Boards¶
All of the boards use the same building blocks, so each board page is short and links to the shared Hardware chapters for details.
PocketBeagle 2 boards¶
Pixel controllers¶
| K8-Pro | K8-Max | K16 | K16-Pro | K16-Max | K32 | K32-Pro | K32-Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local pixel ports | 8 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Differential ports (strings) | 4 (16) | 4 (16) | 4 (16) | 8 (32) | 8 (32) | 4 (16) | 8 (32) | 8 (32) |
| Total strings | 24 | 24 | 32 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 64 | 64 |
| Port protection | fuse | eFuse | fuse | fuse | eFuse | fuse | fuse | eFuse |
| Port power control | bank | port | — | bank† | port | — | bank† | port |
| Per-port current reading | — | ✔ | — | — | ✔ | — | — | ✔ |
| Two-way differential (Falcon V5 receivers) | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| Power inputs (5–24 V) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| DMX / serial outputs | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Built-in audio + FM socket | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| USB-A ports | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Fan header | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| Expansion header | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| Size (mm) | 103 × 129 | 103 × 129 | 169 × 139 | 169 × 139 | 169 × 139 | 169 × 203 | 169 × 203 | 169 × 203 |
Fuse = 5 A mini-blade per port. eFuse = electronic fuse, about 6 A per port, switchable and monitored. †Bank switching on the K16-Pro and K32-Pro starts at board revision v4.1.
Which model line?¶
- Base (K16, K32): the most outputs for the money. Fused ports and send-only differential.
- Pro: adds two-way differential for Falcon V5 receivers, audio, a second DMX output, three USB ports, a fan header and expansion I/O. Bank power switching (K8-Pro, and K16-Pro/K32-Pro from v4.1).
- Max: everything in Pro, plus an eFuse on every port. FPP can switch each port and read its current, and a short is cut in microseconds and reported in FPP instead of blowing a fuse.
Compact controllers: K8-PB, K4-PB and K40D-PB¶
| K8-PB | K4-PB | K40D-PB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local pixel ports | 8, eFused | 4, eFused | — |
| Differential ports (strings) | 3 (12) | — | 10 (40) |
| Expansion port | 16 strings | — | — |
| Total strings | 36 | 4 | 40 |
| Power input | 5–18 V | 5 or 12 V | 5 V only |
| DMX / serial | 3-pin header | 3-pin header | 3-pin terminal |
| Ethernet | none (USB adapter) | none (USB adapter) | none (USB adapter) |
| Real-time clock | ✔ | — | ✔ |
| Size (mm) | 74 × 97 | 71 × 67 | 83 × 99 |
All three use an older output driver (BBB48String), so their differential ports are send-only with no Falcon V5 support. The K8-PB's expansion port drives 16 strings through a Falcon F16v4-style expansion board, and the K4-PB fits a small TA-200 enclosure. See the K8-PB, K4-PB and K40D-PB pages.
LED panels¶
| PocketScroller v2 | PocketScroller v3 | PocketScroller-16 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HUB75 outputs | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| Power | 5 V only | 5 V only | 5 V only |
| Ethernet | none (USB adapter) | ✔ | ✔ |
| USB-A | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Real-time clock | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| Expansion header | — | ✔ | ✔ |
| Size (mm) | 61 × 73 | 122 × 101 | 122 × 144 |
| Minimum FPP | 9.5 on PB2 (10+ recommended) | 9.0 | 10.0 |
BeagleBone Black boards¶
| K8-B | K8-B-Scroller | K64D-B | K128D-B | OctoPlus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local pixel ports | 8, fused | 8, fused | — | — | — |
| Differential ports (strings) | 3 (12) | 1 (4) | 16 (64) | 32 (128) | — |
| Expansion port | 16 strings | — | — | — | — |
| HUB75 panel outputs | — | 3 | — | — | 8 |
| Total strings | 36 | 12 | 64 | 128 | — |
| Power input | 5–18 V | 5–18 V | 5 V only | 5 V only | 5 V only |
| DMX / serial | 2 (header) | 2 (header) | 2 (RJ45, DMX/LOR) | 2 (RJ45, DMX/LOR) | — |
| Built-in audio + FM socket | — | — | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Real-time clock | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Size (mm) | 86 × 109 | 86 × 109 | 182 × 160 | 182 × 225 | 55 × 99 |
All five are capes for the BeagleBone Black, which provides the Ethernet and USB port. Their differential ports are send-only: smart receivers work in v1, v2 or V4 mode. See BeagleBone Black.
Retired BeagleBone Black boards¶
| K16A-B | K32A-B | |
|---|---|---|
| Local pixel ports | 16 | 32, fused |
| Port protection | fuses (v1), eFuses (v2, v3) | 5 A fuse |
| Differential ports (strings) | 4 (16) | 4 (16) |
| Expansion port | 16 strings | — |
| Total strings | 48 | 48 |
| Power terminals | 2 (v1, v2) or 4 (v3) | 4 |
| DMX / serial | 2 | 2 |
| Built-in audio + FM socket | ✔ | ✔ |
| Size (mm) | 150 × 114 | 150 × 150 |
No longer sold, but still widely used. See the K16A-B and K32A-B pages.
Raspberry Pi boards¶
| K8-Pi | K2-Pi-Servo | K2-Pi0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local pixel ports | 8, eFused | 2, eFused | 2, eFused |
| Differential ports (strings) | 3 (12) | — | — |
| Expansion port | 16 strings | — | — |
| Servo outputs | — | 16 | — |
| Total strings | 36 | 2 | 2 |
| Power input | 5–18 V | 5–24 V (+ servo supply) | 5–24 V |
| DMX / serial | 1 (header) | — | — |
| Display & buttons | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Real-time clock | ✔ | — | — |
| Raspberry Pi | 3 B+, 4, 5 | 3 B+, 4, 5 | Zero 2 W |
| Size (mm) | 98 × 106 | 76 × 56 | 65 × 30 |
All three are hats for the Raspberry Pi, which provides the network and USB ports. FPP drives their pixel ports with its DPIPixels output: up to 1600 pixels per string, with smart receivers in v1 or v2 mode. See Raspberry Pi.
Displays & add-ons¶
The BBB-OLED and Pi-OLED add a status display, menu buttons, a real-time clock and a temperature sensor to a BeagleBone Black or Raspberry Pi running FPP, with no outputs of their own. The PiOLED 3.0 also adds a high-quality line-level audio output.
All boards¶
All of them run FPP. The boards in the PocketBeagle 2 section need a PocketBeagle 2; the K4-PB, K40D-PB and PocketScroller v2 also work with the original PocketBeagle 1. See PocketBeagle 2, BeagleBone Black and Raspberry Pi.