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Early Review: Freescale RD3803MMA7660FC evaluation kit

gordonmx

I received my Freescale Acceleration Sensor (RD3803MMA7660FC) evaluation kit last Friday (01/05) and was excited to try it out.  This is an early review.

 

Everything needed was in the box I received, well almost.  The kit comes with a very easy to follow setup sheet and CD.  I inserted the CD into my HP laptop, as instructed, but the install program wouldn't run from the CD.  I finally had to manually copy the installation zip file to my laptop.  The USB to serial (VCP) driver would not install on my MS Vista operating system.  After hunting through the CD, I ended up at www.ftdichip.com for the latest driver (2.06.00), which loaded fine.  Well maybe not so fine since I lost USB connection to my printer.

 

But now I could run the demo software.  There are several demos provided with the kit and they ran without problems.  Each one demonstrates a different feature of the acceleration sensors.  There is certainly more to explore with the sensors.

 

I was very disappointed with a short video included with the kit.  Not with the content, but the quality.  It was the worst video I have seen in a long while (including some home videos).  The last few minutes are used to point out different components on the board, but the picture is so out-of-focus you can't see anything.

 

I hope to have more to say about the sensors in the near future and I look forward to the comments of other reviewers.

 

Thank you Alistair for the opportunity to evaluate this kit.

 

 

Gordon Margulieux

gordon.margulieux@garmin.com

  • in reply to gordonmx
    As Elias says, pasting into Notepad is the best way to get round any formatting problems

  • *** RATING – 3.5 Out of 5 Stars ***

     

    Well, I finally made it back from Taxes, USA.  I took a little time to clear up some minor issues and I'm ready to roll.  It has been awhile since my early review and many others have covered additional (and interesting) points in their reviews.  I thank them for their comments and insights.

     

    I have given much thought as to the depth of reviews.  Do I deal with the kit itself or expand on its possible capabilities for other projects?  Although the later is very interesting, I will leave this area to others.

     

    For this review, I will try to keep my comments to the intended purpose of the RD3803MMA7660FCRD3803MMA7660FC Evaluation Kit (EVK).  From the User Guide, "... a complete out of the box experience tool to evaluate the MMA7660FC, ...".

     

    1) CD Content (including e-file documentation) –

    • Aside from the installation software and driver, the CD contains numerous application notes and data sheets, including a broad range of other sensors from Freescale.  The >1000 page sensor handbook is loaded with many examples.  All this is available online, but it is great to have it in one place.  
    • MS Windows only.  A complete set of USB drivers for OS’s other than WinXP is missing, although a URL for the vendor is given.  As mentioned in my early review, it took a little effort, but I was able to find and load the USB driver for my Window Vista PC.  Those with Windows XP appear to have had no problems. 
    • Hardware schematics are included, but the firmware code is missing.  This would have been a helpful example of an actual implementation.  Especially since the actual sensor come on a removable PC broad.
    • As mentioned in my early review, the video explaining the EVK and its operation is poorly done.  This unfavorably reflects on the kit and brings to mind questions of the quality of the sensor.

     

    2) Box Content (including written documentation) –

    • All the necessary hardware components needed to get the demo running were included (except a PC).  Your PC must have a USB v1.0 or greater port, but it would have to be a very old computer to be in this category.  No power supply is needed since the demo hardware is powered off the USB port.
    • The setup guide was printed, but was also included on the CD (including instructions on how to fold the guide 8^)).

     

    3) Demo Hardware –

    • The hardware is comprised of a main PCB and a removable sensor board. 
    • The main board is loaded with a number of components apparently not used by the demo (i.e. extra LEDs, debugger header, etc.).  This leads one to believe there may be other uses for the board.  Maybe a base board for other sensor products?  Does anyone know?  But for this demo, the main board is sufficient to show the “general” sensor capabilities.  
    • The sensor board is the gem of the package since it can be removed and used in your own custom demo.  I mention custom “demo” since the size of the sensor board could be too large to build into an actual product prototype.  The board is clearly 10 times larger the actual sensor and supporting components, but still usable.
    • Another plus is the sensor board can be purchased separately without having to buy the complete EVK.

     

    4) Demo Software –

    • The main menu offers the evaluator 7 choices of demos to try, but few are very interesting.  Most demonstrates the low power mode of the sensor and how to wake the unit, but all features are shown.
    • As mentioned by other reviewers, the scope mode is the most interesting, but I found it to not all that useful.  It was fun when I first started the scope and I thought back to my science days as I noted the ~1G force in the Z orientation.  This shifts to the other axes as you rotate the board.  As noted by another reviewer, the Z orientation had the worst error (12%) after calibration.
    • One disappointment was the program never lets you change any of the sensor threshold limits and/or parameters (i.e. tap count, sample rate, etc.)
    • Wish List:  It would be great to add a frequency analysis (FFT) demo to the program.

     

    5) Closing Comments –

     

    Although, in my opinion, the EVK has some limitations and could be more useful, it does demonstrates the basic features of the MMA7660FC 3-Axis Orientation/Motion Detection Sensor.  I hope this is useful feedback.

     

    Gordon Margulieux
    Salem, OR USA