Doing STLinkV3 right...

[DAlbe.3]

My embedded designs almost exclusively use STM32 uCs. Although I have quite a few official ST-manufactured STLink V2 and V3, what I have relied on for years are the "aluminum shell" STLinkV2 clones that are insanely inexpensive (under $3), rugged, compact, fully enclosed, have the ubiquitous type-A USB male connector on one side and 0.100 pin headers on the other side. These can power most targets (3v3 or 5V) and are only lacking a UART and 1v8 support.

ST surely makes no money on STLinks, so it would seem best to simply publish a reference design for the V3 MiniE and let Chinese designers and manufacturers work their magic.

What I'd find most useful is a fully enclosed unit with a keyed 2x5 0.100" connector with: GND, TxD, RxD, Vcc sense, 1v8 out, 3v3 out, 5V out, SWDIO, SWCLK, nRST similar to the V2 clone shown in the photo.

If someone wants to add more pins for triggers, poor-mans logic-analysis, i2c, etc., that would be nice, but I suspect those are all edge cases and the functions I listed above in a package like the one shown in the picture would meet 99% of my needs...and nearly everyone else's too.

STDC14 connections could easily be handled via an ultra-low-cost tiny-adapter board with SMT 2x5 0.100 female connector on one side and SMT 2x7 0.050 pin header on the other.

[TDK]

> ST surely makes no money on STLinks, so it would seem best to simply publish a reference design for the V3 MiniE and let Chinese designers and manufacturers work their magic.

Don't agree with that logic. Just because someone else can do it cheaper doesn't mean you should just hand off that part of your business to them.

In terms of programmers, ST does a good job. They're $10, not exactly a high barrier to entry. And you get the UART debug stream and 1.8V support. Compare that to TI charging $150 for the MSP-FET.

[DAlbe.3]

@TDK, I should start by saying that I love STM32 uCs which is why my embedded designs use them almost exclusively. The STLink and embedded debug core make STM32 programming and debugging a delight. Cost was entirely ancillary in my comment; developer time is far more expensive; all of the STLinks (clones and original) are incredibly inexpensive; I only commented on the cost of the clones because it's frankly so amazing, but what's important about the clones is that they are *better* in many ways; I have several original STLink V2s and they live in a cabinet while my bench, test beds, and factory fixtures are full of STLinkV2 clones.

There's no question that an STLink V3 was needed and that the UART was a great addition and MINIE level-shifter was critical since battery powered designs now frequently run at 1v8 due to increased availability and lower cost of high-efficiency, low-quiescent switchers.  However, the missing features are also significant: no power for the target, unfriendly connectors, and no enclosure.  The lack of target power is most problematic because it means you need a separate power source to do development.  The connectors and enclosure can be worked around (Kudos to ST for posting an STL file for the MINIE enclosure), but that goes back to my comment about developer time being expensive. I maintain that an enclosed tool that provides power and uses a 2x5 0.100" connector would serve most users better and is more easily adapted to STDC14 than vice-versa.

So I don't really understand the comments around the business issues; it's likely that ST loses money on their dev tools; they provide them because dev tools encourage use of their products and help bring them to market quickly.  Making the dev tool designs open so they can be cloned does does not eliminate ST-brand tools or degrade their quality, it just makes it possible for others to make improved versions as they have with the STLInkV2s.