Re: NetBSD 5.0.1 Support for the TS7200

[Craig Kulesa <ckulesa%as.arizona.edu@localhost>]

> Has anyone been able to get 5.0.1 installed and running on the TS7200?

I have NetBSD 4.0 and 5.0.1 running on several TS7200's for various lab
purposes.  I haven't yet seen the startup panic that Ken mentioned. Weird.

If you have the 8 MB Flash version of the board, you can use the minimal 
kernel image (gzimg-TS7200_0x60660000) that I use at:
        http://loke.as.arizona.edu/~ckulesa/binaries/NetBSD/

I don't have an INSTALL image handy right now, but I'll upload one next 
time I do a build.  In the meantime, you can use the NetBSD 3.x INSTALL 
image to do a functional network install of 5.0.1 (userland, just change 
the FTP directory), and then drop this gzimg into flash to make it 
self-booting.  I actually did this once!

I've had great fun with these boards -- we have one operating at the 
highest, most isolated point on the Antarctic plateau, running a small 
astronomical instrument[*] and using the Iridium satellite network for 
communications.  Most recently, we've flown two of them on the first test 
flight of a stratospheric balloon-borne astronomical experiment[**]. 
They've survived continuous operation at -40 to -80C in Antarctica, and 
the nasty near-vacuum environment at 125,000 feet (35 km) altitude on the 
balloon.  NetBSD has been running them beautifully, with generally fewer 
hiccups than I had with the stock Linux (2.4) that shipped with them. 
Pretty nifty!

Craig Kulesa
ckulesa%as.arizona.edu@localhost
Univ. of Arizona


* http://mcba11.phys.unsw.edu.au/~plato/plato.html
        (see "Instruments" --> "PreHEAT")

** http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/2009/FSU-20091015.htm
   http://loke.as.arizona.edu/~ckulesa/binaries/STO/