Episode: 3552
Title: HPR3552: Unboxing a PineTime development kit
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr3552/hpr3552.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-25 01:20:42

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This is Haka Public Radio Episode 3552 for Tuesday the 15th of March 2022, today's show
is entitled Unboxing a Pine Time Development Kid.
It is hosted by Ropen and is about 28 minutes long and carries a clean flag.
The summary is Ropen talks about his new Pine Time smartwatch development kid.
Hi, welcome to another episode of Haka Public Radio.
Today I will be unboxing or unbagging as the case may be.
My new Pine Time Development Kid that arrived today February 9th.
I ordered it on January 24th, so overall not too bad a shipping time since I was coming from China,
I'm given supply chain issues and everything.
I was pretty happy with the timing on it. It was kind of weird because I just checked
like the day before last and on the tracking and it still seemed like it was in China and then
all of a sudden showed up so maybe the tracking wasn't so good but everything else so far is good.
But I guess that's what we'll really find out here in a minute.
As I opened up it came in just one of those sort of yellowish
you know packing bags that everything comes in these days with a I guess came first class USPS.
So I'm just going to take some scissors and hopefully maybe not even scissors.
It just looks like I can just tear up with them.
So I will use like that I like all the time to tear pockets like little poppy things and then it's
just a brown box out. So I ordered the pine time dev kits and then I ordered the Pogo stick
adapter which just makes it easier to attach your cereal debugging cable to the development board.
The development kit itself comes with a fully assembled wash and then it comes with one
like disassembled so that you can develop for it taking some pictures here that I'll include
with the show notes. So let's see the box after you open comes in a brown box.
You open that up it's another box on the front you can see the two watch faces it's just
you know your standard black front with I think a black band nothing too flashy for this
particular model. It will be interesting to see if maybe I can develop a nice for your
band or something for it. My girlfriend asked me what I what came in the mail for me and I was
like I ordered a smart watch not really staying at the time but it's like a development.
So when she saw it she sort of smiled and shook her head. She had to say you should let your
girlfriend know about these things because they might have been purchasing you a smart watch
given that I guess Valentine's Day was coming up. But anyway as you open the box up you take the
two watch while the fully assembled watch and the development watch face off. Inside the box
there are two sort of pamphlets. One's a quick start guide and the other is sort of like a
deer pine time timer message I guess to you. Also inside the box are serial connection pins.
So this is what you get. I bought the Pogo stick to sort of help augment this serial cable.
Although the Pogo stick does come with like it looks like the exact same connectors more or less.
But either way now I should be able to plug into so basically the developer watch the back
is not connected to it. I mean you can press it together and it'll click in place but right now it's
in two pieces. So you can like see the back and the connectors it has for like the charger.
And I guess the I'm not sure what else the other connectors for. I guess it's the charger.
Pretty much and then you can also see then the back of the development board
and these I can see the where you can plug in the serial connectors into it.
So let's see what do I will read the pamphlet that you get. It's deer pine timer. Congratulations
on your new pine time. Your pine time is pre-programmed with an open source firmware called
Infinity Time. Out of the box without being paired with a smartphone or a computer,
the firmware provides the following functionality. Two different watch faces, a stopwatch,
step counting and heart rate monitoring, as well as a handful of games.
More functionality becomes available once you pair your smartwatch via BLI Bluetooth Low Energy
to a smartphone or a computer. And if any time compatible companion application will allow you
to synchronize time, use turn-by-turn navigation and control music playback on your Android or Linux
smartphone. Current supported companion applications. Gadget Bridge, this runs on Android.
Amaze Fish, which is for the Linux desktop and mobile. Siglo, which is also Linux desktop and mobile.
An NFR connect on Android and iOS.
And Finna Time is actively developed by a community of developers and end users, and is more
than likely that a new version of the firmware will be available by the time you receive your device.
We highly recommend that you update the firmware to the latest stable version.
The installation of the new version of the firmware is done by applying an OTA over the air
update using one of the aforementioned companion applications. You can check the version by swiping
the display on the right, followed by tapping on the gear icon on the bottom right, and then in the
list, swiping down and tapping on about. Be sure to update the latest version of Infinity Time,
upgrade the bootloader and install the recovery firmware in this specific order.
The new bootloader provides more functionality and is more stable, and in Finna Time 1.0 plus
provides more functionality than earlier versions. If the Pintime displays a digital watch face with
a red-colored heart indicator and a blue-colored step indicator, then you are running in Finna Time 1.0
or newer. A monochrome watch face indicates an older firmware version. Please reference our
Wiki for more information about the firmware updates, procedures, HTTPS, wiki.pint64.org,
forward slash wiki, forward slash upgrade underscore Pintime to in Finna Time 1.0.
Notice the Finna Time firmware can be downloaded from httpgithub.com, forward slash JF002, forward
slash Finna Time, forward slash releases. Enjoy your point, your Pintime, Pintime, developers, and
community. The second fold out that came in the box is the user manual quick start guide that
comes in English, French, German, and Spanish. Let me read this to you. Let's see. Number one,
package contents, user manual, Pintime, Pintime charging cradle. That is one thing I forgot
to mention before. I think I did come with two charging cradles, one for the fully assembled
watch and one for the development watch. Number two, cautions. Before using the device,
please read the manual carefully. I have to admit, this is not in chronological order,
so I didn't really read this whole manual, which will probably set up some of the hilarity
that ensued later on. Also, this manual has very tiny print. I have gone through two different
pairs of glasses trying to find something that will let me clearly read it. But anyway,
number two, cautions. Before using the device, please read the manual carefully.
Notes for SAFE operation. The Pintime should be charged using a 5 watt,
1 amp, 5 volt power adapter, charging at higher voltage may result in damage.
Charged the Pintime only using the included cradle. The device should never be operated
with external temperatures lower than negative 20 degrees Celsius or higher than 40 degrees Celsius.
I'm hoping I'm not operating in outside of those ranges either. Do not disassemble the Pintime.
It is sealed using a compound to keep it water resistant. Do not puncture disassemble, strike,
or squeeze the battery. Old batteries need to be disposed of in accordance with local regulations.
See section 2.1. Comply with local regulations pertaining to using mobile devices.
This extends to and includes use of the device in public spaces when operating motor vehicles and
heavy machinery. 2.1. Recycling of components and batteries. Recycling the Pintime or its components
should be done according to local regulations. This may require you to dispose of the watch
or its parts at a local recycling center or at a designated container. Please consult local
regulations for details. Battery should never under any circumstance be disposed of
with general household waste. The end user is legally obligated to return
used batteries. Batteries can be returned to us by batteries can be returned to us
to be disposed of. The batteries are to be returned to the center for more information.
Contact us at info at pine64.org. That's a nice feature. Getting started.
2. Peel the protective film from the face and back of the Pintime. Place it in its charging
cradle so that the charger port on the back of the device and the corresponding pins on the cradle
line up. The watch should firmly snap into place using magnets embedded in the cradle.
Connect the USB cord into a socket delivering 5W 1.1 amp 5V. A USB 3.0 port on a laptop is an
ideal source of power for the Pintime. The Pintime should boost and boot instantly and display
charging status. The watch can be manually power-cycled by holding down the power button.
Remove the Pintime when fully charged. This does work very nicely. I tested it out.
I did charge both the fully assembled watch and the development watch. The magnet is
very snug. As a matter of fact, when you put the back piece of the development watch in there,
it's a bit tricky to get it out because it doesn't have a lot of gripping area.
The other issue with the development watch, because it's into pieces, you sort of have to
push them together to get the charging to occur. I ended up getting a rubber band or gum band,
as I say locally, which caused some initial confusion in my household when I said gum band
for the first time. To press the watch together enough to get it to charge,
I've also seen online people using twist ties or other ways. It is a little tricky
to get the development to charge and keep charging, but it's not too bad. There should be
something in your house to make it easy to hold the two pieces together while it's charging.
Remove the PineTime when fully charged. Your PineTime is programmed with an open firmware called
InfinityTime. It provides the functionalities of your new smartwatch, watch faces, stopwatch,
and step counting rate monitoring. This is similar to what was I read before in the quick
the other introduction. Yes, this is basically that same stuff talking about where you can upgrade
the firmware and stuff. And then the next part is pairing with an Android or Linux iO
device. It pretty much goes over what I talked about before.
Yep, that's pretty much the same verbiage updating the firmware.
To get Bluetooth, aloe over here. Yes, it tells you how to do that and where to go for hardware.
Detailed specifications, including schematics, can be found on our reeky and it gives you location
HTTPS, wiki.pine64.org, forward slash wiki, pine time, hash, data sheets, and schematics.
Let's see, the dimensions, 37.5 by 40 by 11 millimeters, weight 38 grams, IP rating, IP67, waterproof
to 1 meter, display size 1.3 inches, 33 millimeters diagonal, type IPS, capacitive touch screen,
RGB 65K colors, display controller, ST7789, resolution 240 by 240 pixels,
system on a chip, Nordic semiconductor in RF 52832, flash 512 kilobytes with an additional
4-meg SPI in NOR, NOR, RAM 64 kilobytes, Bluetooth 5.0, including Bluetooth load energy,
sensors, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, feedback, vibration motor, battery,
170 to 180 milli amp hour, 3.8 volt lipo battery, 5 regulatory compliance, the pine time is
CE and FCC certified documentation and contactation. Detailed hardware and software documentation can be
found, can be located on our wiki, I guess location of the wiki. So that is pretty much that.
You said I have charged them up and I went through the process of pairing them so I'm using,
I have an Android Samsung S9 Android phone, so I downloaded, let me see, it was the first one
that I read off, where did that go, the gadget bridge, and it's fairly self-explanatory,
you can see in your standard Bluetooth, on your phone, in your standard Bluetooth connection
things, if you look, you will see in finitime as the device, and I saw one of those in finitimes
when I first was loading up, and I thought it was my, because I was trying to connect
the fully-together wearable watch to the phone first, and so I installed the gadget bridge,
I could see in finitime, I went and opened gadget bridge, and then there's a, like the default
when there's nothing there, there's like an ad device, and you just hit the little plus button,
it'll give you a list, you know, it could connect, and it connects, and so I saw this thing,
it said in finitime, I connected, I thought it was my, my fully-together watch, and so then I go
through the process of like downloading the latest firmware, and for these, the ones I got,
it was late, I have the 1.0 version on my thing, so I could do over the air, which was nice,
I didn't have to like learn how to connect, and actually I don't know, I don't know,
with the fully-together how you would, I guess you could always do over the air, I'm not sure how
you would do it, but anyway, I didn't have to like do a serial connection or anything,
so I went through the process, and with gadget bridge you basically say, you know, there's a
separate section where it says, you know, upload, and it says it's fine to get it and uploading it,
and then your watch is supposed to reboot, and then you'll see the connection, and I was like,
wait, like the gadget said that it's rebooted, and it's at the new version, which is I think 1.8
when I was doing this, and I guess I'm going to check my watch real quick to see, but
but my watch, like it didn't automatically reboot, and when I kept checking, there's like,
you go to the settings, and then you go to about, it kept saying like 1.0, and I was just like,
this is very confusing, I don't get it, I even like, I think I even, maybe I didn't reboot the watch,
I don't remember, it's been a couple days now since I've done this, I had a recording issue,
so these sections, if they sound a little different, is because I'm recording days after I first
did it, I had a very nice 10-minute show to upload, and I got the first three minutes,
and the rest were blank when I got done recording, and I got frustrated, and so now it's been put
off for a month, but anyway, back to the show. So I was like, this is really weird, I don't understand
it, and part of the issue with like the 1.0 version is your watch, when it first boots up, and it's
not connected, it defaults to Linux Epic time, so it was like, you know, whatever February something
1970, you know, so unless you could do the calculations in your head to do the differences
between now, and then you didn't know what time it was, it was a little, a little, a little odd,
but fun. I'm just trying to figure it, so I'm just messing around, and gadget bridge has this nice
feature called like, find my device, so if it's connected, you can hit it, and then it makes the
device like alarm, and so I hit it, and it said found, but nothing like was going on, I was like,
okay, well it knows it's there, I'm like, but like nothing happened on my watch, that I'm wearing,
and I'm just like, I don't get it, and then all of a sudden like, I start hearing this like,
it's like a countdown timer in a show, there's this kind of like beep, beep, beep, and it was
over by my girlfriend's desk, and I'm like, that's weird, like the cats like get on her, because
sometimes the cats will get on her computer, you know, walk across the keyboard or make a noise,
or something going on, they're wearing the cats around, like think it maybe there's just somebody,
she's got like a message app on, or an alarm on, but I just, it like was really weird, so I start,
like I find like, I kind of figure out what that was, because it was kind of like something about
the break on me, or you know, something happened, so I go over around her desk, and I'm listening,
and I'm listening, trying to like move my ears, left and right, trying to figure out where the
sound is, well I finally realized, so this is also near the mantle of her fireplace, and that is
where I put the development watch while I was messing around with the fully, fully put together watch,
and it's coming from that watch, and I look at it, and so when you hit the gadget find me,
it had found the watch that I had actually connected to, and when I looked at the, the version
on that watch, the development watch, it was 1.8, so I had somehow, I guess, that it powered up
enough that watch also, and it was broadcasting, you know, like the Bluetooth, like I am here,
I'm not paired the message that Bluetooth does, and so the infinity time I had found was
the development watch, and it paired with that, and did the update beautifully, I just didn't
realize which watch I was dealing with, so anyway, so that was cool to find out, but then I like,
I couldn't figure out, like why I couldn't see, I was only ever seeing one at any time, I wasn't seeing
I guess the fully put together watch, and so I think it wasn't until like the next day I was,
I finally got on the website, and it was, or was looking through, I think it was searching, and I
found a forum, I think it was on their forum, the pine time forum, for somebody mentioning that to
get the watch to go into like Bluetooth discovery mode, it happens when you reset it, so there's a way
to, if you hold the watch button, you can turn it off, but if you hold it in for like, I think it's
10 seconds, it basically reboots the watch, and when it reboots the watch, it resets, you know,
resets everything, and it doesn't blue too, so when I did that, then I saw the second,
and anytime pop up on my phone, and I was able to go into gadget, and connected, and then update,
and play around, so it's, I'm actually pretty impressed, I did, I guess recently listened to Ken
talking about, I guess it was the last, the January community news, and talking about someone's
dealings with pine time, his dealings with pine time devices, and it's kind of disappointed,
I have to say so far, this one has actually been very nice, so, you know, one data point doesn't
make, you know, make up for all his other, you know, data points, but I have to say at least with
the pine time so far, I've been very happy with like, the quality, and how things, smoothly things,
have actually worked with it, the watch, you know, it's a basic black watch, but it looks nice
enough, you can, it looks like you, you know, like the watch is, you can probably switch the bands out,
it's paired with my phone now, and once it paired, the time actually synchronized, so that's how it,
would get, anytime, but I think between before, and anytime 1.7, the clock would, the watch would
only get, would, you know, synchronize its time with whatever device you're paired with, whether
it was your computer or your phone, so once it paired with the phone, you know, then the date and
the time are fine, and then once you're updated to 1.8, you can actually set the time, it will
synchronize automatically, but you can set the time if you want to, so currently I'm running
in FinneyTime version 1.8.0 with a build date of January 7th, 2022, and the bootloader is 1.0.0,
and so like I said, so far this has, it's been a nice experience, I've been wearing it for
a couple weeks now, it, the step counter seems pretty close, like I have a step counter on my phone,
and a step counter, you know, on the watch, and I can pair them, and I mean sometimes I have my
phone with me and sometimes I don't, but they seem close enough that the step counter seems pretty
accurate, the heart rate thing, I'm not quite so sure about, like it does weird, it's like hard to
say, sometimes it seems about right, and then it'll jump up to like 120 or 170 beats per minute,
and I like, I've just been sitting here, and I mean, I know sometimes my heart rate gets up there,
but I don't think it's getting up there that hard just sitting watching the watch face, so that
may need a little work, I think, you know, partly it's like where you have it, I'm not quite sure
of all the, I know it does something with the, it has like a green LED that flashes, and I guess
it's based on the translucent of the skin, and how it measures something, I reflectance, or
something when your heart is beating through, anyway, I'm not quite sure exactly how that works,
I need to look on that, but that doesn't seem the most accurate, but everything else, I played the
their version, it's called two, which is their 2048 game, but overall I've been very satisfied,
you get notifications, you can control the music, you know, start or pause music from it on your
phone, I haven't downloaded any of the Linux software to connect with the watch, I think I was
going to do that with the dev, but I have an added chance to do that, but overall I'm very happy
with it, and look forward, I have actually looked around the website, and I did, I looked over the
issues on the GitHub repo, and somebody had like set, they're doing a lot of documentation stuff
to, somebody had submitted a PR for some document updates, and I've reviewed a PR, and made a,
you know, there was a typo, and somewhere that I made a suggestion for Thics, and that's been
accepted, and it looks like that PR got merged in, so, you know, so far it's been a pleasant
experience, and I'm looking forward to doing some developments, I have some ideas on just some
simple things to try, and maybe try to get them included, or at least run on my development watch,
I've looked over the coding and stuff so far, but so I'm hoping to have some more episodes on
the pine time in the future, anyway, I think that's probably rambled on long enough for one episode,
so thank you for joining me, and I look forward to seeing you next time on Hacker Public Radio.
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