Messages posted by: Tazz

Finally got time to sit down, read the documentation and start loading the software onto the SAM4S-XPRO using Atmel Studio 6.2.

Hooked up the board on using the Debug USB connector and it correctly loaded the EDBG drivers.
Atmel Studio 6.2 immediately discovered the SAM4S-XPRO so that was all sweet.

Exactly as per documentation, it required me to update the firmware and then I could set the clock speed:

So that's all good. But when I then go to the Hempstick SAM4S-XPRO Project Properties and Tools.... it only allows me to select 2Mhz at the most, rather than 12Mhz?

Is there something very obvious that I'm missing here?

Just a short update - Finally received my SAM4S-XPRO board. I will hook it up tonight and start loading the firmware and all, but I'm still waiting for the cables and all to arrive from China.

One SAM4S-XPRO is now on its way down under! It got a bit confusing as Microchip bought Amtel a while ago.. I thought I was looking at some dodgy clone before I realized it was the real thing!

The freight forward service is actually owned and provided by our national postal service (sorta like USPS but then NZPS). They operate facilities in the USA, UK and China. Using a specific address code (e.g. the Suite number actually relates to my NZPS account number I think), they know exactly who the package is for. Once it arrives, it gets weighed and I pay the NZ shipping charges which are usually less than the DHL/Fedex/UPS charges. The great thing is that when you order from different places, they can easily combine shipments and make it far more cost effective. A great solution when you're stuck on a tiny island (well actually 2 of them) .. surrounded by lots and lots of water. And sheep.

It would be a heck of a lot more practical if Hempstick could be ported to a smaller board or of Amtel would release a compact version of the SAM4S-XPRO. But I fully understand that such a project will take a lot of time so I'll just use what is available (SAM4S-XPRO) as a starting point. Thanks for highlighting the difference there. Given that I am not planning on buying a pile of SAM4S boards, I think buying the XPRO with the onboard debugger is going to more costs effective than buying a separate debugger.

Now given that the Cougar isn't going to consume all the available resources on the SAM4S-XPRO, would it be possible to turn the FLCS+TQS into a "Cougar" ... while also adding a second keyboard USB HID device on the same microcontroller to host my ICP and MFD controls?

At the risk of firing up an old topic, I will shortly embark on this very journey myself to get back into BMS after a 10 year break.

I have two sets of FLCS+TQS (my original one that I bought in 1996 and upgraded with SWF22 chips) and another set that I recently picked up online. I was planning on going the typical Arduino route but I always thought the looped cycle was rather crude, to put it politely.
(In 25 years of coding, I can count the number of times I've thrown something into an endless loop on one hand and none of these I would count as my best work.) Thank goodness someone pointed me into the right (read: this!) direction and I like very much what I see. In particular the thing with TARGET that we're not supposed to talk about ..

However, I will probably be using a single board in the TQS housing given the cost and the fact that I would only build this for desktop usage with a relatively short (shielded) cable between the FLCS and TQS.

In your documentation, you mention that the ATSAM4S-XPRO would only be $29 USD per board but down under I can't find them for any less than $75 NZD (~ 52 USD) at best? Is there a particular supplier in the US that you could recommend?
(I have a freight forwarding address in Portland so its no problem if they do not ship internationally)

Many thanks for sharing your work and insights!!