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How to keep GaugeStudio and ES(bq Evaluation Software) both on at the same time?

Allen Tsai
Prodigy 30 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: BQ27541, EV2400, BQEVSW, BQSTUDIO, BQ27541-G1, BQ27541-V200

Hi!

I am a manufacturing engineer that is helping my employer shorten the times spent on programming bq27541. Currently we are using EV2400 to

~ run GaugeStudio to program the bq27541 (close the GaugeStudio Software after the programming is done), and then

~ run bq Evaluation Software to Send HDQ (which is the communication our product uses). Currently when Send HDQ is done, we have to close the ES before we can open/run GaugeStudio again.

Is there a way to keep GaugeStudio and ES both opened at the same time? Open/close these 2 software again and again is very time-consuming in mass production. I am trying to improve it by 2 EV2400 HPA500, but have no luck so far. With the existence of GaugeStudio, some error messages pop when trying to ES. I also tried disabling GaugeDashboard on the right side of the GaugeStudio, but it is not helping.

Anything else I can try? If this is something that you know has no solution, please kindly let me know. If buying other products can help, please advise.

Thanks!

Best regards,

Allen

  • 0
    Genius 3970 points

    Hi Allen, welcome to the forums! (Apologies in advance for the long-winded post!)

    As far as I know, there is no official way to run both bqEVSW and GaugeStudio at the same time. Technically GaugeStudio is deprecated software so no future updates from TI will be provided (as much as I personally prefer GaugeStudio versus the new bqSTUDIO/Battery Management Studio, bqSTUDIO is the only software that will receive updates and support from TI).


    Although you might be able to run two EV2400s simultaneously, there are some pitfalls that could pose a problem:

    • There is a chance that GaugeStudio will attempt to send a command and cause a collision between it and bqEVSW.
    • The EV2300/EV2400 adapters were never meant to run on the same I2C bus, or any multi-master system for that matter.
    • GaugeStudio, upon startup, will attempt to take control of any and all free adapters that are connected to the PC (bqEVSW would need to be started first so it can gain control of one EV2400).
    • My own testing shows that GaugeStudio version 1.3.12 (and likely older versions) will still attempt to poll the I2C bus even if the Gauge Dashboard is disabled, which would cause a conflict if a command in bqEVSW was being sent at the same time. (Version 1.4.1 appears to not have this issue.)

    What particular variant of the bq27541 are you using (e.g. the bq27541-G1)? If you are using the -G1 version, the test version of bqSTUDIO has an I2C-to-HDQ plugin, but bear in mind that bqSTUDIO does not support the .gg files that bqEVSW and GaugeStudio use. You'll want to export a golden image (a .dffs file) as it contains data that the .gg file lacks, using bqCONFIG. Renaming the file to have a .df.fs file extension will allow it to be opened by bqSTUDIO; on that note bqCONFIG is discontinued along with GaugeStudio, so if you need a copy of the installer(s), please let me know.

    I'm sorry if this is all a huge mess to you. The transition from 3+ different software tools has made for quite a conundrum when trying to migrate one's fuel gauge data between programs.

    Jason

  • 0 in reply to en-US
    Prodigy 30 points
    Hi! Jason,

    I am trying the bqStudio now.

    Besides the .srec file, our data file was also converted to 2 other files (.bq.fs and .df.fs).
    I noticed that when programming our bq27541-G1, using .df.fs can shorten the programming times significantly.
    What is the difference between the 3 files and which file should we use?
    Thanks!


    Best regards,

    Allen
  • 0 in reply to Allen Tsai
    Genius 3970 points

    Hi Allen,

    The .srec and .bq.fs formats are complete firmware images (they contain data to program the Data Flash as well as the Instruction Flash memory). The .srec is the raw image of the all of the Flash memory, and the .bq.fs and .df files are in TI's FlashStream format, which is essentially an I2C script that contains the command structure for reprogramming the fuel gauge (all the host has to do is parse the text commands and send it to the gauge). The .df.fs file is significantly faster to use as it omits the Instruction Flash programming portion.


    For production, a .df.fs file will work just fine. One of the only potential downfalls of using a DF-only image is re-programming a gauge in-system that has a different firmware version (so a bq27541-V200 gauge cannot use a -G1 image, as it would brick the gauge).


    Regards,

    Jason