New ST Nucleo Boards

[richardman]

I thought it's a Kinetics M0

It looks like the newer Teensy 3.2 and Teensy LC use a freescale ("kinetis") mkl02z chip (32k/4k/16pin), while the Teensy 3.0 and 3.1 used a nouvoton mini54TAN (16k+2k/2k/32pin)   The MKL02z is supposed to be $0.68 in large quantities...

(This is the "boot controller" for the Teensy.   There's a bigger ARM chip on the boards for the user programs, but it doesn't have a USB bootloader.  The smaller ARM uses the bootloading protocol that does exist to load a secondary USB bootloader into RAM, to do the actual bootloader.   (Or something like that.  I only looked closely enough to go "that's clever!"))

For a brief moment in time, we were looking at designing our own "minimal Cortex-M4" boards, and we were going to use the ST32f411 and the STM32F072 for the reason that they have the USB bootloader. When you have to use an M0 to do the bootloading, that's a bit insane unless the Kinetis is just so much better than the ST devices (which I kind of doubt?), but the Nucleo-32 kill that idea. There is no way any board vendor can compete on prices.

[janoc]

>> Just the libraries are a PITA

but the f0xx in the nucleo should be mbed enabled, right ?

They are. On the other hand, mbed libraries are not exactly lightweight - they are based on the ST's HAL now.

[ralphd]

well if you go for the low end , you can have the mini51zan (cortex-m0) for 13 cents

https://www.verical.com/pd/nuvoton-microcontroller-MINI51ZAN-731953?utm_source=octopart&utm_medium=buynow&utm_campaign=octopart

Looks like a special price for old stock.  121c ea at Digi-key and $15 for 10 on aliexpress.
The cheapest ARM I can find from official sources is the  8-pin Cypress M0 which is around 50c from the Cypress store in modest qty.  It has no ADC though.
I ordered a few STM32F030F4P6 off aliexpress along with some ssop20 breakout boards.  The total for a breakout board and STM32 is around 75c.

[janoc]

Correction on the mBed support.

I have received my F303K8 and F042 boards today. So I wanted to try them with mBed, as both are advertised as "mBed enabled". When you plug the board in, it will actually show up as a mass storage device (the ST-Link MCU on these acts as virtual COM port, mass storage permitting programming and normal ST-Link apparently - very nice!) with an HTML document on it that will open mBed and add the board to your account. Very neatly done.

Unfortunately, that's about all that works. If you select one of these boards as a target platform and try to build e.g. the mBed blinky, you will get:

"Error: Target "NUCLEO_F303K8" is not recognized" and
"Error: Target "NUCLEO_F042K6" is not recognized"

The mBed libraries don't support these boards yet! 

This is an epic fail from both ARM and ST in release coordination 

[MT]

I like more and more ST kits. Hopefully, pay day is coming.

Yes, yes, we all like ST kits....until we have to faff with their documents and software...

Anyhow, people should be aware before    that one DAC is tied to AG trough resistor and LED if you discover your
waveform is crocked! And that PA2 on ST-link MCU is set PP and high so if you set PA2 PP and low on device you get a
burn , explode pin situation!Unless Rds is high enough to save the trannies!?
So you should remove both 0 ohm bridges. There might be more ST suprices! Ah well multiple pins is tied directly to
AG on some devices so a drunk P and P operator could cause multiple failures so you should check Nucleo PCB before powering it up!

F303K is supported by  EmBitz.

[asgard20032]

What do you mean by PP and P operator?

[MT]

P and P operator is the dude/dudette who runs the Pick and Place machine!
PP means Push- Pull, the way the GPO pins output stage transistors is set up by software.

[janoc]

I like more and more ST kits. Hopefully, pay day is coming.

Yes, yes, we all like ST kits....until we have to faff with their documents and software...

Anyhow, people should be aware before    that one DAC is tied to AG trough resistor and LED if you discover your
waveform is crocked! And that PA2 on ST-link MCU is set PP and high so if you set PA2 PP and low on device you get a
burn , explode pin situation!Unless Rds is high enough to save the trannies!?
So you should remove both 0 ohm bridges. There might be more ST suprices! Ah well multiple pins is tied directly to
AG on some devices so a drunk P and P operator could cause multiple failures so you should check Nucleo PCB before powering it up!

F303K is supported by  EmBitz.

Um, you don't check the schematics of your dev board before using it?   

PA2 and PA15 pins are USART and are by default connected the ST-LINK pinks so that you can have the virtual COM port functionality (saving you the need for an extra FTDI dongle).

LED is on PB3 and PB2/PB8 are tied to ground by a jumper, because they apparently serve as additional Vss pins (odd, need to look up the datasheet on that).

There are a few more pins connected to the ST-LINK, such as PA0 and PF0/PC14 (MCO signal) or PA13/14 (SWD).

However, all of this is clearly visible from the schematics and is marked in the manual as well and all these pins have solder bridges to enable/disable this functionality. So if anyone causes multiple failures, it won't be the drunken P&P operator but the user of this board that didn't do their homework, IMO. 

[coppice]

well if you go for the low end , you can have the mini51zan (cortex-m0) for 13 cents

https://www.verical.com/pd/nuvoton-microcontroller-MINI51ZAN-731953?utm_source=octopart&utm_medium=buynow&utm_campaign=octopart

You'd better hurry. It goes obsolete next month. :-)

[MT]

Um, you don't check the schematics of your dev board before using it?   

How do you think i found the issues? Because i checked the schematics! You however assume i was a reckless
irresponsible who just powered up ST boards on the terms of ST Code and Play attitude trusting ST? 

PA2 and PA15 pins are USART and are by default connected the ST-LINK pinks so that you
can have the virtual COM port functionality (saving you the need for an extra FTDI dongle).

Kind of obvious if you read the manual but point is UART is set to PP/High
they should have set it OD and PU. It's not PA15 it is PA3. Dont you read data sheets? 

LED is on PB3 and PB2/PB8 are tied to ground by a jumper, because they apparently
serve as additional Vss pins (odd, need to look up the datasheet on that).

LD2 is on PA5.  Dont you read data sheets? 
DAC to AG via resistor and LED is just bad design practice, there are plenty of other pins ST could use.
There are plenty of pin cross connections just waiting for a drunk P-P operator.

However, all of this is clearly visible from the schematics and is marked in the manual as well and all these pins have solder bridges to enable/disable this functionality. So if anyone causes multiple failures, it won't be the drunken P&P operator but the
user of this board that didn't do their homework, IMO. 

And yet as proved you dont make your own homework before whine on others!

Besides no one said it's  its visible or not, point is it's designed to eventually cause trouble all depending on the P/P operator drunk
or not. Example of drunk operator already happen  about 2 years ago ST programmed F378 without USB boot, they recalled millions of
chips from supplier chain to reprogram. So yes ST do screw things up, and its not always visible from schematics and its kind of
naive approach you have thinking everything is OK with ST. No point in defending ST just because your french!

That's why you have to read the Nucleo product manual all way through!

However to ST credit majority of Discovery boards is betterly done.

[janoc]

PA2 and PA15 pins are USART and are by default connected the ST-LINK pinks so that you
can have the virtual COM port functionality (saving you the need for an extra FTDI dongle).

Kind of obvious if you read the manual but point is UART is set to PP/High
they should have set it OD and PU. It's not PA15 it is PA3. Dont you read data sheets? 

LED is on PB3 and PB2/PB8 are tied to ground by a jumper, because they apparently
serve as additional Vss pins (odd, need to look up the datasheet on that).

LD2 is on PA5.  Dont you read data sheets? 

Are you sure we are talking about the same board? I am referring to one of the new Nucleo boards, namely the one STM32F303 one (but the STM32F042 one has the same schematics - the MCUs are pin-compatible, apparently).

I have the schematics from here:
http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/layouts_and_diagrams/schematic_pack/nucleo-32pins_sch.zip

The file is called MB1180.pdf inside it, second page. The same schematics is in the User manual (http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/document/user_manual/DM00231744.pdf page 27) as well.

And there the user LED is clearly on pin PB3, PA5 is unused. The UART is analogously on PA2 (VCP_TX) and PA15 (VCP_RX). I am not sure where did you find that the ST-LINK output is set to push-pull neither, even though that would make sense on the VCP_RX line.

DAC to AG via resistor and LED is just bad design practice, there are plenty of other pins ST could use.
There are plenty of pin cross connections just waiting for a drunk P-P operator.

I don't see that in my copy of the schematics.

And yet as proved you dont make your own homework before whine on others!

I am either blind or you are talking about a completely different board. Are you referring to the Discovery board (STM32F469I-DISCO) Savril mentioned at the end of the very first post by chance? Or some other (older) Nucleo board? Because, you know, in that case it isn't at all obvious and what you wrote doesn't match the new small form factor Nucleo boards this thread was mostly about at all.

naive approach you have thinking everything is OK with ST. No point in defending ST just because your french!

Please keep your baseless assumptions to yourself. First, I am not defending ST anywhere, second I am not sure what anyone's nationality has to do with anything, third, I am not French (there nothing wrong with the French though!), only happen to live in France for the time being, therefore the flag. Do you have more similarly relevant gems? 

That's why you have to read the Nucleo product manual all way through!

Then show me where did you find this info, because the official materials from the ST website above certainly don't support what you are saying.

[MT]

I don't see that in my copy of the schematics.

Read the right schematics then!

Then show me where did you find this info, because the official materials
from the ST website above certainly don't support what you are saying.

I clearly said previously: Yes, yes, we all like ST kits....until we have to faff with their documents and software...
and means all in general and that is fully supported by ST. Thread posts talk about all kind of things not just Nucleo also DISCO, Farnell,
ST, JumpStart API, even ATMEL is mentioned. All i did was giving a friendly help to Nucleo usersfor that you went ballistic!
STLK RX and STLK TX might be set PP on these as well, who knows, people have to measure it!

You cant just dismiss one Nucleo from the other Nucleo by referring to one and then playing smart arse trying to pull off some
lame do your homework sunts on me like some sort of hit and run clown just because you dont  comprehend there is 2 types
of Nucleo boards both labeled Nucleo and complain over the gem's dough up and then make such a drama over it all! 

If ST had been at lest a little bit sane they should have called these Nucleos for Microsticks!

http://www.microchip.com/DevelopmentTools/Listing.aspx?CatID=88d053fc-5616-4075-b4d4-6fb5ee8681d3
With STM nothing is obvoius. Im not going to argue more with you about this fact!

[richardman]

..
If ST had been at lest a little bit sane they should have called these Nucleos for Microsticks!

I think the name *Teensy* is taken 

[janoc]

I don't see that in my copy of the schematics.

Read the right schematics then!

OK, you have earned the place on my ignore list. No point in dealing with a troll.

J.

[janoc]

Update - the new Nucleo boards (STM32F303K8 and STM32F042) are now working in mBed.