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AWR1243BOOST: Flashing SFLASH Not Working

radarJunkie
Expert 2090 points
Part Number: AWR1243BOOST
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: UNIFLASH,

Hi, 

I am using the most recent version of the radar studio, mmwave_dfp and all the firmware files. I am trying to flash the onboard serial flash with the rf_eval firmware files and I am not successful with Radar Studio or the most recent Uniflash tool. I am following all the instructions including the right jumpers on the AWR1243BOOST to set the device in flash mode. I make sure that I power cycle.

I choose the COM Port on my computer which belongs to XDS110 Class Application User UART but both the tools cannot find the port.

When I remove the jumper to go back to development mode ,  and power cycle the chip, then I can connect on the same port in development mode. I made sure that in the Uniflash tool, the session points to the right COM port.

Similarly in Radar Studio, I made sure that I choose SOP mode for flashing, and not click set. Then I also made sure that right COM port is chose in RS232 Connectivity without pressing the Connect button. When I click the Flash Program button, a window opens up but goes away quickly and has the port opening error messages. 

Thank you for the help !

Regards,

RJ

  • 0
    TI__Guru*** 149204 points
    Hi,

    Just to clarify, you were able to flash to the same EVM with the previous Radar Studio & firmware versions?

    Thank you
    Cesar
  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    RJ,

    Do you have the mmWave Development Pack (DevPack) also connected to your 1243 EVM? The EVM will not work unless you also have the DevPack too. The link for the DevPack is shown below:

    www.ti.com/.../MMWAVE-DEVPACK

    Regards,
    Kyle
  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Expert 2090 points
    Hi Cesar:

    This is the first time I am attempting to boot from Flash. Otherwise, I always put the devpack + boost boards in development mode and load the firmware. I never tried to boot in functional mode where I understand the firmware needs to be flashed to the onboard spansion SFLASH.
  • 0 in reply to Kyle Cousino
    Expert 2090 points
    Hi Kyle. Yes the mmwave devpack is also connected to the boost board. I have been using these boards for a few months but in development mode. I wanted to figure out how the flashing will work so I can help our software team understand the process.
  • 0 in reply to radarJunkie
    Expert 2090 points

    Update:

    I am now able to use the UniFlash tool to format the SFLASH and get the three binary files RadarSS, MasterSS, and memswap flashed into the SFLASH. The issue was my laptop which was Windows 7 and when I switched to Windows 10 it seemed to solve the previous problem. 

    Now with the binary loaded into the flash, I power cycle the AWR1243BOOST + MMWAVEDEVPACK with the appropriate jumper positions. When I start Radar Studio, I select the SOP to Functional mode and set it. 
    Now there are a couple of observations:

    1. after setting the SOP to functional mode, I click on SPI Connect and I get the RESP_TIMEOUT error in Radar Studio log. 

    2. my co worker is doing the same thing, the SPI connect works but when RF_PowerUp is clicked, then he gets RESP_TIMEOUT. 

    Thanks for your help. 

    Regards,

    RJ

  • 0 in reply to radarJunkie
    Expert 2090 points

    When the response time out happens after RF Power-Up: The MSS firmware date does not seem right since I expect to be 2018 as it is downloaded from the most recent dfp folder. 

  • 0 in reply to radarJunkie
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    Radar Junkie,

    Ensure you download the latest DFP from here: software-dl.ti.com/.../index_FDS.html

    Also, when using RadarStudio, it is recommended to use in SOP2 mode or development mode.

    Let us know if you have any additional questions.

    Regards,
    Kyle
  • 0 in reply to Kyle Cousino
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    Radar Junkie,

    Any update on your end? Were you able to get the most recent version of the MSS firmware from the DFP link that I shared with you last wee?

    Regards,
    Kyle
  • 0 in reply to Kyle Cousino
    Expert 2090 points
    Hi Kyle,

    Yes I was already using the most recent MSS firmware. I was able to flash the firmware on to the serial flash, but then you recommended that Radar Studio should be used in development mode SOP2.
    If I use SOP4, I get a RESP_TIMEOUT at when I click RF_PowerUp.

    I was expecting that SOP4 would work with Radar Studio because the user guide does not explicitly say that we should not use SOP4 in Radar Studio.

    RJ
  • 0 in reply to radarJunkie
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    Radar Junkie,

    Here is a TI whitepaper on the bootloader flow for our mmWave devices. You can search for sections related to the boot modes, specifically functional mode. This paper should contain all of the information you are looking for and why you should use development mode when working in RadarStudio.

    www.ti.com/.../swra551.pdf

    From Page 2
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Functional mode:
    The device bootloader loads the user application from the QSPI serial flash to the
    internal RAM and switches the control to it.
    ---------------------------------------------------------

    Please let us know if you have any questions.

    Regards,
    Kyle