Did you ever wonder how to power cycle your device to force it into Background Debug Mode? Are you trying to eliminate an external power supply from your manufacturing setup? You can accomplish either task by using a Cyclone PRO. Using the Cyclone PRO's internal power generation mechanism, you can control power for any HC08/HCS08/RS08/HC(S)12 device. Click through to read more...

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Certain test procedures and production environments require the use of a cable longer than the typical 9-inch flat ribbon cable typically included with P&E hardware interfaces. Extending the cable length requires special considerations for signal integrity, crosstalk, and electromagnetic interference. Simply using a longer cable without understanding these topics will usually produce a setup that does not work reliably, if at all.

If it is necessary to use a longer cable, P&E recommends using a shielded jacketed cable . This cable configuration is excellent at reducing crosstalk as well as minimizing electromagnetic interference from other devices. Further improvement can be obtained if the wires are also arranged in twisted pairs. Shielded USB cables are inexpensive and easy to rework. The four wires provided can be used to create a cable for the standard 6-pin BDM header used by many Freescale microprocessors.

In general, these guidelines should be followed for all cables between the target microprocessor and the P&E hardware interface:

1. Use the shortest cable possible

    

2. Use shielded cable configurations to reduce parasitic effects

    

3. Lower the communication frequency.

For certain architectures, this can be configured in software by the user. For other architectures, the communication speed is only dependent on the processor's bus frequency. Reducing the bus frequency (ie. disabling the PLL) should improve results.

Did you know that P&E provides simulation for nearly the whole array of Freescale 8-bit microcontrollers (RS08/HCS08/HC08)? Simulation is  inexpensive and fast, and allows for a highly detailed look at the functionality of the simulated device. P&E Simulations include trace capabilities and are cycle-accurate (cycle accuracy allows for a low level, cycle-by-cycle analysis of the timing and general functionality of your code). Furthermore, simulation allows the seamless loading of code to the entire memory array of the processor, without the cumbersome flash burning that accompanies hardware development -- and byte by byte modification of the memory is allowed at any time.

     In addition to initial development, simulation can serve as a highly effective means of product evaluation. Evaluation of various devices via simulators can be relatively painless and inexpensive when compared to evaluating those same devices using actual hardware. In addition, our simulations are often published before the silicon is widely available, so simulation is also an excellent tool to help you stay on the cutting edge.

     Currently, P&E Simulations are available within the Codewarrior toolsuite. However, P&E will soon be releasing the Simulation Toolkit, which will include all simulations in one convenient package. Stay tuned to the P&E Newsflash for more updates on the release of this product.

P&E's UNIT Library Interface Routines for the 68HC16 now support the USB Multilink Interface for the 68HC16 architecture. The UNIT Library comes in the form of a DLL with example interface code for Microsoft Visual Studio as well as Borland Delphi. All the calls in the DLL are documented so that other development environments can also access the calls.

The UNIT library allows a customer to create a Windows application on the PC which directly controls the target 68HC16 processor via one of P&E's hardware interfaces (the CABLE1632 Parallel Port Interface and now additionally the USB Multilink Interface). Using the library, the Windows application can reset the 68HC16 processor, read/write memory, load code, step, run, and much more! The libary is perfect for creating test, update, and diagnostic applications.

Unit libraries are available for most all Freescale architectures. Details can be seen here.

P&E offers a set of In-Circuit Debuggers that are packed with powerful scripting features. Whether you are stepping through a couple of lines of assembly code or debugging a C-level source, P&E's toolset can help you get the job done. P&E's In Circuit Debuggers are designed with repeatable test and debugging procedures in mind. Therefore, the user can completely automate software tests by creating a macro script and saving the outcome in a log file. As a result, the user can avoid hours of repeatedly setting up software and firmware tests.

Click through to view a small demonstration of how the built in macro commands can be used to create and perform a repeatable firmware test on a 9S08AW60 processor...

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