Is there a better programmer than Miniprog3?

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DaHu_285096
Level 5
Level 5
10 likes received 250 replies posted 100 replies posted

Is there a better debugger/programmer available for PSOC?

I get lots of errors like "Firmware is not fully loaded and device cannot be detected. Please reconnect - "MiniProg3 / 1411DD0006A6".

It takes ages to timeout if it cannot connect.

Also, if I get several boards in a row that do not connect and swap over to another miniprog then it programs ok. Later I can switch back to the one that was playing up and it works again.

They do not seem to be consistently reliable.

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KyTr_1955226
Level 6
Level 6
250 sign-ins 10 likes given 50 solutions authored

The MiniProg 4 exists:

https://www.cypress.com/documentation/development-kitsboards/cy8ckit-005-miniprog4-program-and-debug...

Can't speak to if it's any better than the 3, though.  In my experience the 3 has been pretty darn reliable in the past 2 years I've been using it.  Maybe there's an issue in the design of the target circuit that's making it hard for the programmer to get connected reliably?  How do you mainly program?  Powering from the tool?  Externally?

I came over from using Microchip tools, which in my experience will spit errors out anytime you look at them wrong.  So I my perceived reliability could just be relative.

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KyTr_1955226
Level 6
Level 6
250 sign-ins 10 likes given 50 solutions authored

The MiniProg 4 exists:

https://www.cypress.com/documentation/development-kitsboards/cy8ckit-005-miniprog4-program-and-debug...

Can't speak to if it's any better than the 3, though.  In my experience the 3 has been pretty darn reliable in the past 2 years I've been using it.  Maybe there's an issue in the design of the target circuit that's making it hard for the programmer to get connected reliably?  How do you mainly program?  Powering from the tool?  Externally?

I came over from using Microchip tools, which in my experience will spit errors out anytime you look at them wrong.  So I my perceived reliability could just be relative.

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AuKa_264411
Level 3
Level 3
25 replies posted 10 replies posted 5 replies posted

By and large I have found the MiniProg3 reliable in the many, many projects that I have used it on. I do have a problem that PSoC Creator loses contact with the MinPtog3 in the middle of debugging and requires restarting the debug session. It is frustrating, but not debilitating  as I still manage to debug fairly large projects. In part it appears is due to ground loops  between the target system and the PC. I have tried a USB isolator but it didn't help. However it is not the only reason, and I am unsure as to why.

I have just got a Miniprog4  in the hope that it would be more reliable. It dropped out after a few minutes, so it certainly isn't the answer to my problem.

I recently saw something in a Cypress document that suggested a 3rd party ARM trace debugger, but I cannot remember where. I will post if I come up across it again.

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BUTA_1301626
Level 4
Level 4
50 replies posted 25 replies posted 10 replies posted

I'm using mini prog3. sometimes I was having connection problems when using it. the soldered extension pins were removed so that the problem disappeared.

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AuKa_264411
Level 3
Level 3
25 replies posted 10 replies posted 5 replies posted

Further to my earlier post- what I came across was a mention of the Micrium uC/Probe which is not hardware at all an probably does venture into programming territory.

However Segger does a product called J-Link which does support Cypress micros. I think it works with the full ARM trace and probably needs a different hardware interface to get all the required signals. I have had no experience with anything similar so you will have to do some research.

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