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Setup (Retro)

Getting the first screen out of the narya-board. If you have an M5Stack Tab5 instead, go to Modern (M5Stack Tab5); if you are not sure which machine this is, see Choose your hardware.

Items to Prepare Separately

Required

  • USB Type-C cable (for power supply)
    • A standard cable used for smartphones, etc. will work fine
  • 5V USB power source
    • A PC USB port or a USB-AC adapter (5V 1A or higher)
  • NTSC-compatible display device
    • CRT monitor, video capture device, LCD with composite input, etc.
    • If you want to display on an HDMI-compatible monitor, you can use a converter device such as the following:
    • Amazon
  • RCA composite video cable (cable with yellow connector)
    • Shorter cables tend to produce more stable video
  • 3.5mm stereo mini-jack cable (for audio output)
    • For connecting to earphones or speakers
    • If you use a cable that converts to red/white RCA plugs and connect it to the HDMI converter device, you can route audio over HDMI as well.
  • USB keyboard
    • For confirmed working devices, see Verified Devices. Some keyboards may not be recognized due to compatibility issues.
  • USB mouse
    • For confirmed working devices, see Verified Devices. Some mice may not be recognized due to compatibility issues.

Nice to Have

  • USB Hub
    • Required if the keyboard and mouse are not an integrated unit.
    • For confirmed working devices, see Verified Devices. Some hubs may not be recognized due to compatibility issues.
  • SD card
    • For when you need to handle large data
  • USB gamepad
    • Plugs into the USB-A port like any other HID device. Apps receive :gamepad_down / :gamepad_up / :gamepad_axis events with a button or axis number; the numbers are the GP_* constants in Constants & System Info.
    • The bundled Raycaster game reads one, so it is the quickest way to check yours works.

If You Want to Retain the Clock

  • CR2032 button cell battery case & CR2032 button cell battery
    • By soldering a battery case and supplying power to the RTC, the device can retain the time even when the main power is turned off.

If You Want to Supply Power from GROVE2

  • Jumper pin

Connecting the Ports

Referring to the diagram, connect cables to the Video and Audio ports, then connect the USB cable to the USB power source.

Port description diagram

Powering On

The device starts automatically when the USB Type-C cable is connected. There is no power switch.

To turn off the power, unplug the USB Type-C cable.

Screen Displayed After Startup

After the logo is displayed, the following desktop screen will appear. If you can operate the mouse cursor, everything is working correctly.

Desktop screen

A startup sound also plays while the logo is being displayed.

Troubleshooting Checklist

Check the LED Status

LED State Meaning
STATUS (green) Fast blinking Booting
STATUS (green) Slow blinking every few seconds Running normally
STATUS (green) Off or stays lit Possible hang-up
ERROR (red) Lit System state error
POWER Lit Power is connected
USB-POWER Lit USB host power is supplied

If the POWER LED does not light up, the power supply is not connected. Please check the power source.

Keyboard or Mouse Not Responding

  • If possible, try a different keyboard, try connecting without going through a USB hub, etc. Please restart the device after swapping peripherals.

Keys that always work

Key Effect
Ctrl + Q Close the app in the foreground, even a fullscreen one
Ctrl + Tab Switch between running apps

On the desktop itself a single letter starts an app: L launcher, S shell, E editor.

The menu bar, the launcher and the rest of the desktop work the same on both machines and are described in The Desktop.

Connecting to Wi-Fi

Retro has Wi-Fi as well — see Connecting to Wi-Fi. Note that the ESP32-S3 has a single radio, so Wi-Fi and BLE cannot both be running; that page explains how to choose.

Next Steps

  • Try out the pre-installed apps
  • Write your own app → Hello World
  • Transfer apps and files from a PC → Console
  • Hardware specifications → Hardware