STM32 Blue Pill

[hashtala]

Hello

I came across with this board (STM32 Blue Pills) and instantly got many questions.

1) I couldn't find it on CubeMX and could you please confirm that it is not present on CubeMX or it is just clumsy me?

2) It seems that MPU is STM32F103xx which I believe belongs to STM32F103 Nucleo64 board. Can I use CubeMX to generate templates for say Keil and then compile code and upload to MCU ?

3) It seems to utilize general purpose USB. However on STM32F103 Nucleo board does not have it, it only has ST-Link JTAG usb for programming only that cannot be used or say HID or CDC or whatever. But folks there utilize USB functionality of the Blue Pill. What am I missing ?

[Tesla DeLorean]

CubeMX only has ST boards, not random third party boards, however cheap/popular

Pretty sure it uses a difference F103 part than the Nucleo. Construct a project framework using the IC used on the Blue Pill, and pin usage, check the schematic.

The Blue Pill does not include a ST-LINK, the NUCLEO-64 also doesn't expose the target STM32F103's USB connection. The board here probably allows for DFU USB mode programming if the chip is jumpered in BOOT0 HIGH mode, using code in the ROM, or alternatively it has its own loader flashed by the vendor.

Perhaps review the schematics of both boards to understand the differences and functionality / limitations of each.

[jblai.1 · Accepted solution]

I have just uploaded a collection of small example projects to Github that show how to use many aspects of the Blue Pill's processor using the HAL llibrary. They can be imported directly into STM32CubeIDE where they were created. See here...

https://github.com/miniwinwm/BluePillDemo

They need a ST-Link to flash and debug the device but as the Blue Pill has a header on the end with the necessary pinouts it's a cheap and easy process to do that.

It's work in progress. More example projects are on their way for as long as I'm stuck inside in lockdown!