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PGA900 Programming

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: PGA900

In the datashet (paige17) it is said that there is only one cycle of erase/write to OTP parameter NV memory. So how to debug the firmware if there is only one rewrite cycle? 

And what is the parameter OTP and EEPROM

  • Oleg, thanks for your e-mail. Yes, One Time Programmable (OTP) only allows you to write once to it. However, the PGA900 has a feature called Development RAM (DEVRAM). This is what should be used when firmware is being developed/debugged.  Development RAM data overlaps OTP when the REMAP bit is set to 1. The data is erased once the device is powered down. This is the way it works: 

    When REMAP bit is 0

    -        DEVRAM is at 0x21000000

    -        OTP is at 0x00000000

     When REMAP bit is 1

    -        DEVRAM is at 0x00000000, that is it overlays the OTP

    -        OTP is at 0x00000000

    The DEVRAM downloader in the PGA900GUI has been coded to download the hex file to memory address starting at 0x21000000. That means, you have to have REMAP bit set to 0 before downloading software to DEVRAM. So the sequence for downloading and executing out of DEVRAM is:

    1. Reset MICRO
    2. Set REMAP to 0
    3. Download to DEVRAM
    4. Set REMAP to 1
    5. Unrest the Micro

    This will allow to debug your firmware. Hope this helps, thanks,

    JV

     

  • Hello, Javier!

    So, do I understood correctly, that if we want  to test and debug our device in the field and save OTP memory for further final firmware downloading, we have to add some extra coprocessor, that will initiate a debug mode on our PGA900?

  • And what is parameter EEPROM used for? Can we download the debug firmware on it?

    Are there any software fo debugging firmware and to set "0" or "1" to REMAP and other parameters?

  • Hi Vyacheslav, the DEVRAM is a feature used to debug and test your firmware during the development stage of the firmware. Once your firmware is fully verified and complete, you can download it to OTP. You do not need anything extra for the DEVRAM. The DEVRAM is simply another memory location in the PGA900 that can be overlapped over OTP (by setting REMAP=1)  to avoid customers burning devices using OTP.  

    Thanks,

    JV

  • Hi Oleg. Firrmware can only be downloaded to DEVRAM or OTP. EEPROM is mainly used to store calibration coefficients for the compensation algorithm (firmware). To test code using DEVRAM and set REMAP=1 you can use the PGA900GUI already availabe in the product folder for the PGA900. The steps to do this would be the ones mentioned earlier:

    1. Reset MICRO
    2. Set REMAP to 0
    3. Download to DEVRAM
    4. Set REMAP to 1
    5. Unrest the Micro

    Thanks,

    JV