twislaandClaude Opus 5.5
c68741cc46
There is no Debug Build any more (ADR 0010, issue #68, Q188 to Q195). The console and the test commands are compiled into every firmware. It listens only while Settings > Debug Console is on, which isn't the default; off, neither its task nor its 4 KB ring exists. The token is made by the device and shown on that page; a client proves it knows it by answering a challenge with an HMAC, so it never crosses the network, and five wrong answers close the console for a minute. DBG in the Status Bar while it listens. Over USB serial only: debug on, debug token <value>, debug token new. scripts/flash.sh --debug uses them to set a device up with the developer's token. scripts/rdbg.py takes the token from -t, $RORO_DEBUG_TOKEN or the file, answers the challenge, and fetches a release's ELF to decode a crash. Gone: the cardputer-adv-debug environment, RORO_DEBUG, the +debug version, scripts/debug_flags.py, update install ... force, and the rule that a Debug Build doesn't install releases. Old clients and old firmwares don't talk to each other. Against the builds it replaces: 30 KB more flash and 88 bytes more static RAM than the release, 4 KB less RAM than the Debug Build. 468 host tests. Checked on the device: off by default, login, the pause after wrong tokens, Safe Mode with the console, the setting surviving an update, debug off. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EhqxQ49eCju4CzKYNjZzwT
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+++ title = "The basics" description = "The keys, the Launcher, the Status Bar and what happens the first time you switch the device on." weight = 1 [extra] tag = "Start here" +++
The keys
The Cardputer's keyboard has no arrow keys and no Escape, so the firmware gives a few keys a second job:
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Opens or confirms the selected item |
| ` | Back: one step out of a screen, and out of an App |
| Fn + ` | Home: back to the Launcher |
| Fn + ; . , / | The arrows: up, down, left, right |
| ; . , / alone | The same arrows, as long as you are not typing text |
| Tab | Switches view in an App that has more than one |
| Del | Deletes backwards when you type |
| opt then an accent, then a letter | Types an accented letter: opt ' e gives é |
While you type text (a note, an IRC line, a setting), ; . , / type their own characters and you need Fn for the arrows. The bottom of the screen shows opt while a compose is waiting for its letter.
The Launcher
The home screen lists the Apps. Move with the arrows, open one with Enter. Back inside an App returns here.
The Status Bar
A strip at the top of every screen: the name of the App on the left, and on the right, from the edge inwards:
| Shows | Means |
|---|---|
| the time | The clock, once Wi-Fi or a GNSS fix has set it |
[3] |
Unread IRC messages that mention you, or private ones |
97% |
The battery (in the warning colour at 15% and under) |
SD |
A card is in; the warning colour at 80% full |
bars and W |
Wi-Fi connected, with its signal; W? is searching; MON is the Wi-Fi radio in its monitoring mode, which pauses IRC |
DBG |
The Debug Console is switched on (Settings → Debug Console); brighter while a PC is connected to it |
REC |
A GNSS Track is being recorded |
CAP |
A LoRa capture is being recorded |
L |
The radio is listening; it lights up for a moment on each packet. SW while a Sweep runs |
G or G12 |
The GNSS receiver is searching (G, dim), has a 2D fix (G), or has a 3D fix with that many satellites (G12) |
Toasts
News from a background service (an IRC mention, a Storage warning, an update that is out) shows as a short message over whatever App is open, and can beep and flash the LED. Sound & LED in Settings turns that off.
The first start
On a new device a short Setup asks four things, then never appears again:
- Long name, up to 39 bytes.
- Short name, up to 4 characters.
- Radio region. Nothing will transmit until you confirm yours. EU868 is the supported region.
- Timezone.
The SD card
Put a microSD card in the Cardputer. Without one the radio, GNSS, Wi-Fi and IRC still work, but nothing can be saved: no notes, IRC logs, Wi-Fi scan logs, GPX tracks, LoRa captures or saved Gemini pages. The Storage App shows what is on the card.
The firmware keeps its own folders at the top of the card (captures, gemini, gnss, irc, updates, wifi, plus notes). You can use the card in a computer too, but those names are the firmware's.