Re: FreeBSD on RPI4 B 8G rev 1.4

On Wed, Dec 07, 2022 at 07:21:43PM +0000, adr wrote:
> 
> It was a usb hub with sd card reader. There was no card there,
> u-boot choked trying to read it. Yes, how silly of me.
> 
> I would appreciate if someone share his/her experience with 13.1
> release, stable and current. It's there any advantage of using
> stable|current at this moment?

I'm running 13.1-STABLE on a rpi4 8GB, and it has been almost uneventful.

It was originally installed using the 13.1 -RPI.img via 'dd' as per the
install notes; I've been keeping it updated from src since then.  I do
miss the 'bsdinstall' method and being able to control the installation
choices a bit more, but it's not a huge problem.

No manual changes to uboot or similar.

I'm using a regular microSDXC for sysdisk, I may switch to USB at some
point but so far so good.

I'd like to re-partition the sysdisk, either via reinstall with my own
img or adjusting things post-'dd'; haven't sorted out what I want, or
exactly what method, yet. Ideas and suggestions welcome.

Since I plan to use it as a small DNS etc. server I don't miss the wifi
NIC not being supported yet. Later on I might care more.

The only somewhat interesting thing about it that comes to mind is I'm
running the rpi4 headless using a GPIO "Serial Hat" for rs323 console;
for those who might be interested it's this:

  https://www.pishop.us/product/serial-hat-rs232/

There are other similar solutions, I chose this one for simplicity and
cost and finding a case with cutouts that match up well enough. This
allows me to console my rpi4 the same way I do my FreeBSD NUC's and
other PC's which also have rs232 COM ports.

I'd prefer a nicer (and maybe aluminum?) case, but finding something
taller for hats, as well as having the extra cutout(s) I want now and
down the road, has been scarce pickings so far.

Overall for the rpi4 and FreeBSD it has been a painless install and
pretty seemless operation for me. I look forward to getting another
one at some point when they're more readily available.

Cheers,
sr.