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  • Author Author: Jan Cumps
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Renesas Solution Starter Kit for RX23E-A: build and run the Load Cell application

Jan Cumps

The load cell appnote for Road test: Renesas Solution Starter Kit for RX23E-A comes with example firmware. In combination with the stater kit PC Tool, you get a balance display. The firmware source is available as an e² studio project, but there's no ready-to-load binary. In this post I show how to build it. If you're not into source code: I'll attach the binary in a format that can be loaded on the board with Renesas' Flash Programmer.
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What do you need:

Load and build the example in e² studio (optional)

Start e² studio, and select Import Sample Project from the Welcome Page. Select Online -> RX. Select the device:
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Select the Load Cell project and import it
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Right-click on the imported project, and select Properties. Navigate to C/C++ Build -> Settings -> Toolchain. Select the Renesas CCRX chain.
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By default, the project builds binaries for a debugger. To load it on to our starter kit with Flash Programmer, we need to generate a .mod file. Switch to the Tool Settings tab, and navigate to Converter -> Output. Select Motorola S format file
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Apply and Close. Build (your 60 days evaluation time starts ticking now)

Load the firmware to the board

Disconnect your board. Change JP17 from Emulator to USB. Plug your board back in. 

Run Renesas Flash Programmer, and start a new project. Select RX200, give your project a name, and select COM port. Then click on Tool Details and select the COM of your board. Now browse to the .mod file that was generated during the build. You'll find it in the HardwareDebug/ subfolder of your e² studio project. Alternative, download the one I attached to this blog. Press Start and the firmware gets loaded.
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When done, unplug the board, and move JP17 back to Emulator.

Run  the application

Set the jumpers as indicated in the appnote
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Install and connect the load cell

I mounted mine under my table, and used a wardrobe handle as hook.

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Connections

wire purpose RX23E-A pin CN2
black VSS (EXC-) REF0N R0N (2)
red VCC (EXC+) REF0P R0P (3)
white OUT- (Signal Lo) AIN0 AIN0 (4)
green OUT+ (Signal Hi) AIN1 AIN1(5)

Start PC Tool and Connect. You will notice that the 1st 4 tabs are disabled. But the Application tab now works. It shows the weight in a graph.
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In this example, I weight a bottle opener, and lift it briefly:
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Restore the original firmware

You can use Flash Programmer to restore the original firmware. Follow the same steps, but take the rx23ea_rssk_fw.mot that comes with the PC Tool. It sits in the same directory as the .exe

Original Renesas toolchain project, but with the binaries precompiled: rx23ea_loadcell_20230716.zip
Project ported to GCC toolchain, also with binaries prebuilt: rx23ea_loadcell_gcc_20230717.zip

follow-up:  Renesas Solution Starter Kit for RX23E-A: investigation into the Load Cell application 

link to all posts

  • I attached an updated version of the GCC toolchain port. The linker script is a little simpler, and I corrected an issue when loading the binary with the Flash Programmer.
    All changes are in that linker/loader script. No source code changes.

  • I added a port of the project from Renesas' RX-CC to the GCC toolchain. It may come in handy when the trial license has expired.

    All code ported nicely, except a few tricky ones:

    • it used a Renesas toolchain specific NOP instruction. Check src/port/machine.h for the GCC compatible version. No changes to the project files
    • linker file had to be adapted to get DMA buffers correctly aligned. Check src/linker_script.ld. I took memory from the RAM region and created a DMA region, with 2 aligned sections for the serial comms read and write DMA buffers
    • main file adapted because the Renesas and GCC method to place variables in memory sections isn't the same. Check the declaration of the s_send_ary and

      s_recv_ary.

    The e² studio project is attached at the end of the post, and includes the .mot file that can be loaded to the board with Renesas' flash software. No debugger needed.

  • Hi Jan,

    Interesting experiment! Vey convenient mounting under the desk too.  It seems there's very little noise on the measurement.

    Here the weather had extremely strong winds today, and a neighbour's tree completely broke, landing on their fence which also then broke. 

    My trees are holding up fine but I don't know for how long : ) 

    After reading your blog, It sounds like a very neat IoT project actually - microcontroller with high-res ADC and a couple of load cells or other strain gauge setup to monitor a tree in real-time during bad weather conditions!