ADS1281EVM software

Ed,

Which version of ADCPro is installed on your computer now? Sounds like the old updater may have had some problems with transitioning to version 2.0.0 of ADCPro correctly.

For ADCPro version 2 we added a Launcher application that should take care of downloading, installing, and updating plug-ins for you. Did you use this application to apply these changes? See a screen cap of the application below. This path should be relatively automated, even with a transition from v1 to v2.

1. Go to www.ti.com/adcpro
2. Download the ADCPro Launcher
3. Using the Launcher, Download & Install ADCPro
4. Using the Launcher, Download & Install the ADS1281 Plug-in
    

Thanks, that fixed the problem.

The ADCPro on the CDROM sent with the kit was 1.0.0 and updated to 1.2.2 Build 5, not version 2.  Perhaps, 1.2.2 links to plugins are broken.  Please redirect the 1.2.2 link to point to the newer version so no one else has to waste time with this problem. Frankly, if the links misdirect then I think that the old CD's should be scrapped and new ones sent with the kits.

Also, my plugins for the ADS1278EVM were not recognized and were removed when the old install was removed.  How do I get those reinstalled with the latest, hopefully fixed, version? 

Ed,

Ed Browne said:

The ADCPro on the CDROM sent with the kit was 1.0.0 and updated to 1.2.2 Build 5, not version 2.  Perhaps, 1.2.2 links to plugins are broken.  Please redirect the 1.2.2 link to point to the newer version so no one else has to waste time with this problem.

We changed a number of things about the way that plug-ins are maintained and updated through the 1.2.2 to 2.0.0 transition that keeps the 1.2.2 updater from being able to acquire updates to move to 2.0.0. You should have seen the error below while trying to install the newest version of the plug-ins, and we can try to revise this message to indicate appropriately that users need to go to www.ti.com/adcpro and download the new client rather than using the updater. Thanks for your feedback. 

Ed Browne said:

Frankly, if the links misdirect then I think that the old CD's should be scrapped and new ones sent with the kits.

We no longer kit EVM-PDKs with CDs. However, there is still stock remaining at some of our distributors of the old kits that still contain CDs. The current model is to go to the website to download the Launcher which should acquire & install plug-ins at your request. 

Ed Browne said:

Also, my plugins for the ADS1278EVM were not recognized and were removed when the old install was removed.  How do I get those reinstalled with the latest, hopefully fixed, version? 

You should be able to do the same thing you did for the ADS1281 plug-in and install it from the Launcher. I'm not sure what errors you encountered before but the current release of the ADS1278 plug-in should be ready to go.

Check out section 2.4 of the ADCPro User's Guide for more information about how to use the Launcher to download the ADS1278 plug-in. Alternatively, you can go straight to the product folder and download & install the plug-in from there manually http://www.ti.com/tool/ads1278evm-pdk

Let me know if you have any further concerns.

Kevin,

The links in 1.2.2 to the plugins don't work so there is never an opportunity to see the message to download ADCPro 2.0.0.

Also, I wrote too soon about success, after it had installed ADCPro correctly but  before I had fully exercised the modules.  I found and tested the ADS1278EVM and it works fine, however, the ADS1281EVM tries to load and fails. No amount of uninstall/reinstall has worked, including purging the registry and reinstalling.  I get message

"The firmware load has failed due to a timeout condition.  Please reset the hardware to continue loading the firmware." 

I have three MMB0 boards and they all have the same problem.  I'm pretty sure that the old NI USB driver (MMB0) is getting loaded instead of the current one, but I haven't found it yet.  Got an idea where to look and how to rid it from my system?

Ed,

The ADS1278 and ADS1281 both use the same driver - so if the ADS1278 works it's not likely a driver issue. None-the-less, the driver of interest for loading the firmware should be recognized as "NI-VISA USB Devices - MMB0 (NI-VISA)" in the Device Manager, shown below:

If somehow Windows enumerates the ADS1281 differently than the ADS1278 it will be recognized as "NI-VISA USB Devices - TMS320VC5509A (NI-VISA)." Investigate this and let me know your findings and we can go from there to try to rectify any driver problems.

Additionally, please share your MMB0 & ADS1281EVM jumper configurations and external supply connections required for the ADS1281EVM as documented in it's User's Guide. If you don't have the power supplies connected appropriately you will experience this error.

Kevin,

Wouldn't you have the jumpers set correctly before shipping!?! 

I have a very short fuse project and I cannot afford the time being stuck installing and reinstalling drivers.  While I realize the new paradigm of e2e may work well for you, it is frustratingly slow for me.  Please use the phone number in my information to call me.

Ed,

Ed Browne said:

Wouldn't you have the jumpers set correctly before shipping!?! 

Yes, we have a default configuration that works - just making sure that you haven't changed anything!

Ed Browne said:

I have a very short fuse project and I cannot afford the time being stuck installing and reinstalling drivers.  While I realize the new paradigm of e2e may work well for you, it is frustratingly slow for me.  Please use the phone number in my information to call me.

I have done my best to respond to you in a timely manner, I apologize for your frustration.

Verify that you have the external power supplies connected required for the EVM to function as laid out in the User's Guide. That is +/- 10V applied at J14 at the labels -VA and +VA respectively. Ensure there is a ground connection and for bi-polar operation ensure that there is also a -5V supply connected at the -5VA label.

Strangely enough, according to the diagram in Figure 4, there was a missing jumper.  The software installed the missing USBStyx driver and it is now working.  I still have a problem, though.

I need to test the ADS1281 at 1MHz and perform some temperature tests.  Can the clock to the ADS1281 be changed through the DSP software?   It looks as though J3 is set so that TOUT can be switched through U11, but I cannot find a description of how to set the ADC's clock.  I can inject a 1MHz signal into J2-2 to accomplish this, but I would need to reduce SCLK to no more than 500kHz or there will be data errors.  How can I use your board to test this?

Ed,

The SCLK from the DSP seems to be fixed. I'm working on digging through the source to see if I can easily make the SCLK available on the front panel.

Ed,

I've a solution that should work for you - sorry for the delays, I overlooked the DSP system clock limitations on the SCLK. Instead of making a new version of the front-panel I've rebuilt the DSP firmware with the SCLK fixed at 500kHz. The zip file below contains the new binary.

5481.ads1281evm-pdk.zip

Unzip and copy this file to C:\Program Files\ADCPro\plugins\evm\ADS1281\fw and overwrite the existing firmware. To supply an external clock you should have J2 in the 1-2 position, J3 in the 1-2 position, and your clock signal applied at J5A-17. I've tested this here in the lab and have had good results.

Let me know your results.

Thanks, Kevin.

Everything loaded correctly and I' was able to start taking data, but the data wasn't displayed.  I'm driving the clock from an external function generator and see some ringing so I expect that is the problem.  I'll try to get an oscillator constructed to piggy back the board to minimize the path length, but given all the other work that needs to get done, I may not be able to get to it in a timely manner.