LeMaker Community Update

LeMaker community update and project news

Summary

This community update provides an overview of the current state of LeMaker board support, recent documentation improvements, and highlights from community projects. Whether you are a long-time LeMaker user or just discovering these boards, this post will help you understand what resources are available and where to find help.

Who This Is For

Anyone using or considering a LeMaker single-board computer — including the Banana Pi, Banana Pro, Guitar, and HiKey families. This update is also relevant for contributors who maintain community documentation and OS images.

Supported Board Overview

The LeMaker ecosystem spans several board families, each targeting different use cases:

Banana Pi: Built on the Allwinner A20 dual-core Cortex-A7 SoC with 1 GB RAM, SATA, and Gigabit Ethernet. A reliable general-purpose board well-suited for NAS, home server, and lightweight desktop tasks.
Banana Pro: Shares the A20 SoC with the Banana Pi but adds onboard WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) and replaces the full-size SD slot with microSD. Ideal for portable or wireless projects.
Guitar: Uses the Actions Semi S500 quad-core Cortex-A9 SoC with up to 2 GB RAM and HDMI 4K output. A strong option for media playback and GPU-accelerated workloads.
HiKey: The HiKey 960 features the HiSilicon Kirin 620 octa-core Cortex-A53 with 2 GB RAM. Originally a Linaro 96Boards reference platform, it is the highest-performance option in the LeMaker lineup.

Documentation Status

Documentation for all supported boards is maintained across several locations. The main website at lemaker.org hosts product pages, specification sheets, and download links. The LeMaker Wiki contains community-edited tutorials covering U-Boot configuration, kernel building, GPIO usage, and peripheral setup. Recent updates include:

Revised quick-start guides for the Banana Pi and Banana Pro with current download links.
New Guitar product pages covering overview, resources, and specifications.
Updated wiki articles on kernel compilation and fex/device-tree configuration.
Consolidated download page with SHA-256 checksums for all official images.

Community Contributions

Community members continue to produce third-party OS images, add-on board designs, and tutorial content. Notable recent contributions include Armbian builds for the Banana Pi and Banana Pro, Debian Bookworm images with mainline kernel support, and 3D-printable enclosure files shared on community forums. If you have a project to share, the wiki and forums are open for contributions.

Getting Started Tips

Choose the board that matches your project requirements — check the board comparison guide for a side-by-side overview.
Download the latest OS image from the official Downloads page and verify its checksum.
Use a quality microSD card (Class 10 or UHS-I) to avoid boot and performance issues.
Connect via Ethernet for initial setup — configure WiFi later if your board supports it.
Read the board-specific wiki page before asking for help in the forums; most common questions are already answered there.

Troubleshooting

Board does not boot: Re-flash the SD card and try a different power supply rated at 5 V / 2 A or higher.
No network after boot: Check cable connections and DHCP server availability. Use the serial console for debugging if Ethernet fails.
Slow performance: Ensure you are using a fast microSD card and that the OS image is intended for your specific board model.