Raspberry Pi Model A+, B, and B+

CircleCI Hex version

This is the base Nerves System configuration for the Raspberry Pi A+, B, and B+. It will also work with the Raspberry Pi Zero, but usually nerves_system_rpi0 is preferable since it configures the USB port so that it can be plugged into a computer. This is very convenient for powering and debugging the Pi Zero. If you want to use the Raspberry Pi Zero’s USB port in “host” mode (e.g., to attach a USB Flash drive or other peripheral), then this repository works and may be more appropriate.

This is not the configuration for the Raspberry Pi 2 or 3.

Fritzing Raspberry Pi A+ image


[Image credit](#fritzing)
FeatureDescription
CPU700 MHz ARM1176JZF-S for A+, B, and B+, 1 GHz ARM1176JZF-S for the Zero
Memory256 MB for rev 1 boards, 512 MB for rev 2 and the Zero
StorageMicroSD
Linux kernel4.4 w/ Raspberry Pi patches
IEx terminalHDMI and USB keyboard (can be changed to UART)
GPIO, I2C, SPIYes - Elixir ALE
ADCNo
PWMYes, but no Elixir support
UART1 available - ttyAMA0
CameraYes - via rpi-userland
EthernetYes (only on the B and B+)
WiFiRequires USB WiFi dongle
BluetoothNot supported

Using

The most common way of using this Nerves System is create a project with mix nerves.new and to export MIX_TARGET=rpi. See the Getting started guide for more information.

If you need custom modifications to this system for your device, clone this repository and update as described in Making custom systems

If you’re new to Nerves, check out the nerves_init_gadget project for creating a starter project. It will get you started with the basics like bringing up networking, initializing the writable application data partition, and enabling ssh-based firmware updates. It’s easiest to begin by using the wired Ethernet interface ‘eth0’ and DHCP if you have a model B/B+.

Supported USB WiFi devices

The base image includes drivers and firmware for Ralink RT53xx (rt2800usb driver) and RealTek RTL8712U (r8712u driver) devices.

We are still working out which subset of all possible WiFi dongles to support in our images. At some point, we may have the option to support all dongles and selectively install modules at packaging time, but until then, these drivers and their associated firmware blobs add significantly to Nerves release images.

If you are unsure what driver your WiFi dongle requires, run Raspbian and configure WiFi for your device. At a shell prompt, run lsmod to see which drivers are loaded. Running dmesg may also give a clue. When using dmesg, reinsert the USB dongle to generate new log messages if you don’t see them.

Linux kernel and RPi firmware/userland

There’s a subtle coupling between the nerves_system_br version and the Linux kernel version used here. nerves_system_br provides the versions of rpi-userland and rpi-firmware that get installed. I prefer to match them to the Linux kernel to avoid any issues. Unfortunately, none of these are tagged by the Raspberry Pi Foundation so I either attempt to match what’s in Raspbian or take versions of the repositories that have similar commit times.

Image credit: This image is from the Fritzing parts library.