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RE: Using SWD with ARM Microcontrollers: An Introduction to Firmware Programming and Debugging!

genebren — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:37:59 GMT

Great post! There is a lot of great information and effort in this post! Thanks for sharing.

RE: Using SWD with ARM Microcontrollers: An Introduction to Firmware Programming and Debugging!

DAB — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:03:20 GMT

Very nice post.

RE: DexoPad — phone-as-keyboard-and-mouse for any USB host (ESP32-S3 + BLE, on Kickstarter)

Mengjie — Fri, 29 May 2026 03:19:28 GMT

Hi shabaz — thanks for thinking through this with us.

Your model would work, no argument. Our situation: the software's built end-to-end for closed-source commercial use. Opening it up isn't a config flag — it touches architecture, licensing, and how we'd structure support. Not something we can rewire mid-campaign.

That said, this is worth an actual internal look. I'll take it back to the team.

Best,
Mengjie Zhang
Founder, PalmBlock

RE: DexoPad — phone-as-keyboard-and-mouse for any USB host (ESP32-S3 + BLE, on Kickstarter)

shabaz — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:43:33 GMT

If it were me, I would have done this differently. Why not just share the code for free to convert (say) a Pi Pico W to do this function. Then, just charge a small amount in an app store, for anyone to purchase the software required on the phone, or, if you're doing it all in the browser, just make a small donation possible.

I think $35 (and then shipping, possible taxes) is not attractive, because one is just as likely going to lose the dexopad dongle, as they are likely to lose their wireless USB keyboard/mouse dongle. Whereas, if one lost a Pi Pico W, it's cheap to get another from anywhere in the world almost, at little cost. You'd probably make more from the donations than from the KickStarter, and you'd retain more since you'd not be paying KickStarter a percentage any longer. Personally, I'd pay $10 just for a web app, if it would save me time and effort writing my own.

RE: EasyL1105: A Dev Board for the TI ARM Cortex-M0+ L-Series

shabaz — Thu, 28 May 2026 17:31:22 GMT

Couldn't resist another change, this would be revision 2.1, if I go ahead with it.

It replaces the UART0/BSL switching jumpers with a FET switching array. A small tweak in the MSPM0 Python programmer software can then make *DTR go low (and stay low) for the entire programming cycle, hence routing the BSL_RX/TX pins to the USB-UART. It would mean zero fiddling with jumper pins when programming the device. The only downside is that you'd have to use the Python programmer with the EasyL1105 board, because I'm sure the official programmer (TI UniFlash) won't control the *DTR pin like this. It seems a small disadvantage, because I cannot see myself ever wanting to use UniFlash for this microcontroller, when the Python programmer is so much quicker to use.

I've tested that setting *DTR low (and setting the BOOT Invoke pin high) during the entire programming cycle seems to work, so hopefully this is a low-risk modification (if I've got the switch array wiring right! If anyone spots any mistakes, please let me know. I'll lay out these changes onto the PCB sometime this weekend.

RE: push a data table to MSPM0L DAC with DMA

DAB — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:32:38 GMT

Nice post Jan.

RE: Programming a TI MSPM0 Microcontroller via USB UART

DAB — Tue, 26 May 2026 19:30:12 GMT

Very cool.

RE: EasyL1105: A Dev Board for the TI ARM Cortex-M0+ L-Series

shabaz — Mon, 25 May 2026 16:06:40 GMT

Finally upgraded the PCBs for EasyL1105 and miniL1105, to revision 2.0! Gerber files are here.

The EasyL1105 board is now a tiny bit longer, because the components were squashed up otherwise. This board fixes the Rev 1.0 clash between the BSL Invoke pin, and UART0. Circuit diagram here and also the issue with higher-than-desired voltage from the USB-UART chip. It also included auto-boot and auto-reset, so that (if desired) no buttons need to be held down to program the Flash; it's controlled by the PC software automatically.

This is the Rev 2.0 miniL1105 board, which is DIP-24 sized (schematic) and requires an external programmer (SWD-based, or USB UART):

These are untested, but I've ordered them and will test them at some point.

RE: DMA move a table in memory with MSPM0

Jan Cumps — Sun, 24 May 2026 08:46:39 GMT

Link to posts that use DMA:

DMA specific

RE: DMA move a table in memory with MSPM0

shabaz — Sat, 23 May 2026 22:01:27 GMT

Great work! I've been meaning to experiment with DMA capability too, but have not got around to it yet. This will help loads.

I have to say, I really like the general architecture of these microcontrollers, and how TI have assisted the developer with their excellent graphical utility (also available standalone). I guess one major thing they're retained from the MSP430 heritage, is that TI seem to have aimed to create as much ease-of-use as possible, given that ARM Cortex-M is inherently more complex than those last-century processors (MSP430 was launched in 1992 apparently!).

RE: DMA move a table in memory with MSPM0

DAB — Sat, 23 May 2026 19:11:33 GMT

Great update Jan.

RE: Microsoft Releases Source Code for DOS 1.0

DAB — Thu, 14 May 2026 19:05:02 GMT

It is hard to believe that it has been 45 years since DOS 1.0.

I always thought that Bill Gates should have sent a check to Gary Kildall every year thanking him for being an idiot so that IBM went to Seattle and gave Microsoft the contract.

RE: EasyL1105: A Dev Board for the TI ARM Cortex-M0+ L-Series

Jan Cumps — Wed, 13 May 2026 12:48:32 GMT

I ordered a Launchpad for another child in the MSPM0L family: the 1306. It has more peripherals, but still part of that low energy group.

The package isn't as hand-solder friendly as the VSSOP used here in the EasyL1105 design. But still doable.

Comparison:

RE: ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display (CYD) Guide with a Jellyfish example

shabaz — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:39:13 GMT

Measured up and added a board dimensions illustration to the blog with locations of the display center, board connectors, etc.

RE: New Operating System for the Z80 CPU - WOW

DAB — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:08:53 GMT

Great project.

I have not used a Z80 for many decades, but I think I still have one around somewhere.