Beaglebone - Revision history

ViciousCarnivore: /* Power Saving */

2026-09-25T05:01:23Z

Power Saving

2026-09-25T05:00:45Z

Power Saving

2026-09-25T04:57:11Z

DTB files can be Reverse Engineered

2026-09-23T07:09:22Z

What Doesn't Work As Well

2026-09-23T07:08:20Z

What Doesn't Work As Well

2026-09-23T07:06:28Z

Applications

2026-09-23T07:06:09Z

Applications

2026-09-23T07:05:46Z

List of Applications for Beagleboards

2026-09-23T07:04:39Z

Applications

2026-09-23T07:03:21Z

Applications

@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 I just learned this today. Ask a search engine. I'm not sure if they lose any comments or details, but it's better than nothing. There is a one line command to convert dtb to dts.
 === Power Saving ===
-A quick look at power usage of the BBB (industrial). Conclusion: May want to use a pocket beagle if you need low power, but it's possible to adjust some settings if the CPU load is not high. I'm aware that BBB and RPI (and Linux) are not advised for low power, but I wanted to test it myself.
+A quick look at power usage of the BBB (industrial). Conclusion: May want to use a pocket beagle if you need low power, but it's possible to adjust some settings if the CPU load is not high. I'm aware that the BBB and RPI (aka Linux) are not advised for low power, but I wanted to test it myself.
 <gallery>
 File:Quick Beaglebone Power Usage Tests.png

@@ Line 199: / Line 199: @@
 I just learned this today. Ask a search engine. I'm not sure if they lose any comments or details, but it's better than nothing. There is a one line command to convert dtb to dts.
 === Power Saving ===
-A quick look at power usage of the BBB (industrial).
+A quick look at power usage of the BBB (industrial). Conclusion: May want to use a pocket beagle if you need low power, but it's possible to adjust some settings if the CPU load is not high. I'm aware that BBB and RPI (and Linux) are not advised for low power, but I wanted to test it myself.
 <gallery>
 File:Quick Beaglebone Power Usage Tests.png

@@ Line 198: / Line 198: @@
 === DTB files can be Reverse Engineered ===
 I just learned this today. Ask a search engine. I'm not sure if they lose any comments or details, but it's better than nothing. There is a one line command to convert dtb to dts.
 ==Beagleboard==

@@ Line 419: / Line 419: @@
 * Any CPU intensive process that would be better off on an x86 server.
 * Some x86 specific programs don't run on ARM (such as anything with code in x86 asm).
-* X/Wayland dependent software, that might be too slow for the limited resources of an SBC. (i.e. you are better off using these as headless or for console purposes. Though custom GUIs are not a bad idea, from what I've seen.).
+* X/Wayland dependent software or desktop environments that might be too slow for the limited resources of an SBC. (i.e. you are better off using these as headless or for console purposes. Though custom GUIs are not a bad idea, from what I've seen.).
 ==See also==

@@ Line 419: / Line 419: @@
 * Any CPU intensive process that would be better off on an x86 server.
 * Some x86 specific programs don't run on ARM (such as anything with code in x86 asm).
-* X/Wayland dependent software, that might be too slow for the limited resources of an SBC. (i.e. you are better off using these as headless or for console purposes).
+* X/Wayland dependent software, that might be too slow for the limited resources of an SBC. (i.e. you are better off using these as headless or for console purposes. Though custom GUIs are not a bad idea, from what I've seen.).
 ==See also==

@@ Line 411: / Line 411: @@
 Here are some things that I have considered or are working on with the beagleboards / beaglebones and ones that don't work.
 ====Applications====
-* General Data Logging with sensors (easy with the OS. I.e. you can monitor temperature, or an accelerometer and then store in text files or a db, later displaying the data with graphs).
+* General data logging with sensors (easy with the OS. I.e. you can monitor temperature, or an accelerometer and then store in text files or a db, later displaying the data with graphs).
 * Alarm system (This is a classic project for electronics, but it is good for something like an rpi or beagle as you can setup automated email alerts since you have ethernet). You can use one beagle and connect a number of alarms to the 0.1" headers. You could also use RF alarms potentially, with the SBC as a gateway.
 * Radio monitoring (By connecting up one of the tv tuner usb adapters, you could interface to something like GNU Radio. I'm not sure what you might be looking for, but if you have access to different locations, you would get different results depending on where you are.).

@@ Line 408: / Line 408: @@
 One benefit of the Beaglebone (and the older RPI3 as opposed to 4 and 5) is that they use less power than the newer devices. Some sources online are saying the BBB can run off of 5V 1A. I'm not sure about that (might be possible if there are no peripherals), but if there is some truth to that, then it somewhat evens the playing field for the newer devices. Sure, you can get a more powerful device, but it will require more power.
-===List of Applications for Beagleboards===
+===List of Applications for SBCs===
 Here are some things that I have considered or are working on with the beagleboards / beaglebones and ones that don't work.
 ====Applications====

@@ Line 412: / Line 412: @@
 ====Applications====
 * General Data Logging with sensors on the headers (easy with the OS. I.e. you can monitor temperature, or an accelerometer and then store in text files or a db, later displaying the data with graphs).
-* Alarm system (This is a classic project for electronics, but it is good for something like an rpi or beagle as you can setup automated email alerts since you are connected to the internet). You can use one beagle and connect a number of alarms to the 0.1" headers. You could also use RF alarms potentially, with the SBC as a gateway.
+* Alarm system (This is a classic project for electronics, but it is good for something like an rpi or beagle as you can setup automated email alerts since you have ethernet). You can use one beagle and connect a number of alarms to the 0.1" headers. You could also use RF alarms potentially, with the SBC as a gateway.
 * Radio monitoring (By connecting up one of the tv tuner usb adapters, you could interface to something like GNU Radio. I'm not sure what you might be looking for, but if you have access to different locations, you would get different results depending on where you are.).
 * Software that any x86 computer can do, but with less power consumption. (I will omit any more software specific details, and try to focus on hardware applications of the SBCs. Most anything that runs on Linux will likely work here.).