Table of content:

• What do I need before I start?
• Connect to Red Pitaya
• Connection types
• Wired
• Wireless
• Prepare SD card
• OS Versions
• 2.00 OS
• 1.04 OS
• Older OS versions
• Nightly Builds
• Download and install the SD card image
• Windows
• Linux
• macOS
• Background
• Manual upgrade
• Resize file system
• FAQ
• Connectivity
• How to get started with Red Pitaya?
• How to connect to Red Pitaya in a few simple steps?
• Red Pitaya not booting anymore?
• How to connect the external clock to RP?
• How can I make sure that Red Pitaya is connected to the same network as my computer/tablet/smartphone?
• 1.4.1.8. Problems connecting to RP?
• How to find the Red Pitaya URL if it is not written on the sticker?
• Slow WIFI connection?
• WIFI dongle not detected?
• OS
• How to upgrade OS?
• Is Red Pitaya not booting even after OS update?
• Is Red Pitaya failing to update?
• Applications & Web Interface
• How can I start using RP measurement applications?
• My device shows the wrong measurements. How can I calibrate it?
• Undesired disconnections?
• An application is not working?
• Software
• How to control Red Pitaya remotely using LabVIEW, MATLAB, and Python?
• Where can I find the ecosystem, software, and FPGA images?
• How to start with FPGA development?
• Hardware
• Where can I find Red Pitaya schematics, 3D models (.step), and important componetns?
• Is there a hardware difference between the STEMlab125-14 and the ISO17025 versions?
• What are the main differences between different Red Pitaya boards?
• How to report a bug?

Welcome to the comprehensive guide designed to help you seamlessly integrate Red Pitaya into your projects. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, this guide serves as your roadmap through the initial setup, connectivity options, SD card preparation, and troubleshooting with an extensive FAQ section. Each segment of the guide is meticulously crafted to provide you with detailed instructions, tips, and solutions to common issues you might encounter along the way.

What do I need before I start?

The following essential items needed to start are already included in each of the RedPitaya kits available on our WEB store:

125-10, 125-14, 122-16, 125-14 4-Input

• 5 V / 2 A micro USB power supply,
• 4 GB (up to 32 GB) Class 10 micro SD card with pre-loaded Red Pitaya OS,
• Ethernet cable.

Additional required items which are not provided with the Red Pitaya kits:

• A computer with an internet browser (Google Chrome is recommended),
• router with DHCP server enabled and access to the internet.

Note

Red Pitaya boards should not be powered by a power supply that provides less power than specified or has very thin power wires, since this will result in abnormal behaviour of the device, causing reboots and network disconnections. The same problem might appear if the Red Pitaya board is powered directly from USB on a PC or HUB that cannot provide enough power or when using a bad power cable.

Connect to Red Pitaya

This is the most common and recommended way of connecting and using your Red Pitaya boards. Your LAN network must have DHCP settings enabled which is true with most local networks. With this, a simple plug and play approach is enabled. Having a Red Pitaya board connected to the local network will enable quick access to all Red Pitaya applications using only your web browser.

Follow these three simple steps to start using your Red Pitaya:

125-10, 125-14, 122-16, 125-14 4-Input

1. Connect your Red Pitaya board to the router 2. Connect the power supply to the Red Pitaya board 3. Open your web browser and type rp-xxxxxx.local/ into the address bar

After the third step, you will get a Red Pitaya main page, as shown below.

Red Pitaya’s main page user interface.

Note

For any issues during setup, check troubleshooting or look on the forum for a solution. If you cannot find a solution, please post your problem, providing as much detail as possible.

Connection types

For detailed instructions on connection types, please check out the sections below:

Prepare SD card

OS Versions

This Section provides a thorough guide on preparing the SD card for Red Pitaya users, detailing the steps to download and install the appropriate operating system (OS) versions onto an SD card. It covers the selection of OS versions, emphasizing the unified OS image introduced with version 2.00, and offers detailed instructions for writing the image to an SD card using tools for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Additionally, it explains the SD card's structure, including the ecosystem and OS partitions, and presents methods for manual ecosystem upgrades and resizing the file system to utilize the full capacity of larger SD cards. This section is essential for users to correctly set up their Red Pitaya, ensuring it operates with the latest features and updates.

The OS versions are listed from newest to oldest. For development OS (Nightly Builds), please check the Nightly Builds chapter located at the end of the OS section.

Download and install the SD card image

The next procedure will create a clean SD card image.

1. Select an appropriate OS version from above and download it.

2. Unzip the SD card image.
3. Write the image onto an SD card. Instructions are available for various operating systems:

• Windows
• Linux
• macOS

1. Insert the SD card into the Red Pitaya.

Note

This video shows how to identify your Red Pitaya model and write a memory card.

Background

A Red Pitaya SD card contains two partitions:

1. 128 MB FAT contains the ecosystem:
• boot files: FSBL, FPGA images, U-Boot, Linux kernel
• Red Pitaya API libraries and header files
• Red Pitaya web applications, scripts, tools
• customized Nginx web server
2. ~4 GB Ext4 contains the OS:
• Ubuntu/Debian OS
• various libraries
• network setup customization
• systemd services customization

Most of Red Pitaya’s source code translates into the ecosystem. Therefore, it is updated more often. The OS is changed less frequently.

Note

You can find older and developed Red Pitaya OS images and Ecosystem zip files on our download server.

Note

A list of new features, bug fixes, and known bugs for each Red Pitaya release can be found in our CHANGELOG.

Manual upgrade

Instead of writing the whole SD card image, it is possible to upgrade only the ecosystem.

A manual upgrade allows you to fix a corrupted SD card image (if only the FAT partition is corrupted) or to install older, newer, or custom ecosystem zip files.

1. Download a zip file from our download server.
2. Insert the SD card into the card reader.
3. Delete all files from the FAT partition. Use Shift + Delete to avoid placing files into the trash bin on the same partition.
4. Extract the ecosystem zip file contents onto the now empty partition.

If you wish to keep wireless settings, skip deleting the next files:

• wpa_supplicant.conf
• hostapd.conf

Resize file system

When recording an image to a flash card of any size, we get sections of the file system of 4 GB in size. In order to increase the available free space, you need to execute the following script:

root@rp-f03dee:~# /opt/redpitaya/sbin/resize.sh

After the script is completed, the system will ask you to restart your Red Pitaya. If everything is done correctly, the system will start with an increased space size. This can be checked with the following command:

root@rp-f03dee:~# df -h

Note

If the file system size has not changed, try to manually run the command:

root@rp-f03dee:~# sudo resize2fs /dev/mmcblk0p2

FAQ

The FAQ section in the documentation provides comprehensive answers to common questions and issues related to the setup, connectivity, OS updates, application usage, and hardware specifications of Red Pitaya devices. It addresses how to get started, connect to networks, troubleshoot booting problems, and enhance WIFI connections. Additionally, it guides on updating the OS, dealing with non-booting devices post-update, and ensuring internet connectivity for accessing the marketplace and OS updates. This FAQ section is a vital resource for users seeking quick solutions and deeper understanding of their Red Pitaya's capabilities and troubleshooting methods.

Note

Not found what you are looking for? Please contact us or report a bug. Please include all the relevant information regarding the problem. For easier debugging on OS versions 2.00 and above, please also include the Downloaded system report in the bottom left corner of your Red Pitaya main webpage.

Connectivity

How to get started with Red Pitaya?

• Quick start

How to connect to Red Pitaya in a few simple steps?

• Connected to router
• Direct connection to computer

Red Pitaya not booting anymore?

• A possible cause could be a corrupted card, and the recommendation is a manual OS re-write: Prepare SD card
• Please check Problems connecting to RP for status LED description.
• Was the OS updated recently?

How to connect the external clock to RP?

• STEMlab 125-14 & STEMlab 125-14-Z7020
• SDRlab 122-16

How can I make sure that my Red Pitaya has access to the internet? 1. Connect to your Red Pitaya over SSH. 2. Make sure that you can ping google.com website: root@rp-f03dee:~# ping -c 4 google.com PING google.com (216.58.212.142) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from ams15s21-in-f142.1e100.net (216.58.212.142): icmp_seq=1 ttl=57 time=27.3 ms 64 bytes from ams15s21-in-f142.1e100.net (216.58.212.142): icmp_seq=2 ttl=57 time=27.1 ms 64 bytes from ams15s21-in-f142.1e100.net (216.58.212.142): icmp_seq=3 ttl=57 time=27.1 ms 64 bytes from ams15s21-in-f142.1e100.net (216.58.212.142): icmp_seq=4 ttl=57 time=27.1 ms --- google.com ping statistics --- 4 packets transmitted, 4 received, 0% packet loss, time 3004ms rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 27.140/27.212/27.329/0.136 ms

How can I make sure that Red Pitaya is connected to the same network as my computer/tablet/smartphone?

The most common answer would be: just make sure that your Red Pitaya and your PC/tablet/smartphone are both connected to the same router or your smartphone hotspot.

In order to test it, you can use a PC that is connected to the same local network as your Red Pitaya and try the following:

1. Open the terminal window.
• Windows: Go to RUN, type in cmd and press enter.
• Linux: Click on the application button, type in Terminal and press enter.
• macOS: Hit cmd + space, type in Terminal and press enter.
2. Enter the arp -a command to get a list of all devices in your local area network and try to find your Red Pitaya MAC address on the list.

$ arp -a ? (192.168.178.117) at 00:08:aa:bb:cc:dd [ether] on eth0 ? (192.168.178.118) at 00:26:32:f0:3d:ee [ether] on eth0 ? (192.168.178.105) at e8:01:23:45:67:8a [ether] on eth0

Note

If you have a cable connection, then your MAC address is written on your Red Pitaya LAN connector.

Note

If you have established a wireless connection, then you should check the MAC address of your wireless USB dongle. The MAC addresses are typically written on the USB dongles.

1. Type your Red Pitaya IP into your WEB browser and connect to it.

If your Red Pitaya is not listed on the list of your local network devices on the local network, then it is necessary to check that your Red Pitaya is connected to your local network.

1.4.1.7. Is Red Pitaya connected to my local network? 1. Connect your Red Pitaya to a PC over a Serial Console. 2. Type “ip a” and hit enter to check the status of your ethernet connection on Red Pitaya. 1. If you have connected to your Red Pitaya over a wireless connection, you should check the status of the wlan0 interface. 2. If you have connected to your Red Pitaya over a cable connection, you should check the eth0 interface. 3. Type Red Pitaya IP into your web browser to see if you can connect to it.

1.4.1.8. Problems connecting to RP?

1. First, check the LEDs:
1. If the green LED is not ON or is blinking. It seems like something is wrong with the power supply, or maybe it’s the USB cable. Make sure that:

you have plugged the USB cable into the right USB connector on the Red Pitayayour power supply is 5V/2Atry to replace the USB cable and also the USB power supply

2. If the green LED is turned ON but the blue LED is turned OFF. In this case, there is an error while loading the Red Pitaya system from the SD card. Make sure that:

you have correctly inserted the Red Pitaya SD card and the Red Pitaya OS has been installed (Notice that Red Pitayas already comes with a pre-installed OS on SD cards. Anyhow, SD cards might get corrupted- in such case follow this instruction on how to Prepare SD card to properly re-install Red Pitaya OS to SD card)try to use another SD card

3. If both the green and blue LEDs are ON, but the red and orange LEDs are not blinking. The red LED indicates CPU heartbeat, while the orange LED indicates access to the SD card. Notice that these two LEDs always start blinking 10 seconds after the green and blue LEDs are turned on.
2. Make sure your Red Pitaya and computer are both connected to the same local network.
3. Consult the connection guide for advice.
4. Try disabling the VPN, because it may be preventing the connection.
5. If you are a Windows user, please look at the note below.

Note

Windows 7/8 users should install Bonjour Print Services, otherwise access to *.local addresses will not work.

Windows 10 or higher already supports mDNS and DNS-SD, so there is no need to install additional software.

How to find the Red Pitaya URL if it is not written on the sticker?

The Red Pitaya URL is rp-xxxxxx.local where xxxxxx must be replaced with the last 6 digits of the MAC address that is written on the sticker.

If the RP MAC address is 00:26:33:F1:13:D5, the last 6 digits are F113D5 and the URL is rp-f113d5.local.

Slow WIFI connection?

If your wireless connection with Red Pitaya works very slowly and all the applications seem very unresponsive and not running smoothly, please check the following:

• Check the WiFi signal strength on your PC/tablet/smartphone.
• Check the WiFi signal strength of your Red Pitaya.

Connect to your Red Pitaya via an SSH connection.Enter the cat /proc/net/wireless command to get information about link quality and signal strength.Link quality measures the number of packet errors that occur. The lower the number of packet errors, the higher this will be. Link quality goes from 0-100%.Level, or signal strength, is a simple measure of the amplitude of the signal that is received. The closer you are to the access point, the higher this will be.

• If you are in an area with many routers around you, more of them might operate on the same wifi channel, which drastically decreases data throughput and slows down connection. Here are the instructions on how to change your wifi router channel in order to optimize your wireless signal. For MAC users, we recommend using the Scan feature of the Wireless Diagnostic Tool in order to find the best wifi channel.

Note

For full performance, a wired connection is preferred.

WIFI dongle not detected?

Please note that not all are compatible. A list is in the documentation: Supported USB Wi-Fi adapters

OS

How to upgrade OS?

• Prepare SD card

Is Red Pitaya not booting even after OS update?

• Please use the Balena Etcher application to rewrite the OS manually. The latest Windows update has been reported to have broken the Win32 disc imager. Prepare SD card
• Upgraded from an older Red Pitaya OS to the 2.00 Unified OS? Please try GitHub issue #250 and GitHub issue #254

Is Red Pitaya failing to update?

Please use the Balena Etcher application to rewrite the OS manually. The latest Windows update has been reported to have broken the Win32 disc imager. Prepare SD card

Applications & Web Interface

How can I start using RP measurement applications?

• Connect to Red Pitaya

My device shows the wrong measurements. How can I calibrate it?

The Red Pitaya can be calibrated using the Calibration Tool

Problems with OS update application, and accessing the marketplace? 1. Make sure your Red Pitaya has access to the internet. 2. Force a refresh of the Red Pitaya application page. How?

Web interface not functioning properly, or experimenting with freezing?

Please ensure that your browser’s ad blockers are turned off for the “rp-xxxxxx.local” webpage and that your proxy settings are correct. For local connections to the Red Pitaya unit, proxy settings should not be required. A VPN may also be preventing the connection.

Undesired disconnections?

If possible, we recommend testing the setup on a different computer and a different network, as well as, checking the state of the Ethernet cables and power supply, proxy settings, and re-writing the OS.

An application is not working?

We suggest upgrading to the latest OS and trying again. Otherwise, please report the bug.

Note

It is important to note that applications developed by the Red Pitaya community are not distributed or tested by the Red Pitaya team and that our team accepts no responsibility. If you’d like to share feedback, report bugs, or need help on contributed projects, apps, or software, we highly recommend contacting the project authors.

Note

The 2.00 Unified OS update has seen registry changes in the FPGA, so, likely, older applications will not work after the OS update (Xilinx also changed how the FPGA is loaded into the FPGA).

Software

For establishing an SSH connection, creating a custom FPGA image, custom ecosystem, and/or custom web applications, please refer to Developers guide Software.

How can I acquire data with Red Pitaya?There are multiple approaches to acquiring data with Red Pitaya. Here is a quick description of each possiblity: • Oscilloscope application – The data is acquired at full speed, but all the limitations of a standard oscilloscope apply (currently, the data can only be extracted upon user request via the application. Remote data collection is currently impossible). More info here. • SCPI data acquisition (Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW) – Triggered data acquisition. The data is acquired in 16384 sample-long buffers. The code is executed on a computer, and string commands are sent to the Red Pitaya via socket communication. Data is acquired on the Red Pitaya and then sent back as a string that can be converted to a floating-point format. Trigger can be set to either IN1, IN2, or External (also IN3 and IN4 for STEMlab 125-14 4-Input). Trigger level can be specified. The acquisition must be restarted before a new “data buffer” can be acquired. There is a dead time between capturing two consecutive buffers where data is not saved. More details here. • API commands (C, Python) – Functions exactly the same as SCPI data acquisition, but it is faster since everything is running on the Red Pitaya board itself (the code is executed on the board). More info here. • Streaming application – Continuous data acquisition. The data is streamed from one or both inputs directly to a file on a computer. The data can be acquired indefinitely, but there are speed limitations.The total data flow at the inputs (IN1 and IN2) must not exceed 20 MB/s when streaming directly to a computer or 10 MB/s when streaming to the SD card. More details on the limitations are available here. • Deep Memory (AXI mode) (only OS 2.00-23 – latest Beta) – Long sequence triggered data acquisition. The data can be acquired at different speeds (up to 125 MHz), and it is saved directly into the DDR RAM. The buffer length can be specified by the user but must not exceed 256 MB for both channels. After the acquisition is complete, Red Pitaya needs some time to transfer the whole file to the computer (the RAM must be emptied) before the acquisition can be reset. Functions exactly the same as API commands. More details are available here. • Custom Acquisition (FPGA) – Red Pitaya is open-source so any mode above can be customized by the user to tune it to their specific application.

How can I generate data with Red Pitaya?Here are all possible generation options on the Red Pitaya (please be aware of AC coupling limitations on SDRlab 122-16): • Oscilloscope application - basic waveform generation. More info here. • SCPI commands (Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW), remote control from computer - can generate basic waveforms as well as custom/arbitrary waveforms (defined in a 16384 sample-long buffer which represents one period of the signal - the frequency is calculated for the whole buffer). More details here. • API commands (C, Python), on-board program - same functionality as standard SCPI commands, but generally faster and includes the benefit of possible direct communication with the FPGA. More info here. • Custom/user-defined (FPGA reprogramming) - Red Pitaya is open-source, so anyone has the option of reprogramming the FPGA image to customise the functionality.

How to control Red Pitaya remotely using LabVIEW, MATLAB, and Python?

• Remote control

Where can I find the ecosystem, software, and FPGA images?

• Red Pitaya ecosystem - please check the specific branches for older ecosystem versions
• Red Pitaya FPGA
• Red Pitaya archive - software archive

Note

Impossible. Perhaps the archives are incomplete.

If you need a specific old version of the ecosystem or the OS that is missing from the archives, we suggest you ask the community on the Red Pitaya Forum. There is a chance someone has it lying around on the disk.

How to start with FPGA development?

• Software
• FPGA tutorials

Hardware

For hardware schematics, step models, and specifications, please refer to Developers guide Hardware.

Where can I find Red Pitaya schematics, 3D models (.step), and important componetns?

Please take a look at Developers guide Hardware => board model => Schematics, Mechanical Specifications and 3D Models. See the general link above, or board-specific links below.

• STEMlab 125-10
• STEMlab 125-14
• SDRlab 122-16
• SIGNALlab 250-12

Is there a hardware difference between the STEMlab125-14 and the ISO17025 versions?

No, the hardware is identical. The only difference is that the latter would have been sent to a certification lab and the appropriate measurements would have been made.

What are the main differences between different Red Pitaya boards?

Take a look at the board comparison table.

How to report a bug?

Please send us an e-mail at support@redpitaya.com with the following information:

• The model of Red Pitaya used,
• Version of Red Pitaya OS,
• Information about the bug,
• Clear instructions about how to reproduce it.