• State TI Thinks Resolved
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 4 replies
  • Answers 3 answers
  • Subscribers 30 subscribers
  • Views 1160 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Support feedback
Options
Options
Related

This thread has been locked.

If you have a related question, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner. The newly created question will be automatically linked to this question.

IWR1443BOOST: How to programm QSPI flash for mmWave Studio

Matthias Wa.
Prodigy 40 points
Part Number: IWR1443BOOST
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: DCA1000EVM, UNIFLASH, IWR1443, AWR1642

Hello,

I am using IWR1443BOOST together with DCA1000EVM and mmWave Studio. The example script DataCaptureDemo_xWR.lua loads the firmware each time the script is executed.

I would like to put the firmware for mmWave Studio in the QSPI flash in the same way as the firmware that comes with the IWR1443BOOST board for the mmWave Demo Visualizer software.

I know the Uniflash tool and the changes for the SOP jumpers. The flash process itself runs without warnings or errors. However the board does not boot from the QSPI flash and shows a red error LED.

Is it possible to put the firmware that is delivered together with mmWave Studio to the flash memory?

Can anybody point we to documentation that I might not have seen (file conversion utility, flash instructions, ...)?

Best regards,

Matthias

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    Matthias,

    When using the DCA1000, you configure the IWR1443BOOST with SOP0 and SOP1 closed. This configuration is required for using the DCA1000. When you select this SOP configuration, the bootloader will not load from external flash and onto the device. This only occurs when the IWR1443 is configured with only SOP0 closed.

    Regards,
    Kyle
  • 0 in reply to Kyle Cousino
    Prodigy 40 points
    Hello Kyle,

    I understand your explanation and if I follow this default procedure for the IWR1443BOOST + DCA1000EVM + mmWave Studio, it works as expected.
    My question is related to a modification of the default setup. Currently I am doing an evaluation of the radar chips from TI and one of the expected outcomes from the evaluation is a judgement about the flexibility of the TI chips regarding integration into another environment.

    Can you provide any information about necessary steps to run the firmware from QSPI flash or an explanation why this cannot work (LVDS initialization, ...)?

    Best regards,
    Matthias
  • 0 in reply to Matthias Wa.
    TI__Mastermind 24955 points
    Matthias,

    The User's Guide describes the three different boot modes that are available on the IWR1443BOOST. This User's Guide can be found here: www.ti.com/.../swru518c.pdf

    I will also provide a link to a whitepaper that describes the bootloader flow for AWR1642, but the process is nearly identical for IWR1443. This whitepaper can be found here: www.ti.com/.../swra551.pdf. Page 2 of this whitepaper provides information on the different SOP modes.

    Please keep in mind that mmWave Studio is to be used as an RF evaluation platform and not for a final application implementation. Per our online documentation, "mmWave Studio GUI is designed to characterize and evaluate TI mmWave sensor devices."

    To use the DCA1000 with the IWR1443BOOST, the IWR1443BOOST must be set with SOP0 and SOP1 closed. You can certainly flash firmware to the device and subsequently load from QSPI flash on a subsequent boot, but it would not work with the DCA1000 because of the required SOP mode to use the DCA1000.

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

    TI does include scripts in the mmWave Studio installation folder that can be used to automate the process of setting up the device and loading the necessary firmware. mmWave Studio can be automated internally using LUA scripts and can also be automated externally using MATLAB. The User's Guide for mmWave Studio provides information on how to automate using MATLAB.

    Regards,
    Kyle