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Flashing new code to the TDC1000-TDC7200 EVM

Norman Curato
Prodigy 110 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TDC7200, TDC1000, TDC7200EVM, MSP430F5529

Hi,

With the sample code available, how can I flash a revised code to echo results of the TDC7200 to a UART or any other means. It seems that the example in the GUI came short of calculating the actual distance.  I would like to be able to do that so that I could test the accuracy of the EVM in mm or cm. 

Any suggestions on how to do this fast so I can do a P.O.C. to my management in order to proceed with a project using the modules. Showing them T.O.F values will absolutely be of little value to my presentation. Or maybe you can update the GUI to show actual distance value rather than T.O.F. if I can't access the raw data from the TDC7200 module. 

Hoping for your soonest reply. My presentation is next week.

Best regards,

Norman Curato

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 21685 points

    Norman,

    I am not sure if I understand your question fully. On the debug tab, there is an "Update Firmware" button. You can flash a revised code to TDC1000_TDC7200EVM through this firmware update button. Other option is you can populate the JTAG programming interface and use CCS/IAR tools to program/debug your customized code. Complete source code of the EVM firmware is available in the installation folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Texas Instruments\TDC1000_7200EVM\Firmware.

    Another thing that may help you is on the Graph tab you have two save options: a) Save Graph Data to File b) Save Result Registers to File. Option (a) saves the computed TOF to selected file. Option (b) saves raw TDC7200 Measurement Result Registers to a file. You can use this raw data to calculate all the desired parameters you want.

    Thanks,

    Vishy

  • 0 in reply to Vishy Viswanathan
    Prodigy 110 points
    Hi Vishy,

    Thanks for your quick reply. I guess what I was really trying to ask is how do I display measurement results in my own GUI so that I can show the accuracy of the TDC1000. I did think about your answer in the second paragraph. But this will mean saving the data in a CSV file and then h plugging the formulas so that I can calculate the distance against the measured T.O.F. But that will mean I will have to do it manually during my presentation.

    The EVM would have been more useful if the GUI presented the distance in real-time which is the whole point of the TDC1000 in a level measurement application. The same would be true for the flow measurements - an actual volume flow measurement would be more useful.

    Or maybe that's the whole point of the EVM, ... for us to be able to add these things on our own.

    So back to my original question, how do I work the EVM so that I can show real-time measurements (i think for this case in my own custom GUI as I can't actually edit the one provided)?

    Your answer would be highly appreciated.

    Best regards,
    Norman
  • 0 in reply to Norman Curato
    TI__Mastermind 21685 points
    Norman,

    To display level or actual distance, simplest way is to multiply the TOF by the speed of sound. And since TOF is a round trip measurement, you have to divide the final result by 2. This calculation is simple enough to add but as the speed of sound depends on temperature and the actual liquid media, the calculated value would not be accurate without these inputs. Temperature measurement capability is supported by TDC1000 and supported in the GUI as well and you need to provide a proper setup (with RTD inserted in the media) to have this working accurately.
    We considered this for EVM and have some working prototypes for conference/show demos and will definitely consider including it in future versions.

    I have included here an example spreadsheet with all the formulas plugged in to calculate the TOF and distance.

    Thanks,
    Vishy
  • 0 in reply to Vishy Viswanathan
    Prodigy 110 points

    Hi Vishy,

    Thanks for your suggestions. I am still trying to get the data from the TDC7200 straight out to my own application via the available UART port in the EVM. Can this be achieved. Can you share some thoughts as to how I can echo the results of the TDC7200 to the UART port in the module. I've tried several ways but to no avail. 

    Do you have a sample code for me to tinker with? The CSV option won't cut for my requirement as it won't show the measurements in real-time. It's not much of an evaluation module if we can't evaluate the actual measurements. 

    Regards,

    Norman

  • 0 in reply to Vishy Viswanathan
    Prodigy 110 points

    Hi Vishy,

    We're now able to display distance values using the TDC7200 data. Took us a couple of minutes to set it up because of a loose wiring between UARTs. Once we figured it out, the rest was smooth sailing.

    Thanks a lot for your help. 

    Best regards,

    Norman

  • 0 in reply to Norman Curato
    Prodigy 70 points
    Hi Norman,.
    I have similar problems. I use two kits TDC1000_TDC7200 and TDC7200 + MSP430F5529 lanch pad. The naked display of TOF can not convince the customers at the presentation. The conversion to distance or speed goes very easy with DasyLab or LabView. You need but the output of the TOF through a COM interface. You can process easily also virtually. It would be nice if the GUI by TI stores the measured values not only as log file.
    The current GUI there currently are not well adapted for the quick presentation for new projects.
    Greetings
    Frank
  • 0 in reply to user1029675
    Prodigy 110 points
    Hi Frank,

    We were able to display the results by porting the TDC7200 T.O.F. outputs to the UART of the MSP430 and then displaying that in a custom GUI we developed. Works really well. We've developed a test tank that will allow us to further test the other features and see how it can handle turbulence, etc. The TDC7200 seems able enough to detect even slow changes to the fluid level. The graphs in our GUI seems to be clean and predictable unlike other Ultrasonic solutions I've used before. We're planning to develop a product out of this but the catch is the TDC7200's limited temperature range. Perhaps a TDC7200-Q1 is upcoming?

    I'm planning to put up a video within the next few days to show what we've done. We will share the link in this forum if allowed. Anyway, let me know how your own work progresses.

    Regards,
    Norman