Hardware documentation

For adding custom extensions see Hardware hacking

General

• Official Hackers Manual (v1.01) from OpenPandora Ltd, includes warnings about damage and warranties (or loss of).

Board

Pandora PCB rev 5

The Pandora is based upon OMAP3530 and DM3730 System-on-a-chip, that includes a whole family of processors in one single chip:

• ARM Cortex-A8 CPU
• PowerVR SGX graphics core
• C64x+ DSP core

OMAP3530 (600MHz units)

• OMAP35x: Main page on TI site[1]

• OMAP3530 specific page[2] This lists the features of the chip and has all the applicable Technical Documents

• specifications

• Texas Instruments Wiki

DM3730 (1GHz units)

• DM3730 specific page[3]

• Texas Instruments Wiki

Other OMAP3530 Projects

• Always Innovating Touch Book[4]
• Beagle Board Resources[5] As it uses the same SoC, many BB resources are also relevant for the Pandora.
• Beagle Board Google Group[6]

Cortex-A8

This processor is part of the ARM risc cpu family[7] that is licensed by a lot of hardware vendors. It has multiple command extensions as NEON (similar to MMX for x86 architecture)

• r1p1[8] Note: OMAP3530 uses rev1p2
• UPDATE: r2p2 Documentation [9] Note: OMAP3530 uses rev1p2
• NEON instruction set [10]
• NEON memory hazards[11]

PowerVR

• Official site
  • OpenGL ES 2.0, several million polygons per second.
  • OpenGL ES 1.1 Tutorial
  • SGX driver info

C64x+

Digital signal processors allow to do complex calculations within only a few cycles

• CPU and Instruction Set Reference Guide[12]
• TMS320C6000 Assembly Language Tools v 6.0 Beta User's Guide[13]
• TMS320C6000 Optimizing Compiler v 6.0 Beta User's Guide[14]
• TMS320C6000 Programmer's Guide[15]

TPS65950 power IC

• Main page on TI site[16]

Display

• Screen datasheet (TD043MTEA1)[17] The Pandora uses the display from the Archos 605 Media Player. However, on the Archos LCD the pinout is reversed as well as the cable having a 45 degree angle which would make it fail to line up with the Pandora LCD cable in the lid. --[18]

Status LEDs

Meaning of the LEDs from left to right according to gfrancisdev.

Left LED group

• SD card 1
• SD card 2
• Wifi
• Bluetooth

Right LED group

• Empty (with solder pad for hardware hackers who want to use an additional LED)
• Empty (-"-)
• Charging
• Power

Input

Keyboard

Keyboard Matrix Diagram (Courtesy of Neelix)

• The keyboard is listed on p.20 of the hackers manual, and a more readable version is shown here.

Touchscreen

• TSC2046: ADS7846 compatible touch screen controller[19]

See also

• Nubs
• Hardware Hacking EXT Connectors and other info

See also Hardware documentation

What accessories are available?

(FIXME: Just link to resellers, we can't maintain such information here)

Currently a Pandora branded case, a TV out cable and replacement batteries are available, though as of mid-2011 production of the TV out cable has not started yet. The lead developers are currently entertaining other possibilities.[20]

A page in this wiki has been started to list potential generic accessories and peripherals that will work with the Pandora.

Does the Pandora have enough memory?

Early 256MB Pandoras

The early Pandora has 256MB of RAM. The Pandora was designed with this in mind.

Other devices have less memory and are not limited at all!

• The PSP only has 32MB
• The Nokia N8x0 tablet has 128MB
• The iPhone has 128MB

There will probably be a way to upgrade an early Pandora to get 512MB RAM. Contact your Reseller for details.

Refurbished 256MB Pandoras upgraded in this way will probably become available for purchase at a lower cost.

Recent 512MB Pandoras (early 2012)

The Pandoras produced in Germany by Global Components have 512MB of RAM because the 256MB memory modules were no longer produced.

Early 2012 systems shipped with an OS that can only address 256MB of the 512MB RAM. You can check this by typing `free` in a terminal. For these systems, an OS update is needed to see and use the full 512MB. As of May 2012, that OS is available as an optional beta update.

Once the new OS is out of beta, new Pandoras will ship with an OS that can use the full 512MB RAM by default.

Why does the system look like it does?

The Pandora project has been a group effort from the beginning. The hardware development team designed Pandora based on specifications requested by potential users. The main physical features - qwerty keyboard, dual analog pads, clamshell design, pocketable size - were considered important by most of the community. The physical appearance of Pandora is a result of getting all the necessary hardware into a pocket sized device while keeping the cost reasonable. Many other layouts were considered, but the final design is the best possible solution.

Display

What type of screen is it, LED or CCFL?

The Pandora uses the same 800x480 LED screen as the Archos 605.

What kind of touch screen does it have? Is it multi-touch?

The Pandora touchscreen is resistive. Resistive touchscreens cannot do multitouch like the iPhone or iPod Touch can, but they can do simplistic pressure sensing. Resistive touchscreens use a stylus for input, which is included. You can also use your finger for less accurate tasks, such as pressing buttons. It is very easy and natural to switch between gaming controls to touchscreen.

Can I draw using the touch screen?

Notaz, who was working with the touch screen driver, says it can do some pressure sensing and returns around 16 different values for pressure[21]. This is not sensitive the way Wacom tablets are, but should allow simple pressure sensitivity if applications are designed for it. For software development, it is accessible through standard Linux event interface (raw values), or tslib (calibrated).

Why doesn't the LCD touchscreen flip / rotate for a "tablet" mode?

This idea is patented.

Pandora could not have a hinge which either flipped all the way back or rotated without substantially increasing the cost through patent licensing fees.

Where does the stylus fit?

The stylus fits in a slot in the bottom, near the front and on the right hand side. It slides in parallel to the battery.

Keyboard

Why don't you use a slide out keyboard like the Nokia N810?

This is also patented. A lot of the good ideas are.

Why does it have a keyboard at all?

Many people think Pandora is a gaming / emulation device only, but this is not true. It was designed from early on to be a multifunction palmtop computer / UMPC as well as a gaming handheld. Many desirable applications require a keyboard and the general consensus was that an on-screen keyboard wasn't good enough. For computing mode, the game controls are used for mouse, cursor and control keys.

Furthermore, some classic systems such as the Atari and C64, which had keyboards, are far more comfortably emulated on a device with a keyboard.

How many keypresses can it detect at once?

It can detect two "regular" keys being pressed at once[22]. However, this restriction does not apply to the game controls, or the central "Menu" keys. Most PS/2 keyboards, for reference, provide 2-4 at a time, so there's not much difference.

Power Supply

Can it charge from USB?

Yes, through the mini-AB OTG port. However, whilst the Pandora is in use the charge rate may be so low as to make it impractical for normal purposes. [23]

What kind of battery does it have?

The Pandora has a 4000mAh Lithium Polymer battery.

Batteries are user-replaceable and spares are sold by Pandora retailers.

How long does the battery last?

• The actual battery runtime varies based on the the software being run, peripherals in use, and consequently the power mode in which the Pandora operates.
  • For instance, using Wifi constantly, or having it constantly polling will reduce the life by a couple hours, compared to disabling the wifi altogether.
• Starting with the OS SuperZaxxon, Beta 2, using kernel 3.2.1, the Pandora has:
  • a total standby of averagely 180 hours,
  • an active runtime of 10 to 30 hours (screen on & WiFi on, PND app(s) which utilize more/less CPU)
  • up to 75 hours (idle system, screen & WiFi off).
  • Source: Study by user porg

What about the power cable?

The Pandora ships with a switching power supply with a standard cord socket which should function with 110V and 240V AC power. These are either localised, or shipped with an appropriate adaptor.

A PSP power supply will work fine with the Pandora [24].

Is it be able to run from the AC Adaptor alone?

Originally, it was thought not, due to the design of the OMAP chipset appearing to require a battery to be connected. [25] However, it has now been confirmed that the Pandora DOES now work without a battery installed, although some features (like backlight) may have to be turned off via software to enable this[26]. The hardware tweak or tweaks have been performed as part of Pandora development, and are not something that the end user will have to worry about/perform[27][28].

Information from Mweston [29] When no battery is found on AC adapter insertion, the unit goes into constant voltage mode which provides a constant 4.0V on the battery net. It doesn't like it if you put a battery in at this point because the TI chip doesn't appear to be designed to jump back to normal mode without a power cycle. It could do weird things like dump ridiculous amounts of current into the battery without software control. I liked the idea of letting customers power without a battery so we left this feature in but be aware of this restriction:

IF YOU POWERED THE SYSTEM WITHOUT A BATTERY, SHUT IT OFF BEFORE STICKING THE BATTERY BACK IN. (not an angry sentence, just making it clear.) :)

When the battery is inserted first, the system will power up using the normal mode. When the AC adapter is plugged in after this, it will power the system and charge the battery up to the limits set in software. Currently, Notaz and I have chosen 1A on the AC adapter and 600mA from the USB input. It can be changed by sending commands to the chip to alter these set numbers but that is a software lesson better learned from someone else. With the LCD off (lid closed perhaps) idling on the desktop, something like 750mA will go to the battery for a 6 hour charge time or so. With the system doing stuff and demanding more power, less current will go to the battery and it will charge slower. 1A was also chosen to consider thermal dissipation because the regulator of the TI chip is linear and wastes energy dropping the voltage from the 5V down to just above the cell voltage. You may notice the system feels warmer when the battery is more discharged than when it is full which is normal.

I haven't had much luck hot swapping batteries while the system is live but I think it worked for ED once. For me, as soon as I pull the battery, the system resets. The power management chip seems to rely on the status of the thermistor in the battery and it if disappears, it can trigger events. Maybe there are software work arounds but I don't know.

Does the Pandora have 'sleep' or 'hibernate' modes?

Yes. Pandora supports both suspend-to-RAM (sleep) and suspend-to-disk (hibernate) modes. Entering these power saving modes will be controlled by software and can be configured to happen when you press the power switch, close the lid, or only on demand.

Connectivity

Why doesn't it have WiMax / GPS / accelerometers / etc?

We had to draw the line somewhere. Adding any more features would have increased the price. Luckily Pandora has two USB host ports, bluetooth, two SD slots with SDIO capability, and a serial UART for adding whatever additional widgets you want (such as a USB GPS system). Solder pads were designed into the PCB for "hacking" in extra internal hardware.

Does the Pandora have RTC, IrDA or RS-232?

It has RTC and RS-232 (CMOS level), but no IrDA.[30]

Can I use USB and SDIO accessories with my Pandora?

There would not be much point to having a USB host port if you couldn't. Any USB or SDIO device should work with Pandora, as long as drivers are available. Standard mass storage devices (USB memory sticks, keyboards, gamepads, external hard drives, etc.) should work fine out of the box. Many devices like GPS receivers, EVDO modems and cameras should be compatible, but not necessarily all makes and models. For a list of known-working devices see the USB compatibility list. More detailed info about using USB on the Pandora can be found on this page.

Can I use SDXC cards with my Pandora?

Yes. Most SDHC and SDXC cards will work in the Pandora (check the SDHC compatibility list to make sure). The cards must be formatted with a compatible filesystem, such as FAT32 or EXT2/3. If a card comes preformatted with exFAT, you will need to reformat.

There is no electronic or physical difference between SDHC and SDXC. Cards with larger capacities are marketed as SDXC.

Will my old USB 1.1 device work on the Pandora?

You can't connect it to the main USB port, but you can to the OTG (On The Go) port with the appropriate adapter, active USB extension cable, or hub, since the OTG port accepts USB 1.1 devices.

Only devices displaying the USB HIGH SPEED logo will work with the "regular" USB port on the Pandora. Other USB devices can be used if a HIGH SPEED USB hub is connected between them and the Pandora. (This translates the USB low speed and full speed transactions into High Speed transactions.)

A USB standard-A male to USB standard-A female cable will not work as a hub.

There are some devices that do not work at High Speed, and thus require a High Speed hub, but at the same time require more than the usual 100 mA. To provide the extra power, the hub used must be a powered hub (one that has a power cord you can plug in to the wall).

You can find more detailed info about using the Pandora's two USB ports on this page.

(Thanks to DAP for the detailed information.)

Does it have a microphone? Where is it placed?

Yes it does. The microphone is up in the right hinge hump in between the 9 and 0 buttons. It can be used with the lid open or closed since it has the hole facing up and slightly in toward the user (somewhat like the power LED).[31]