Surveyor blackfin camera help needed please!

[Robot_Longbordr]

Alright SOR universe i come to you looking for help with the blackfin camera module by surveyor everytime i try to access it via a usb-to-serial device and hyper terminal and no matter what i just get random gibberish, and also im trying to use it with a axon 2 and webbotlib. i think that the problem may lie in the firmware but since i cant get a connection i cannot update it.

if anyone has ideas tips tricks or just knowledge of this camera and is willing to lend a had that would be fantastic.

Also i have called/emailed surveyor multiple times and have yet to get an answer or receive a reply back.

[Webbot]

First thing is to find out the baud rate its using. Hook it up to hyperterminal directly. Normally its 115,200 baud but I've also seen 115,000.

Although it should shout something on power up you can force it to tell you the firmware version by sending it an upper case V.

The Blackfin uses hardware handshaking which most micro controller boards do not. I use their piggy-back board which basically: adds a 3v3 regulator so I can power it from a 5v controller (ie my boards use 5v but blackfin works at 3.3v), and also has one wire to disable the hardware handshaking to say that the pc/Axon is always ready to receive characters. That may only be your problem if you get nothing, but if you are getting 'gibberish' then I guess it may be sending.

You need to experiment by changing the baud rates in hyperterminal (rebooting the blackfin each time).

My site http://webbot.org.uk has a couple of pages for the Blackfin you may find useful - but I don't profess to be a guru!

[Robot_Longbordr]

To surveyor, yes the setup im using for the camera is from your websites its quite helpful, and also im positive i have set
 
up the breakout board correct. Also the thing is there is always startup gibberish what i understand as the camera trying

 to give its version. also typing an uppercase V yields more gibberish but i dont understand why the baudrate is so

strange, what would cause that? could it be a damaged chip or something along those lines?

[Soeren]

Hi,

[...] but i dont understand why the baudrate is so strange, what would cause that? could it be a damaged chip or something along those lines?

I know absolutely nothing about the Blackfin, but of the things that could change the baud rate, I'd first look for wrong value caps on the crystal, any light but unintended loading of the oscillatory circuit and hardware flaws in general (around the x-tal).

[Webbot]

You just have to experiment with the baud rate I'm afraid

[Robot_Longbordr]

Is it possible that its not the baud rate but something else, perhaps its damaged.

One time by mistake i did connect tx to tx and rx to rx if that could have damaged it.

[Webbot]

Check your micro-controller board (Axon2) to make sure tx and rx are ok by using a simple app to echo back received characters. Then you know that, at least, it has "survived" your shorting incident.

Otherwise: if you are getting rubbish from the Blackfin the next step is to see if its consistent rubbish at the same baud rate. ie switch off/on - do you always see the same thing on your PC? The fact that you are seeing something implies that the tx from the Blackfin is varying.

If your Axon2 is ok and the Blackfin output is consistent gibberish then its gotta be baud rate. Admin stated in another post how the gibberish is increased as you get closer to the actual baud rate.

My bet is that it's still baud rate.

[Robot_Longbordr]

well i suppose thats a good sign as my gibberish is pretty consistent 

another question just how close do i have to be to its baud rate to get comprehensible charachters?

but really i guess the solution is to check every conceivable baud rate...

[Webbot]

but really i guess the solution is to check every conceivable baud rate...

that's it

Its hard to come up with an 'auto baud rate detector' as you need to know what the camera is going to send as its first character, or so, and it just ain't reliable enough, between versions, to do that. A logic analyzer would save you perhaps. Else its just plain leg work.

[Soeren]

Hi,

A logic analyzer would save you perhaps. Else its just plain leg work.

An oscilloscope would do as well (since it's the timing rather than the data that's important) - and if it's 19kbps or lower, even a free sound card oscilloscope would do. I'd expect a much higher rate though, so work from the top speed down, if going at it the hard way

[Robot_Longbordr]

Hmm i guess that's my only option as i dont have a oscilloscope but oh well if it gets my camera why not. Its not exactly the  most efficient method but its my only really.

[Robot_Longbordr]

Hey all so just guessing the baud has not worked for me so i think i will just try to purchase a oscilloscope but im not sure what to buy  but i did find a mini digital oscilloscope for under $100 my question is it sufficient to measure the baud rate of the camera? And how would you tell?

here it is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0U008N0481&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle7&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle7-_-HI+-+Electrical+Tools-_-AGPtek-_-9SIA0U008N0481

[Webbot]

Having had a recommendation from another SoR user then I have bought, and really like, the Saleae logic analyzer. See http://www.saleae.com/logic/. Its about(?) the same price and gives lots of features - it understands various bus standards like I2C, Serial, TWI etc etc. Its also really small. You could certainly use it to measure timings in the UART comms.

The down side is that it only does 'logic' (ie 0's and 1's - not analogue voltages like the one you've found) - but can therefore produce more samples per second with less storage.

I found various far-Eastern suppliers who have produced 'pirated' hardware versions themselves dirt cheap, as you can download the software for your pc/mac/'nix box from the Saleae website (I'm sure Saleae will stop that soon!). But to my mind that's theft - so I bought an official piece of hardware. No - this is not an advert! If it helps - I'm based in the UK and it was delivered in 2 days.

I'm sure that your device is equally up for the job but would rather not be the one to choose how you spend your money!

[Robot_Longbordr]

Ahh thank you so much this is what ive been looking for plus when im done analyzing the camera this device will have a multitude of  practical uses!