Version: 4.1.1 ALPHA 5 (version 4.1.1.0 a5)
A BIG THANK YOU to community member CW2, who contributed his I2C "repeated start bit" enhancements to the Netduino project. This is the first official firmware release to include this new feature. We look forward to integrating many other community-contributed features moving forward.
WARNING: This firmware is pre-release firmware. It may temporarily cause your Netduino to cease functioning properly. If this firmware does not work for you, you will likely need to erase your Netduino completely and re-flash the production v4.1.0.5 bootloader using Atmel SAM-BA tools (on a 32-bit Windows installation) and the production v4.1.0.5 firmware using MFDeploy.
With that warning out of the way, we've added the first two new features to the Netduino: SD/FAT16/FAT32 support and variable bit SPI. We have also added support for "repeated start bit" I2C and some debugger enhancements.
If you're an early adopter and would like to help us test and refine these new features, this alpha release may be for you.
This firmware includes the following updates:
1. I2C internal address ("repeated start bit") support
2. Bugfixes: SerialPort.DataReceived event should now fire properly
3. Bugfixes: SerialPort.Read() timeout now implemented properly
4. Bugfix: SD card support no longer interferes with digital pin 2
This firmware also includes the following previous updates:
1. Variable-bit SPI (9 to 15 bit) capabilities
2. Enhanced Parallels, VMWare, and VirtualBox compatibility
3. RS232 and TTL UART deployment now selectable via software tool
4. Exception thrown when mounting incompatible/non-existent SD card
5. Reduced memory usage for SD card access
6. Faster mounting and communication with SD cards
7. Garbage collection 'status messages' updated
8. SD card support using SPI
9. Visual Studio debugger should connect to Netduino easier during deployment (on non-virtual machines)
You may update to this pre-release firmware using the MFDeploy tool:
1. Download and unzip the attached file to a directory on your computer.
2. Go to the Start Menu > Programs > Microsoft .NET Micro Framework 4.1 > Tools
3. Run MFDeploy.exe. Be careful to run MFDeploy.exe and not MFDeploy.exe.config (as file extensions are hidden by default)
4. Plug your Netduino into your PC using a Micro USB cable. If your Netduino does not connect successfully, try plugging the USB cable into your Netduino first...and then your PC.
5. In the Device section at top, select USB instead of Serial. Your Netduino should appear in the drop-down; if not, select it.
6. Click "Browse..." and select the unzipped files from step #1 (ER_CONFIG and ER_FLASH).
7. Press "Deploy". It will take a few minutes to update your Netduino.
Chris
Netduino Firmware v4.1.1 ALPHA 5
Started by Chris Walker, Jan 03 2011 08:07 AM
4 replies to this topic
#1
Chris Walker
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Posted 03 January 2011 - 08:07 AM
#2
Chris Walker
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Posted 03 January 2011 - 08:09 AM
Notes on new SD card support
This firmware includes support for SD cards and System.IO filesystem support.
It includes two functions in the new SecretLabs.NETMF.IO namespace:
StorageDevice.MountSD(...);
StorageDevice.Unmount(...);
The Unmount() feature is fully implemented. The MountSD() feature currently ignores all parameters except for the PATH variable. In an upcoming release, we'll be enabling more of the MountSD() function's features (e.g. chip select and card detect lines).
You will need to manually add the SecretLabs.NETMF.IO assembly as a reference in your project to use the SD feature. You will also need to add the System.IO assembly.
Notes on new "variable bit SPI" feature:
We've created an "ExtendedSpiConfiguration" class. To use it:
1. Add the attached ExtendedSpiConfiguration.cs class to your project.
2. Instead of creating a SPI.Configuration instance, use ExtendedSpiConfiguration. It is a subclass of SPI.Configuration and can be used in its place.
3. In the ExtendedSpiConfiguration constructor, you can provide the number of bits per transfer (data bits) as the final paramter.
Notes on new "I2C internal address/repeated start bit" feature:
To use the enhanced I2C capabilities, we've posted a set of easy-to-use functions in another thread.
Please note that we will be including the final version of these new classes in the Netduino v4.1.1 SDK--so you will not need to add them manually. Also, we may change the names of classes, methods, etc.
If you use these new features, please post your experiences here...
This firmware includes support for SD cards and System.IO filesystem support.
It includes two functions in the new SecretLabs.NETMF.IO namespace:
StorageDevice.MountSD(...);
StorageDevice.Unmount(...);
The Unmount() feature is fully implemented. The MountSD() feature currently ignores all parameters except for the PATH variable. In an upcoming release, we'll be enabling more of the MountSD() function's features (e.g. chip select and card detect lines).
You will need to manually add the SecretLabs.NETMF.IO assembly as a reference in your project to use the SD feature. You will also need to add the System.IO assembly.
Notes on new "variable bit SPI" feature:
We've created an "ExtendedSpiConfiguration" class. To use it:
1. Add the attached ExtendedSpiConfiguration.cs class to your project.
2. Instead of creating a SPI.Configuration instance, use ExtendedSpiConfiguration. It is a subclass of SPI.Configuration and can be used in its place.
3. In the ExtendedSpiConfiguration constructor, you can provide the number of bits per transfer (data bits) as the final paramter.
Notes on new "I2C internal address/repeated start bit" feature:
To use the enhanced I2C capabilities, we've posted a set of easy-to-use functions in another thread.
Please note that we will be including the final version of these new classes in the Netduino v4.1.1 SDK--so you will not need to add them manually. Also, we may change the names of classes, methods, etc.
If you use these new features, please post your experiences here...
#3
João Mello
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Posted 11 January 2011 - 06:27 PM
Usb slave to send data? 
#4
Chris Walker
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Posted 11 January 2011 - 10:39 PM
Usb slave to send data?
It's baked in today, but there are some glitches in the Atmel enumeration code in the .NET MF core. We hope to have this enabled in either v4.1.1 or v4.1.2 (along with a USB HID comm channel).
Chris
#5
Ray Card
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Posted 19 January 2011 - 04:00 PM
Hi Chris.
Do you have any updated schedule for when the next release of the firmware is due. I have loaded the alpha firmware as listed above but I am getting the visual studio error where you get the message
The debugging target is not in an initialized state, rebooting...
Reinstalling the firmware 4.1.0.5 back rectifies the issue but I need the update for the DataReceived event issue.
Do you have any updated schedule for when the next release of the firmware is due. I have loaded the alpha firmware as listed above but I am getting the visual studio error where you get the message
The debugging target is not in an initialized state, rebooting...
Reinstalling the firmware 4.1.0.5 back rectifies the issue but I need the update for the DataReceived event issue.
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