The power monitor on EVMK2HX

Hi Yang,

The LM3S2DS3 is the Board Management Controller (BMC).  Although it has access to the PMBus connection to the UCD9244 power supply controllers, it does not have any power monitoring capabilities in the software provided. The UCD9244 does have the ability to monitor voltage and current usage and that information can be gathered using the PMBus connector. You will need the Fusion Digital Power Designer software and a USB-to-GPIO Interface Adapter EVM to monitor the power usage. Remember that you would be monitoring the power used by the EVM and, more specifically, the core power used by that particular EVM. Since CVDD is a smart reflex voltage the numbers measured on one particular part are not representative of all parts. The only way of accurately determining your power needs for all possible parts is to use the power consumption model. Information gathered on the EVM cannot be substituted for the results presented in the power consumption model.

Regards, Bill

Hi Bill,

Thanks for you response.

I think I got what you mean.

Our problem is we want to measure the power consumption of the DSP when running our applications.

We have a power monitor to track the whole boards power usage. But since we are only interested in the DSP itself, and the EVM board has way too many unnecessary overhead including the BMC, LCD, emulator and so on so forth.

Do you think the Fusion Digital Power Designer software and a USB-to-GPIO Interface Adapter as you mentioned would help us?

I am also interested in the power consumption model. I remember there is an Excel tool for C6678. Are we talking about the same one? Otherwise could you please show me more detail about that?

Thanks,

Hi Yang,

The Fusion Software has a continuous monitor capability that will allow you to see the change in current consumption on individual rails while your application is running. It's useful but there are limitations. The first is that the data collected is not representative of all parts, as I mentioned previously. Current consumption varies depending on the process level of the silicon. Secondly, accurate current measurements require that the board be calibrated and that calibration was not part of the EVM design process. The measurements will be close but we cannot guarantee their accuracy. The power consumption model will be placed on TI.com once the power characterization of the part is complete. 

Regards, Bill

Hi Yang,

The initial external release of the 66AK2H* power models are available for download at this Wiki: http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Power_Consumption_Summary_for_KeyStone_II_System-on-Chip_(SoC)_Devices

I highly recommend you read the entire wiki including the FAQ section before using the power models.

Hi,

We just bought the USB-to-GPIO but it is not clear where you can actually connect it to the EVMK2H. Can you clarify this please?

Regards,

Miguel

Hello Senthil,

It is clear that the USB-to-GPIO is connected to the PMBUS1. However, the problem is that the USB-to-GPIO is a 10-pin ribbon cable, while on the EVMK2H the PMBUS1 is a 5-pin port. Therefore, it is not possible to connect it out-the-box.

In the links that you shared, I can see that others have faced the same problem with the C6678 EVM. But it is still not clear if you sell a special adaptor (10-pin to 5-pin) or we have to do our own hack to be able to connect the USB-to-GPIO to the EVMK2H. I would appreciate your advise here about the best way to go.

I really find very inconvenient that TI sells tools that can not be directly connected to the EVMs.

Regards,

Miguel

Hi all,

Were you able to get the power Reading from UCD9244 ?

I was trying the same thing but the PMbus GUI cannot detect the PMBUS device.

Thanks

Ravi