Upload issue SparkFun Edge

[metanav]

Subject of the issue

I am not able to upload code to SparkFun Edge using Arduino IDE. It always keeps waiting at "sending hello". It seems the bootloader is not responding.

Your workbench

• What platform are you using?
  MacOS Mojave
• What version of the device are you using? Is there a firmware version?
  I am using pre-oder SparkFun Edge directly from SparkFun.
• How is the device wired to your platform?
  Using SparkFun Serial Basic Breakout - CH340C and USB-C
• Are there any additional details that may help us help you?
  Using Ambiq SDK toolchain there is no such issue.

[nseidle]

Follow these instructions to install the faster/better variable bootloader.

Explanation: Edges came pre-programmed with the Ambiq secure bootloader. The SparkFun Arduino core defaults to the SparkFun Variable Bootloader (SVL). We recommend upgrading to the SVL or you can select the Ambiq Secure bootloader and try again.

[oclyke]

One more comment... The pre-order version of the Edge board should expect to be boot-loaded at 921600 baud (we chose this for decreased bootload time), however in the Arduino core the Ambiq Secure Bootloader (SBL) is currently fixed at 115200 baud (which helps for sure-fire compatibility across operating systems because of the USB-serial driver discrepancies). So right now simply selecting 'Ambiq Secure Bootloader' won't work out of the box.

There are at least two possible fixes:

1. Add an SBL baud rate property in the boards.txt file, and create two different Edge boards (one for TensorFlow summit and one for preorder)
2. Add a menu property to allow selecting the SBL baud rate.

@metanav Do you have a preference between these two options? @nseidle how about you? We can work this into the next release of the core.

@metanav As a temporary workaround... you can edit 'platform.txt' in your installation to use 921600 baud for the SBL. Change:
tools.ambiq_bin2board.args.macosx=--bin "{build.path}/{build.project_name}.bin" --load-address-blob 0x20000 --magic-num 0xCB -o {build.path}/{build.project_name} --version 0x0 --load-address-wired 0xC000 -i 6 --options 0x1 -b 115200 -port "{serial.port}" -r 2 {upload.verbose}

to

tools.ambiq_bin2board.args.macosx=--bin "{build.path}/{build.project_name}.bin" --load-address-blob 0x20000 --magic-num 0xCB -o {build.path}/{build.project_name} --version 0x0 --load-address-wired 0xC000 -i 6 --options 0x1 -b 921600 -port "{serial.port}" -r 2 {upload.verbose}

[oclyke]

FYI re-opened as a reminder to fix this for the next release

[metanav]

Thanks @nseidle and @oclyke! It is working now after the changes suggested above. But I had to do few things to make it work.

In the directory /Arduino15/packages/SparkFun/hardware/apollo3/1.0.1/tools/ambiq/macosx/ambiq_bin2board:

While uploading it was complaining about missing modules am_defines and keys_info. For the workaround I created symlinks as follows:

am_defines.py -> ../../am_defines.py
keys_info.py -> ../../keys_info.py

In the am_defines.py, comment out following imports (I tried to install using pip but still not loading so I commented out):

#from Crypto.PublicKey import RSA
#from Crypto.Signature import PKCS1_v1_5

Also, I had to change this in platform.txt:
tools.ambiq_bin2board.pgm.macosx={runtime.platform.path}/tools/ambiq/macosx/ambiq_bin_to_board/ambiq_bin_to_board

to:

tools.ambiq_bin2board.pgm.macosx={runtime.platform.path}/tools/ambiq/macosx/ambiq_bin2board/ambiq_bin2board

And set execute permission:

chmod +x ambiq_bin2board

I hope these issues will be fixed in the next release.

[oclyke]

Thanks @metanav, I will use your notes to improve this soon!

[oclyke]

@metanav I've just released v1.0.2 to address upload concerns. I fixed the paths, and generated the binaries with "pyinstaller --onefile" to avoid making those symbolic links. On Mac and Linux I also added executable permissions, however I don't know enough to be sure that those changes will be respected when the core is installed by Arduino.

For the Edge board I added the ability to choose the baud rate for the Ambiq Secure Bootloader, as well as the advanced option to enable the SparkFun Variable Loader.

Will you please try out the new version and let me know how it goes? Thank you.

[metanav]

Thanks @oclyke, It works! Though it is still needed to set executable permission.
Also, I uploaded Artemis Examples > Advanced > Artemis_Bootloader with Ambiq Secure Bootloader which was succeeded. But changing to SVL bootloader the code upload fails with error:

Waiting for command from bootloader
No announcement from Artemis bootloader

The Ambiq bootloader still works.

[oclyke]

Okay glad that there is some progress! Seems like there are two remaining items:

1. Executable Permissions
   I was able to recreate the permissions error on my own hardware:

• MacOSX 10.14.5 (18F132)
• Arduino 1.8.9
• Apollo3 v1.0.2 freshly installed
• Edge board with SBL @ 115200

Update This should be solved now. Use the boards manager to remove your current 1.0.2 installation and then re-install it. The JSON Boards Manager file is updated to use the ".tar.gz" archive instead of the ".zip" archive that was used before. This should preserve the executable file permission.

1. Artemis SVL No Announcement
   I was able to reproduce a similar error on my Mac, but not on my Windows machine. I'll look into this further.

[oclyke]

We've looked into the "No Announcement" error more and discovered discrepancies between Windows and MacOSX in the Python script timing and control line handling. The bootloader is sensitive to these differences and needs to be fixed.

This is no longer just an Edge upload issue, so we can continue the discussion here:
Bootloader Platform Differences

[oclyke]

@metanav I just merged PR #32 to fix this. Can you test it out by replacing the copy that Arduino installs with one directly from the Repo? I'd like to have another data point before making the Arduino release. Thanks!