No. 1, September/October 2008

ARM Core-Based Families / STM32, STR9, STR7

Updates for RKit-ARM and Ride7

The new version of the ARM toolset (RKit-ARM 1.10) is now available with improvements that include support of STMicroelectronics’ new STM32F10xxE microcontrollers, with extended memory (512 Kbytes) and Serial Wire Debug (SWD) allowing debug of applications using only three pins on the target compared to the 5 pins required for JTAG. In addition, all RKit-ARM/Ride7 users benefit from upgrades that include:

• Update of the C/C++ compiler
• New compiles of libraries: putchar, printf-small, precompiled ST libraries
• RLink driver supporting Windows Vista 64-bit platforms
• CircleOS 2.0 synchronizes with new STM32 library and GCC versions

Download...

Primer2 for STM3210xxE coming soon…

Designers who are eyeing the STM32F10xxE, the latest addition to the ST ARM® Cortex-M3 MCU family, can start development with Ride7 and our RLink debugger/programmer. In addition, stay tuned for the STM32 Primer2 this fall. It includes more user interface features (touch screen, audio, joystick, ...), more evaluation features (USB, I2C, SPI, CAN, IrDa), more possibilities (Add-on module connector), all for an STM32 with more memory than ever before.

Join www.stm32circle.com, today!

STM8 and ST7 Families

Updates for RKit-STM8 and Ride7

The new version of the STM8/ST7 toolset (RKit-STM8 2.10) is now available with several improvements including support for both the STM8S family and automatic ST7FOX RC oscillator calibration, c compiler improvement and more. All RKit-STM8/Ride7 users benefit from toolset upgrades that include:

• Improved management of Global variables and Global data
• RLink driver supporting Windows Vista 64-bit platforms
• Updated compiler, assembler and linker documentation

Download...

ST7FOX Primer Coming Soon at STMicroelectronics

The ST7FOX Primer will soon be available from STMicroelectronics with features to help you start developing applications and get the most out of your microcontroller.

Notably, the ST7FOX Primer includes a software interface “RC Calibration Explorer” to help users learn about the calibration of the microcontroller’s integrated RC oscillator. From the factory, the ST7FOX RC oscillator offers an 8 MHz output +/- 5%. The “RC Calibration Explorer” provides feedback on the parameters that impact calibration (temperature, power supply) plus easy-to-use controls for adjusting calibration register values to attain 8 MHz signal output with +/- 1% precision.

The ST7FOX Primer is a complete tool set offering unlimited Ride7 development environment and our Raisonance STM8/ST7 Toolset (RKit-STM8) with code output up to 16 Kbytes.

More information...

Special Feature

California designer wins first prize in the STM32 Primer design contest

Jingxi Zhang, a senior system architect and long-time embedded applications inventor from California, was the First Prize winner in our STM32 Primer Design Contest. Not only did he take home a cash prize of $5,000, but he also inspired many of our stm32circle members with his innovative Electrocardiogram Primer (ECG) application, which uses the STM32’s Timer, ADC and DMA, plus IIR filtering hardware to measure and render a user’s heart rate.

• What inspired you to create this application?

I graduated from medical school. When I worked at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles, I was also involved in ECG and EEG data recording. When I got the STM32 Primer, I found it to be a very unique development platform, and I thought I could use it to develop a small portable single-lead ECG.

The small LCD on the board is very convenient for showing the ECG trace. The STM32 ARM Cortex-M3 is a small but powerful device. The on-chip ADC and DMA channel are good for ECG data acquisition. The ARM processor is fast enough for ECG signal digital filtering. The on-chip USB device controller can be linked to a PC host for sending the data to a larger display and storage. Raisonance’s small-footprint CircleOS also provides a set of convenient utilities to isolate the application software from the hardware details. Yet, it is flexible enough to allow you to touch the hardware registers in case you need them (such as the ping-pong buffering and DMA control for the ECG Primer). So I added a small PCB to the STM32 Primer for ECG analog signal conditioning and developed the “ECG Primer.”

• What was the most difficult problem for you to solve?

The most difficult problem was designing a small ECG amplifier PCB and putting it into the STM32 Primer enclosure. Another was to send the ECG data to the host by the USB port. I had not done USB device programming before.

[To overcome amplifier issue,] I tried to find an instrumentation amplifier with high Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) and low power from different companies. I studied the datasheet and designed a tiny compact PCB for the ECG amplifier circuit.

For USB device programming, the STM32 Primer web site is very helpful. Actually, my ECG Primer’s USB data transfer benefits from the PrimerMouse project posted on the website.

• How many years have you been designing microcontroller applications?

I have been involved in designing microcontroller applications for more than 20 years. I started to design Z80 applications [in] the 80s.

I have been interested in electronics since I was a teenager. Making electronic gadgets and devices is my hobby, from radio and TV sets to a personal computer. Later I was involved in software development. My first computer was the RadioShack TRS-80 in 1980 (I still keep it in my garage). I think my first invention on computer design was expanding the ATARI 800 personal computer (6502 CPU based) memory from 8K to 64K around 1984. I sent my design to one of the computer magazines and, unfortunately, it was rejected.

• Who influenced your decision to become an application designer?

When I was in UCLA for my Ph.D. study, Professor Ronald Harper at the UCLA School of Medicine influenced my later computer application and electronic design deeply. Dr. Harper used the microprocessor and computer in medical research widely. We had built a variety of medical research data acquisition systems in the lab. We used computer graphics for data analysis. We used computer languages including C and Forth in computers ranging from the rack-mounted PDP-11 to Amiga laptops.  All those activities and experiences are very helpful for my later electronics and computer career.

• What technology do you think has the most promise for future inventions?

I think the embedded microcontroller, MEMS and nanotechnology are the most promising for future inventions. 

Join the www.stm32circle.com, and try out the STM32 Primer2 this Fall!