New Home-Cloud platform : ODROID-HC4

[elatllat]

I'd like to absorb a few things about design.

LEDs are designed on the side. It would have been more informative if he had been lined up behind the oled-clock. especially the sata led is too hidden. I think it was a reverse design to the reason why LEDs are.

It may be easier to add a light pipe (and you can mod it yourself) vs changing the board... could also just use software to put the indicators on the oled

[istanbulls]

I'd like to absorb a few things about design.

LEDs are designed on the side. It would have been more informative if he had been lined up behind the oled-clock. especially the sata led is too hidden. I think it was a reverse design to the reason why LEDs are.

It may be easier to add a light pipe (and you can mod it yourself) vs changing the board... could also just use software to put the indicators on the oled

it was not a criticism, yes it contains some criticism, but my main purpose was to offer suggestions.
I wanted to make suggestions for similar designs in the future.

"could also just use software to put the indicators on the oled" I can get examples or information for this. My software knowledge is based on trial and error, so I can develop a similar example.

[elatllat]

...not a criticism...

Likewise might also be cheaper for them to mod the case with a light pipe (I suggested a case materiel change to) as board placement is sometimes at odds with board cost/size minimizing.

[crashoverride]

Speaking of LEDs ...

I would like to suggest that a future version of the HC4 board have a GPIO header. I want to add two LED activity lights for the drives. Ideally, they would be RGB LEDs to indicated multiple statuses (on/mounted, off/unmounted, activity, failure, etc).

While on the topic of GPIO, also exposing the I2S would allow me to add a cheap mini DAC+amplifier board for audible alarms.

Bonus points for ability to use a 3.5" SPI LCD+touchscreen module.

[elatllat]

...GPIO...

is what I use to cool drives with a big fan on the N2.

...RGB LEDs to indicated multiple statuses (on/mounted, off/unmounted, activity, failure, etc)

I label the drive ID from smart status onto drive cases so I can find them, LED drive indicators would give the HC4 that extra polish.

...audible alarms...

I use email to make my phone blare once a minute until I knowledge the issue, but you could put a DAC on the USB.

[brad]

For LED's A solution for the moment would be to use I2C GPIO expander board chained with the OLED board to provide up to 16 GPIO's https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/16port-i2c-gpio-board/ and maybe even a lcd to some degree using MIPS emulation

Interestingly GPIOX.5 (pin 4) is a PWM that could be used to simulate an audio buzzer for speaker

[crashoverride]

Due to the "toaster" design, the unit will need to sit at my work area within reach so I can punch anyone attempting to remove a drive after they say "What's this?".

Due to this close proximity, I want some additional features to justify the space it consumes. The 3.5" touch LCD can show weather and other info such as the name and album art of the song currently playing through the DAC. The LEDs let me know its safe to remove the drives and lock them away when I'm away from my work area.

[elatllat]

lol "What's this?" touch touch, was the first thing that happened even though the C4 right beside it did not attract such attention maybe due to its stealth black case.

[istanbulls]

I tried the Oled-Screen samples I prepared for N2 with HC4. It works fine overall, some minor modifications may be required for some.
I can get suggestions for the oled-screen examples you want to see.

[superpowter77]

Another suggestion for future version/revision for HC4 would be to have easier access to the UART port without having to dismount completely the toaster or drill the case to make it accessible from the side. A GPIO header would be really useful to have on HC4 as well.

[mad_ady]

Somehow I think HardKernel targeted HC4 for the regular NAS users, not for general-purpose tinkerers like us, so that's why gpios are missing. It might scare away regular NAS users, making them think it's a complicated product and not a turn-key solution... HC1 and 2 had the same GPIO shortage (which affects me as well). If there were a way to market the gpios as "an extension port" for future upgrades it may look less scary to the uninitiated.

Regarding the OLED - it can display lots of stuff - even media information, as crashoverride wants, though it's small and not as comfortable to read as a bigger display. The key to using it is making some kind of daemon that handles the screen, monitors the system and decides intelligently what information to display based on system usage. E.g. is there high disk io? How high is it and what is the process/file causing the io? Is the load too high? Show it. Is network maxed out? Show it. Has it lost network connectivity? And so on.

Finding a flexible system to cycle through this info when it's relevant will be key.

[istanbulls]

Yes I agree with @mad_ady, this is not an SBC. You feel this when you pick it up.
How the PCB inside the android box is not SBC i think this is not SBC either.

[crashoverride]

so that's why gpios are missing. It might scare away regular NAS users,

I'm not going to pretend I understand that reasoning. However, if it is indeed an issue, then I suggest a compromise: add the GPIO layout to the PCB and leave it drilled but unpopulated - ZERO added cost or "scary" connector.

[rooted]

so that's why gpios are missing. It might scare away regular NAS users,

I'm not going to pretend I understand that reasoning. However, if it is indeed an issue, then I suggest a compromise: add the GPIO layout to the PCB and leave it drilled but unpopulated - ZERO added cost or "scary" connector.

I like this suggestion

[dchang0]

so that's why gpios are missing. It might scare away regular NAS users,

I'm not going to pretend I understand that reasoning. However, if it is indeed an issue, then I suggest a compromise: add the GPIO layout to the PCB and leave it drilled but unpopulated - ZERO added cost or "scary" connector.

Fantastic idea! I've soldered 40-pin headers on RPi Zero Ws before. It's pretty easy for most DIYers. You don't even have to solder every pin if your application doesn't require it--you could run wires to just the pins you need. There are even press-in versions of 40-pin headers for those who can't solder.

I vote for this in the next revision.

Also, the housing could have a hole for the GPIO pins that is covered with a break-away piece (same as for the C2 plastic housing). Cut it out if you want the hole, leave it untouched if you want it covered.

[blerplederple4]

My main question is will there be a second case to cover the drives so it's a little less, toaste- esque

Sort of like one of the cases for the H2 where we can run ribbon cables and store the drives underneath?

Mostly because I love the form factor of my HC1 but a 2 bay solution would be great, I just worry about size and safely havign it with the drives exposed / dust getting in there

[elatllat]

My main question is will there be a second case to cover the drives so it's a little less, toaste- esque

Sort of like one of the cases for the H2 where we can run ribbon cables and store the drives underneath?

Mostly because I love the form factor of my HC1 but a 2 bay solution would be great, I just worry about size and safely havign it with the drives exposed / dust getting in there

Many would want the drives cooled so dust would only avoidable with a filter...

[tobetter]

Quick installation video for OMV5 to ODROID-HC4 after Debian 10 is installed, nothing about OMV configuraion.

[jesusrp]

I'm also interested in a NAS like case for HC4.

Is there any alternative?

[mad_ady]

I got my development HC4 yesterday and it's actually more rugged than I thought. The case looks like it can take a beating and looks very proffesional!

What surprised me the most whas the fact that it came pre-assembled. I only had to plug it in! Is this how all units ship out?
I admit, I preffer to receive the boards naked so I can inspect them closely (and by that I mean the boards should be naked, not me )

[odroid]

Yes, all HC4 units are pre-assembled.

[dchang0]

I'm also interested in a NAS like case for HC4.

Is there any alternative?

It's a market opportunity for a 3rd party fabricator.

It could be as simple as making a well-ventilated cover that goes over the entire base, but it will most likely require taking the board and drives out of the factory housing and putting them in a new enclosure.

[mutatrum]

Where is the OLED documentation?
I don't see it in on the wiki or on the img (~/,/etc/init.d/,systemctl --type=service)

https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid-hc4/appl ... _note/oled

The Wiki page will be updated a bit more with a simple method.

I made the repository with simple script to display date/time, OLED can run once you install the package "odroid-homecloud-display" if you are running with Hardkernel's HC4 minimal image or my LinuxFactory repository.
https://github.com/tobetter/odroid-homecloud

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask, but I'm running into a dependency conflict when installing odroid-homecloud-display on ubuntu 20.04 minimal (2020-10-15). Not sure if that's the image your refer to here, but the message I get is:

Code: Select all

ERROR: luma-oled 3.7.0 has requirement luma.core<2.0.0,>=1.16.2, but you'll have luma-core 2.0.0 which is incompatible.
ERROR: luma-lcd 2.6.0 has requirement luma.core<2.0.0,>=1.16.2, but you'll have luma-core 2.0.0 which is incompatible.

If this needs to be put in a different place on the forum, I'll be happy to move it.

[mutatrum]

Solved it:

Code: Select all

sudo -H pip3 install --upgrade luma.oled

This triggered a downgrade of luma-core from 2.0.0 to 1.17.3.

After that, a reinstall of homecloud got it working:

Code: Select all

sudo apt reinstall odroid-homecloud-display

[chunna]

Does anyone have the OLED/RTC board dimensions, including the mount holes?

[hominoid]

I'm also interested in a NAS like case for HC4.

Is there any alternative?

It's a market opportunity for a 3rd party fabricator.

It could be as simple as making a well-ventilated cover that goes over the entire base, but it will most likely require taking the board and drives out of the factory housing and putting them in a new enclosure.

Converting a CloudShell2 to use a HC4 might be an alternative for some. A new CloudShell4 (unofficial) can be created locally as well using the included stl and dxf files.

[elatllat]

ZFS has no RAID0, so if you want speed from HDDs in a HC4, btrfs or lvm are the better (2x faster) options.

[chunna]

Does anyone have the OLED/RTC board dimensions, including the mount holes?

Roughly measured dimensions.
https://wiki.odroid.com/odroid-hc4/appl ... h_drawings

[odroid]

This thread has been getting longer and longer. I've locked it.

Feel free to make a new topic on the C4/HC4 sub-forum.
viewforum.php?f=200

[odroid]

Sadly the HC4 with OLED are currently sold out. Are we stuck waiting for a long time for the next batch?

We need 3~4 weeks to make the next batch.
Sorry about that.

The HC4 OLED version is available now.
https://www.hardkernel.com/shop/odroid-hc4-oled/