STM32F030 first board

[freya17365]

Posted on October 28, 2015 at 09:34

Hi to all,

I would like to create my own board using a STM32F030K6T6, but I have some doubts about sending the program from PC to MCU flash. According to datasheet I should tie BOOT0 to '1' and use PA2 and PA3 (USART1) for communication between MCU and PC. In this way if I use an USB to UART adapter such as FT232 I should be able to download my program. Is it right? Second question: which tool can I use to download the program? ST-LINK does not seem to use COM port, so, what can I do? And, at last, how can I set nBOOT1 to '1' if I have not yet programed the MCU? Thank you Freya

[karatepe101]

Posted on October 28, 2015 at 10:19

Did you install st link driver on your PC?

[freya17365]

Posted on October 28, 2015 at 10:56

I think so, as I am using an evaluation board STM32F0308-DISCO and it works with the board.

I found also VCP_V1.4.0_Setup.exe. Do you mean that? (I installed them too anyway) Freya

[Tesla DeLorean]

Posted on October 28, 2015 at 12:22

Most DISCO ST-LINK implementations do not provide a VCP connection. Look for ones claiming mbed support.

If you don't see a COM Port appear in Device Manager, or an unknown device, assume it doesn't provide for one. Where you provide the serial connection, via a USB-to-CMOS Serial type dongle, you'd use the ''Flash Loader Demonstrator'' tools to program the part. The default setting of nBOOT1 should still allow the BOOT0 pin to determine a boot from ROM vs FLASH, the only purpose for booting from RAM would be in a debug/emulation case.

[mckenney]

Posted on October 28, 2015 at 14:24

I suggest you go directly to SWD: Bring out SWCLK/SWDIO to a (separate) header, and use your Discovery's ST-Link; the Discovery's User Guide describes how to do this. This will give you download capability, along with debugging ''for free''.

Sometime (far) in the future, when you want to do field upgrades, you'll want that BOOT0 header, so design it in anyway. (It will also help when you forget to set DBGMCU and then do a WFI.) Some PC-side software deals with the ST-Link better than others. My experience: CooCox's support of the ST-Link is seamless. For the VCP: If your Discovery doesn't have one, and you have $10US to spend, I think (but check for yourself) that all Nucleo boards provide a VCP.