Alternative Development Board solution.

Software questions and issues with the FV-1

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Danila-master
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Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:34 pm
Location: Moldova

Alternative Development Board solution.

Post by Danila-master »

Hello All,

I'd like to ask you, if it is possible to get exact information about a driver and about firmware upload process.

I think that it is possible to emulate the development board using another type of MCU. Also there is a software USB library (V-USB) for AVR MCU's.
Such way we can add an additional simple MCU to our project and to use our board as a regular development board.

This would be great to have a Micro-USB port on our own projects to simplify firmware upload process.

Could you please advise?

Best regards,

Daniil
frank
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Post by frank »

Keith decided not to make that info public but as SpinAsm will produce a HEX file you should be able to write some code for your own uploader that will read the HEX file and write the EEPROM on your board.
Frank Thomson
Experimental Noize
Danila-master
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:34 pm
Location: Moldova

Post by Danila-master »

frank wrote:Keith decided not to make that info public but as SpinAsm will produce a HEX file you should be able to write some code for your own uploader that will read the HEX file and write the EEPROM on your board.
Hello, Frank.

Thank you for your reply.

USB would be a simplest way to update the firmware.

It is possible to scan .HEX output folder, and if one file has been updated (updated date) or if a new file has been created - then call firmware update process.

Can be used different solutions like:
FT232 USB -> RS232 adapter ic.
USBTiny programmer interface.
Other ideas.

For this solution we need to have a Programming software which has a command-line interface.

Do we need to disconnect CLOCK and DATA rails from FV1 while programming EEPROM?

When programming is finished do we need to change preset UP/DOWN to reload a new program into FV1 ?

Best regards,

Daniil
frank
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Post by frank »

Danila-master wrote:Do we need to disconnect CLOCK and DATA rails from FV1 while programming EEPROM?
Not if you use an open drain (also called open collector) device, the FV-1 has an internal pull-up resistor on the data and clock lines.
Danila-master wrote:When programming is finished do we need to change preset UP/DOWN to reload a new program into FV1 ?
You do need to change the selected program to force the FV-1 to reload the program from EEPROM. A simple solution is to put an XOR gate on one of the select lines and then after programming the EEPROM use the XOR to invert the line for a few mS then release it to reload the program.
Frank Thomson
Experimental Noize
slacker
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Post by slacker »

One way to do this is to build a PICkit2 clone, for just programming the EEPROM you can probably strip it down to just the PIC, crystal and USB components. You might also need a bit of logic similar to the Spin dev board to disconnect the clock and data lines and reset the FV-1.
There is a command line tool for the PICkit for Windows, Mac and Linux, so you can write a batch file or script to upload the hex file.
You can also program the EEPROM using a USB to serial converter or an RS232 port if you have a machine with one. This is probably too slow for development though as it takes a few minutes to program.

TipTop Audio seem to have cloned the programming part of the dev board for use with their Z-DSP synth module. Did they licence this some how or is the firmware freely available?
Danila-master
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Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:34 pm
Location: Moldova

Post by Danila-master »

I think that RS232 is not a best approach. If we need to perform two additional actions (disconnect Clock and Data buses; switch program)
then it will not work. Such way we only can upload a firmware and then we will need to switch program manually.
slacker
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Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:13 pm

Post by slacker »

I think using RS232 by adding a CD4066 switch you could disconnect the clock and data lines and make the FV-1 reload the program.
frank
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Post by frank »

If you use an open collector type device you do not need to use a switch to disconnect the clock and data lines between the FV-1 and EEPROM.
Frank Thomson
Experimental Noize
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