Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-4100

 

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-4100 computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-4100 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-4100 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card and TS-8551 reference board. Right then, let’s get started!  Home

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Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7800-V2

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-7800-V2 single board computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-7800-V2 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-7800-V2 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card and necessary cables.                                Home

For you TS-7800 users upgrading to the TS-7800-V2, you’re in for a treat. There’s a migration guide specifically created to help you with some of the nuances in upgrading. For this, take a look at the “Migration Path” section of the TS-7800-V2 Manual.

When you’ve finished, be sure take a look at PWM Primer with the TS-7800-V2.  Good stuff there about working with dimming LEDs and controlling servo motors.

Right then, let’s get started! Continue reading “Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7800-V2”

Real World Example in Working with I2C Sensor Device

Let’s take a look at what it takes to read sensor data from an I2C interface (aka I2C, IIC, TwoWire, TWI). In particular, we’ll be reading data from the NXP MPL3115A2 Altimeter/Barometer/Temperature sensor. The principles found in this guide can also be applied generically, even to your ambifacient lunar waneshaft positioning sensor of your turboencabulatorHome

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A Friendly Introduction to XBee

Digi XBee radios sure are handy for wireless communication in embedded systems, so let’s take a look from a newbie perspective at how to get two of ’em talking to each other quickly.                       Home

This tutorial can be applied generically to any setup with any two XBee radios, so long as you have them plugged in and ready to work with a serial port. That being said, this is a list of parts used in this tutorial:

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Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7670

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-7670 single board computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-7670 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-7670 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card. Right then, let’s get started!                            Home

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Practical Guide to Getting Started With the TS-7553-V2

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-7553-V2 single board computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-7553-V2 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-7553-V2 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card and enclosure with 128×64 px LCD and 4 button keypad. Right then, let’s get started!

By the way… there’s also a video tutorial on getting started as well!  See it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_0qanH3vTA   Home

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Example C Code for Reading ADC Inputs on i.MX28 Based Embedded Systems

Let’s take a quick look at what it takes to read from the ADC inputs of a i.MX28 based embedded system using example C code provided by Technologic Systems. Now, while this can be generically applied to many i.MX28 based embedded systems, we’ll be working with a TS-7680. Right, let’s get started!

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How To Compile the Mainline Linux Kernel v4.9 for TS-4900

embedded-linux-ts-board

Here’s a quick how-to guide straight from one of our engineers on how to compile the mainline Linux Kernel v4.9-rc1 and install it on the TS-4900. Support for the TS-4900 in the mainline kernel image (v4.9 and up) is a pretty big deal for us, and we’re excited about it. A big shout out to our friends at Savoir-faire Linux for their hard work in making this happen!

Step 1: Install the Toolchain

We need to install the toolchain from Ubuntu or Debian Jessie by running the following command:              Home

apt-get install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabihf build-essential lzop u-boot-tools libncursesw5-dev -y

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Develop a Simple Qt Quick Interface for HMI/SCADA Applications

Introduction

We’re graduating from our Getting Started with Qt Creator on the TS-TPC-8390-4900 guide, where we ran an example program which came preloaded with Qt Creator on our TS-TPC-8390-4900, and moving into a more real world situation. This guide builds upon the foundations that we set up in the getting started guide and will walk you through building a simple human machine interface (HMI) for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) applications. We’ll be controlling a register connected to a red LED as well as reading a temperature sensor connected to our CPU. This is about as basic as you can get to demonstrate both system control and data acquisition, and it’s not far from a basic real world use case. In the real world, you’d be toggling DIO or relays instead of toggling an LED. As an end user of the touch panel computer (TPC), you’d be transferring control signals or other data via RS-232 or Ethernet with the press of a button. Once you complete this tutorial it’s a small jump to toggle DIO and relays to control a remote system.

For this guide, a project file containing TS-TPC-8390-4900 specific code written in C++ called “HeatLaser” will be provided for you. It reads CPU temperature every second and toggles the red LED. You’ll simply download it and open the project within Qt Creator. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to run and have a basic understanding of a Qt Quick Controls application. When you’re comfortable, you can make some edits to the project file to implement other similar tasks that may be more relevant to your needs.

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Getting Started with Qt Creator on the TS-TPC-8390-4900 or TS-TPC-7990

Introduction

In this getting started guide, we’re going to look at what it takes to get an example Qt Creator project running on the TS-TPC-8390-4900 or TS-TPC-7990. This will help pave the way for developing a human machine interface (HMI) for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). We’ll start out by talking about the expected workflow and specific versions compatible with our chosen hardware, TS-TPC-8390-4900 or TS-TPC-7990. Next the TS-TPC-8390-4900 and Qt Creator will need to be prepared to work together. Finally, we’ll test our environment by running an example Qt Quick Controls Application. In a follow up guide, titled Develop a Simple Qt Quick Interface for HMI/SCADA Applications, we’ll look into what it takes to gather some system data and control DIO.        Home

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