tools

Assorted scripts for Doing Things®.

This README should document how to use each script, unless the script is large or notable enough to warrant its own documentation.

Flashing a V4 power board

• Install stm32flash.
• Build the firmware from the power-v4-fw repository, producing the pbv4.bin firmware image.
• Connect the board to the computer via a USB-to-serial cable plugged into the 6-pin header in the corner, following this pinout diagram.
• Ensure the external power switch pins are shorted.
• Power the board through its 12V terminals.
• Run bin/pbv4-flash-fw as described below.
• Power-cycle the board to boot the new firmware.

pbv4-flash-fw

bin/pbv4-flash-fw /path/to/usb/serial/device /path/to/pbv4.bin SERIAL_NUM

For example:

bin/pbv4-flash-fw /dev/ttyUSB0 ./pbv4.bin SRO-AA2-3EB

Flashing a V4 motor board

This is a two-step process - one to configure the builtin USB interface IC and another to write the firmware to the microcontroller.

• Install stm32flash.
• Install libftdi1, which provides the ftdi_eeprom tool.
• Build the firmware from the motor-v4-fw repository, producing the mcv4.bin firmware image.
• Connect the board to the computer over USB.
  • It has been observed that sometimes it becomes impossible to download firmware to the board after having flashed the USB chip EEPROM. I'm not sure why this happens, but it can be worked around by flashing the firmware over UART instead. Connect a USB-to-serial cable to the 4-pin serial header on the board (TODO: pinout?) instead of connecting the board over USB. Connecting a USB cable and serial cable at the same time can damage the board and/or your computer, as the two cables will try to drive the board's power supply rail to different voltages!
• Power the board through its 12V terminals.
• Press the button on the side of the board.
• Run bin/mcv4-flash-fw as described below.
• Run bin/mcv4-flash-usbeeprom as described below.
• Reconnect both the USB and 12V connections to boot the new firmware and refresh USB metadata on the computer.

mcv4-flash-fw

bin/mcv4-flash-fw /path/to/usb/serial/device /path/to/mcv4.bin

For example:

bin/mcv4-flash-fw /dev/ttyUSB0 ./mcv4.bin

mcv4-flash-usbeeprom

bin/mcv4-flash-usbeeprom SERIAL_NUM

For example:

bin/mcv4-flash-usbeeprom SRO-AA2-3EB

Flashing a V4 servo board

• Install stm32flash and pyserial.
• Build the firmware from the servo-v4-fw repository, producing the sbv4.bin firmware image.
• Connect the board to the computer via a USB-to-serial cable plugged into the UART port, following this pinout diagram.
• Power the board through the USB port.
• Run bin/sbv4-flash-fw as described below, pressing the button on the side of the board when instructed.
• Power-cycle the board to boot the new firmware.

sbv4-flash-fw

bin/sbv4-flash-fw /path/to/usb/serial/device /path/to/sbv4.bin SERIAL_NUM

For example:

bin/sbv4-flash-fw /dev/ttyUSB0 ./sbv4.bin SRO-AA2-3EB