GettingTheConsoleLCDVXWorking

Intro

This is a simple introduction to how I got my Gumstix Verdex XML4-BT (400MHz PXA 270 with BlooTueth) working with the ConsoleLCD-VX and the Samsung 4.3" LCD.

Hardware

Things You Should Have

1. A Gumstix Verdex Board of some sort (I have the Gumstix Verdex XML4-BT)
2. A ConsoleLCD-VX
3. A Samsung 4.3" LCD (I bought mine from GumStix)
4. A 9-Pin DIN to Mini-DIN 8 null modem serial cable. Again, you can get them at the gumstix online store, it's easier than driving to Fry's and finding they don't carry them.
5. A USB-A to Mini-USB cable.
6. A female to female USB A adapter. Again, Fry's doesn't carry them, so you can buy them from the gumstix online store.
7. A Power Supply for the board. (I use the 4V supply that came with my Basix Waysmall.)
8. A USB Keyboard
9. (optional) a USB to Serial Converter if you don't have a "real" serial port.
10. A Linux box. I like xubuntu.

Assembling the Hardware

1. Connect the LCD to the ConsoleLCD-VX. The connector was a bit odd, and it threw me for a few minutes. If you look carefully at the connector, there's a "drawer" on the bottom of the connector made of black plastic. This drawer pulls out about a millimeter to allow you to insert the ribbon connector from the LCD. On either side of the connector, opposite the long side that has the soldered leads connecting it to the board, you'll see a tiny black plastic "hook." if you pull on both of these hooks out towards the long edge of the board, you'll find they slide out. Once you've slid this thing out, the ribbon cable slides in pretty easy. Once the ribbon connector is in place, slide the "drawer" back in by pressing on both of the "hooks." I found that a sharp pencil helped with this step.
2. Connect the Verdex to the ConsoleLCD-VX. Note that it connects so the Verdex is over the consoleLCD-vx board. It does not connect like a tweener (the tweener, if connected, would hang out over the board.) There is a slight mechanical interference here, or at least there was on my revision.
3. Connect the serial cable to the middle serial port on the ConsoleLCD-VX board.
4. Connect the other part of the serial cable to your system. (I use a Macintosh to connect to the Verdex, but a Ubuntu Linux box to compile things. There's no reason why you can't use a Linux machine to connect to the system. I'm just using a Mac 'cause my Linux laptop is very, very slow.)
5. Use the USB gender changer to connect your USB keyboard to your USB A to Mini USB cable. (If you're one of the rare breed with a USB keyboard that terminates in a Mini USB connector, you don't have to do this.)
6. Connect the keyboard to the Mini USB connector on the ConsoleLCD-VX.
7. Apply power to the board.

Troubleshooting

1. Careful... these connectors don't like a lot of stress. I'm using the stand from my Nokia 770 tablet to position everything "just right."
2. If you don't get a nice yellow light come on when you plug the power cable into the ConsoleLCD-VX, then you may have a defective board. I think I saw something about this on the GumStix mailing list.

Connecting to the Board

You should now have two connections to the board: a serial connection (through which you can update the flash image) and the USB keyboard (that is mildly nicer interface, IMHO, than the serial link.) The default connection settings are: 115200 bps, 8-bit, No Parity, 1-stop bit.

You should see a login prompt at least on the serial connection. If you don't see anything on the LCD, you probably have to reflash the boot loader, root file system and kernel. In case you forgot, the root password on all GumStix boards is: 'gumstix' (without the quotes.)

Software

Preparing your Linux Box

1. Find a Linux Box. I'm using my MythTV system that uses a relatively slow (but low heat) Via C7 Celeron-alike. I recommend something faster. I'm using Xubuntu 6.10. Feel free to use something else, but you're on your own if you have problems.
2. Download updated packages. I did this with the command

   sudo apt-get install build-essential libncurses-dev bison flex texinfo zlib1g-dev gettext openssl-dev libc6-dev bison flex make g++-4.0 zlib1g-dev gcc libncurses5-dev automake1.9 texinfo

   I got an error saying that it couldn't load the openssl-dev package. I didn't seem to be a problem, though. I'm including it here 'cause I found it on the GumStix site, and since it didn't hurt anything to include it, I figured I might as well. Adrian mentioned that his Ubuntu system came with the multiverse server commented out of the /etc/apt/sources.list file. This wasn't a problem for me, but if you suspect it is, then uncommenting the lines with "multiverse" in the sources.list file and issuing the command

   sudo apt-get update

   should do the trick.
3. Check to see if /bin/sh is a link to dash. If it is, you want to change that with the following:

   sudo /bin/bash
cd /bin
rm sh
ln -s bash sh

4. If you don't have /bin/gzcat, create it with the command:

   sudo /bin/bash
cd /bin
ln -s zcat gzcat