Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. What’s New
  3. Hardware
    1. Information
    2. Picture
    3. Features
    4. Switches Assignment
      1. Boot mode
      2. Other switch
    5. Debug Serial
    6. Caution
  4. Software Version List
  5. How to Startup
  6. Documentation
    1. Board documentation
  7. Event Information
  8. Leaflet
  9. Tips
  10. Known Issues & Restrictions
    1. Common
    2. Debian based BSP
    3. Yocto BSP
  11. Support

Introduction

This is the page for Sparrow Hawk board with R-Car V4H provided Retronix Technology Inc.

What’s New

2026-04-15 The Yocto BSP and the Debian based BSP were updated to Linux kernel v6.18 and U-Boot v2026.04.

2025-12-04 We open the dedicated pages for Yocto BSP and Debian based BSP of Sparrow Hawk.

2025-08-07 We open the Home Page for Sparrow Hawk.

Hardware

Information

Board Name Kit R-Car V4h SoC version SoC Information Board Information Where to Buy
Sparrow Hawk
(DDR8GB/16GB)		 Complete/Basic v3.0 R-Car V4H Sparrow Hawk
provided by Retronix Technology Inc.		 Shimafuji

Picture

Sparrow_Hawk_assignment Sparrow_Hawk_assignment

Features

Function Interface Specification
CPU - 4x Arm® Cortex®-A76, 3x Arm® Cortex®-R52
GPU - IMG A-Series AXM-8-256
DRAM - 8GB/16GB LPDDR5
Flash Memory - 64MB QSPI
Camera I/F J1, J2 2x MIPI CSI Camera
Display CN6, J4 1x DP, 1x DSI
Ethernet AVB CN2 1 Port (1Gbps)
Debug Serial CN4 2 Port
Audio CONN3, CONN4 In/Out, In
PCIe4.0 CN5 1x M.2 Key-M (x2 lane)
USB3.0 USB4, USB5, USB6 2x USB type-A, 2x USB type-C
CAN-FD CONN2 2 Port
PWM J3 1 Port
JTAG CN3 1 Port
Removal Media CN1 1x MicroSD
Extensions CN7 Raspberry Pi® 40-Pin GPIO header
Mode Switches SW2 Dip SW
Power USB1(Input) USB PD 20V
Power Control SW1, SW3, CONN1 2x SW, 1x Jumper

Switches Assignment

Boot mode

SW2-1 SW2-2 SW2-3 Description
ON ON ON Serial Flash boot at single read 40MHz using DMA
OFF OFF OFF SCIF/HSCIF download mode

Other switch

SW2-4 SW2-5 SW2-6 SW2-7 SW2-8 Description
OFF ON ON ON ON Initial setting

Note: For more detail, please refer to board User’s Manual.

Debug Serial

This board has two serial devices and ChA(HSCIF0) is used for mainly.

Channel Baudrate Format Flow Control
ChA(HSCIF0)
ex) COM<lower num>, /dev/ttyUSB<lower num>		 921600 bps 8N1 none
ChB(HSCIF1)
ex) COM<higher num>, /dev/ttyUSB<higher num>		 115200 bps 8N1 none

For Windows users, if the console does not connect, please install the appropriate driver from the link below.

Link : https://ftdichip.com/drivers/

Caution

  1. FAN must be installed. Do not remove FAN for cooling the R-Car V4H from the board, as doing so will lead to the R-Car V4H being overheated to destruction. It is recommended to use a heat sink and FAN together.
  2. Please use only a power supply and cable that comply with the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) standard. Using a non-USB PD power supply cause damage to the Sparrow Hawk.

Software Version List

Software Version
Yocto Project 5.0.16
Debian 13
Linux kernel 6.18.20
U-Boot 2026.04
Arm Trusted Firmware 2.14.0

How to Startup

BSP
Yocto BSP
Debian based BSP

Documentation

Board documentation

Event Information

Please see here for information on Sparrow Hawk’s past and upcoming events.

Leaflet

Tips

  1. There is no output on serial console when power on the board.
    • You can check following list to confirm board is broken or not.
      • Do you write the loaders into the board?
      • Do you change DIP-SW as correct settings?
      • Do you use correct serial device? This board has two serial devices and lower number is used for mainly.
      • Do you use correct USB-PD power supply? This board needs 20V3.25A(65W) output at least.
  2. How to use HDMI display instead of DP display.
    • This board doesn’t support passive adaptor so that please use active adaptor.
  3. Why my Headset Mic is not working?
    • There are two types of 4pin Headset. one is CIST which is default of sparrow-hawk. the other is MIST. The only deference is pin assign of MIC and GND. If you use MIST type of headset, please modify the board as follows:
      • Mount :R631 , R632
      • Unmount :R630 , R633
  4. Loader recovery procedure
    • If flashing fails and U-Boot no longer boots, please try the recovery procedure.
    • Download ipl-burning.zip and unzip ipl-burning.zip. Then, run script in ipl-burning directory(Linux: run.sh, Windows: run.bat). If using Linux host PC, please install python3 and pip command on your system before running the script and close other console which uses serial port of the board before executing the script.
      1. Turn off the power and change SW2 according to the console instructions.
      2. Press Enter to continue.
      3. Turn on the power.
      4. Wait for the writing process to complete.
      5. Turn off the power and change SW2 again according to the console instructions.
      6. Press Enter to close the program.
    • Note:
      • This script use serial device /dev/ttyUSB* in Linux. But, it cannot be accessed from user without previledged right by default settings. Please use sudo command or add current user into dialout group.
    • Note:
      • Please change the Mode Switch(=SW2) according to the instructions displayed by the ipl-burning(run.sh or run.bat).

Known Issues & Restrictions

Common

  1. USB Type-C port doesn’t support DP-alt mode so that Display output is not supported. Please use DisplayPort or Raspberry Pi touch Display 2 instead of type-c.
  2. FAN/Heat sink less doesn’t work well due to high temperature in some case. Please attach the Heatsink and FAN to use the board.
  3. Unstable operation has been observed with some M.2 SSD, and the root cause is currently under investigation. For reference: Stable operation has been confirmed with the Raspberry Pi SSD 256GB (RPI-SC1439).

Debian based BSP

None.

Yocto BSP

  1. As a current limitation, OpenCL and Vulkan are present in the GFX package but are not supported. They are planned to be officially supported in a future release.

Support

FAQ: https://github.com/orgs/rcar-community/discussions/categories/faq

Q&A Forum: https://github.com/orgs/rcar-community/discussions/categories/q-a