UPDATE: Bus Pirate support is now included in the current AVRDude SVN version. Michal Ludvig submitted a patch that gives AVRDude support for programming ATMEL AVRs and serial EEPROMs using the Bus Pirate. AVRDude parses ASCII terminal output at the moment, but we’re working on a raw SPI mode for better speed and performance. More […]
Category Archives: Bus Pirate
Bus Pirate: Major UART fix
There was a major bug in the speed setting code for all libraries. At some point the speed variable was reduced to a single bit, so only the first two speed settings in any library worked correctly. This had an especially noticeable impact on the UART library. Since this is a major issue, we’ve made […]
Last Bus Pirates in preorder 1
The Bus Pirate hardware v3 preorder has been a huge success. Thank you for your support! The BPv3 rollout has been pretty low-key. We haven’t posted the Instructables version, and the new design hasn’t been linked by any blogs. Only readers and forum members know about the new hardware, but we’ve almost run out of […]
Free PCBs: Bus Pirate v3
To celebrate the completion of Bus Pirate v3, we’re giving away two BPv3a PCBs. V3a is the second and final revision of the Bus Pirate v3 family, the same PCB that will go into production. If you’re up for the challenge of building your own BPv3, just ask for one of these PCBs. Get assembled […]
Prototype: Bus Pirate BPv3
UPDATE: v3b is the latest Bus Pirate revision, read about the changes here. BPv3 is the latest hacking multi-tool from the Bus Pirate project. It connects to a USB port and interacts with electronics through a simple terminal interface. Use it to see how much of your private information is stored on smartcard SIM chips. Explore […]
Bus Pirate: Easter egg submissions
There’s an Easter egg in the Bus Pirate firmware. Type ‘+’ in the Bus Pirate terminal to see the current configuration bits for your PIC and some ASCII art. Now that we’ve announced it, we’ll change the key and message in the next firmware update. Send us your ASCII art, it might be included in […]
Bus Pirate: BPv3 is here
***Read about BPv3 here*** BPv3 circuit boards arrived today. By popular vote, the final PCBs will be RED. Tests look great, we’ll be ready ASAP. It’s National Day in China, so it might be a few days before Seeed is available to start the preorder. Sorry about the lame posting the last few days, we’re […]
Bus Pirate: BPv3 final update
Nearly 1000 Bus Pirate v2gos were sold during Hack a Day’s preorder. It raised a ton of money, with all proceeds going to Mahalo, the company that owns Hack a Day. Bus Pirate v3 is a complete redesign of the Bus Pirate v2go PCB, with improvements based on our experience running the preorder for Hack […]
Upcoming Bus Pirate demos
Here’s a few upcoming Bus Pirate chip demonstrations: MCP23016 8bit IO expander DS2450 1wire analog to digital converter SD cards 38kHz infrared receiver EEPROM programmer/dumper We’re always open to requests, and we’ll send you a free PCB if we use your chip suggestion for a demo.
Tracking orders from Seeed Studio
We’ve gotten a few questions about tracking packages from Seeed Studio, like the Bus Pirate and #twatch preorders. Seeed uses Hongkong Post by default, in our experience these packages usually take 4-7 days to arrive. When your order ships, Seeed sends a status update with a tracking number like EE123456789HK. Use the Hongkong Post tracking […]
Realterm for the Bus Pirate
BiOzZ posted an Instructable that shows how to setup the open source Realterm serial terminal to work with the Bus Pirate.
Bus Pirate: New chip demonstrations
Have you used the Bus Pirate to interface an interesting chip? Send us a copy of the session output, if we use it on the site we’ll send you a free PCB. Is there a part you’d like to see demonstrated with the Bus Pirate? Please make a request in the comments, if we use […]
Bus Pirate: Python library
audiohacked has started a python library for the Bus Pirate. So far, it’s been tested as an EEPROM dumper: I have started writing a python library for the bus pirate. It’s ugly and messy, but I was able to use it to dump the firmware from an SPI chip… You can contact me if you […]
Bus Pirate: Firmware v2.2 released
We didn’t make it in time for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, but Bus Pirate firmware v2.2 for all hardware versions is now available for download from the project Google Code page. This release includes a few bug fixes for all hardware versions, updated Spanish translation, and a few new features like a transparent […]
Hack a Day's Bus Pirate preorder 2: revision B5?
Bus Pirate v2go Firmware v2.2-nightly DEVID:0x0447 REVID:0x3043 (B5) Hack a Day’s preorder 2 Bus Pirates are starting to arrive worldwide. Remember to upgrade the firmware when it arrives. We’ve had one report that the latest preorder was assembled with revision B5 PIC 24FJ64GA002 chips. Press ‘i’ in the Bus Pirate terminal to see your PIC […]
Bus Pirate: Cables
BiOzZ shared this breadboard cable for the Bus Pirate. What kind of cable do you use?
Bus Pirate preorder 2: new bootloader, no firmware
We’ve got another update on Hack a Day’s Bus Pirate v2go preorder 2 firmware. It would be nice if Hack a Day wrote a short post too, since this was their fundraiser. Seeed made sure everyone got the latest bootloader version (v2) because you have to program that through the ICSP header with a real […]
Bus Pirate preorder 2 unboxing
***UPDATE*** If your preorder 2 Bus Pirate doesn’t work, try bootloading the latest firmware. We’ve had one report that a preorder 2 v2go shipped with the latest bootloader but no firmware. The bonus is you get the latest bootloader (v2), but you have to add the latest firmware yourself. More info as we figure out […]
Compile the Bus Pirate firmware
This is an old version, see the latest version on the documentation wiki. You don’t need a Microchip programmer to develop firmware for the Bus Pirate. You can use Microchip’s free development tools and upload code through the USB bootloader. It’s a mini PIC 24F development board! First, download and install Microchip’s IDE called MPLAB, […]
Scan for I2C read and write addresses
See the latest version in the documentation wiki. You can find the I2C address for most I2C-compatible chips in the datasheet. But what if you’re working with an unknown chip, a dated chip with no datasheet, or you’re just too lazy to look it up? The Bus Pirate has a built-in address scanner that checks […]