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Assembling Tachyon

Let’s get your Tachyon up and running! 🚀
In this section, we'll walk you through a couple of different ways to assemble and power up your device — starting with the easiest and fastest: headless mode.

But first, make sure you’ve got everything you need!

What You’ll Need​

  • Tachyon device
  • 3-pin Li-Ion battery (included in your kit)
  • USB-C cable — We recommend a USB 3.1 Gen 1 or higher.
    You can use USB 3.0 for initial setup, but if you’re planning to stream video or transfer large files, go with a higher-spec cable.

    ⚠️ Make sure it’s not just a charging-only cable!

  • 💻 A computer (Windows, macOS, or Linux) to update the OS and configure the device

Headless Setup (Quick & Easy)​

For first-time setup, we highly recommend the headless method. It’s fast, reliable, and gets your Tachyon ready to roll without needing any accessories or screens.

Headless Setup

Steps​

  1. Plug in the battery
    Connect the 3-pin Li-Ion battery into the matching 3-pin battery connector on the board.

    It only fits one way! There’s a small guide tab to make sure you can’t insert it backwards. To unplug, gently pull — no tools needed.

  2. Connect USB-C
    Plug one end of your USB-C cable into the primary USB port (USB1) on Tachyon, and the other end into your computer.

    The USB-C connector is reversible — plug it in either way.

  3. Power check
    The primary LED on the board should light up red — that means Tachyon is powered on and ready!

🎉 That’s it! You’re ready to move on to the next step: updating the OS and configuring your Tachyon.
Follow the instructions here →

Quick Notes​

  • You don’t need any other accessories (like display, mouse, or keyboard) for the initial setup
  • USB-C is preferred for power and data — avoid low-quality or charge-only cables
  • If something doesn’t light up or connect, double-check your battery orientation and cable quality

Need help? Reach out on the forum and we’ll help you get sorted.

Desktop Setup​

For desktop operation (well, specifically, to "use the desktop") you need more cables attached. Actually the desktop build runs just fine as the headless configuration as the USB-C is reversible, but we've included this diagram fully here.

Complete Desktop Setup

Here is a complete desktop setup where we are using an USB-C hub to connect an HDMI display, keyboard, mouse, and bring in power.

Desktop Setup

We are using the UGREEN Revodok 105 USB C Hub 5 in 1 Multiport Adapter in this example.

Notes:

  • We currently have an issue hot plugging the reversible USB-C cable. As such, if you don't boot it with the USB-C hub attached, it struggled to role switch into using the USB-C hub.
  • You need to provide power to the USB-C hub for the hub to work. You can use USB-C display mode without external power, but you need to select a USB-C hub that supports this (or direct connect to a display that supports this, OR use just a single USB-C to HDMI adapter that is self powered)
  • Keyboard and mouse are used to control the desktop!