Tutorials Wiki

The Tutorials Wiki contains guides on a variety of Omega topics, from the basics of Linux, to how to use the Omega Expansions, to using specific software or accomplishing a certain task.

[[TOC]]

Connecting to the Omega

The wiki is moving! These articles can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there.

Taking the first step, connecting to the Omega’s command line:

• Connecting to Omega via Serial Terminal
• Connecting to Omega via SSH
  • Adding your Public key to the Omega

Introduction to Linux

This series of tutorials is meant to get you comfortable with using a Linux environment:

• Introduction to Linux
• The Command Line
• The File System
• Redirection
• Shell Scripting
• Ownership and Permissions

Introduction to OpenWRT

This mini-series is meant to introduce users to OpenWRT.

• OPKG Basics
• UBUS Basics Part 1
• UBUS Basics Part 2
• UBUS Basics Part 3
• UCI Basics

Updating the Omega

Follow this guide to update the Omega’s firmware:

The wiki is moving! This article can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there.

• Omega Firmware Updates

In case your Omega’s firmware gets corrupted during installation, it is possible to reflash a fresh firmware:

• Reflash Firmware using an Ethernet Expansion
• Reflash Firmware by Improvising an Ethernet Connection

Using the Docks and Expansions

The wiki is moving! These articles can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there. (* - denotes articles that do not yet exist in the Onion Docs as of time of writing)

The Omega’s functionality can be greatly extended with the different available Docks and Expansions.

The Omega itself has an LED onboard, it can be controlled to blink in a variety of patterns:

• Blinking Morse Code on the Omega’s LED

The Expansion Dock

The Expansion Dock provides a breakout for the Omega’s GPIOs, allowing you to use the Expansions or simply drive the GPIOs. It also has an RGB LED that can be programmed to show different colours:

• How to use the GPIOs
• Creating PWM signals on the GPIOs
• Controlling the RGB LED

The Power Dock

The Power Dock also provides a breakout for the Omega’s GPIOs, allowing you to use the Expansions or drive the GPIOs. However, the Power Dock can also be powered by just a battery, and has battery management to intelligently charge the connected battery:

• How to use the Power Dock

The Expansions

The Expansions provide additional functionality and features to the Omega:

• How to use the Ethernet Expansion
• How to use the Relay Expansion
• How to use the Servo Expansion
• How to use the OLED Expansion
• How to use the GPS Expansion

The Arduino Dock

The Arduino Dock has an ATmega microcontroller and can be used just like an Arduino:

• Initial Setup
• Using the Arduino Dock
  • Controlling Neopixels

The Bluetooth Low Energy Expansion *

The BLE Expansion can be used to add Bluetooth connectivity to the Omega:

• Streaming Bluetooth Audio on the Omega

The Camera Kit *

The Camera Kit includes a 720p webcam and a pan & tilt servo mount. Assembly instructions are below:

• Camera Kit Assembly Tutorial

The Omega and Connectivity

The wiki is moving! These articles can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there.

The Omega is very versatile when it comes to WiFi networks, the following guides illustrate some of that flexibility:

• Connecting to a WiFi Hotspot that requires a login
• Finding the Omega’s IP address
• Connect to Enterpise-Secured Wifi that requires a username and password
• Sharing Directories on the Omega using Samba
• Using WinSCP for File Transfers

The Omega and Networking

• Using the Omega as a Router
• Using the Omega as a WiFi Range Extender
• Using the Omega as a WiFi Ethernet Bridge

Storage Space

The Omega has 16MB of flash memory, this might be a little limiting in some cases. Plugging in a USB drive to the Omega’s USB Host can help alleviate this issue:

The wiki is moving! These articles can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there.

• Using USB Storage
• The Omega’s RAM can also be extended using USB Storage (This article can be found here.)

It is also possible to run the Omega’s OS from USB storage:

• Using USB Storage as ROOTFS

Using Software on the Omega

Since the Omega runs a full Linux distribution, it is very flexible in the software that it can run. The following guides illustrate how to install and use different software:

• Using Git

Python

The wiki is moving! The Python articles can be found in the Onion Docs already, and will be updated there.

• Installing Python
• Sending Emails with Python
• A Python GPIO Example
• Controlling an I2C-based LCD Display with Python

LAMP Stack

• Instaling the LAMP Stack on the Omega

PHP

• Using PHP on the Omega
• Using PHP with PushBullet
• Using PHP with the DHT11/22 Sensors
• Fixing and Using the PHP Date & Time Functions

NodeJS

• Using NodeJS on the Omega

We’ve added support for installing a few Node modules via opkg:

• OnOff - GPIO control
• Blynk Library

Reading Sensor Data

The Omega can be used with a variety of different communication protocols. I2C is supported out of the box, for others, additional work is required:

• Using SPI to communicate with peripherals
• Using 1Wire to read sensor data

The Omega supports Ubidots, a third-party data visualization service:

• The Omega and Ubidots

Cross Compilation

The Omega can run C and C++ programs, however, it does not host a C compiler, so these programs will have to be cross-compiled on another machine and then installed on your Omega:

• Cross Compilation