AWR2544LOPEVM: [HELP] Getting started with AWR2544 LOPEVM as a beginner

Hi Domimik,

Have you tried running the demo once on your setup?

BR,

Animesh Anand

Hi Animesh,

thank you for you reply. I tried that but it won't connect to it and there is only one Demo in CC Studio (but the board isn't listed in the compatibility list). My next idea is to recompile the Demo and flash it on the board but I'm still trying to figure out how to use CC Studio in the moment.

BR Dominik

Hi Dominik,

What version of CCS you are using currently?

BR,

Animesh Anand

Currently running the latest version without Theia as a colleague told me to. BR Dominik

Hi Dominik,

In the latest version of CCS, are you not getting this option in target configuration?

BR,

Animesh Anand

How did you get to this screen? Currently, I'm browsing through the examples in the Resource Explorer. Or do I need to create a new project for the target config?

I wasn't sure what you meant but I created a new workspace, configured the target hardware for it and opened the only demo I could find for my board in the workspace (AWR2544 MMW Demo). But when I open mmw_main.c and try to build it (and then flash it, however that works) to the board. But I get 25 compilation errors when trying to build with many different messages. Do I need to include/install any libraries or dependencies? Or is all this unnecessary as there exists an easier way?

My colleague just mentioned that I'm using SDK version 4 and he uses version 3. Could it have to do something with me using the wrong SDK version?

After some digging, it seems many errors come from line 1132 in the file "mmw_cli.c".

When compiling, it says "use of undeclared identifier 'cfg' " for the line "rlVmonConf_t cfg".

Could this be a dependency/include error?

I ran the file "setenv.bat" as mentioned in the mcuplus_sdk_user_guide.pdf (chpt. 4.8. Developing using SDK) and the SDK device in there is set to "awr2544"

Hi Dominik,

When you set the environment variable. Can you check for the dfp path it is taking?

BR,

Animesh Anand

Hi Animesh,
I got it working by switching to CCS Theia and mmwave_mcuplus_sdk_04_05_00_02.
After more debugging and copying NodeJS to Theia, I can import and build the OOB demo.
But I get a memory access error when I try to debug/upload the demo from Theia to the board, and Uniflash won't flash unless I also link to an SBL file linked next to the AppImage I just compiled.

Can you tell me the process on how to download/generate/compile the necessary SBL file or how to resolve the memory access error?

Hi Domink,

Can you share the screenshot of the error you are getting?

BR,

Animesh Anand

Hi Animesh,

I apologize for the delayed response - I'm currently working part-time as a student, limited to just 1,5 days a week.

Since my last message, I was able to identify and fix the issue I encountered. I mistakenly used the wrong interface, thinking I needed to flash the module in order to compile, upload, and test the demo project. However, it turns out I should have been using the XDS_USB interface. That was entirely my oversight - my apologies for the confusion.

At the moment, I'm able to successfully compile and debug the OOB demo for my evaluation board. My next step is to permanently flash it to the chip to test the entire procedure.

For this, I understand I need to use Uniflash, but it requires an SBL image alongside my compiled OOB demo app image. I've been trying to figure out what this is and where I can obtain or generate this SBL file. I found some pre-compiled SBLs within the MCUPLUS SDK folder for my board, but when I attempt to use them with my compiled app image, I receive the following error:

"ERROR! Overlapping segments at address 0x2"

Would you be able to provide any tips or point me toward useful resources? As you can probably tell, I'm quite new to TI Radar chips and the associated toolchains, so it’s a bit overwhelming at the moment.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Best regards,
Dominik

Edit: I'm currently using UniFlash v8.8.0.4946

Hi Dominik,

We are always there to help and support you. Can you tell which prebuilt SBL you used to load on the board.

BR,

Animesh Anand

Hi Animesh,

so my current process looks like this:

1. Clone the OOB Demo to my CCS Theia Workspace, clean the project from old leftovers and build it

2. Set the SOP jumpers to 101 (flash mode) and connect it via J10 (FTDI_USB) to my PC

3. Start UniFlash, manually select my board type and start a session (it gets detected automatically only when using the XDS_USB port instead of the FTDI_USB)

4. Now I choose my just compiled "out_of_box_2544.appimage" for the App Image but I couldn't find any SBL images in my workspace output next to the compiled app image

5a. When clicking "Load Image" without an SBL, I get an error as it's missing the SBL

5b. When I select one of the pre-built SBL files (*.TIIMAGE) like "sbl_uart_.uniflash_release.tiimage", I get either an error message about some bit miss-matches in headers or the progress bar stops after 1mm, just saying "Initialization complete"

PS: In the mmWave MCUPlus User Guide document, in a heading it says "Flash Procedure using UniFlash GUI (Applicable for AWR294x)". Does this mean UniFlash isn't compatible with my board and I have to use the Python flashing tool?

Hi Animesh,

I tried again with the mentioned sbl_qspi.release.tiimage and my compiled OOB Demo AppImage but when clicking "Load Images", the progress bar doesn't progress after "Initialization complete" without any errors and the MCU being in Flash Mode using SOP.

Animesh Anand said:

When you are flashing, just make sure your cores are not connected in CCS

Could you further explain what you mean by that? When using UniFlash with my board selected, I get a different looking UI than in the UniFlash PDF Guide. Under "Settings & Utilities" aren't any options listed and when looking in the top right corner, "Cortex_R5_0" has a grey dot and "Disconnect All Cores" can't be clicked too. Does this mean I have a general connection issue when enabling Flash Mode on the EVM?

edit: When connecting with SOP set to "Normal Mode" and using the XDS USB connector instead, the board gets auto-detected by UniFlash and I get much more options on the left of the screen, enabling me to program the Cortex R5 or "CS_ETB_0", see the Settings and Memory config. But this mode won't program the flash/ROM for use of the OOB Demo after a power cycle or am I wrong with that? (When still trying to flash, I get "Overlapping segments at adress 0x2")