IWR6843ISK-ODS: Evaluation module not recognized by mmWave Demo Visualizer

Hi Kyle,

Unfortunately, your pictures were not posted correctly. Would you mind correcting? If you copy and pasted, please use the 'Insert File' button instead. 

Sorry for causing the confusion, but could you try selecting 68xx_AOP in the drop down box of the Demo Visualizer? This may correct your issue.

Hi Sabeeh,

Ah yea, I see the pictures didn't load correctly, apologies for that. The first picture was of the uniflash log, but I'll just paste the text here instead, since I tried it again this morning.

[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Initialization complete.
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Flashing process starting...
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Connecting to COM Port COM4...
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Reset connection to device
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Set break signal
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Connection to COM port succeeded. Flashing can proceed.
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Reading device version info...
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: ** 1 files specified for flashing.
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Checking file C:/ti/mmwave_industrial_toolbox_4_5_1/labs/out_of_box_demo/68xx_ods_point_cloud_demo/prebuilt_binaries/xwr64xxODS_mmw_demo.bin for correct header for IWR6843.
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: IWR6843 device, fileType=META_IMAGE1 detected -> OK
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: !! Files are valid for IWR6843.
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Format on download was specified. Formatting SFLASH storage...
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: -->Erasing storage [SFLASH]
[1/21/2021, 9:57:44 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: -->Sending Erase command to device...
[1/21/2021, 9:57:58 AM] [SUCCESS] Cortex_R4_0: -->Erase storage completed successfully!
[1/21/2021, 9:57:58 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Downloading [META_IMAGE1] size [404292]
[1/21/2021, 9:58:46 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: SUCCESS!! File type META_IMAGE1 downloaded successfully to SFLASH.
[1/21/2021, 9:58:46 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Disconnecting from device on COM port COM4...
[1/21/2021, 9:58:46 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Flashing instance clean-up initiated...
[1/21/2021, 9:58:46 AM] [INFO] Cortex_R4_0: Instance deinitialized!
[1/21/2021, 9:58:46 AM] [SUCCESS] Program Load completed successfully.

You can see from the uniflash output, which I had set to verbose, I didn't receive any noticeable errors and it seemingly loaded successfully. 

The next picture, was showing my device manager, to indicate I chose the correct device com port, which looked as follows -

From this, I knew COM4 was my CFG port, and COM3 was my functional DATA port, according to the IWR6843 ODS Point Cloud quick demo setup guide.

The next picture, was showing I had chosen the correct COM ports from the demo visualizer -

And the following picture was showing that the demo was active and waiting for data, as per the text indication in the lower left corner of the demo application -

And finally, the last picture was showing the demo config settings - 

From the defaults, the only options I touched, were the 'Platform' dropdown menu, and selected the 'xWR68xx' option, as well as changing the 'Antenna Config' to the '4Rx,3Tx' option. After which I try to hit the 'Send Config To mmWave Device' button. Upon doing so, nothing happens. There are no messages in the console log window, error or otherwise, so I can't be sure anything is happening at all when I press the button. I also tried what you said, by selecting the 68xx_AOP in the dropdown menu, but that didn't see to do anything either. Out of curiosity, I ended up trying all of the menu options just to see if it I could even get it to generate an error message, or something, but it never printed anything to the log window.

Just for my own sanity, could someone confirm that I read the directions correctly in the demo setup guide, where it mentioned the MMWAVEICBOOST Carrier Board is not necessary for hardware setup of IWR6843ISK/ODS, is true? The main demo guide also said that the MMWAVEICBOOST board is not required to run the demo either, or at least listed it as 'optional'. If I need it to run the demo, that's fine, but I was hoping to evaluate the $120 board before sinking $200 into development/debugger board. Any further suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-Kyle

Hi Kyle,

You are correct that the MMWAVEICBOOST is not required for operating the sensor. The main purpose of the ICBOOST is for firmware debugging. Some other things to try first: 

• Check that SOP functional mode is properly selected
• Restart your PC

Platform should certainly be selected as 'xWR68xx_AOP'. In the meantime, I will also consult with the team internally to see if there is another problem. 

Sabeeh,

Thanks for the reply. I tried what you suggested, and it still doesn't seem to respond.

I have my SOP configured as per the directions from the "Hardware Setup of IWR6843ISK/ODS for Flashing Mode" guide -

The dip switch on my board looks exactly as in the picture, so I think I've got that set right. I also took the opportunity to restart my pc again, and give it another shot, but still to no avail.

Also, I noticed in uniflash, there are several options for the device and up to this point, I've been using the IWR6843ISK booster pack option. I tried the IWR6843 non-boosterpack option and that flashed ok, but I the demo viewer still doesn't seem to work. I also tried the AOP version listed, but even though it flashed alright, no such luck with the demo viewer.

Hopefully the internal team has some advice, because I'm at a loss for what to do next.

Regards,

-Kyle

Hi Kyle, 

One other debugging step. Doing this will check that the device is communicating with the PC and that your issue is related to the demo visualizer. 

First ensure your device is still in functional SOP mode. Then could you please open a serial terminal to the User/Application Port (Looks like COM4 for you)? This can be done with Putty or TeraTerm. The baud rate is 115200. 

Hitting Enter key or pressing the reset button on the device should show a command line interface and SDK version number. Typing commands like 'sensorStop' will confirm communication between PC and device is working as expected. 

I am still talking internally, this may take a few days. 

Sabeeh,

I made sure my SOP settings look correct, with the ON-OFF-ON-ON-OFF pattern, and opened a serial connection to COM4 @ 115200 baud. There doesn't appear to be any serial activity with any keypresses. Neither is there any activity if I press the reset button on the board. 

Since it's not responding at all, I'm assuming this is the issue. I've been trying to load the following bin file -

C:\ti\mmwave_industrial_toolbox_4_5_1\labs\out_of_box_demo\68xx_ods_point_cloud_demo\prebuilt_binaries\xwr64xxODS_mmw_demo.bin

Is this the correct binary for the demo? The quickstart guide for the demo referenced this file, but seeing as I have no serial activity at all I'm wondering now if it is actually the right file.

Regards,

-Kyle

Hi Kyle, 

Functional mode is

Please try again. 

https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/content/mmwave_industrial_toolbox_4_5_1/labs/common/docs/hardware_setup/hw_setup_isk_ods_modular_mode_functional.html