the barebox environment.


bootloader$ edit /env/config-expansions


. /env/expansions/imx6ul-phytec-peb-wlbt-01


bootloader$ saveenv


bootloader$ reset


After enabling the Wi-Fi module on the expansion board and booting the kernel, you should see an output in the boot log on your console similar to the following:

cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
wlcore: loaded
wlcore: firmware booted (Rev 6.3.10.0.133)


Please refer to chapter "Enable Wi-Fi Expansion Boards" of the phyBOARD‑Segin Yocto BSP Manual (L-844) for more detailed information. The phyBOARD-Segin BSP Manual is available at www.phytec.de/produkt/single-board-computer/phyboard-segin-download/.

Please find the appropriate manuals at the following addresses, if you are using another phyBOARD:

How to change the Wireless Network Configuration

The adapter can be configured either as Wi-Fi hotspot or as Wi-Fi client. Please refer to chapter "How to change the Wireless Network Configuration" of the Phytec Yocto Reference Manual for setup info at:

http://www.phytec.de/documents/l-813e-5-yocto-reference-manual/#How_to_change_the_Wireless_Network_Configuration




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