6 replies to this topic

[Steph]

Hi Chris,

 

My development environment is VS2012 and NP2-V4.3.2.0. I changed the debug port to COM1 and everything works fine.

 

I'm trying to build a simple HID device and used "Netduino Virtual Keybord sample" as a starting point.

 

I created a new NP2 Application in VS2012 and copied the Program.cs code to my new app (and also added Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.Usb). Everything compiles fine and I can debug the app. When plugging the usb cable I get the "Pressing Key..." string in the debugger window. I opened a Notepad before plugging the cable, but there's no character typing.

 

Also, inside Windows Device Manager, it doesn't show up under "Keyboards" or "Human Interface Devices" (as one would have expected), but it still shows up as Netduino under "Universal Serial Bus controllers".

 

I appreciate the help.

 

 

 

[Chris Walker]

Hi Steph,

The custom USB (USB HID) functionality was a feature of a special 4.1 build for Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 1.

There's no support for custom USB profiles in the 4.2 or 4.3 firmware releases.

If this is something that a lot of community members would like to see added to the newer firmware, please let me know! I can add it to the feature request short-list.

Chris

[scardinale]

I for one would like to see this as an option in the firmware.

[Steph]

Hi Chris,

 

I definitely require the custom USB HID functionality for NP2-v4.3 please.
Surely it wouldn't make sense to implement a solution using the old firmware v4.1.1.
(I can't seem to find the source code for v4.1.1 in any case... I'd like have a look at the implementation).

 

Why is not included (followed through to new versions), surely it's not a firmware size issue?
The new NP2 have more than ample space, compared to the old sam7x512.

 

How long will it take you to implement?

 

I'm prepared to invest some time to help if need be.
I'm also aware of the "first external power-up" requirement. However, we need to eliminate that obstacle if possible, so that the solution is self-powered and enumerate properly without netduino bootloader interference.

I have compiled PK-V4.2 a few months ago for a custom board (sam7x512) with additional peripherals and are fairly comfortable with the process.

 

Regards
Steph

[hippees]

USB HID would be a useful feature. Thanks in advance!

[Chris Walker]

Hi Steph,

The issue is a combination of hardware and software.

On the older gen1 boards (Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 2), the boards are hard-wired to signal as USB Clients. This is part of the USB termination and ESD circuitry on the older gen1 boards. But the way that NETMF works you have to re-enumerate; the hard-wiring doesn't support that but in an effort to enable makers to do even more with their boards we put together some special instructions on how to "make it work" anyway...albeit with a power cord and usb cable dance.

On the newer gen2 and gen3 hardware, the USB drivers are set to the standard NETMF configuration (i.e. no custom config). The USB peripheral drivers are pretty big, so it would probably take 5-10 days of work to go back and tweak those to support custom configs. The re-enumeration capability is already there in the gen2/gen3 hardware.

If this is a big request, we can certainly add it to the feature request list. And of course we welcome community contributions to make this happen too. [If we do it in-house, we need to prioritize it and schedule it in though...there are a number of things we're building for Netduino that are already queued up.]

Chris

[Steph]

Hi Chris,

 

Can you please make the source code for Firmware v4.1.1 BETA 1 available.

I will evaluate and consider moving my implementation to the older hardware.

 

Thanks