New book: Professional’s Guide to .NET Micro Framework Application Development

If you are doing .NET Micro Framework development, then this new book from Sean Liming and John Malin is essential for your (virtual) bookshelf.  Covering the basics of application development  from the processing loop, through to graphics and networking, it is a valuable reference and time-saver.  There are over 40 projects so you are never short of an example on how to actually do something! Several of these are specifically for Device Solutions hardware, including graphics examples on the Topaz i.MX25 Development Kit.

The book is available in Kindle format from Amazon.   If you don’t have a Kindle, the PC version is free (and probably the best way to read technical books).

Announcing 192MHz Meridian-MXL

We are very pleased to announce an update to the Meridian CPU module.  This new variant uses the Freescale i.MXL processor, increasing the speed to 192MHz and adding a second SPI port.  We have also enabled this module and the original variant to be powered from 5V or 3.3V, and increased the flash to 8MBytes. 

The new module provides a significant performance boost for any applications that have a lot of graphics, or number crunching.

The Meridian-MXL is pin-compatible with the original i.MXS version.  Documentation is available on the web site. 

Samples are available now and Sytech Designs will have a selection of development systems available shortly which include the new module.

Please contact us for samples and any questions.

Customer contribution to the .NET Micro Framework codebase

It has been a pleasure to work with Pulsecor on their Cardiovascular products over the last few years, and nice to see some recognition for the work Richard Scott has put into the .NET Micro Framework recently.  Check out what Colin Miller had to say, and watch a video of the product in action.

Richard built on our open-source Board Support Package (BSP) for the Meridian CPU which we provide free-of-charge.  He added support in native C++ code for their heavy-duty algorithms, and then added more functionality including OneWire support  and enhancements to the math libraries and SD card drivers.  It is fantastic that he was able to contribute some of this work to the 4.2 codebase!

.NET Micro Framework on Topaz

We have an ALPHA version of the .NET Micro Framework port for the Topaz i.MX25 Development Kit available for download.  Features included in this release are:

- LCD
- Touch
- Serial ports
- GPIO
- SPI
- File System and Extended Weak References
- ADC and PWM

The help file and release notes have more information.  There is no SDK installer, however there are libraries included for accessing GPIO, ADC, PWM and the LCD configuration routines.

This is an alpha release, which means you will most likely find bugs! Please report any issues to support<at>devicesolutions.net.  We also want to hear from you as to which features you need.  Ethernet will be the next major feature added.

Freescale Technical Forum 2011

We will be in San Antonio, TX on the 20-23 June for this event.  Please let us know if you are going to be there – we would love to meet up!

Windows Embedded Compact 7 on Topaz

GuruCE has released a new BSP which includes support for Windows Embedded Compact 7 on Topaz.

The release also includes an update to the Windows CE 6.0 R3 BSP and the Topaz Flasher application.

You can download a binary image and a binary BSP for free, with the source code available when you purchase support.

GuruCE has done a lot of work on the BSP and it now includes enhanced support for many of the devices on the i.MX25, including a comprehensive GPIO driver.  For a small fee there are also a suite of managed wrappers making it very easy to access hardware from your Compact Framework application.

Canterbury Earthquake

This is a quick update to let you know what is happening with regard to this on-going event.

• We are all OK and so is our office. 
• The staff and families of our extended network of contractors and suppliers we have been able to contact so far (which is most of them) are also fine.   Power is still out to a lot of the city, so we have not been able to contact everyone yet.
• We have heard there is damage to our Contract Manufacturers buildings, and will be updated on that next week.  There will be delays for production, but we can’t say much beyond that right now.
• Couriers are not operating so we are unable to ship orders this week.  Our courier is operating so we can ship orders placed via the web site.
• We are still attending Embedded World in Germany next week. 

Picking and choosing: Getting the mix of features right when designing with the Topaz i.MX25 CPU Module

The Freescale i.MX25 is at the heart of the Topaz CPU Module. This chip multiplexes it’s many features to a much smaller number of pins, which can give you a headache when trying to get the right combination for a design.

While all the information you need is in the data sheet, Freescale have a tool which makes this task a lot easier!  The IOMux tool can be downloaded from the i.MX25 tools page on the Freescale web site.  Go here and search for “pin mux tool”.

Once you have this downloaded and running, download and open the Topaz file from here.  This defines all the pins used on the Topaz CPU module, so you know that any free signals are available for you to use.  The IOMux tool looks like this:

To use the tool, just select the features you need in your design.  The tool will show pins in use as yellow, and conflicts as orange.  With a bit of trial and error you should be able to come up with a combination that works for your product.

We have found this a useful tool when communicating with customers about their exact requirements and it is an easy way to document your design.

Embedded World 2011

It’s that time of the year again, and we will be at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany as part of the .NET Micro Framework Partners booth.

The trade show is open from Tuesday 1 March until Thursday 3 March.  Come by and visit us on booth 11-F119 (in the foyer near the food) or contact us to arrange a meeting time.

Keeping in touch

2010 was a busy year, and we didn’t always do a great job of keeping everyone up-to-date on the happenings at Device Solutions.  It’s a new year and as good a time as any to change that!  There are a lot of different ways to interact with companies these days, and we want your input on where we should focus our attention.  Vote away…