My goal is to write a simple .dts file (to be compiled to .dtbo using DT 1.4.4) to configure a GPIO output on boot on a Beaglebone Black Rev C running Debian 10.3 I intend to place the .dtbo in /lib/firmware and then specify it in /boot/uEnv.txt
I understand some parts of the .dts file and have tried decompiling exisiting .dtbo files in /lib/firmware/ for guidance but none of them are a simple GPIO output example. A lot of online resources involve make and make install but I believe DT should be able to handle it by now right?
I was able to get the following to compile but with issue:
/* dtc -O dtb -o BB-P8_13-LED.dtbo -b 0 -@ BB-P8_13-LED-00A0.dts */
/dts-v1/;
/plugin/;
/ {
compatible = "ti,beaglebone-black";
/* identification */
part-number = "BB-P8_13-LED";
version = "00A0";
/* state the resources this cape uses */
exclusive-use =
/* the pin header uses */
"P8.13", /* GPIO_23 */
/* the hardware ip uses */
"gpio23";
fragment@0 {
target = <&am33xx_pinmux>;
__overlay__ {
bb_gpio23_pin: pinmux_bb_gpio23_pin {
pinctrl-single,pins = < 0x024 0x07 >; /*P8_13 GPIO23 MODE7*/
};
};
};
fragment@1 {
target = <&gpio23>;
__overlay__ {
leds {
status = "okay";
pinctrl-names = "default";
pinctrl-0 = <&bb_gpio23_pin>;
compatible = "gpio-leds";
P8_13 {
label = "P8_13";
default-state = "on";
};
};
};
};
};
Q: Why does loading this .dtbo in /boot/uEnv.txt cause all other GPIOs to disappear from /sys/class/gpio/? I thought fragment0 was for excluding a single gpio, not all of them.
###Additional custom capes
uboot_overlay_addr4=/lib/firmware/BB-P8_13-LED-00A0.dtbo
Q: Where are the files for controlling the GPIO (for testing) or rather what can I add to my .dts file so the gpio23 still appears in /sys/class/gpio or even /sys/class/leds? Ultimately I want to be able to control this GPIO with Node-RED.
Q: Do I need to be consistent with my use of P8.13 vs. P8_13? I think I'm mixing up terminology used in .dts files that get compiled with make vs DT.
Q: I think my fragment@1 P8_13 child node is missing something to specify the gpio bank and active high/low setting. Something like "gpios = <&gpio3 19 GPIO_ACTIVE_HIGH>;" Where can I look to research which bank GPIO23 is in? What does the '19' mean in that statement?
The .dts file in my first answer did not fix my problem. GPIO P8_13 still boots as an input. After more digging and testing I have discovered it is NOT possible to make a GPIO direction survive a reboot. It will always boot to the default and the best you can do is enable a pullup or pulldown resistor to keep the pin high or low until a custom service file (or program) can write to /sys/class/gpio/gpioXXX/direction. I even tried decompiling am335x-boneblack.dtb, editing it, and re-compiling with no luck.
This is sad and incredibly frustrating. What good is an output that flickers during reboot? Guess I'll have to compensate with fancy external circuitry.