Unable to get started with ADS1298 EVM

Hi Nagaraj,

I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with the ADS1298ECGFE-PDK.  The error message you describe (Download failed..reset the hardware) is caused when the PC does not see the MMB0.  It should also be followed up by a dialog box that pops up with a message "The firmware load has failed due to a timeout condition.  Please reset the hardware to continue loading the firmware."  Let's first address the potential hardware issues:

To debug the MMB0 hardware, there are a couple of things to look for, first is a shunt jumper on J12 which is a two pin jumper just below and slightly left of the power jack on the MMB0.  If this shunt came off through the shipping process for some reason, you would get the error message you describe.  The second possibility is that the MMB0 is not configured for USB Boot Mode.  If you have the REV C version of the MMB0 (REV C has four standoffs mounted on the bottom of the board, REV D has four rubber 'stick-on' feet) there is a switch just to the right of the power jack.  This switch needs to be in the USB position (towards the center of the board) for the firmware to properly load.  The REV D version of the board does not have this switch installed, the USB boot mode is set by virtue of a wired short on S4.  The final possibility is the actual RESET switch.  The RESET switch (S3) is in the upper right corner of the MMB0 - while rare, we have had a few of these switches fail short on the REV C boards.  If you do not 'feel' the switch give under the pressure of a press with your finger, verify the switch reads 'open' or infinite resistance using a multi-meter between the two outside pins in the upper right corner of the board. 

If J12, S4 and S3 are configured properly, the next item to look for is that the drivers for the MMB0 are actually getting loaded on your PC.  After installing the software and powering up the board for the first time, with the USB cable plugged in, you should get the 'Found New Hardware' prompt.  The first driver that gets installed is the NI-VISA USB Device Driver.  Select the 'No, not this time' and 'Install the software automatically' options when prompted.  After installing the device driver, the device manager should show a NI-VISA USB Devices type with TMS320VC5509A (NI-VISA) driver.  From here, once you start the ADS1298 software for the first time, you should get another prompt regarding the finding of a new device.  The second driver is the USBStyx Driver, again follow the prompts as above (don't search, automatically install) and let the installation finish.  During this period, the firmware may timeout and give you the "Download failed..reset the hardware", but pressing the reset button at this point or re-starting the ADS1298ECG-FE GUI should clear that message.

For the remaining questions:

a.) yes, you can save off the raw data from the ADS1298 for post processing on your own.  There is a 'Save' tab in the GUI that allows you to save off the data in a tab delimited text file.  You can save register settings, Scope, FFT or Histogram analysis as well as the raw data. 

b.) no, there is no command line interface, but the software does have the option to present an 'analysis window' that gives you detail by channel on the Scope, FFT or Histogram displays.

c.) The MMB0 was not intended to be used as a development platform, so there is no stand alone IDE for it.  If you have Code Composer Studio and an XDS510 Class Emulator, you could conceivably develop custom programs with the ADS1298ECG-FE hardware.  J8 on the MMB0 is the JTAG interface, it is not installed by default, but a simple two row by 7-pin BERG strip is all that you need there.