Maybe you heard about Orange Pi. The cheaper clone of Raspberry Pi, but do you know Orange Pi Zero? This version is no such “cut down” like Raspberry Pi Zero.
Another articles about Orange Pi Zero:
Orange Pi Zero – about it and first boot
Orange Pi Zero – power consumption, thermal imaging camera, benchmark
Orange Pi Zero – speedtest of WiFi, ethernet and USB (armbian)
Orange Pi Zero – other informations and expansion board
Orange Pi Zero – LED blinking, temperature measurement (I2C) and sending data through SPI, in Pythonu
What Orange Pi Zero contains?
CPU: H2 Quad-core Cortex-A7 H.265/HEVC 1080P
GPU: ?Mali400MP2 GPU @600MHz, ?Supports OpenGL ES 2.0
Memory (SDRAM): 256MB/512MB DDR3 SDRAM(Share with GPU)(256MB version is Standard version)
Onboard Storage Or Flash(2MB Default not posted)
Onboard Network: 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 POE is default off.
Onboard WIFI: XR819, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
Audio Input: MIC
Video Outputs: Supports external board via 13pins
Power Source: USB OTG can supply power
USB 2.0 Ports: Only One USB 2.0 HOST, one USB 2.0 OTG
Low-level peripherals:
26 Pins Header, compatible with Raspberry Pi B+
13 Pins Header, with 2x USB, IR pin, AUDIO(MIC, AV)
As you can see, the hardware isn’t bad.
Also I made unboxing video, find there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QybySMcWsmA
Xunlong Software CO. (manufacturer of Orange Pi) writes, they will support Lubuntu, Debian, Android and Raspbian.
I wanted to try armbian because I heard a lot of positives.
At the begining, I had a problem with booting of Orange Pi Zero. The reason was microSD card Class 4. Only one from four microSD cards works. So, my tip, use Class 10 and very good power supply. Orange Pi Zero takes up to 2A, but if it’s true you find out in the next articles.
So, I put microSD card to slot, I connected ethernet cable and found IP address in my router.
And then I wrote this command:
ssh 192.168.1.105 -l root
Password: 1234.
After the first log in, you have to change of root password and then create login and password as well.
EDIT: If you want to use composite output from Orange Pi Zero to TV, you have to enable it
sudo modprobe tv
Thanks plesi
It’s the end of this first article about Orange Pi Zero. In the next articles you can expect speed of USB, WiFi, Ethernet connections, power consumption or temperature of board and proccessor.
