Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

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tsoundi
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2023 7:39 am

Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by tsoundi »

Hi,

I am currently working with the bladeRF-micro A4, which is equipped with an Intel Cyclone V FPGA and an AD9361 RF chip.

I'm interested in extending the functionality of the bladeRF-cli interface by adding new command sets. These commands would be transmitted via UART from the USB interface to the FPGA. For example, I'd like to introduce a parameter such as a threshold, similar to the existing "set frequency" command.

I believe this is done by using the "UART"-connection between the FX3 and the FPGA, to make the packets, but I've been unable to locate the corresponding source code or determine the packet formats.

Is there a manual explaining how to make new UART packets:
-for the host side
-for the NIOS II counterpart

Any guidance on where I might find this information or how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Daoud
beenpillager
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2024 7:54 pm

Re: Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by beenpillager »

You are correct in your understanding that the UART connection between the FX3 and the FPGA is the key interfacegeometry dash online for sending custom commands from the host side to the FPGA. The bladeRF firmware uses this UART link to facilitate communication between the host software and the FPGA.
tsoundi
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2023 7:39 am

Re: Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by tsoundi »

beenpillager wrote: Mon Jul 01, 2024 7:56 pm You are correct in your understanding that the UART connection between the FX3 and the FPGA is the key interfacegeometry dash online for sending custom commands from the host side to the FPGA. The bladeRF firmware uses this UART link to facilitate communication between the host software and the FPGA.
Yes I was right, it was a whole labyrinth but I managed to add new sets of commands. Now I try to use them on the FPGA side and I am looking to modify the command_uart.vhd file to accept my new set of commands and be able to use them.

Thanks for your answer by the way.
seanybooboo
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Nov 22, 2023 11:21 am

Re: Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by seanybooboo »

Hey tsoundi,

Would you mind sharing extra details on your implementation of custom messages from the host machine to the FPGA?

Any chance you’ve got a Git repo you could share? I have gotten a simple DRFM transponder to work on the blade by putting a dual clock fifo between the sample read and sample write chains, but now I am looking into how I can change some of transponders parameters using custom packets.
flannelskiss
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2024 6:55 pm

Re: Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by flannelskiss »

Other approaches such as threading or multiprocessing in Python may be more suitable for your needs. To accomplish this, we first create two distinct threads for sending and receiving data using the threading module in Python.
Chinmayi
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 20, 2024 9:21 pm
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Re: Adding new UART Control packets (starting with magic packet)

Post by Chinmayi »

You need to learn UART architecture and packet formatSnow Road.
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