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VIM3's new 4K 60 FPS MIPI-CSI camera Dear Community, We are happy to report that life is returning to normal in Shenzhen after the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Dormant supply chains are slowly coming back to life, and one sign of that is a new MIPI-CSI camera accessory for your VIM3 single board computer! This accessory is called the "OS08A10 8MP HDR Camera", and it is equipped with an 8MP sensor from OmniVision, and supports a maximum of 4K (3840 x 2160 px) video streaming at 60 FPS. It will be a good fit for machine vision applications with VIM3's onboard 5 TOPS NPU. Highlights: 8 MegaPixel HDR Technology IR-CUT Filter MIPI-CSI Interface FPC Cable Tech Specs: Image Sensor: OmniVision's OS08A10 Lens Size: 1/2.0" Array Size: 3840x2160 Pixel Size: 2.0 µm x 2.0 µm Megapixel: 8 Mega Pixel Interface: MIPI-CSI Lanes: 4 lane Focal Length / EFL: 3.47 mm Aperture / F. No: f/2.1 View Angle: 160°Distortion: < -23% Focusing Range: 80 ~ 500 cm Weight: 13.2g Dimensions: 100.0 * 26.0 * 20.6 mm To learn more about the new MIPI-CSI camera for VIM3, see the schematic and datasheet. You can find it in-stock at Khadas Shop Warmly, Khadas Team Khadas Updates: VIM3 is out of stock, new units expected 10th March 2020! You can still pre-order it. Life in Shenzhen is slowly returning to normal, after the COVID-19 outbreak. If you have a problem with your order, contact us via hello@khadas.com or khadas.com. Our hearts go out to the people of S. Korea, Japan, and Iran who are dealing with COVID-19.

In this blog post, we test out a large passive radiator for the VIM3L. This radiator was designed by our forum member RRZC777. A few months ago you may have recalled us talking on the forums about the possibility of passive-cooling an SBC from the board’s underside. As it happens, one of our forum members, RRZC777, decided to design his own passive radiator (fanless cooler) for his VIM3L. The VIM3L is targeted at the HTPC (Home Theatre PC) market, and many enthusiasts would like to have a passively cooled system as that gives the least noise output - especially in small spaces and cosy rooms. We will test RRZC777’s “Large Passive Radiator” with three of our popular SBCs, the VIM3L, the VIM3 and the Edge-V. I also use a 3rd party app “CPU Throttling Test” suggested by another forum user, Vladimir.v.v, to see if the CPU is slowing down (throttling) over time. Test Conditions: Operation System: Android Testing App: CPU Throttling Test Power Adapter: 24W USB-C Adapter Test Duration: 45 Minutes, 20 Threads Ambient Temperature: 26C to 29C Starting Temperature: Cold Boot, Ambient Ending Temperature: Thermal Equilibrium VIM3L - Results: Thermocouple pasted onto the S905D3 SoC’s upper surface - Temperature recording started at 35C (after cold boot), and proceeded to stabilise around 55C. CPU Throttling Test’s “Performance/Time Graph” - Performance hovered steadily between 90 to 100%, with several sharp “throttling dips” to 80% closer towards the end of the test. CPU Throttling Test’s “Maximum Temperature” - Maximum S905D3 core temperature was recorded as 60C, this is 5C hotter than the surface temperature. VIM3 - Results: Thermocouple pasted onto the A311D SoC’s upper surface - Temperature recording started at 25C (at cold boot), and proceeded to stabilise around 70C. Data was cut short as the VIM3 crashed and rebooted somewhere around 15 minutes. This crash did not occur with Antutu 8, and is not thermally-related. CPU Throttling Test’s “Performance/Time Graph” - In another round of testing, I managed to collect a full 45-minutes of performance data. Here we can see VIM3’s performance steadily throttling to 80%. CPU Throttling Test’s “Maximum Temperature” - Maximum A311D core temperature was recorded as 74C. Edge-V - Results: Thermocouple pasted onto the RK3399 SoC’s upper surface - Ambient temperature was closer to tropical conditions. 73C was the equilibrium temperature, however graph abruptly falls as the logging computer fell asleep. CPU Throttling Test’s “Performance/Time Graph” - The RK3399 also showed gradual throttling, but intriguingly not as much as the A311D. Somewhere around 85%. CPU Throttling Test’s “Maximum Temperature” - Maximum core temperature was recorded as 79C. Conclusions: It is clear from the results that only VIM3L is suitable for passive cooling, fulfilling HTPC user’s dreams. Even though it experienced throttling, this was not as severe as either the VIM3 or Edge-V. The performance-time graph was very flat and hovered around 90-95% for the duration of the test. The maximum core temperature was 60C, and even with tropical conditions this value is unlikely to exceed 70C (at which throttling would be more likely). Both VIM3 and Edge-V experienced a gradual decline in performance (throttling) over time, and this is an indication of heat-stress. If building a cluster or running mission-critical applications, an active cooling solution with a fan is necessary for sustained performance under load. It is however the experimenter’s opinion that for most other non-critical applications, throttling to 80% performance with passive cooling, is not very severe. Further tests will be conducted using Ubuntu. If you’d like to tell us your ideas regarding passive cooling, head over to this forum topic, where you’ll also find the “active cooling” test results for each SBC using Antutu 8 stress tests. Have fun! Khadas Team

Krescue which stands for "Khadas Rescue", is an extremely small 21mb operating system that gives you full control over your Khadas VIM1/2/3/3L device! Main Features: Dump EMMC memory contents to an SD card, USB, LAN host. Restore .img.gz into an EMMC on another device. View device information. Rescue shell for expert users. Shell access via UART, USB network, and LAN network. Steps to Boot Krescue: Download an appropriate image for your VIM1/2/3/3L device from dl.khadas.com. Burn this image to an SD card, using rufus, dd or etcher. Plug in the SD card, USB-C power, and HDMI into your VIM device. Use Khadas TST to boot into MaskROM mode. Use an IR remote control to navigate the UI menus. We hope this extremely tiny and convenient rescue operating system will give beginners and experts alike, a useful tool to backup and restore their EMMC, as well as take control of various features of their VIM board! For more information, join our forum discussion. Warmly, Khadas Team

Introduction The Khadas Tone Board has become very popular due to its great balance of high quality sound at an affordable price. Owing to the ever-growing diversity of users, the Tone Board has become used in an ever-wider variety of listening environments. We understand that different people have different ears, and some are more acutely sensitive than others, to even the very low-level noise generated by a USB power source. This blog article will discuss a few methods we can employ to reduce, but not completely eliminate, electrical noise emitted by your USB audio source. 1. USB Noise Filter Compatible Audio Sources: PC / Mac Khadas VIMs Raspberry Pi Power Sources: USB Audio Source doubles as a power supply Noise-Reducing Device: USB Signal Purifier How-It-Works: The USB Signal Purifier is a special device designed to filter out USB noise. It should be attached between the USB audio source and the Tone Board, and will reduce the power noise emitted by the USB source. Do note that your noise-reduction is heavily dependent on how noisy (or what type of noise, e.g jitter, ground-loop) your USB audio source emits. 2. USB Y-Splitter Compatible Audio Sources: PC / Mac Khadas VIMs Raspberry Pi Mobile Device Power Sources: Linear Power Supply 5V USB Power Supply Noise-Reducing Device: USB Y-Splitter How-It-Works: The USB Y-Splitter will allow you to split the USB power from the data signal. In this way, your Tone Board will receive data from your USB audio source, and power can be supplied by a Linear Power Supply, or other clean 5V sources. This solution will also allow you to also use your Tone Board with a mobile device, without depleting its batteries. Some DIY modification of the Y-splitter is required, see this website for more information: https://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/221_diy_usb_e.html 3. Linear Power Supply Compatible Audio Sources: PC / Mac Khadas VIMs Raspberry Pi Mobile Device CD Player ... Noise-Reducing Device: Linear Power Supply How-It-Works: A 5V linear power supply connected to GPIO pins 1 and 21, or the USB-C input via a USB-Y-splitter, will provide superior power-noise reduction and better sound, as compared to a switching power supply. Instead of a USB-Y-splitter, you can also solder a secondary USB connector onto the Tone Board for the linear power supply. Note that when an external power source is connected via pins 1 and 21, USB power input is automatically cut-off; however the USB-data-signal is still permitted. 4. SPDIF Input Audio Sources: CD Player Other devices that support SPDIF output Noise-Reducing Device: SPDIF Input (Black RCA Plug) How-It-Works: By using the SPDIF (Sony-Philips Digital Interface) input, which is the black RCA plug on your Tone Board, you can avoid USB noise altogether. At the same time, you will still need to provide power from a clean source such as a linear power supply, to GPIO pins 1 and 21 or to the USB-C port. 5. Faraday Cages Noise-Reducing Device: Metal Casing How-It-Works: A Faraday Cage is simply a sealed metal box that will block-out external electromagnetic interference (EMI), that could introduce noise into the Tone Board. EMI can come from many sources such as microwaves and even ceiling lights. Building a cage is simple, and instructions can be found on the web. GPIO Pinout Diagram This picture shows you the appropriate GPIO pins for connecting a linear power supply, or for soldering an extra USB port to receive power input! For more information, refer to: https://docs.khadas.com/toneboard/UserManual.html Thanks for Reading! Ideas for this blog post were taken from these forum threads: https://forum.khadas.com/t/usb-power-adapter-for-tone-board-questions/5763 https://forum.khadas.com/t/tone-board-external-powering/3051/21 https://forum.khadas.com/t/is-it-possible-to-solder-a-usb-type-b-connector-on-the-tone-board/4709/8 Warmly, Khadas Team

Thanks to @hyphop on Khadas Forum, we now have a specially prepared build of Lakka OS, for all VIM1 SBCs! Everything works out of the box, check out the YouTube video and links below for the ROM download and further installation instructions. More Information: Documentation: https://gist.github.com/hyphop/dc120269319402480f2d7adec2367afa ROM Download Link: https://dl.khadas.com/Firmware/VIM1/Lakka/ Required Items for this Build: “VIM1 v14”: https://www.khadas.com/product-page/khadas-vim1 “Khadas IR Remote”: https://www.khadas.com/product-page/ir-remote “USB Retro Game Controller”: just google it! Optional items: “Khadas DIY Case”: https://www.khadas.com/product-page/diy-case “New VIM Heatsink”: https://www.khadas.com/product-page/new-vim-heatsink Credits: Music: Synthetica - Musicdisk - 1996 https://demozoo.org/groups/10625/ Videography: https://twitter.com/tsangyoujun https://gist.github.com/hyphop/ Warmly, Khadas Team

When a 3705 Cooling Fan is installed, users may encounter a situation wherein the DIY Case cannot be closed completely. This occurs because one side of the 3705 Cooling Fan interferes with a catch on the DIY Case's top cover. This can be seen from an idealised assembly simulation, wherein a Khadas VIM3 CAD model was used. The red circle shows the interference region. Users may experience this issue, or not at all. This is dependent on the unique combination of components you've used, and therefore cannot be said to affect all users. So what can you do if you encounter this situation? Let's continue on to three solutions: Solution A: The simplest method is to simply rotate the top cover so that the GPIO window (with the catch), is above the port assembly. There is more space above the ports than there is above the fan, and your problem will be solved immediately. Solution B: The second more tedious solution, would be to use a sharp pen-knife to shave off a few millimetres of material from the plastic catch itself. In the photograph below, you'll be able to see the length of material required, and that the result should be flush with the cover. Once you've shaved-off the appropriate amount, fitting should take little effort. This method is not recommended for users with shaky hands or who aren't comfortable with sharp objects. Solution C: The final solution is to install a set of nylon spacers (M2 clearance); they needn't be thicker than a millimetre. Some users on our forum believe this method also improves casing ventilation, and it is also a non-destructive solution. In the photograph above, you can see that the top cover is raised by a millimetre above the middle cover. Avoid using spacers that are too thick, as you would need to use longer M2 screws to reach the bottom cover. Conclusion: Whatever your chosen solution is, destructive or non-destructive, the tolerance issue between the 3705 Cooling Fan and DIY Case is easily resolved. Do you have an impressive case-mod you'd like to share? Head over to Khadas Forums to let others know! Warmly, Khadas Team

We’ve updated the original VIM1, swapping out parts that have reached end-of-life, and improving the DRAM frequency to 912MHz. This New VIM1 v14 has already been manufactured, and is ready for immediate shipping from Khadas Shop, for the same price as the old VIM1, $44.99 (Basic), $54.99 (Pro). Pictures for Bloggers: 4K Photographs - Top, Bottom, Perspective Changes: Moved the VIN input to below the USB-C port, and changed the connector type. Changed the programmable MCU to STM8S003. Changed the LED colour from red to white. Changed position of the RTC header. Improved DDR frequency of 912MHz (original: 768MHz). Additions: Added Khadas TST, for quick boot loader recovery. (Press the function key 3-times in 2-seconds, works even when boot loader is damaged). Added 3705 Cooling Fan header. Unchanged: ROMs and Software (Compatible with old and new VIM1). Board Form Factor.

Why do Edge-V & VIM3/L need an extension board for SSD drives? The M2X Extension Board is designed to mount vertically onto either the VIM3 or Edge-V SBCs, as indicated by the purple circles. As seen in the first picture, an NVMe SSD mounts neatly into the footprint of the M2X Extension Board, as it is 88mm in width. This is indicated by the green outline. In the second picture, that same NVMe SSD will not be able to fit into the footprint of either a VIM3/L or Edge-V SBC, as it is only 82mm in width. This is indicated by the green outline. This is why we had to design an extension board to allow users to mount SSDs and other devices into the M.2 slot. Users who do not wish to purchase the M2X Extension Board, can instead choose to find a compatible PCI-E riser. In addition, the VIM boards 82mm width makes it compatible with the popular (and cool-looking) DIY Case. This casing was designed for our SBCs before SSDs became prevalent and popular. Warmly, Khadas Team

Good News Everyone! Khadas Team will be building a customized Ubuntu LXDE ROM for the Kap Case, that will support the touchscreen and physical buttons. Software performance will be optimised for the RK3399 chip as well. Early test video of Kap Case booting Ubuntu LXDE Bionic: If you have an Edge, Captain and TS050 Touchscreen already, you can purchase just the Kap Case for $10 (includes fasteners) to put them all together. If you want to get the full-kit (unassembled), the current promotional price is $250. > Kap Case at Khadas Shop New VIM1 (v14) We've also updated the original VIM1, swapping out parts that have reached end-of-life, and increased the DDR3 frequency to 912MHz. This board has already been manufactured, and is ready for immediate shipping from Khadas Shop for the same price as the old VIM1 - $44.99 (Basic), $54.99 (Pro). > New VIM1 v14 at Khadas Shop Changes: Moved the VIN input to below the USB-C port, and changed the connector type. Changed the programmable MCU to STM8S003. Changed the LED colour from red to white. Improved DDR3 frequency of 912MHz (original: 768MHz) Additions: Added Khadas TST, for quick bootloader recovery. Added 3705 Cooling Fan header. Unchanged: ROMs and Software (Compatible with old and new VIM1) Board Form Factor 3705 Cooling Fan Update: We are terribly sorry for the long wait, especially to those who purchased the fan during our Indiegogo campaign. You will be delighted to know that all the fans are finally in-stock, and will be shipping out around 28th September! Rest assured, the long wait was not intentional: If you feel like reminding us about your shipment again, you can head over to this forum thread. > Forum Thread Notice: China National Day Holiday 2019 Due to the China National Holiday, our office will be closed from 30th September to 7th October. Our staff may also reply to you more slowly on Khadas Forums, and orders will not be shipped out during those 7 days. Thank you for your understanding. Thanks for reading! Khadas Team

So what SoC will it be? Hi Khadas Members, This news may come as a shock to some of you, so carefully put down your morning coffee and read this sentence three times: The Khadas VIM3 SBC which will officially launch this June 24th, will not use the Amlogic S922X SoC. You’re probably feeling confused now. However, we’ve had to make this decision for several reasons, the most notable of which will be mentioned below: 5.0 TOPS NPU: The main reason why VIM3 won’t use the S922X, is the lack of an NPU. It has been mentioned a few times on our forum and social media, that your VIM3 will have an NPU to accelerate tasks involving neural network processing, for artificial-intelligence applications. NPUs are useful for optimising tasks such as facial recognition, object detection, voice recognition, etc. Unlike our previous NPU attempt, the RK3399Pro, Amlogic’s new SoC will be produced with the same 12nm process and is pin-to-pin compatible with the S922X; for good thermal and PCB space-usage efficiency. You may already be familiar with Google’s Cloud TPUs, complex power-hungry nodes designed to “train neural networks” deep within cloud data centers. However can such intensive training be performed in an SBC? The short answer is yes. The NPU in a VIM3 is able to perform both training and inference learning locally. This breakthrough in NPU technology makes VIM3 ideal for A.I applications located at the edge of IoT networks; reducing latency and improving the security of A.I workloads, as they can be trained and executed locally on VIM3 devices, rather than having to be uploaded into a centralised cloud where data may be compromised by 3rd parties. In the coming weeks, we will help developers by updating Khadas Docs with more instructions on how to install neural network tool-kits like Tensorflow, on your VIM3: https://docs.khadas.com/vim3/InstallTensorFlow.html Which SoC Will VIM3 Use: We have already confirmed the SoC, however we can only tell you what it is in next week’s announcement. Gouwa is quite confident that members who have already reserved their VIM3 last week, will be ecstatic when they hear the good news. What we can tell you, is that on launch day the VIM3’s SoC will be pin-to-pin compatible with the S922X with the addition of MIPI-CSI and an NPU; all S922X software can be run on it directly, without any modifications. VIM3 Contest: The contest to reserve a VIM3 at $69.99 and $99.99 will end on 24th June, so you only have another 5 days left to grab this discount price. If you haven’t yet reserved a VIM3 yet for yourself and your friends, do join the contest here: https://khadas.com/vim3. Be reminded that your VIM3 discount coupon will be valid from 24 June to 22 July, however no new discount coupons will be issued after 24 June - so these 5 days are your last opportunity to reserve a VIM3 at $69.99 (Basic) and $99.99 (Pro), respectively. Response has been good so far, and we hope that you will be thrilled. :) Good luck! Khadas Team One more thing... VIM3 v11, What’s New: We’ve just completed a VIM3 v11 small production run of 100 units. Fixed VIM3 v10 bugs. Added a VIN connector to the bottom-side for power input. Added M-Register (eMMC) & S-Register (SPI Flash). Adjustment of silkscreen printing of logos and graphics. Updated v11 Specifications, DXF, Schematic, and PCB Drawing.

Introduction This tutorial will teach you the easiest and fastest method of how to install and run retro-games, such as Super Mario and Yoshi's Island, via "ROM" images on your Khadas VIM1 single board computer. Emulators such as Lakka OS, are a cool way to play some retro game titles (for free) on your Khadas SBC. LibreELEC can also play retro games, however I found the installation process too frustrating, and I want this to be as painless as possible for you, the reader. So let's get started! Download Lakka OS Before your VIM1 can play retro games, you'll need to install Lakka OS into the EMMC. Head over to https://docs.khadas.com/vim1/FirmwareThirdparty.html and click the download link for Lakka-S905-arm-2.1-emmc. Place VIM1 into Upgrade Mode Next, you'll need to place your VIM1 into "Upgrade Mode", this is really easy. First use the USB-2.0 to USB-C cable to connect the VIM1 to your computer. Then press and hold the "Power" button, then press the "Reset" button, and "count to 5" before releasing the "Power" button. If your VIM1 has entered upgrade mode, you will hear (or see) Windows 10 connecting with a new USB-device; some ding-dong sounds will chime, and some pop-ups will appear. If you don't, just repeat the steps in the above paragraph, your timing could be off. Install Amlogic EMMC Burning Tool After that, you'll need to download the Amlogic EMMC Burning Tool, and install it into Windows. Once installed, open it up and you should see your VIM1 device connected. If you don't, repeat the steps above to enter "Upgrade Mode". Open Lakka OS Image Click "File", then select "Open" to select the "Lakka-S905.arm-2.1-emmc.img" file. Burn Lakka OS Image to EMMC Check "Reset after success" and "Start" to begin burning Lakka OS into your VIM1's EMMC. Do note that this will erase everything in your VIM1's storage, so do back up any important data. Once you hear some more "ding-dong" sounds from Windows, and the message "Burn success", you may close the Amlogic Burning Tool, and disconnect your VIM1 from your PC. Prepare Some Game ROMs Okay, so now that you've got Lakka installed, you need to prepare some retro game ROMs. Grab a USB-thumbdrive, or SD-Card, and copy some ROMs to it. If you need to get ROMs, just Google. For example, this website has lots of ROMs. Next, plug the thumbdrive or SD-Card into your VIM1. Boot Up Your VIM1 Great, now we're in business! Plug your VIM1 into USB-C power, connect a HDMI-monitor, and USB-keyboard to it. In a few moments, you will see the Lakka desktop - it kinda looks like those old Sony PSP interfaces which existed before touchscreens did. Load Your ROM The next part is really simple, using your keyboard (which you should have plugged in), navigate to "Load Content", and then press "Enter". When you see the title "Start Directory", press the "Enter" key again. Then highlight your SD-card or thumb-drive and press "Enter", in my case it's called "ROMS". Once you've opened it, you should see a list of the games you have inside. Just pick one that you want to play, and press "Enter" again. You will be now prompted to select an "emulator" in order to play the "ROM", just pick the first one, that usually works. See, I told you right? Painless. Play Your Game Okay this part should be self-explanatory, if you've ever had one of those gameboy-type-thingies. But I'll just add that since you're using your keyboard, the "arrow keys" are the "arrow pad", and usually the "function pad" will be the "A, Z, S, Q, W" keys. "P" key is for pause, and the "ESC" key stops the game. In the limited time that I had to write this tutorial, I am not too sure if the keys are different for different games, but I think they could be. And if you have one of those Sony Game Controller things lying around, yes you can plug those in and they will work straight out-of-the-box too! See, again painless. Have Fun! Or just watch me be a noob at "Mario Time Machine" and "Yoshi's Island".

Hi Khadas Backers! We know many of you have been asking us for updates on the production progress, so here it is again! As stated on the forum thread, Edge-V v12 is in progress: A surprise for all of you is the "Juice Board" for the Edge-V: This board will allow you to connect your Edge-V directly to the Li-Po Battery! We've been having a tough time with the juice board, as battery boards are rather complex. However, we hope this will make our Edge-V even more versatile and capable! Also in the photograph (right-hand-side), are the new moulds for the 3705 Cooling Fan, which comes in black, because black is cool. It comes with a silver metal shield (not gold, as previously photographed). Above are schematics for the Edge v14 and Edge-V v13, which have already been sent for production during the start of this month. Final shipping schedules will be updated towards the end of April. Sorry to keep all of you waiting, however quality is really important to Khadas; we want to do our best to ship a reliable product. Thanks again for your support! Khadas Team