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Banana Pi Cheat Sheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet covering Banana Pi single-board computers, including setup, configuration, common commands, and troubleshooting tips.

Getting Started with Banana Pi

Initial Setup

1. Hardware Requirements:

  • Banana Pi board
  • MicroSD card (minimum 8GB, Class 10 recommended)
  • MicroSD card reader/writer
  • Power adapter (5V/2A recommended)
  • HDMI cable and monitor
  • USB keyboard and mouse
  • Ethernet cable (optional, for network connection)

2. Download Operating System Image:

  • Choose an OS image from the Banana Pi website or a trusted source (e.g., Armbian, Debian, Ubuntu).
  • Download the .img file.

3. Flash the OS Image to the MicroSD Card:

  • Use a tool like Balena Etcher, Rufus, or dd command-line tool.
  • Select the downloaded .img file and the MicroSD card as the target.
  • Flash the image.

4. Booting the Banana Pi:

  • Insert the MicroSD card into the Banana Pi.
  • Connect the HDMI cable to the monitor.
  • Connect the USB keyboard and mouse.
  • Connect the Ethernet cable (if using).
  • Plug in the power adapter to boot the device.

5. Initial Configuration:

  • Log in using the default username and password (usually root and bananapi or 1234).
  • Change the default password immediately.
  • Configure network settings (if not using DHCP).
  • Update the system using apt update && apt upgrade.

Basic Commands

sudo apt update

Update the package list.

sudo apt upgrade

Upgrade installed packages.

sudo apt install <package_name>

Install a new package.

sudo apt remove <package_name>

Remove a package.

sudo apt autoremove

Remove automatically all unused packages.

ifconfig or ip addr

Display network interfaces and IP addresses.

Networking and SSH

Configuring Network Interfaces

Edit the /etc/network/interfaces file (or /etc/dhcpcd.conf for DHCP configuration) to configure static IP addresses, gateway, and DNS servers.

Example:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.100
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4

Restart the networking service:

sudo systemctl restart networking

Alternatively, use netplan for network configuration (on systems that use it):

Edit /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml and apply the changes:

sudo netplan apply

Enabling SSH

SSH (Secure Shell) allows remote access to the Banana Pi.

  • Install the SSH server:

    sudo apt install openssh-server

  • Enable and start the SSH service:

    sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

Access the Banana Pi from another computer using an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY, Terminal):

ssh username@<banana_pi_ip_address>

To disable password authentication and use SSH keys (recommended for security):

  • Generate an SSH key pair on the client machine.
  • Copy the public key to the Banana Pi using ssh-copy-id or manually add it to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.
  • Disable password authentication in /etc/ssh/sshd_config by setting PasswordAuthentication no and restart the SSH service.

Firewall Configuration (UFW)

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is an easy-to-use firewall management tool.

  • Install UFW: 
    sudo apt install ufw
  • Enable UFW: 
    sudo ufw enable

Allow SSH connections:
bash sudo ufw allow ssh
Allow specific port:
bash sudo ufw allow 80

Check UFW status:
bash sudo ufw status

GPIO and Hardware

Accessing GPIO Pins

Accessing GPIO pins requires proper libraries and permissions.

  • WiringPi: A popular library for accessing GPIO pins (may not be available on all Banana Pi models).
  • libgpiod: A modern library for GPIO access using character devices.

Using libgpiod:

  • Install libgpiod: 
    sudo apt install libgpiod-dev gpiod
  • Identify the chip and pin number using gpioinfo: 
    gpioinfo
  • Set a GPIO pin as output: 
    gpioset <chip> <pin>=1  # Set high
gpioset <chip> <pin>=0  # Set low
  • Read the state of a GPIO pin: 
    gpioget <chip> <pin>

Interacting with Hardware

I2C
  • Install i2c-tools: 
    sudo apt install i2c-tools
  • Detect I2C devices: 
    sudo i2cdetect -y 1

SPI
  • Enable SPI in /boot/config.txt (if necessary).
  • Use libraries like spidev (Python) or similar tools to interact with SPI devices.

Serial (UART)
  • Serial communication is often available on specific GPIO pins.
  • Use tools like minicom or libraries to communicate over serial.

Example Python Script (libgpiod) 

import gpiod
import time

LED_PIN = 18  # Replace with the actual GPIO pin number
CHIP = 'gpiochip0'  # Replace with the correct chip name

# Get the GPIO chip and line
chip = gpiod.Chip(CHIP)
led_line = chip.get_line(LED_PIN)

# Configure the pin as output
led_line.request(consumer='led-blink', type=gpiod.LINE_REQ_DIR_OUT, default_val=0)

try:
    while True:
        led_line.set_value(1)  # Turn on the LED
        time.sleep(1)
        led_line.set_value(0)  # Turn off the LED
        time.sleep(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    led_line.release()

Troubleshooting and Advanced Configuration

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Banana Pi Not Booting:

  • Check the MicroSD card for corruption.
  • Ensure the OS image is flashed correctly.
  • Verify the power supply is adequate (5V/2A recommended).
  • Try a different MicroSD card.

2. No Network Connection:

  • Check the Ethernet cable and router.
  • Verify the network configuration (IP address, gateway, DNS).
  • Ensure the network interface is enabled.

3. SSH Connection Refused:

  • Ensure the SSH server is installed and running.
  • Check the firewall settings.
  • Verify the correct IP address is being used.

4. GPIO Issues:

  • Verify the correct GPIO pin numbers are being used.
  • Ensure the proper libraries are installed and configured.
  • Check for permission issues.

Advanced Configuration

Overclocking
  • Edit /boot/config.txt (if available) to adjust CPU frequency and voltage.
  • Be cautious, as overclocking can lead to instability and overheating.

Kernel Updates
  • Update the kernel using rpi-update (if available) or by manually building a new kernel.
  • Ensure compatibility with the hardware and OS.

Bootloader Configuration
  • The bootloader (e.g., U-Boot) can be configured to customize the boot process.
  • Modify the bootloader configuration files to change boot parameters and device tree settings.

Device Tree Overlays
  • Device tree overlays allow customization of the hardware configuration without modifying the base device tree.
  • Use overlays to enable or disable specific hardware features.

Monitoring System Resources

  • Use htop or top to monitor CPU usage, memory usage, and running processes.

    sudo apt install htop
htop

  • Use df -h to check disk space usage.

    df -h

  • Use vcgencmd measure_temp (if available) to check the CPU temperature.

    vcgencmd measure_temp
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