[sdiy] ARM Dev Boards Possibly Lunatic Idea

[rsdio at audiobanshee.com]

Nice! I see that you've done some homework. I'm guessing that Sparkfun have build a "jig" that uses spring-loaded pogo pins to connect to those FTDI port pin pads. That way they don't have to spend the money on soldering an actual header in there.

With the pogo pins on a test jig, it would be possible to access any exposed copper on the PCB. Usually the bottom of the PCB is where the jig connects, but there are also contraptions that swing over the top to make connections.

If you open the Sparkfun firmware source code, you might find some clues in the project as to how they load the firmware onto the boards.

Brian


On May 12, 2017, at 2:22 PM, Scott Gravenhorst wrote:
> No idea, other than the FTDI port, I don't see a connection that hooks to the appropriate pins on
> the ARM to do (for example) parallel programming of the Flash - there are no connections to the
> required pins for that.  JTAG pins aren't connected.  From what I see (and I could be "blind"), the
> only way they could have done it is via FTDI or possibly using a socket that accepts the SMD part,
> program it first and then solder it, but that seems a bit labor intensive to me.  The datasheet
> lays out (I believe) 4 methods of programming the Flash, and the schematic didn't seem to support
> any except for FTDI.  Note though that the FTDI port was just .1" spaces holes into which pins
> could be soldered, but the board comes with nothing soldered there.  I suppose it would be easy
> enough to deal with that using some clip-thingies.
> 
> And that's why I'm asking this question here.
>