After recieving the board, I searched around to find the software I wanted, but the Code Warrier is not yet ready for release.
My visual inspection of the board showed a good clean board with the holes ready to solder in connectors if I wanted to. All of the parts were correctly set and soldered.
Next, I plugged the USB cable in and ran through the demo. The RGB LED went through its color scale demo. The Capacitive touch control worked very smooth with no issues apparent as I adjusted the LED brightness. That demo indicated that the capacitive touch ability of the CPU is very solid with good repeatability. Whoever put the CT demo together did a good job to show how responsive the CPU could be and still keep the sensativity under control. Very good job.
The accelerometer demo showed good sensitivity to board movement for tilt and rotation, but I did not see any Z direction function implemented if I moved the board up and down. I will dig into the code to see if they implemented any response for that direction.
So far, I have not had any luck setting up the OpenSDA software. Every time I try to install it my Windows XP has a warning message that the software has an invalid Windows Logo and highly recommends that you abort the setup routine. Another item for me to look at later.
I am reluctant to download the IAR or Keil compilers since I know very little about them. I just acquired some other Freescale devices, so I wanted to learn Code Warrier. The compiler for the Freedom board is in Beta testing and expects to be released on 25 September, which is only a week away. In the meantime, Freescale has made the Beta version available for download, so I might try that.
In summary, the pre-product has been about what I expected. The hardware is well made and looks like it meets its specifications, but the software and documentation support is lagging the release. Which is typical for new hardware, as I think everyone who ordered a Raspberry PI discovered.
Still, it is much better than some experiences I have encountered in my career. The early microprocessor boards would arrive with no code editor or compiler and usually just a short document explaining the Assembly code instructions. So if I survived those days, I don't think I will have any problem as long as I can find the time to concentrate on the product.
Unfortunately, we are at the peak of Allergy season here and there are days where I just kind of walk around in a daze after sleepless nights, stuffed sinuses and various medicine interactions. Those of you with allergies will understand.
So until next time, have a good day.
DAB
