Freedom Platform FAQ

Hi Everyone.

Please check out our FAQ on the Freedom Platform below. If you have any questions after reading this, post them below as comments to this document and we'll be happy to answer them for you.

Sagar!

Q) Why did Freescale change the picture of the Freescale Freedom development platform?

A) The initial picture was that of a working prototype.  The updated picture shows what the production boards will look like.

Q) Has Is the functionality of the board been affected?

A) No – the functionality stays the same.  The only difference is that some of the headers and connectors that were on the original board have not been populated.

Q) What items are not populated on the board?

A) The main items that have not been populated are the I/O headers and connectors.

Q) What do the I/O headers and connectors do?

A) Two of the connectors are used for attaching peripherals or Arduino shields to the board.  The other connectors are used for various I/O and test functions.  The exact details of these will be defined in the user guides and datasheet and will be published as soon as they are available.

Q) Can I populate the headers myself and if so, how can I order them?

A) Yes, the headers can be populated by anyone, taking into account any precautions one would normally take when modifying an electronic circuit.  Once the schematic is released, the list of connectors and headers and their part numbers will be given out as well.

Q) What changes took place?

A)  The board image given to us from Freescale and displayed on our web-site was a prototype.  The production version has the same functionality but does not have some of the headers populated. We will be shipping the I-O headers to all customers who pre-order the product at no cost to them. The SKU number has also changed from 05W3395 to  28W5033.

Q) Why was I notified that the previous SKU is obsolete?

A) That happened when we updated the product detail with the final production information. The new SKU number is 28W5033.

Q) Why was I notified that the new unit will begin shipping December 4th? Is it really going to take this long?

A) Because of the way we replaced the first SKU with the new one, an email was generated which incorrectly listed the new ship date as December 4. The first units will likely ship at the end of September. Sorry about the confusion!