1. MinnowBoard MAX
Open Source Hardware
64-bit x86 Single Board Computer
NERP at Pumping Station: 1
Drew Fustini (@pdp7)
2014-Nov-10

2. MinnowBoard MAX
● Website:
http://www.minnowboard.org/meet-minnowboard-max
● FAQ:
http://www.minnowboard.org/faq-minnowboard-max/
● Wiki: http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMax

3. Meet MinnowBoard MAX
● 64-bit Intel Atom E38xx “Bay Trail” SoC
● HDMI + Integrated Intel HD Graphics
– Open Source Mainline Linux drivers
– Enables Graphics & Video acceleration
● $99 MSRP single-core:
– 1x E3815 @ 1.46 GHz
– 1GB DDR3 RAM
● $139 MSRP dual-core:
– 2x E3825 @ 1.33 Ghz
– 2GB DDR3 RAM

4. OSHW Design Files
● Manufactured by CircuitCo in Texas
● Released under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA
– http://creativecommons.org/
● Intended to comply with all requirements and guidelines
set forth by the Open Source Hardware Association
– http://www.oshwa.org/
● Download:
http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMax#Design_File
– [x] Schematic (Orcad DSN & PDF)
– [x] Board Layout (Allegro BRD & Gerbers)
– [x] Bill of Materials

5. Ordering
● MinnowBoard MAX-Dual Core
– http://www.technodisti.com/online-store/boards/minnowboard-ma
– $139.00 (in stock)
● MinnowBoard MAX-Single Core
– http://www.technodisti.com/online-store/boards/minnowboard-ma
– $99.00 (pre-order)
● Drew ordered from Mouser (not in stock now)
– http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/MinnowBoard-by-CircuitCo
– $145.95 MINNOWBOARD-MAX-DUAL

6. MinnowBoard MAX: I/O
● 1x HDMI
● 1x MicroSD
● 1x SATA2 3Gb/s
● 1x USB 3.0
● 1x USB 2.0
● 1Gbit Ethernet
● FTDI header
● 8 buffered GPIO
● I2C & SPI pins
● “Lure” connectors

7. Low-Speed Expansion Port Details
● The low-speed expansion port is a 2×13 (26-
pin) male 0.1″ pin header.
– SPI
– I2C
– I2S Audio
– 2x UARTs (TTL-level)
– 8x GPIO (2x supporting PWM)
– +5V & GND

8. High-Speed Expansion Port Details
● The high-speed expansion port is a 60-pin, high-
density connector.
– 1x PCIe Gen 2.0 Lane
– 1x SATA2 3Gb/sec
– 1x USB 2.0 host
– I2C
– GPIO
– JTAG
– +5V & GND

9. Lures: expansion boards
● Calamari Lure: $29.99 (left-top)
– https://www.technodisti.com/online-store/boards
– SPI Based ADC, 10K Slider POT, RGB
LED, 2 PWM LEDS, 2 TTL UART
Headers, 7-Segment Display with 595
shift register, I2C, EEPROM, 3 Buttons
● JTAG Lure: $45 (left-bottom)
– https://www.technodisti.com/online-store/boards
– David Anders: “expect to see in the near
future some basic jtag support for the
minnowboard max in openocd as well”
https://plus.google.com/+DrewFustini/posts/GBd
● 5V 2.5A barrel jack power supply:
$14.95
– https://www.technodisti.com/online-store/access

10. More Lures on eLinux wiki
● http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MaxLures
● Ika lure
– Expands through I2C chips to allow for an Arduino compatible shield
to be used
● Seacat Lure
– mPCIe Slot, mSATA Slot
● Jetsam Lure
– Single mPCIe Slot
● Flotsam Lure
– single mSATA Slot
● Prototype Lure
– Generic Prototype Area on 0.1" grids

11. EFI (Firmware)
● MinnowBoard MAX uses a UEFI system level firmware,
and provides both the UEFI shell, and a typical BIOS
style menu interface.
● Intel EFI Firmware update for MAX:
https://uefidk.com/content/minnowboard-max
● eLinux Wiki page on BIOS:
http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MaxBios
– ships with a 64-bit UEFI Firmware. UEFI can only work when
the OS and Firmware are matched on what the architecture is.
This means a 32-bit OS cannot be run from a 64-bit Firmware,
and vice versa:
● eLinux Wiki page on Booting:
http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MaxBoot

12. Linux Distros
● eLinux Wiki page:
http://elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMaxDistros
● The general proces of setting up Linux for the
MinnowBoard MAX is quite similar to setting up
Linux on any other computer:
– You make a bootable installer USB flash drive for your
distro of choice
– Plug in the storage volume you want to install to (i.e. a
larger SATA or USB HDD, MicroSD card, etc.,)
– Install to that drive

13. Linux Development
● Yocto Project for MinnowBoard:
http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMaxYoc
● Compile your own Linux Kernel:
http://www.elinux.org/Minnowboard:MinnowMaxLinu

14. EFI Shell (over FTDI)
Log: https://gist.github.com/pdp7/020731cc12e603112bbe

15. EFI Shell (over HDMI)

17. Debian
● https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch04s0
● sudo cp debian-testing-amd64-xfce-CD-
1.iso /dev/sdc && sudo sync