Messages

1

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: Kinetis K60 Ethernet phy MDIO comm. problem

« on: May 31, 2023, 10:41:46 PM »

Hi Ray

I am please that you managed to catch the issue.

Regards

Mark

2

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: Kinetis K60 Ethernet phy MDIO comm. problem

« on: May 31, 2023, 08:01:57 PM »

Hi Ray

don't forget that the PHY has an address that is set via straps. Make sure that its address matches PHY_ADDRESS.
Or you can try SCAN_PHY_ADD which will scan all possible addresses to see whether the ID can be read on one of them.

Good luck

Regards

Mark

3

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: Kinetis K60 Ethernet phy MDIO comm. problem

« on: May 30, 2023, 10:25:20 PM »

Hi Ray

In kinetis.c

#if (defined ETH_INTERFACE && defined ETHERNET_AVAILABLE && !defined NO_INTERNAL_ETHERNET)
/* =================================================================== */
/*                          Ethernet Controller                        */
/* =================================================================== */
    #include "kinetis_ENET.h"                                            // include Ethernet controller hardware driver code
#endif

It is not possible to include it from a header file since it contains code and then the code would be included in multiple locations.

VS normally handles highlighting well. Try a clean/rebuild which may sort it out.

Regards

Mark

4

µTasker general / Re: How to identify code that causes a SW watchdog reset

« on: April 29, 2023, 01:45:48 PM »

Hi

If you have code that may take a long time and causes a SW WDOG timeout (but not due to an error, as such) you can increase the watchdog value in (for example the i.MX RT project)

#define ACTIVATE_WATCHDOG()     UNLOCK_WDOG3(); WDOG3_TOVAL = (2 * 32000); WDOG3_WIN = 0; WDOG3_CS = (WDOG_CS_CLK_LPO | WDOG_CS_FLG | WDOG_CS_CMD32EN | WDOG_CS_EN); // enable watchdog with 2s timeout (32kHz reference)

or add re-triggers in the code [fnRetriggerWatchdog()].

To identify the location you can add a HW timer (single-shot that can be re-triggered) configured to a slightly lower timeout than the watchdog timeout.
Add a re-trigger of it to the macro

Code: [Select]

TOGGLE_WATCHDOG_LED()
and set a break point in its interrupt handler.

If this interrupt fires you can look to see which code is executing (step out of the interrupt or look at the call stack).

Regards

Mark

5

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: i.MX RT Linker Script files for compatibility with MCUXpresso V11.5 and above

« on: April 24, 2023, 09:36:28 AM »

Hi Ray

I don't think there is anything in the newer GCC versions that are greatly beneficial and older ones work fine:
Maybe there are some better warning messages in newer ones (pointing out potential code issues) but these are not critical.

Regards

Mark

6

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / i.MX RT Linker Script files for compatibility with MCUXpresso V11.5 and above

« on: April 19, 2023, 01:32:37 PM »

Hi All

With the release of NXP's MCUXpresso V11.5, which is supplied with a newer version of the GCC tool chain, i.MX RT projects could no longer be build due to an incompatibility in the linker scripts.
Interestingly this however didn't affect Kinetis projects, where the same incompatibility was not experienced.

Originally attempts were made to identify what had changed and work around it but this proved to be a dead-end and so finally a new linker script was generated using the NXP SDK and then adapted to suit the uTasker code (such as inserting the same variable section references so that the initialisation code didn't need to be modified).

The result is that by swapping out original linker scripts against newer ones projects can be built with MCUXpresso versions pre-V11.5 and post.

At this time there are still some linker scripts to be adapted and tested but for the main usage I have attached the ones that can already be used (later they will be checked into the repository for general use)

- iMX_RT_10XX_FlexSPI_NOR.ld   This can be saved to \Applications\uTaskerBoot\GNU_iMX (overwriting the original) and allows the primary loader to be built for i.MX RT 10xx parts (excluding the i.MX RT 1064)

- iMX_RT_1064_FlexSPI_NOR.ld. This can be saved to \Applications\uTaskerBoot\GNU_iMX (overwriting the original) and allows the primary loader to be built for  the i.MX RT 1064

- iMX_RT_10XX_FlexSPI_NOR_BOOT.ld. This can be saved to \Applications\uTaskerSerialBoot\GNU_iMX (overwriting the original) and also to \Applications\uTaskerV1.4\GNU_iMX and allows the secondary loaders and application to be built for i.MX RT 10xx parts operating in RAM (the main operation configuration and always used by the serial loaders).

- iMX_RT_10XX_SDP_Boot.ld. This can be saved to \Applications\uTaskerSerialBoot\GNU_iMX (overwriting the original) and allows serial download protocol images for i.MX RT 10xx parts. This tends to be built in parallel with the serial loader and so, even if the SDP outputs are never used, it will stop the build failing.

Regards

Mark

7

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: i.MX RT 1062 Stock available to uTasker users

« on: March 11, 2023, 10:41:32 PM »

Hi

The 0.65mm pitch part is designed/intended for 4 layer boards and the NXP EVKs are 4-layer designs allowing all pins to be used and also (according to them) passes FCC tests.

The only drawback is that some room around the device is needed for fan-out of the signal lines when many are used and when some GPIOs are not needed that means that it can be packed tighter together. See the attached screen shot of the chip on the NXP layout.  6-layer board would probably alleviate this.

NXP also has a detailed design guide at https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/arm-microcontrollers/i-mx-rt-crossover-mcus/i-mx-rt1050-crossover-mcu-with-arm-cortex-m7-core:i.MX-RT1050 "i.MX RT Hardware Development Guide for the MIMXRT1050/MIMXRT1060 Processor" - requires a log-in.

It is undeniable that more board layers and working with finer pitches and smaller holes will increase the price of a PCB and it is up to the designer to decide on such tradeoffs. However, in comparison to a K66, which - if it can be found and purchased at its normal price - tends to be much more expensive than an i.MX RT 10xx - maybe in the order of $10..15 and, coupled with much more peripherals and performance even paying more for a PCB should result in a cheaper (and potentially) better product.

I have also attached a screen shot of one of my designs where I use 77 ports/GPIO plus 1 x USB.

Regards

Mark

8

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: RT1064, boot from SD.

« on: March 08, 2023, 06:31:48 PM »

Hi

If there were no QSPI flash the only loader available is the ROM loader, which can boot from SD cards but is not necessarily a very good choice since SD cards are unreliable in comparison to QSPI flash and if the card fails, is corrupted or is removed the board can't do anything.

It is possible for the uTasker boot loader to also load directly from SD card to RAM or SDRAM but, due to the above, I would never recommend it for an embedded system - plus why use an expensive (heat sensitive) SD card to hold a small program when a cheap ($0.50) QSPI flash can do it better? [Since a 1064 has this inside anyway it would make even less sense]

I don't know why there is a limit in ITC size in the article but that may be the ROM loader's limitation (unless eFUSEs are set possibly to change the configuration, which cannot be changed back again...!). The uTasker loader (running in the first blocks of QSPI flash) is limited to the chip's 512k ITC (since it can dynamically configure this according to the code's requirement) or much larger in SDRAM (or much larger in QSPI flash).

As noted in the article it is cool to boot from an SD card directly (without any need for QSPI flash) but whether it makes real sense in a real -world embedded system is highly unlikely.

Regards

Mark

9

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: RT1064, boot from SD.

« on: March 08, 2023, 02:04:31 PM »

Hi

The standard SD card boot loader method is to have he new image on the card and load it to QSPI flash (and delete the SD card image after successful transfer).
At each subsequent boot there are three possibilities:
- copy the code from encrypted QSPI flash to ITC RAM and run it there (fastest operation)
- copy the code from encrypted QSPI flash to SRAM and run it there (second fastest operation but operation s no longer encrypted since the SDRAM operation can be observed)
- Run the code in place in QSPI Flash (XiP) or XiP-BEE (on the fly decryption). XiP is (depending on caching) up to 20x slower that running from ITC and less deterministic since the speed depends on caching so can change) -  XiP BEE is a bit slower again (about 30% I have heard). When the QSPI Flash in internal to the chip (RT1064) it is protected and possibly there is no advantage of using XiP BEE for code protection.

ITC + DTC is limited to the FlexRAM size of the chip. RT105x/6x have 512k so programs up to about 512k would be possible (as long as data is located in SDRAM or 512k OTCRAM2 (in 106x)

Large QSPI Flash are available so program size shouldn't generally be an issue (except for RT1064 where it is fixed at 4MBytes) and SDRAM loses code protection so is not always the best choice.

Regards

Mark

10

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: uTasker for Kinetis MK64

« on: March 08, 2023, 01:53:40 PM »

Hi

Booting (or boot loading) from an SD card is possible and the card can be used for other storage too.
RT1062s are 0.65mm pitch. Since PCB hole sizes are a little smaller the PCB can be more expensive (about +20%) but the 0.8mm BGA is in fact a more expensive part and they tend to cancel each other out and results in smaller possible boards. Soldering of 0.65mm pitch is no problem since the chips align themselves when the solder is molten so I don't think it is a factor to consider.

Regards

Mark

11

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / i.MX RT 1062 Stock available to uTasker users

« on: March 07, 2023, 07:55:09 PM »

Hi All

Note that the chip shortage has resulted in the uTasker project investing in the following chips, which are reserved for uTasker users and available at reduced prices (in comparison to distributors):

IMXRT1062DVL6B - commercial
IMXRT1062CVL5B  - industrial

These are 10mmx10mm 196 pin BGA with full features (2 x Ethernet, 2 x USB ,1Meg RAM, TFT display interface) and footprint compatible (and code 99% compatible) with i.MX RT 1051/52/61/62 and are useful for porting Kinetis projects to (they can also be used in place of i.MX RT 1064 as long as there is a QSPI flash connected)). With 600MHz zero wait state operation (up to 1.2G instructions per second) they are FAST as well. As well as having very high compatibility with Kinetis the uTasker project makes it simple to port from Kinetis projects and, with the chip stock, can ensure that supplies are immediately available when needed (some parts still have over a year delivery time otherwise).

The small BGA was chosen after experimentation with soldering (also hand soldering) and layout with 4-layer boards. Reference designs and guidance is thus available for those unsure about using BGAs, whereby it can be stated that they are not as difficult to work with as initially feared and result in small, reliable circuity.

There are good stocks available for immediate delivery or reservation, whereby each new project can order/reserve up to 1'200 pieces at the moment. (Quantities of up to 10'000 are possible for immediate delivery but only under exceptional circumstances since it is preferred to supply as many new projects as possible).

Regards

Mark

12

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: uTasker for Kinetis MK64

« on: March 07, 2023, 07:50:48 PM »

Hi

K66 is still a big problem and I don't know where to obtain them from apart from some brokers, although they can charge up to $900 for each chip it seems. In addition I have had a case where the chip was not the one written on the package but a similar one without Ethernet inside, so it is a risk too!

The uTasker serial loader for iMXRT can be encrypted (and clone protected) with almost zero effort. There are guides and videos at https://www.utasker.com/iMX/developers.html
The uTasker project includes all encrypting tools so it is much simpler than the NXP method (which is a one-time usable key method). The key used in every chip is different (randomly generated) and doesn't need to be known/managed by the user. It won't interfere with the NXP encryption method if that were used on the same chip and the HW can be reused with different projects since the project key is still replaceable.
Each time the uTasker reference project is build it automatically generates plain code and encrypted outputs (you can simply tell it which project key you want to use to personalise it) and so there is almost no effort involved.

Note that the chip shortage has resulted in the uTasker project investing in the following chips, which are reserved for uTasker users and available at reduced prices (in comparison to distributors):

IMXRT1062DVL6B - commercial
IMXRT1062CVL5B  - industrial

These are 10mmx10mm 196 pin BGA with full features (2 x Ethernet, 2 x USB ,1Meg RAM, TFT display interface) and footprint compatible (and code 99% compatible) with i.MX RT 1051/52/61/62 and are useful for porting Kinetis projects to (they can also be used in place of i.MX RT 1064 as long as there is a QSPI flash connected)). With 600MHz zero wait state operation (up to 1.2G instructions per second) they are FAST as well. As well as having very high compatibility with Kinetis the uTasker project makes it simple to port from Kinetis projects and, with the chip stock, can ensure that supplies are immediately available when needed (some parts still have over a year delivery time otherwise).

There are good stocks available for immediate delivery or reservation, whereby each new project can order/reserve up to 1'200 pieces at the moment. (Quantities of up to 10'000 are possible for immediate delivery but only under exceptional circumstances since it is preferred to supply as many new projects as possible).

Regards

Mark

P.S. The encryption used on the SD card is compatible with the boot loader encryption and is there is no conflict. The encrypted SD card content is simply copied and store in the QSPI flash in the same format.

P.P.S. I will make a post repeating the 1062 details since it hasn't generally been advertised here before.

13

NXP^TM M522XX, KINETIS and i.MX RT / Re: uTasker for Kinetis MK64

« on: March 06, 2023, 02:30:13 PM »

Hi

The boot loaders of both K64 and K66 operate at 120MHz due to the fact that in order to operate at 180MHz the high-speed RUN mode is needed, in which Flash programming doesn't operate.
Therefore the code that you built and used for the K66 will be operating in RUN mode at 120MHz, which would also be a legal speed for the K64.

The K66 binary may operate on a K64 but there are some differences between the chips and so is not guaranteed - you can also rebuild your original version by changing the target define from K66 to K64, which would be the sure way to do it.

Although the Teensy project does allow overclocking the K64 to achieve faster core performance I don't recommend doing it since it is operating the chip outside of its specifications and so this should only really be used for personal hobby projects where the reliability if not too critical.

Regards

Mark

14

µTasker general / Re: How to view debug messages on the uTasker Simulator

« on: November 30, 2022, 01:05:26 AM »

Hi

If you would like the simulated processor to connect to a UART on the PC (the UART needs to be available as either RS232 port or VCOM) you can set the define for the corresponding processor UART in app_hw_xxx.h (where xxx is the processor reference).

#define SERIAL_PORT_0    10                                          // if we open UART channel 0 we simulate using comx on the PC

This would connect the first UART (or LPUART) to COM 10 (so you would need an interface COM10 to be available).

The simulator doesn't "create" an interface, but instead "uses" one.

This technique allows the simulated processor to communicate with another system connected to the PC via a UART and supports multiple UART too.


The second technique is to install a virtual serial loop-back (like COM0COM - see https://www.utasker.com/forum/index.php?topic=2012.msg7618#msg7618) which creates two virtual COM ports on the PC that are connected. For example COM10 and COM11.

If this were configured the PC would have these two COM ports and the above configuration would communicate on COM10, which is looped-back to COM11. That means that a terminal emulator can be opened on COM11 that receives all data sent by the simulated processor on its first UART. All data sent by the terminal emulators is correspondingly received by the UART of the simulated processor so that it behaves as a terminal emulator connected to a device (as in the case of your terminal emulator connected to the serial interface of the FRDM-K64F board).

Regards

Mark

15

ST^TM STM32 and STR91XF / Re: STM32 uTaskerBoot Project

« on: November 30, 2022, 12:53:52 AM »

Hi

I have already added these to the OS project so there is no need to purchase a license and use the professional version unless you are developing a product that will benefit from additional functionality and support.

In the case where the professional version would be of benefit an application can be made at https://www.utasker.com/Licensing/License.html or it can simply be purchased on line https://www.utasker.com/Payment/Payment.html, after which you will receive an account.

Regards

Mark