Unfortunately, my embedded software development co-pilot (An original Saleae Logic probe that I’ve had for a decade) bit the dust the other night. I was working late and accidentally connected one of the channels to a 12-volt signal when the analyzer was designed for 5V with 10V overvoltage protection. (Yes, that means another article on … Continue reading 3 Tips for Repurposing Development Boards for Testing
Category: Prototyping
5 Boards that Make Rapid Prototyping Easy
There are many instances in a product development cycle where a developer will want to create a rapid prototype. A developer may want to create an entire system, learn how to interface with a sensor or work through an implementation for a new algorithm. I’ve often found that when trying to understand or prove something, … Continue reading 5 Boards that Make Rapid Prototyping Easy
5 Reasons to Develop a Software Architecture
Developing software is complicated! With every passing year, software complexity seems to only be on the rise. More features are expected from stakeholders. Hardware advances, creating ever more complex devices to work with. Even simple applications can have several dozen software modules, an operating system and in today’s environment, internet connectivity. Unfortunately, a lot of … Continue reading 5 Reasons to Develop a Software Architecture
5 Best Practices for Utilizing Open Source Software
Open source software is everywhere and has the potential to help businesses accelerate development and improve their software quality. Achieving these results though can be challenging if care is not taken. Here are five best practices for utilizing open source software that will help leverage open source software successfully. Best Practice #1 – Use an … Continue reading 5 Best Practices for Utilizing Open Source Software
5 Reasons the ESP32 is an Intriguing Solution for the IoT
The ESP32 from Espressif has been around for quite a few years now. For many of those years the ESP32 seemed to have the reputation that it was a low-cost maker module for hobbyist and developers interested in one-off projects. Over the past year I’ve seen the ESP32 not only designed into several production systems … Continue reading 5 Reasons the ESP32 is an Intriguing Solution for the IoT
5 Tips for Versioning Embedded Systems
One topic that can be tricky for embedded systems engineers is how to version their embedded system. Every embedded system has two primary systems that need to be versioned, the hardware and the software. While versioning the system sounds simple, it can be confusing on the best way to version the system. In this post, … Continue reading 5 Tips for Versioning Embedded Systems
5 Tips for using Open Source Software Successfully
In today’s product development environment, developers are looking to open source software to help them solve their design challenges more than ever before. Open source software has the potential to dramatically accelerate development and save costs, but as I often see in industry and with my clients, it can also become a thorn in a … Continue reading 5 Tips for using Open Source Software Successfully
An Ingenious Arduino to Breadboard Adapter
When I work on a development project, I’ve become a big fan of using development boards that have the Arduino headers on them. The vast number of shields that easily connect to these headers is phenomenal. The one problem that I’ve always had though was that there is always a need to use a breadboard … Continue reading An Ingenious Arduino to Breadboard Adapter
Tools – SWD Adapters every Developer should have
Even though SWD and JTAG have well defined standards, there are still several different size connectors and footprints that developers need to be able to support. It often feels like every programmer and every development board is using a different and incompatible connector and cable. In this post, I’m going to share with you the … Continue reading Tools – SWD Adapters every Developer should have
Creating an SWD Adapter for STM32 Development Boards (Part 3)
My adapter boards have arrived! As we discussed in the first two parts, the on-board debugger that comes with most development boards is functional but often offers far less than a professional debugger. We’ve been exploring how we can create an adapter board for the ST Microelectronic development boards that will allow us to use … Continue reading Creating an SWD Adapter for STM32 Development Boards (Part 3)