Steve sent in an illustrated guide to connecting a Bus Pirate to Mac OSX. This guide is consistent with the most recent v5.x firmwares and Bus Pirate v3.
You are currently browsing the archive for the Bus Pirate category.
Tags: first connect, MAC, tutorial
tblough posted pictures of his Bus Pirate case made from a scrap of black Delrin.
Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship. Each Bus Pirate sold supports further development.
This weird display needs a constant control signal. Eric used the Bus Pirate BASIC script engine to light it up, his script is in the forum.
Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: BASIC script engine
Inbilla made a budget case to protect the Bus Pirate.
Features:
- Fully enclosed fitted Bus Pirate case – your bus pirate is safe in your kit now!
- Plastic coated for high quality and general wear and tear
- LED status viewing window protecting the LED’s but still allowing you to see them
- Customisable outside surfaces for application of decals of usage information
Check out even more user created Bus Pirate cases.
Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship. Each Bus Pirate sold supports further development.
Are there any ‘power tools’ that would make the Bus Pirate more useful? We want to develop a collection of cross-platform command line utilities for common stuff.
There’s already two apps. The first accesses the SPI sniffer from binary mode for maximum speed. The second is a self-test utility that will be used in production.
Next we’ll release an I2C sniffer and EEPROM reader utilities. Please add your suggestions below.
There’s a simple C framework you can use to build your own programs that access the Bus Pirate. It compiles with open source tools, we’re using Codeblocks+MinGW. Get the latest version in SVN.
Tags: command line utilities, power tools, self-test I2C Sniffer, SPI sniffer
Here’s another use for the AT Command Script Processor we posted last week. We’ve been using to run test scripts on new Bus Pirate firmwares.
Get a Bus Pirate v3b for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship. Each Bus Pirate sold supports further development.
Tags: AT command, AT Command Script
A new version of the Bus Pirate SPI sniffer helper application and source is ready to download.
This version adds clock edge and idle phase configuration settings. It also has new command line parsing.
Download links and updated instructions are on the wiki.
Tags: binmode, power tools, SPI sniffer
SPI sniffing with the Bus Pirate just got easier. SPIsniffer is a helper application (power tool?) that accesses the SPI sniffer using the fast binary mode. This is 3 to 4 times faster than displaying snooped output in the terminal mode.
In terminal mode the Bus Pirate decodes raw data to user-friendly HEX formatted numbers, then moves 5 bytes to the serial port for every byte sniffed. Raw values are sent directly to the serial port in binary mode, saving bandwidth and processing time. Sniffing from binary mode is the best tested sniffer mode, and by far the fastest way to sniff the SPI bus with the Bus Pirate. If you need to go faster, consider a logic analyzer like the Logic Sniffer.
Download the application here. A wiki page with SPI sniffer use and decoding examples has been added.
Tags: power tools, spi, SPI sniffer
Bus Pirate firmware v5.7 is ready to download. This is a bugfix release:
- Improved SPI sniffer, higher max speed
- Clear terminal buffer overflow error
What’s on your wishlist for firmware v5.8?
We also uploaded two new source code packages. Source for firmware v4.3 and v5.7 is ready for your hacking pleasure.
Read about the firmware update process for the ds30 Loader GUI (Windows/Linux) and pirate-loader console app (Windows/Linux/Mac). This firmware requires the v4+ bootloader, be sure you upgrade to the v4 bootloader first if you still have bootloader v2.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: bug fix, SPI sniffer, terminal UART
Today is a sad day.. a very sad day..
With the release of firmware v5.6 we lost a beloved addition to the Bus Pirate: the new Easter egg. Starting in v5.0, including the first alpha release of the new terminal design, we included a new Easter egg. It was fun for us to write, and a pain to debug. Unfortunately it had to go to make space for new features…
Despite of the many hints, nobody has claimed the bounty for finding the Easter egg. Some came very close, but got lost in the internal dungeons of the Bus Pirate. The path to go north is closed for ever…
The good news is that the new firmware addresses some bugs, and hopefully we fixed them for good. We made improvements to the HiZ ’safety’ mode, which is now really HiZ. In some corner cases the frequency generator or servo could be still active in after switching to HiZ mode. The help screen and the Bus Pirate wiki have also been updated with the new servo command.
What’s on your wishlist for release 5.7?
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: Bus Pirate, easteregg, firmware updates, go north
Bus Pirate firmware v5.6 is ready to download. This is a bugfix release:
- Fixed swapped SPI sniffer macros
- Stop PWM/servo between modes
- Fixed servo prompt and error
- Prevent servo in hiz
- Updated the text for servo code
- Added servo command to the help
Read about the firmware update process for the ds30 Loader GUI (Windows/Linux) and pirate-loader console app (Windows/Linux/Mac). This firmware requires the v4+ bootloader, be sure you upgrade to the v4 bootloader first if you still have bootloader v2.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: hiz cleanup, servo, SPI sniffer
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few professionally-made PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service.
This odd-ball Bus Pirate is a ’special edition’. It is the basic Bus Pirate v3a circuit with a larger SOIC PIC chip, and a shrouded header. It should run the stock v3 firmware, but the board has never been tested. We designed this to use some PIC24FJ64GA002 revision B5 chips that Seeed has in stock, but the chips will go in a different project instead. We’re giving away two PCBs this week, just ask for one in the comments.
This should have run several hours ago, but we scheduled it incorrectly. We apologize for an unintended free PCB Monday.
Tags: giveaway, special edition, v3.0SE
Bus Pirate firmware v5.5 is ready to download. This version has a few new features and a couple bug fixes.
- New servo controller (‘S’), thanks Randy
- New SPI binary bulk read/write should speed up Flashrom
- Updated commands to support piratePICprog
- Some bug fixes, as usual
Read about the firmware update process for the ds30 Loader GUI (Windows/Linux) and pirate-loader console app (Windows/Linux/Mac). This firmware requires the v4+ bootloader, be sure you upgrade to the v4 bootloader first if you still have bootloader v2.
What’s on your wishlist for release 5.6?
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: flashrom, PiratePICprog, servo, v5.5
piratePICprog programs PIC microcontrollers using the Bus Pirate. Newer PICs are programmed directly, like the 18F24J50 on the Logic Sniffer and the 24FJ64GA002 on the Bus Pirate. Older PICs, like the 12F/16F/18F require a 13volt supply to enter programming mode, an adapter will be ready soon.
piratePICprog v0.2 is now available in the forum. It’s a very early demo release that only fully supports a single chip. It’ll program and read an 18F24J50, program a 24FJ64GA002, and ID an 18F2550.
Use examples and instructions, development links, and more, are on the piratePICprog wiki page.
Tags: PIC, programmer
Bus Pirate firmware v5.4 is ready for download. This is a recommended update with bug fixes, enhanced features, and major code cleanup. The documentation wiki has been updated with the new commands and macros.
- Selectable CS pin direction in SPI and raw3wire protocol
- Partial writes (less then 8 bits) in raw2wire and raw3wire protocol
- Command ‘i’ is compacted and displays the settings of the current protocol
- Binmode extended to support buffered writes
- Support for the new LCD adapter (support for old adapter is discontinued)
- Updated help screen
- Some bugfixes, as usual
With this new firmware your Bus Pirate become even more versatile and can even program some microchip PIC controllers out of the box. Not all chips are supported yet, but that will be the goal. A stackable adapter that will program the lower end PIC controllers will soon be available.
Read about the firmware update process for the ds30 Loader GUI (Windows/Linux) and pirate-loader console app (Windows/Linux/Mac). This firmware requires the v4+ bootloader, be sure you upgrade to the v4 bootloader first if you still have bootloader v2.
Discuss this release in the forum or tell us what is on your wishlist for release 5.5.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: bitwise, CS, PiratePICprog
This is a new LCD adapter for the Bus Pirate. The board has been tested, Seeed is building a manufacturing prototype now. The Bus Pirate LCD library in firmware v5.4+ will require this LCD adapter instead of the old v1 adapter.
The v1 LCD adapter was based on a PCF8574 I2C IO expander IC. It took more than a second to update a 4×20 LCD screen, and the production price was too high to justify producing any.
The v2 adapter uses a cheap 74HCT595 8bit shift register instead. It has an SPI interface for blazing fast screen refreshes.
Read more about the v2 LCD adapter features and download the preliminary Eagle files in the forum.
The Bus Pirate v3b with an extended temperature range PIC is now in stock at Seeed. The extended temperature PIC doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a quirk of our tiny production runs.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
MrHijets’ BIOS update [machine translation] went sour, but he revived it with the Bus Pirate and FlashRom:
In my case, Flashrom and the Bus Pirate saved my motherboard…
FlashRom support is an example of how open source and community driven development can extend a project beyond it’s original design. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Bus Pirate project.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
The next batch of Bus Pirate v3b is almost ready. It will ship with bootloader v4.4 and firmware v5.3. It will also be the only known batch of Bus Pirates to use an extended temperature range PIC 24FJ64GA002-E/SS. There weren’t any standard industrial temperature range chips available, so Seeed sourced the extended range version.
These “E” PIC chips have a wider operating temperature range and cost a few cents more. The E chips are rated for -40c to 125c, compared to -40c to 85c with standard industrial chips. In practical terms this doesn’t mean anything because another component might not like higher temperatures, and internal oscillator doesn’t allow for overclocking.
In anticipation of ongoing delays, Seeed has backordered industrial range 24FJ64GA002-I/SS PICs too.
Get a Bus Pirate for $30, including worldwide shipping at Seeed Studio. Adafruit also has the Bus Pirate and probe cables in stock and ready to ship.
Tags: backorder, extended, industrial, operating temperature
We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few professionally-made PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype. Our PCBs are made through Seeed Studio’s Fusion board service.
This week we’re giving away an early Bus Pirate v4 prototype. This design has no software or support, it’s been abandoned in favor of a version with a USB PIC. We’re giving away two PCBs this week, just ask for one in the comments.
Tags: bus pirate v4, giveaway
