Rena Ayeras

Description: Rena C. Ayeras is a writer, editor and blogger with a technical background: test, development, and managing and training technicians. Recognizing the value of the guidelines, reports and articles she wrote as an engineer; she chose to focus on those contributions and moved over to technical writing, and has since branched out to marcom and blogging. BSIT. Member of IEEE.

Email: r.c.ayeras@technology-writer.com

Posts by Rena Ayeras:

How Do I Set Up SDC or MMC Cards in SPI Mode to Verify Files were Successfully Programmed?

Question from the Customer:

I would like to use the Aardvark I2C/SPI Adapter in SPI mode and the Aardvark Software API to communicate with SDC and MMC cards. I need to verify that files were successfully programmed in the production environment. Can I search for files on an SDC Card using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter?

Response from Technic...

How are CC2 and VCONN Voltages Measured with the USB Power Delivery Analyzer?

Question from the Customer:

I’m starting to use the USB Power Delivery Analyzer. Looking at the power measurements, I see different voltages for the CC2 pin and VCONN. My understanding is VCONN reads 5V, but the VCONN is the voltage on the non-used CCx pin, which will read at 3V. Can you explain why the voltage readings are different?

Respo...

How Do I Filter Data on Two Addresses using Command Line Instructions?

Question from the Customer:
I have captured hours of data using Data Center Software (.tdc files). I’d like to filter data starting with a specific address, such as 0xF0 OR 0xFF. How can I do that? Also, is it possible to filter data on two addresses?

I’m also looking into using command line instructions (CLI), such as:

filter({'addr_10bit'...

You Can Easily Create and Verify XML Part Files for your SPI Flash Device using Flash Center Software and Cheetah GUI Software

Question from the Customer:

I purchased a Cheetah SPI Host Adapter to read and write to a SPI Flash device and it is working well for that task. The board I am working on also contains a SPI FRAM (Cypress FM25V01) and I wonder if a device file can be created so that I can read/write to this part? I glanced at some of the Flash Center Software x...

How Can I Best Read the Packets from the USB Power Delivery Analyzer to Ensure I Capture All the Data?

Question from the Customer:

I’m using the USB Power Delivery Analyzer and I have questions about using the Software API.

Does the API only read from the hardware buffer of the USB PD analyzer?
API - Start Capture - How does this work? Does it start monitoring to save the data from any buffer or a specific buffer (hardware or software buffers...

How Can I Run Parallel Scripts with the Promira Serial Platform To Toggle GPIO During SPI Writes?

Question from the Customer:

I am using the Promira Serial Platform with Promira Software API I2C/SPI Active. I’m looking to create a script (in Python) so that the SPI and GPIO commands occur in parallel; the GPIO toggles during SPI writes. Here is a summary of what I’m looking to do:

start gpio toggle;

submit spi write queue;

delay;

stop g...

How Do I Apply Low Level Commands to Test a Target SPI Device with Retries?

Question from the Customer:

We need to apply low level commands to determine if the target SPI device is awake. Part of that evaluation is the number of retries it takes. We’ve been using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter – would it work for this test case? Are there some limitations we should know?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks f...

What Do Emissions Control, Diagnostics and Troubleshooting, OBD-II and CAN Protocol Have to Do with Each Other?

As mentioned in a previous article, What’s New About CAN FD?, the creation of the Control Area Network (CAN) bus started in 1983 at the Robert Bosch Company.

After finalizing the first design, the CAN protocol was introduced to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 1986. In 1991, the CAN protocol was publicly released by its usage in th...

How Are Promira Serial Platform Pins Configured? Do I Need to Add Pull-Up Resistors?

Question from the Customer:

Can you tell me about the pin configuration of pin 14 and pin 15 of the Promira Serial Platform? I am using these two pins as DO. Are they both open-collector pins – will I need to add pull-up resistors?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your questions! The I/O circuit depends on how you are using the Pro...

Can the Promira Serial Platform Reduce Clock Cycle Gaps and Provide Precise Timing when Testing a New SPI Device?

Question from the Customer:
We’ve been using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for years – the software updates have been great, but now we’re testing a faster prototype SPI device. We need a faster adapter. Our goal: eliminate gaps between clock cycles.

Currently, there is a gap between each 8 clock cycles. For test harness purposes, to ...