I played with KiCad before and made very small progress learning that tool because I thought there is no middle mouse panning feature. Since I am inclined to Eagle, Kicad's lack of middle mouse panning button turned me off. But I was wrong! To my surprise, Kicad has a middle mouse panning feature. However and surprisingly, it is not enabled by default (I used Windows installer).
To enable this:
- On Schematic Editor, go to Preferences > Options. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
- On PCB Layout Editor, go to Preferences > General > Pan and Zoom. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
In my opinion, this should be enabled by default or there should be a start-up option after the first time installation and let the user choose if they want this feature or not.
Now, I think I am ready to jump out of the Eagle bandwagon. :)
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
Short Review: RF Explorer, Low-Cost Handheld Spectrum Analyzer
I got this small handy tool for my current RF project (CC1101 and CC430 based). Very easy to use and can be connected to a software for capturing data, easier/faster configuration, and making data screenshots. I was able to identify and rectify firmware and hardware issues during design stage. Highly recommended!
RF Explorer Homepage
Information Sharing: Starting Firmware Development using TI's SmartRF Studio (CC1101 and CC430)
SmartRF studio is a very great tool. Although it have some minor quirks, it greatly helps in generating RF configurations for chip. My current project uses CC430 chip as the transmitter and a CC1101 based chip interfaced to K60 Arm Cortex M4 as a receiver.
If you have evaluation boards, the fastest way to test it is by choosing the right SmartRF configuration (Under typical settings) and using the "Packet TX" for the transmitter and "Packet RX" for the receiver. You should be able to see the packets sent by the transmitters.
I was also able to successfully connect Evaluation modules via SmartRF04EB, and my external MCU is controlling the EVM modules. This is very useful in prototyping stage and performance feasibility study. However, I will not be discussing it here and just focus on testing of the custom boards instead.
If you will be using your own board with CC1101, make sure you always read and check the chip ID on initialization. This will give you a high chance (but not 100%) that the CC1101 is working and soldered properly. This self-check is ideal specially if the board is mass produced.
Next, if you want to start testing the Smart RF configuration with the firmware and hardware, I think that the best and fastest way to test both the firmware and hardware is by using using Continuous TX mode on transmitter and Continuous RX mode on receiver:
On Transmitter:
1. Export configurations from SmartRF Studio using Continuous TX (Unmodulated Signal) with the lowest power. For this example, we will be using -30dbm. (For CC430 chip, SmartRF studio doesn't have a drop down choice for the -30dbm, consult the Design Note DN013 Programming Output Power document from TI website).
2. Strobe SRES (Reset the chip)
3. Execute the settings (with the PATABLE).
4. Strobe TX.
5. Let the transmitter stay in TX mode ( while (1); ).
On Receiver:
1. Export configurations from SmartRF Studio using Continuous RX. (the receiver and transmitter must both have the same selected typical settings).
2. Strobe SRES (Reset the chip)
3. Execute the settings.
4. Strobe RX.
5. With the ambient level, read the RSSI register,then compute and check for the corresponding level in dbm.
6. With the conducted transmitter at -30dbm, read the RSSI register,then compute and check for the corresponding level in dbm. The reading should be near -30dbm)
With this, you may have an idea if the SPI connection and/or RF circuitry (balun,matching and filter circuit) is in an acceptable condition.
If you have evaluation boards, the fastest way to test it is by choosing the right SmartRF configuration (Under typical settings) and using the "Packet TX" for the transmitter and "Packet RX" for the receiver. You should be able to see the packets sent by the transmitters.
I was also able to successfully connect Evaluation modules via SmartRF04EB, and my external MCU is controlling the EVM modules. This is very useful in prototyping stage and performance feasibility study. However, I will not be discussing it here and just focus on testing of the custom boards instead.
If you will be using your own board with CC1101, make sure you always read and check the chip ID on initialization. This will give you a high chance (but not 100%) that the CC1101 is working and soldered properly. This self-check is ideal specially if the board is mass produced.
Next, if you want to start testing the Smart RF configuration with the firmware and hardware, I think that the best and fastest way to test both the firmware and hardware is by using using Continuous TX mode on transmitter and Continuous RX mode on receiver:
On Transmitter:
1. Export configurations from SmartRF Studio using Continuous TX (Unmodulated Signal) with the lowest power. For this example, we will be using -30dbm. (For CC430 chip, SmartRF studio doesn't have a drop down choice for the -30dbm, consult the Design Note DN013 Programming Output Power document from TI website).
2. Strobe SRES (Reset the chip)
3. Execute the settings (with the PATABLE).
4. Strobe TX.
5. Let the transmitter stay in TX mode ( while (1); ).
On Receiver:
1. Export configurations from SmartRF Studio using Continuous RX. (the receiver and transmitter must both have the same selected typical settings).
2. Strobe SRES (Reset the chip)
3. Execute the settings.
4. Strobe RX.
5. With the ambient level, read the RSSI register,then compute and check for the corresponding level in dbm.
6. With the conducted transmitter at -30dbm, read the RSSI register,then compute and check for the corresponding level in dbm. The reading should be near -30dbm)
With this, you may have an idea if the SPI connection and/or RF circuitry (balun,matching and filter circuit) is in an acceptable condition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)