How to program a psoc 5LP using Linux (Rasp Pi 4)

[u/darthponeh]

Been struggling with this aspect and willing to pay for a solution . I have a CY8CKIT-059 (PSoC 5LP ) kit,
and have it plugged into a Pi via the USB on the PSoC. I am looking to be able to program a PSoC 5LP but there is no Linux supported programmer cli for the PSoC 5.

At the moment I have leveraged a solution to program from my windows PC using www.virtualhere.com, but it is $50 for every host and non transferable. So if you blow a pi, your out the mula.

Any how any collaboration, ideas or solutions greatly appreciated. I love the PSoC 5, but am a little disappointed at the lack of Linux support.

[u/anthroid]

Since there are much more practical solutions to this, I have to ask. Why do you need to program a PSoC 5LP from a Raspberry Pi?

For instance:

• You mentioned you have a Windows PC. Why don’t you just connect the board there and use PSoC Creator?

• What do you need to do with the PSoC 5LP that can’t be done with a PSoC 6 and ModusToolbox, or any other microcontroller for that matter (STM32, NXP Kinetis, etc)? The configurable mixed signal array is great for prototyping, but once you’ve got a design worked out, you can easily port the design to almost anything with fixed peripherals. Anything “special” (e.g. using custom UDBs) should still be possible with the PSoC 6.

• You could program the mixed signal array once (or as needed) with Windows + PSoC Creator, and then move to Linux and program and debug the ARM core using standard tools (J-Link, etc).

• You could use Linux as your host and run PSoC Creator in a VM (though probably not on a Raspberry Pi).

• You could potentially use the Arduino toolchain that was developed for the FreeSoC

So again, why? Once you hit a wall like this, you should step back and reevaluate your approach. Is it even necessary? Is there a more practical solution?

[u/darthponeh → u/anthroid]

Part of my asking the question is to get an understanding of the difficulty. I am assuming that there is a seasoned vet out there who has already gone through the trouble of setting something up. If that is the case I would love to leverage it. I have however purchased a bunch of PSoC 6 boards to look at the feasibility of using those and the cypress programmer which is Linux compatible.

The issue with programming from a computer is that I will have six fixtures at different locations: so it's something I need to be able to do over a VPN. Rather than have each engineer pull it out plug it in program it put it back.

My issue with reevaluating is that I've been playing around with the PSoC 5LP kit for some time now, so I'm comfortable with it. I could move to enough STM32, but then I would then have to build new circuit boards on top of learning another tool. It would just surprise me if nobody else has done this already.

My borrowed solution (thank you to whoever posted it) at the moment, is using the virtualhere.com software. So far that has been working really good but is $50 a pop for each Pi. That lets me program from a Windows host over a VPN to the psoc attached to the Pi via USB.

That said, your points are all valid.

[u/anthroid → u/darthponeh]

Given that scenario, then your solution seems pretty clever. One thing to consider is if the Pi is only there to host the VirtualHere link, then you could potentially find a pair of dedicated "USB over Ethernet" adapters (something similar to the devices used to run KVMs or displays over long distances), and then you could potentially route your USB over your network connection and bypass the Pi altogether. A quick search turned up a few that might work:

https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Extender-CAT5E-Connection-150ft/dp/B003L14ZTC

https://www.amazon.com/AV-Access-Extender-Operating-Synchronously/dp/B01EV33R8S/ref=pd_lpo_3?pd_rd_i=B01EV33R8S&psc=1

I don't know that you'll find a seasoned vet that has done it, because as far as I know, the PSoC 5LP programmer is proprietary, and without some open source reference, reverse engineering, or a hack, it's probably not possible. Plus, I would venture to guess your situation is very unique in that it seems you need to reprogram them often enough for it to be an issue, and they are distributed across multiple locations, and behind a VPN. That, and they would normally be programmed once, and only very seldom be reprogrammed in the field, and even less often need their peripheral fabric to be modified.

Also, for your current solution, $50 doesn't seem so bad. I imagine that if you've got these things distributed across multiple locations, then they're being used in some business context, so couldn't that $50 just be rolled into the cost of the device itself or included as part of your support/development fee?

[u/38andstillgoing]

A little late here, but you can load the HID bootloader to the PSOC 5LP once with windows and then re-flash it with the python HID bootloader host. https://github.com/cyrozap/Cypress-HID-Bootloader-Host

You'll lose some flash space and you'll probably want to add some ability to your code to reboot into bootloader mode on command. (Bootloadable_Load() )

You could probably do similar using the other end with the serial emulation the on-board programmer has and the bootloader in a serial flavor.

[u/darthponeh → u/38andstillgoing]

Never too late. That looks interesting to me however might be above my current abilities/understanding. Part of my struggle is understanding how the current Kitprog programs the PSoC. So your saying I would load a new HID bootloader onto the Kitprog or the main PSoC (I should clarify I am using the cy8ckit-059 stick)?

https://www.cypress.com/documentation/development-kitsboards/cy8ckit-059-psoc-5lp-prototyping-kit-onboard-programmer-and

[u/38andstillgoing → u/darthponeh]

Sorry, yes, you use the Kitprog to program the Bootloader onto the main PSoC, Luckily you only need the Windows/KitProg once to flash a bootloader. Then you do bootloading via the Micro USB against the main CPU with your actual code.

In my case I'm using a program that uses the Micro USB so on every reset the bootloader wakes up, waits for 5 seconds to see if it's needed then if not it loads the main program from flash. If the main program uses that reset command then the bootloader becomes active until the device is reset or it receives bootloader communications.

The Cypress app note isn't all that great, but it does cover most of the basics. The big difference is that you can actually communicate to the bootloader rather simply rather than the impossible to use under Linux KitProg.

https://www.cypress.com/documentation/application-notes/an73503-psoc-usb-hid-bootloader

Here's the app I'm working on making bootloadable: https://github.com/wormley/fluxengine/tree/psoc_bootloader There's a bootloader project and then the main app, the main app has a single component added so it loads into the proper memory location so it can be bootloaded. The main app once compiled the .HEX actually has the bootloader added so if you flash that then you get both. After the initial flash you use a program like the one I mentioned or the one in that repository under tools/ to load the 'cyacd' file that PSoC Creator creates in the same directory as the .HEX. It's a format the bootloader specifically understands. Additionally the main app I've added a 'reset' command to go into the bootloader.

[u/kirankanchi]

Have u tried openOCD on Linux ?

[u/kirankanchi → u/kirankanchi]

I agree PSOC programmer is not supported on Linux but I have programmed many parts through openOCD on windows but it should work fine on Linux too. I'll try to program a 5LP on my Linux and let u know how it goes.

[u/darthponeh → u/kirankanchi]

I tried to use the Open-OCD (CyProgrammer), but it is not compiled for the armv7 and therefore will not run.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Wetmelon → u/[deleted]]

Eww.