Need assistance setting up RAKDAP1 on Windows

WisBlock
1

I’ve followed the wiring instructions here

I connect DAP1 to a USB port, and I get this:

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You should notice a distinct lack of COM ports.

So, I went ahead and fired up zadig and updated the driver for USB_MSC (Interface 0). I elected to swap out the driver for the USB Serial (CDC) driver:

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which resulted in the following changes to Device Manager

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PlatformIO can now see the COM port when DAP1 is plugged in, however, I get the following dialog because (I think) there is only a single port exposed

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Obviously I’ve missed something, but what could it be … ?

2

Hello Bill,

The RAKDAP1 is not a Jlink device, you cannot use it with Seggers JLink software.

It works with pyOCD as shown here

3

You’ve pointed me back to the same documentation I linked to :rofl:

Thanks for clearing that up though @beegee, it certainly explains why I cannot figure out how to get it working :rofl: :rofl:

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So how does one achieve the ability to debug application software running on an ARM Cortex CPU using the RAKDAP1

Also, connecting the RAKDAP1 to my computer does not present the RAKDAP1 as a storage device.

How does one enable the reported drag and drop programming?

4

Never tried it, but I did some research. You will need pyocd-gdbserver and PlatformIO. No idea if it would work with Arduino IDE (maybe with V2.x)

A quick search found

https://docs.platformio.org/en/stable/tutorials/nordicnrf52/arduino_debugging_unit_testing.html
but that is for JLink

and this one for PlatformIO and pyOCD
https://docs.platformio.org/en/latest/plus/debug-tools/custom.html?highlight=pyocd%20debug#examples

5

Thanks again @beegee,

and just to be clear (and to prove to some that I’m a bit of a jerk) … I never use the Aruino IDE -although the latest version is most certainly an improvement, it’s still not anywhere close to what I would consider a professional development tool

6

For the “drag and drop” programming, never tried that as well.
When I plug in my RAKDAP1, I get a external drive shown

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But dragging a hex file there does not flash it on the RAK4631.

7

Drag and drop requires that the programmer firmware have built in awareness of the programming algorithm of the target MCU - it’s something typically seen on MBED-style evaluation boards where there’s a debug adapter on the same PCB as the target processor. It wouldn’t make as much sense on a stand-alone adapter, as it would then have to get flashed with a firmware unique to the target board it was going to be used with.

But even without an adapter firmware tuned to the target MCU, it should be possible to use the CMSIS-DAP capability to program just about any SWD compatible MCU using pyocd or openocd - in that case the adapter just wiggles signals, and it’s the program on the PC that has the knowledge of how to program a particular MCU. The same goes for implementing the gdbserver protocol to allow breakpoint debugging - with CMSIS-DAP the processor-specific knowledge in in pycod or openocd, rather than the adapter firmware.

One should also be able to use an STLINK with a RAK4631 - even though the Nordic chips are different from ST’s they’re well enough behaved SWD targets that they’re compatible with the more automated “high level” protocol implemented by the STLINK when used with openocd or pyocd. Some other chips (Cypress for example) are too weird to work with anything but their own programmers or a low level solution like CMSIS-DAP that gives PC software maximum flexibility to dictate needed odd details.

8

@cstratton
Thanks for this explanation, to be honest,I use the RAKDAP1 only for flashing with pyOCD and as UART-USB adapter for our WisDuo modules.

But our explanation makes complete sense.

For the RAK4631, if you double push the reset button, it will appear as a USB drive and you can drag UF2 files on it to flash them.
But you have to create the UF2 files first from the hex files that the IDE generates. I think Adafruit has a guide somewhere in Github.

9

Ah, OK, I misunderstood and thought you were saying it didn’t work at all, not that it just needed the right file type.

That’s great that you have the knowledge of the NRF flash algorithms in the adapter firmware!

10

@cstratton
You didn’t misunderstand, my story was incomplete.

The double-reset-push trick works if the RAK4631 is connected directly to a computer, not with the RAKDAP1.

11

So what you’re saying is that the RAK4631 module’s bootloader can do drag and drop mass storage programming when its USB is directly connected to a PC

But for that module as a target, the RAKDAP1 USB-DAP-SWD adapter can’t do drag and drop, but only pyocd or openocd programming?

That would make a lot of sense, but just trying to clarify if it’s what you mean.

12

@cstratton
Your understanding is 100% correct.

1 Like
13

@beegee can you expand on using the RAKDAP1 as a UART-USB adapter, I am having some issues with it on this thread here about the RAK2270 sticker trackers.

14

There is not much to say about RAKDAP1 as UART/USB adapter.
When you plug the RAKDAP1 into your computer it shows up as an external drive and as a COM port.
The connection is simple:

RAKDAP1 RAK2270
U_TX RX
U_RX TX
GND GND
3V3 VCC (only connect if you power the RAK2270 from the RAKDAP1)

Then use terminal app on the COM port of the RAKDAP1, setup baudrate and make sure the AT commands are terminated with \r\n