ROCK 5C: request to publish V2.1 hardware documents (shipping boards are V2.1, docs are V1.1 only)

ROCK 5 Series 5C
1

Hello Radxa team,

We are a Japanese hardware company designing a product-level 40-pin HAT plus a MIPI-DSI display assembly around the ROCK 5C, and we would like to ask you to publish the V2.1 hardware documents.

What we have

We purchased two ROCK 5C 8GB boards. The PCB silkscreen reads radxa ROCK 5C V2.1, the retail box label reads Rev: V2.105, and the model number is RS131-D8R26.

What is published

The Hardware Design section of https://docs.radxa.com/en/rock5/rock5c/download only offers V1.1:

  • radxa_rock_5c_schematic_v1100.pdf

  • radxa_rock_5c_components_placement_map_v1100.pdf

  • radxa_rock_5c_2d_dxf_v1100.zip

https://dl.radxa.com/rock5/5c/docs/hw/v2100/ returns 404, and the directory index of https://dl.radxa.com/rock5/5c/docs/hw/ contains only datasheet/, dimension/, heatsink/ and v1100/. So there appears to be no V2.1 hardware document anywhere, in either the English or the Chinese documentation.

Why this blocks us

Every design decision we have made so far is based on the V1.1 schematic, and we cannot tell which of them still hold on a V2.1 board. The specific items we have to confirm before we can commit to a PCB order are:

  1. The MIPI-DSI connector (U20 on V1.1): part, pin count, pitch and pin assignment.

  2. The DSI IOVCC 1.8 V / 3.3 V selection (R205 / R206 on V1.1).

  3. The LCD RESET net, which on V1.1 is divided down to about 1.65 V by R207 / R208.

  4. Whether DSI1 is routed out on V2.1.

  5. The source and always-on behaviour of the 5 V rail on the 40-pin header.

Guessing wrong on any of these means a scrapped PCB run, so we currently cannot commit the ROCK 5C to a production design. That is a purchasing decision we would much rather make in your favour.

What we are asking for, in order of preference

  1. Publish the V2.1 hardware documents the same way V1.1 is published: schematic PDF, components placement map, and 2D DXF, under https://dl.radxa.com/rock5/5c/docs/hw/v2100/, linked from the Resource Download page. You already do this for shipping revisions of other boards, for example radxa_rock_5b_v1450_schematic.pdf for the ROCK 5B and v1.2 for the ROCK 5B+.

  2. If a full release is not possible right now, please publish a V1.1 to V2.1 change list or revision history, even a short one. Knowing which nets and parts changed would be enough for us to move forward.

  3. If neither is possible publicly, we are happy to sign an NDA and receive the V2.1 schematic directly. Please tell us what the process is.

  4. Separately, a small documentation fix that would help every buyer: state on the Resource Download page which board revision the published documents apply to, so that a V2.1 buyer knows immediately that the V1.1 files may not match the board in hand.

Thank you for the ROCK 5C, and for maintaining the documentation as openly as you do. We are asking precisely because the open hardware documentation is why we chose this board in the first place.

Best regards,
yt_sige

2

@ken please take a look at this.

3

Hi @RadxaYuntian,

Following up here: the ROCK 5C V2.1 hardware documents are now published, about a day
after we posted. Thank you, and please pass our thanks to whoever on the documentation
and hardware teams did the work.

Receiving the full V2.10 set — schematic, placement map, 2D dimensions, DXF and STEP —
rather than only a change list made a real difference to us. We were able to confirm that
the MIPI-DSI section is unchanged from V1.1, dimension our HAT outline and mounting holes
against your drawing instead of our own measurements, and check the mechanical stack-up
in 3D. Our expansion board design has carried on without interruption, and we are now in
a position to commit it to a PCB order.

We also no longer need the V1.1 to V2.1 change list that was kindly offered when the
GitHub issue was closed. Everything we had to confirm is in the published files.

Thank you again for such a quick and thorough response.