Mixed Voltage Interfacing With The Bus Pirate

July 1, 2009 by 7 Comments

oc.470.iii

Most of the parts we use operate at 3.3volts, but we still run into a lot of old 5volt stuff, and an occasional 2.5volt or 1.8volt part. This post explains how to use the Bus Pirate’s open collector pin mode to interface with parts at different voltages.

We’ve got more details and some example scenarios below the break. Yup, this is another Bus Pirate post. It’ll all be over soon though, because there’s a few days left to get your own Bus Pirate for $30, fully assembled and shipped worldwide.

Continue reading “Mixed Voltage Interfacing With The Bus Pirate” →

Bus Pirate Preorder Update

June 30, 2009 by 15 Comments

buspirate

We’re only four days into the Bus Pirate pre-order, and we’ve exhausted the supply of PIC24FJ64GA002s available in Shenzhen. Thank you for supporting Hack a Day’s first official hardware pre-order. You helped make it a huge success, and we definitely want to do it again in the future.

We weren’t kidding about the PIC shortage. Seeed sourced all they could from Shenzhen, and then tried Hong Kong. It’ll take 4 to 6 weeks to get more.

If you already ordered a Bus Pirate then nothing changes, your Bus Pirate will ship ASAP. In fact, PCB production should start a few days early. The first pre-order item name starts with “[Preorder]”.

New orders are now forwarded to a second pre-order. The new pre-order will take 4 to 6 weeks longer. It should ship about 6 to 8 weeks after July 3, 2009, but we’ll try our best to get it out sooner. The new pre-order item name starts with “[Preorder 2]”.

Read more about the Bus Pirate in our latest How-to. Thank you again for your support!

Bus Pirate Preorders Open

June 25, 2009 by 45 Comments

buspirate

Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009: All preorders are closed.

We’re excited to announce our partnership with the folks at Seeed Studio (home of the excellent Seeeduino) to put the Bus Pirate v2go into production! The preorder period ends July 3rd. The price is $30 including worldwide shipping. The board pictured above is a hand soldered prototype, but the ones sold by Seeed are completely factory assembled.

This is the first officially produced piece of Hack a Day hardware. Depending on its success, we’ll be able to put many future designs into production. Read more about the Bus Pirate in our latest How-to. Thank you for your support!

***Update, Monday June 29, 2009: Wow, your support has been overwhelming! Thank you! There have been more orders for the Bus Pirate than we ever imagined. As of this update, there’s a few (12) Bus Pirates left in the Seeed preorder. After that, we’ve exhausted the supply of PIC24FJ64GA002s available in Shenzhen. If you’ve already placed your order nothing changes, the manufacturing process has already begun and your Bus Pirate will ship ASAP.

After the first preorder is filled, Seeed will start a new preorder. The second preorder will be delayed until more PIC24FJ64GA002s are delivered, about 4 to 6 weeks. This order should ship about 6 to 8 weeks after July 3, 2009, but we’ll try our best to get it out sooner. Thank you again for your support!

How-to: The Bus Pirate V2 With USB

June 25, 2009 by 32 Comments

buspiratev2goii450

Update, Saturday July 4th, 2009: All preorders are closed.

The Bus Pirate is a universal serial interface tool, we use it to test new chips without writing any code. It currently supports most serial protocols, including 1-Wire, I2C, SPI, JTAG, asynchronous serial, MIDI, and more. We added some other features we frequently need, like pulse-width modulation, frequency measurement, voltage measurement, bus sniffers, pull-up resistors, and switchable 3.3volt and 5volt power supplies.

The new v2 family adds USB power and connectivity to the best Bus Pirate design yet. We also reduced the part count and cost wherever possible. If you want to get your hands on some Bus Pirate USB goodness, Seeed Studio has assembled hardware for $30 (including worldwide shipping).

Read about the new design after the break.

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Bus Pirate Firmware Update V0g

June 25, 2009 by 10 Comments

buspiratefirmwarev0g

Firmware v0g for all Bus Pirate revisions is now available. Updates in this release include a bootloader, frequency generator/pulse-width modulator, SPI bus sniffer, MIDI library, configuration reports, improved user interface, and bug fixes. v0g is also the first firmware to fully support the v2 hardware branch.

We’re really proud of this release as it brings a much more consistent structure to the internal operation of the Bus Pirate. It lays the foundation for future CAN, LIN, and OBDII libraries, and it supports localization and translations.  Install and upgrade instructions are included with the firmware. Report bugs on the project issue tracker.

We document the new features after the break.

Continue reading “Bus Pirate Firmware Update V0g” →

Through-hole Bus Pirate Kit From Fundamental Logic

March 31, 2009 by 24 Comments

bpv1ath

Fundamental Logic is selling a Bus Pirate kit and bare PCB based on our universal serial interface tool. They started with our serial port-based v1a hardware, and modified it to use all through-hole parts.  8pin DIP LP2951ACN/-3.3 switchable voltage regulators replace the surface mount TPS79650/33 that we used. The PIC is pre-programmed with our latest firmware, version 0f, which includes a bootloader for easy firmware updates through the serial port. Documentation includes illustrated assembly instructions.

Speaking of Bus Pirate goodness, we’re busy working on hardware V2. As astute readers may have already noticed, the final version of the Bus Pirate incorporates an FTDI USB->serial chip, and draws its power from the USB port. We also tackled the software-controlled pull-up resistor feature, and reduced the overall part count and cost. Best of all, we’re working to make assembled PCBs available with world-wide shipping. The how-to should be ready in a few weeks.

Bounty On Bus Pirate Features, Get A Free V2 PCB

March 25, 2009 by 21 Comments

bpv2

We’re putting a bounty on two high-priority Bus Pirate features. You can get a free PCB for the upcoming Bus Pirate V2 by writing a bit of code. Hack a Day has a varied and talented group of readers, and we know someone out there has the experience to make these changes with minimal difficulty.

  • The latest code integrates the PIC24F bootloader for easy updates without a programmer. We’d like to add a protocol snooper, but that requires interrupts. With the bootloader, however, interrupts are relocated and we’ve yet to fully grasp how that works. We’ll send a PCB and PIC 24F to the first person who modifies the code to demonstrate UART, SPI, or change notification interrupts with the boot loader. Microchip’s 24F bootloader app note is available here. Complete.
  • The current frequency measurement feature is a hack that uses a counter and a timer. Be the first to implement the input capture peripheral instead, and get a free PCB. See the function bpFreq(void) in base.c. Complete.

The latest Bus Pirate code and compiled firmware can be checked-out from Google Code SVN. Submit your code via the comments below or buspirate@hackaday.com.

UPDATE: Both issues were resolved. Thanks for your suggestions.