BeagleBone Black¶
The K8-B, K8-B-Scroller, K64D-B, K128D-B and OctoPlus, and the retired K16A-B and K32A-B, are capes for the BeagleBone Black (BBB). The BBB is a small computer that runs FPP, and the cape adds the power, outputs and connectors. FPP drives the outputs from the BBB's two PRUs, small real-time processors beside the main CPU.
Which BeagleBones work¶
| Board | Works? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BeagleBone Black | ✔ | the usual choice |
| BeagleBone Black Industrial | ✔ | the same as the BeagleBone Black, with a wider temperature rating |
| BeagleBone Black Wireless | ✔ | Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet |
| BeagleBone Green | ✔ | no barrel jack (it's powered from the cape anyway) |
| SanCloud BeagleBone Enhanced | ✔ | on the OctoPlus, output 5 doesn't work properly |
| BeagleBone Green Wireless | ✘ | not compatible |
| PocketBeagle, PocketBeagle 2, BeagleBone AI | ✘ | different boards. See PocketBeagle 2. |
Kulp Lights sells these boards with or without a BeagleBone Black (or Green) already fitted, and with or without an SD card with FPP on it.
Fitting the BeagleBone¶
The cape connects to the BeagleBone's two 46-pin headers, P8 and P9. How they fit together depends on the board:
- K8-B, K8-B-Scroller and OctoPlus: the cape plugs on top of the BeagleBone. The BeagleBone's Ethernet jack sits in the notch cut out of the cape's edge, so the cape only fits one way round.
- K64D-B and K128D-B: these capes are much bigger, so the BeagleBone plugs upside down onto the cape, with its Ethernet jack over the notch in the cape's right-hand edge. Its microSD slot then faces up, and its USB-A port is still usable.
If your board came without a BeagleBone fitted:
- Disconnect all power.
- Line the BeagleBone's Ethernet jack up with the notch in the cape, and both rows of header pins with both sockets.
- Press evenly along both headers, rocking gently end to end, until the two boards are fully together.
Check before you power on
A cape that is shifted by a row, or fitted the wrong way round, can damage both boards. Check that every pin is in its socket and that none are left over at either end.
Storage: run FPP from an SD card¶
Run FPP from a microSD card in the BeagleBone. Use a good-quality card of 16–32 GB (A1/A2, U3). Cheap or counterfeit cards are the most common cause of strange problems. You can buy a card with FPP already installed, or write the BeagleBone Black image yourself. See Getting the FPP software. Use FPP 9.5 or later; the current release is best.
The BeagleBone also has built-in eMMC storage, but on most boards it is only 4 GB, too small to hold a show's media comfortably, so we recommend the SD card. (BeagleBone Blacks made since late 2025 have 16 GB of eMMC. FPP's Status/Control → FPP Settings → Storage page can copy FPP to it.)
Booting from the SD card¶
BeagleBones made since about 2019 boot from an SD card on their own: insert the card and power up.
Older boards boot whatever is on their eMMC instead. To boot one of those from the SD card, hold the Boot button while you apply power, and keep holding it until the BeagleBone's LEDs start flashing. The K64D-B and K128D-B have a Boot button on the cape for this. On the other boards, use the BeagleBone's own Boot button, next to its USB-A port.
Powering¶
The BeagleBone is powered from the cape: the cape's power terminal feeds the BeagleBone through its header pins (see Power).
Don't power the BeagleBone a second way
- Don't plug a supply into the BeagleBone's barrel jack while the cape is powering it. The two supplies end up tied together. (The K8-B and K8-B-Scroller have a jumper that lets you power the BeagleBone from its barrel jack instead; see their pages.)
- Don't connect the BeagleBone's USB port to a computer (USB tethering) while the cape is powered. Set the controller up over the network instead.
Power button¶
Each cape has a Power button wired to the BeagleBone's own power button, which is hard to reach once a cape is fitted:
- When FPP is running, a short press shuts the BeagleBone down cleanly, the same as FPP's Shutdown.
- After a shutdown, the BeagleBone stays off while the cape is still powered. Press Power to start it again, or switch the supply off and on.
- Holding it down for several seconds forces the BeagleBone off. Use that only if it has hung.
Network and USB¶
- Ethernet: the BeagleBone's own 10/100 Ethernet jack. The BeagleBone Black Wireless has Wi-Fi instead.
- USB: the BeagleBone has one USB-A port, for a USB sound card, Wi-Fi adapter or USB storage.
- Status LEDs: the BeagleBone's four blue LEDs show it booting and running.