I’ve fitted the pi-top[3] with a CM4toPi3 adapter board, basically cut a CM4 sided hole in the base!
The piTop OS and Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye (fkms) both startup however I can’t get the keyboard or touchpad to work - any ideas?
External usb keyboard and mouse work.
I’m following a similar approach as OP as I also want to ‘transplant’ a CM4 into my Pi-top[3].
Also hit the issue with USB not working on CM4.
CM4 has two USB controllers DWC and XHCI
In order to get USB running on a CM4 (as it’s disabled by default) one needs to configure one or the other controller, i.e.
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
In Pi-top OS the DWC get used for ethernet gadget, is this corect understanding?
What is this needed for and how can it be fully disabled for use on Pi-top[3]. Already tried deleting that module from cmdline.txt without success.
Started testing with https://www.waveshare.com/product/raspb … acce-a.htm. Board starts to boot but will not turn on display. Can see the background image for the flick of a second then the screen get’s turned off. Not figured out the root cause yet. xrandr shows HDMI as connected but not luck to tun it on (even tried adding new modes).
Then used https://www.waveshare.com/product/raspb … dapter.htm. Unscrewed the Pi-top Hub to allow it to connect to the CM4 carrier board as there is not enough clearance underneath the board.
With a stock Raspberry Pi Bullseye OS the board will start but there is no USB functionality for keyboard/touchpad (as reported by rpiMike as well) - surprisingly a USB Wifi stick is working on the internal USB-A connector on the Pi-Top hub 2.0 (note the USB cable or the picture)
To put keyboard/touch in operation the config.txt needs to be changed to use the DWC2 USB controller:
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
Bullyeye uses XHCI controller by default so that one needs to be disabled
#otg_mode=1So here are some more pictures of my SteroidPi-top [3] - which is running latest 5.15.61 64-bit Raspberry Bullseye OS now
Thought the cooler is of no use as it’s not touching the SOC. When compiling the Linux kernel I’ve noted throttling of the SOC and decided to attach it again (now with M2.5 screws instead of rivets)
To make the cooler touch the Waveshare PCB two layers of 1.5mm TIM were added (sorry, did not measure the actual gap size; simply scherzend them in)
The cooler is now touching the board (no components in that position luckily and aids in cooling the device.
Warning: it’s getting warm to the touch when running on full load!
This looks absolutely amazing. I’m wondering… before I go down the same “hot knife” rabbit hole, have you considered using spacers to raise both the rail, and the pi hub in order to avoid having to cut the shell?
Raising the board is not possible (from my experience) because :
Need to say that this was a side project for me only, so didn’t want to spend to much time on it.
Made some more testimg with the other waveshare board (where the CM4 sits on top and there is no need for cutting the chassis because of that). The on-board HDMI drives the display correct, the one from the adapter board did fail at different FFC lenghts. So stopped testing with that board although I still consider it as the nicer build (sure, more internal changes required).
Be sure to run below commands when you’re up for using a Raspberry Bullseye OS
> echo "deb http://apt.pi-top.com/pi-top-os sirius main contrib non-free" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pi-top.list &> /dev/null
> curl https://apt.pi-top.com/pt-apt.asc | sudo apt-key add
> sudo apt update
> sudo apt install --no-install-recommends -y pt-device-managerFound some time to mill and mount the antenna holder.
Hi, new here. Been using raspberry pi’s for several years and can do some config.txt mods. I am having a hard time getting my CM4 in a Pi3 adapter to work. Boots up to the point of asking me if I’m ready to be a maker I think. I can’t get mouse, or keyboard to work. I tried to modify config.txt as mentioned above, but I’m probably doing it wrong. (newbie) I tried connecting to the usb port under keyboard still doesn’t work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
R
Be sure to change your config.txt as below (only showing relevant section)
[cm4]
# Enable host mode on the 2711 built-in XHCI USB controller.
# This line should be removed if the legacy DWC2 controller is required
# (e.g. for USB device mode) or if USB support is not required.
# otg_mode=1
# ---------------------------------------------
# enable USB in host mode on CM4
# ---------------------------------------------
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host
Sorry, but I’ve not used Pi-Top OS on my modded Pi-Top 3! I’ve used the official Raspberry Bullseye OS.
Thanks. I installed raspberry pi os and got it working. I found the knowledge base article about that. Everything was going well, got mouse and keyboard working, then I did “sudo apt install -y pt-device-support”. I lost keyboard and mouse. I reflashed card and started over without the last step. Keyboard and mouse work now. Still checking some things.
First of all, don’t know which article you’re speaking about! Figured all this out myself.
Secondly, don’t know how one can ‘loose’ USB devices by updating. Had 6.1.19 kernel running on my Pi Top3 before selling it off.
No issues found!
Be sure to run all commands listed here Pi-top[3] with CM4toPi3 board
Would be interested to see this adapter/carrier board being used with the Milk-V Mars CM; get as many young students into RISC-V development as possible!
Hi, Thanks to the info you all provided, I could successfully update my pi-top[3] with CM5/8GB/eMMC !
Thanks to all.
Are you using that Waveshare board to run the CM5 with Pitop[3]? Which revision? You should post pictures. I am thinking of a CM5 in my pitop and would be very interested to see how you did it.
Hey!
I’ve recently purchased a Pi-Top 3 and have been playing with the idea of fitting a CM5 into the body too. To test the water, I’ve just tried using a Waveshare Mini Base Board (A) for the CM5 and used a FPC 40P adapter for the GPIO and a HDMI DIY adapter from ThePiHut to extend out the HDMI so I can place the CM5 on the rail mount.
What excited me (a little odd to say but none the less), I’m just running the normal Raspberry Pi OS on the CM5 (has EMMC memory) and the Brightness controls work!
Just need to configure the Battery monitoring and it’s a working laptop!
Regarding getting this all to fit, I’m thinking of ways to get this board and CM5 to fit above the rails - having the cooling block onto presently is going to hamper getting this all to fit too. Also need to work out a better power solution for the CM5 as it’s complaining about being under voltage so maybe need to see if I can tap off the 18V line somehow and use a buck converter (or equivalent).
Very exciting post! Love the pic. What cable did hyou use to attach the CM5 output to the pitop screen? looks like some kind of a ribbon cable ?
I’m using two of the FPC-40P boards with GPIO pins soldered onto them; you can get them pre-soldered online from a number of online store (ThePiHut, Amazon, etc), but it’s hard to find ones with the correct GPIO pins on the correct sides (female on the top, male on the bottom) so I would recommend getting blank ones and soldering you’re own GPIO pins, like this:
Then it’s a FPC 40 flex cable with a B configuration - I’m using a 25cm version.
Very helpful. Looks like a non-trivial job to get that GPIO ribbon built. I am also curious about your HDMI and USB connectors. Especially that black USB cable in the back left corner of the device where the Pi would normally sit. I assume its a USB-A female to USB-A male? I struggled to find a USB-female with thin enough of a housing to connect to that double USB adapter in the corner of the Pi-top. Where did you find it? And your HDMI looks like some kind of a flat flexible cable too?
No problem!
So, the HDMI cable is indeed a DIY kit from ThePiHut:
https://thepihut.com/search?q=diy+hdmi&narrow_by=&sort_by=relevency&page=1
I’m using a female stand HDMI to connect to the Pi-Top Hub, and passing the ribbon cable directly under the adaptor & Hub:
The other end can be any type of HDMI they offer (not an USB - more on that in a bit); for this specific CM5 carrier board I needed a full sized HDMI but for say the WaveShare nano board I’d need a Mini HDMI which I picked up just in case (along with Micro HDMI).
I just pass the ribbon cable for the GPIO adapter under this HDMI adapter & ribbon cable:
As for the USB, it is indeed a standard USB-A Female to Male cable I had lying around; not sure where I brought it from but does fit in ok - it’s a little long so am looking at other options:
One option would be the same DIY adaptors as the HDMI as they do USB ends too, but aren’t cross compatible so HDMI > HDMI and USB > USB.
Me however just ordered an USB Adapter for a Motherboard with a right angle which should fit quite nicely (I hope!):
Shall let you know when it arrives as they do a left angle and straight version too…
Going to work on seeing about fitting the CM5 carrier board in now as that’s the main issue now for me!
