airflash
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| Next revision Both sides next revision | |||
|
airflash [2021/08/18 13:18] sausage created |
airflash [2021/08/20 09:50] sausage Airflash image and imager links |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ====== AirFlash for the Pi Zero ====== | ====== AirFlash for the Pi Zero ====== | ||
| - | //Please note that the AirFlash is not to be used for illegal purposes or to assist in copyright theft. If you want access to copyright material, (I'm sure you earn a wage) please ensure you pay for it.// | + | {{ :airflash:airflash.jpg?direct&400|}} |
| ===== What is the AirFlash? ===== | ===== What is the AirFlash? ===== | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
| While the party host could just as easily open a share on his drive, there are usually a couple of problems with this. Firstly, they may be rebooting or switching between operating systems and are therefore unreliable. And second, there is always that one person who can't connect to the share. You know that person. | While the party host could just as easily open a share on his drive, there are usually a couple of problems with this. Firstly, they may be rebooting or switching between operating systems and are therefore unreliable. And second, there is always that one person who can't connect to the share. You know that person. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ===== What is the rationale for the technology choices? ===== | ||
| - | |||
| - | Originally the AirFlash was going to be created using the ESP32 and harnessing the WIFI features and available FTP library. However, USB library support was difficult to find. And I wasn't overly keen to implementing a bit banged mass storage USB driver. | ||
| - | |||
| - | Next I looked at the Raspberry Pi Pico and noticed it had some support for connecting a USB device. But I forgot that it didn't come with WIFI onboard. I didn't want to go into the complication of adding a module and then have casing considerations. | ||
| - | |||
| - | I settled on the Raspberry Pi Zero W as it features WIFI, USB and good library support through the OS. Having a few seconds boot up time with an OS seemed a fairly pragmatic choice. | ||
| - | |||
| - | For the OS, I chose piCore (a port of Tiny Core Linux), for it's robust use of persistence. Hard power cycles do not corrupt the data or OS content of piCore, so power can be pulled from the device without incident. | ||
| ===== How to build your own AirFlash ===== | ===== How to build your own AirFlash ===== | ||
| - | You will need the following parts which can be sourced from the following vendors: | + | You will need the following off-the-shelf parts which can be sourced from the following vendors: |
| * Raspberry Pi Zero W - https://core-electronics.com.au/raspberry-pi-zero-w-wireless.html | * Raspberry Pi Zero W - https://core-electronics.com.au/raspberry-pi-zero-w-wireless.html | ||
| Line 42: | Line 32: | ||
| * USB Mini cable | * USB Mini cable | ||
| * USB flash stick | * USB flash stick | ||
| + | * HDMI adapter to suit the Pi Zero W - https://core-electronics.com.au/mini-hdmi-to-standard-hdmi-jack-adapter-for-raspberry-pi-zero.html | ||
| ===== Assembly ===== | ===== Assembly ===== | ||
| For assembly instructions for the Pi Zero W and the Zero4U 4-Port USB Board, see the manual here: http://www.uugear.com/doc/Zero4U_UserManual.pdf | For assembly instructions for the Pi Zero W and the Zero4U 4-Port USB Board, see the manual here: http://www.uugear.com/doc/Zero4U_UserManual.pdf | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===== What is the rationale for the technology choices? ===== | ||
| + | |||
| + | Originally the AirFlash was going to be created using the ESP32 and harnessing the WIFI features and available FTP library. However, USB library support was difficult to find. And I wasn't overly keen to implementing a bit banged mass storage USB driver. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Next I looked at the Raspberry Pi Pico and noticed it had some support for connecting a USB device. But I forgot that it didn't come with WIFI onboard. I didn't want to go into the complication of adding a module and then have casing considerations. | ||
| + | |||
| + | I settled on the Raspberry Pi Zero W as it features WIFI, USB and good library support through the OS. Having a few seconds boot up time with an OS seemed a fairly pragmatic choice. | ||
| + | |||
| + | For the OS, I chose piCore (a port of Tiny Core Linux), for it's robust use of persistence. Hard power cycles do not corrupt the data or OS content of piCore, so power can be pulled from the device without incident. | ||
| + | |||
| ===== Testing the board with a USB Flash Drive ===== | ===== Testing the board with a USB Flash Drive ===== | ||
| Line 57: | Line 59: | ||
| This is the fastest way to make an AirFlash. | This is the fastest way to make an AirFlash. | ||
| - | You can [[https://waynejohnson.net/airflash.zip | download the AirFlash image]], unzip and flash it using a tool like ''imageUSB'' or ''Rufus'' to your SD Card. | + | You can [[https://waynejohnson.net/airflash.zip | download the AirFlash image]], unzip and flash it using a tool like [[https://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html | ImageUSB]] by Passmark or [[http://rufus.ie/en/ | Rufus]] to your SD Card. |
| This image was designed on a 16GB SD Card so if your card is bigger, you might have to extend the partition. | This image was designed on a 16GB SD Card so if your card is bigger, you might have to extend the partition. | ||
| Line 65: | Line 67: | ||
| If you would like the work through the process manually, continue on below. | If you would like the work through the process manually, continue on below. | ||
| - | ===== The Operating System ===== | + | ===== The piCore Operating System ===== |
| + | |||
| + | For those wanting to build everything from scratch, let's go! | ||
| - | The OS chosen for this project is piCore for it's light payload and start up time. All versions of piCore are located here: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/board,72.0.html | + | The OS chosen for this project is piCore for it's light payload, start up time and resilliance. All versions of piCore are located here: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/board,72.0.html |
| I have used piCore-13.0.3 (32-bit): | I have used piCore-13.0.3 (32-bit): | ||
| Line 78: | Line 82: | ||
| Good instructions for installing piCore to a micro SD Card can be found here: https://www.maketecheasier.com/review-of-picore/ | Good instructions for installing piCore to a micro SD Card can be found here: https://www.maketecheasier.com/review-of-picore/ | ||
| - | I used imageUSB by PassMark to write the image to the SD Card, but there are loads of software options out there (like Rufus) that do the same job equally well. | + | I used [[https://www.osforensics.com/tools/write-usb-images.html | ImageUSB]] by PassMark to write the image to the SD Card, but there are loads of software options out there (like [[http://rufus.ie/en/ | Rufus]]) that do the same job equally well. |
| Once you have written piCore to the SD Card from that article, head back here. | Once you have written piCore to the SD Card from that article, head back here. | ||
airflash.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/04 09:49 by sausage
Page Tools
