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Programming a fresh TM4c129 microcontroller on a custom board for the 1st time using UART

Sanjay Anand
Prodigy 50 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TM4C129XNCZAD, TM4C1292NCPDT, EK-TM4C1294XL

Hi Guys,

I have gone through many documentation and forum questions but since I'm  a novice  in this field I was not able to understand it and  wanted your help regarding some doubts.

I have TM4C129XNCZAD and TM4C1292NCPDT micro controllers(not the development boards or eval boards)

I wanted to design my own custom board using any one of the above  micro controllers (I still have not decided on the uC) so i would like to know

1) How do i program these micro controllers using UART and LM flash programmer (can i directly connect RX TX GND of serial port pins of my computer to the board and download? )

2) With respect to my above question will the fresh micro controller come with pre loaded  serial( UART) boot loader so that it can download my application code on the flash or should I burn the serial (UART) boot loader(If yes through what interface? (JTAG?) and where will i get the serial (UART) boot loader?)

Thank you for your valuable time and effort

Regards

Sanjay Anand

  • 0
    Guru 55913 points

    Hi Sanjay,
    Do yourself a favor and buy the EK-TM4C1294XL launch pad, most every question U can then answer and become an expert! :)

  • 0 in reply to Genatco
    Prodigy 50 points
    Hi,

    Thank you for your quick reply, but buying that launch pad is not possible right now(more over not my decision ), I am given a task by my employer to refer to the Schematics of the eval board and develop a custom board for our application so please do give me a hint .

    Thanks again
    Regards
    Sanjay Anand
  • 0 in reply to Sanjay Anand
    Guru 26105 points

    Hi,

    At this stage don't dare to do development without ICDI interface - you will go to miss the debugger function, which is a worse thing. Later, when the application is finished an you multiply it, then you may use UART interface. But until then, ICDI is mandatory... 

  • 0 in reply to Petrei
    Prodigy 50 points
    Hi ,

    Thank you for your quick response.
    I also had a similar view , but unfortunately the decision again is not mine to make, I have to follow my employers decision,
    Now i am suppose to design and develop a custom board which can be programmed using UART
    (I have read the data sheet where they say you have to commit changes made to BOOTCFG register which i can understand partially ,
    how can i program that register in the 1st place or do i have to set the bits in the registers hardware wise by physically connecting vcc and GND signal to some pin??

    I just need some one to point me in the right direction to get out of this jam and tell me how to program using UART and abt serial bootloader.

    Thanks for your time

    Regards
    Sanjay Anand
  • 0 in reply to Sanjay Anand
    Guru 55913 points
    do i have to set the bits in the registers hardware wise by physically connecting vcc and GND signal to some pin??

    No - the registers default on reset but UART control registers must be programmed or will not work at all.

    One must have some development suite CCS studio or other C++ programming language IDE for configuring TM4C MPU. That employer would do good allow U buy complete $20.00 USD development package so U to can (LEARN) how to fly the TM4C or perhaps crash and burn!

    The choice is yours alone to advise employer to take the less hard route to a complete product development.
  • 0 in reply to Genatco
    Prodigy 50 points
    HI ,

    Thank you so much for your reply,
    I will try convincing him, so do i have to use JTAG interface to set the uart control registers and write a program to set it the first time and from then on i will be able to dump code thru uart using lm flash programmer right?

    Thank you for your valuable time and effort(it is appreciated and it is one of the main reasons i have convinced my employer to go with the TI MCU rather than other MCUs)

    Regards
    sanjay
  • 0 in reply to Sanjay Anand
    Guru 55913 points
    The JTAG/ICDI debugger is built into the launch pad as a preprogrammed TM4C123 MPU. Believe the LCD version TM4C launch pad includes license to download and use CCS suite, not sure that is true for the EK-TM4C1294XL. If you have previously purchased an XDS100 JTAG or other TI supported JTAG it often includes free CCS studio use license agreement.
  • 0 in reply to Genatco
    Prodigy 50 points
    Hi
    Thank you so much for the help
    i will look into it :)

    Regards
    sanjay
  • 0 in reply to Sanjay Anand
    Guru 55913 points

    from then on i will be able to dump code thru uart using lm flash programmer right?

    That is only one way to flash the TM4C, one can flash load binary file in the debug simulator & single step program.
     
    You will have to load the Software Boot Loader which has a TFTP server built in order to DL the binary file into TM4C flash.
    BTW: There are complete UART/USB libraries already written to help you get started to flying TM4C with little time spent.

    Be sure to check Post is answered so some credit for time is awarded. Thanks!

  • 0 in reply to Genatco
    Guru 55913 points

    Thanks Sanjay. You can't go wrong with the EK-TM4C1294XL. There are a few other less expensive launch pads such as MPS430 costing less $17 USD. Each launch pad has booster pack pins to plug a piggy back board sold by TI or other vendors like Digikey.com or Mouser.com. The nice part is USB cable and Windows drivers make the UART data visible through a virtual COM port connection via USB into a terminal simulator like Putty or YAT. Have fun :)