Updating STM32 Over-The-Air using ESP32 • Hacker News Board

Re: Updating STM32 Over-The-Air using ESP32

#61

Post by ComputerGuru » Wed, May 27, 2020, 2:04 AM UTC

octorian wrote: post #11

ComputerGuru wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s notoriously not a friendly or easy perform to develop for and despite its capabilities, the ESP32 has largely been relegated to daughterboard status in most embedded situations.

Okay, as someone who has used the ESP32 before (but not the STM32), I'm genuinely curious as to why you're stating this as an assertion. What exactly is it about the ESP32 that makes it unfriendly or difficult? (FWIW, all my ESP32 development has been in C with FreeRTOS. I'm not one of those people who insists on shoving the Arduino stack onto everything.)

I’m not an Arduino fan either but I primarily work on the opposite end of the spectrum working with the bare metal directly. ESP32’s documentation is nonexistent compared to STM32 and the ARM Cortex core in the STM32 chips has infinitely better tooling than anything with an Xtensa (this more than anything else was the deciding factor in my book).

Re: Updating STM32 Over-The-Air using ESP32

#62

Post by magicalhippo » Wed, May 27, 2020, 3:19 AM UTC

derefr wrote: post #59

magicalhippo wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually not that clear cut. You can get a small STM32 with multiple multiplexed 12bit ADC channels, with ~2MSPS sampling speed and 256x hardware oversampling (~16bit), for less than half a buck (per 1000)[1]. Cheapest independent 12bit ADC with >500kSPS I could find on DigiKey were all over a buck (per 1000)[2], and they were all single-channel parts. Now keep in mind that the ADC only does ADC, while the STM32G030…

What're the comparative impacts on battery life of those?

Kinda hard to compare, since the external ADC doesn't do much without speaking to a microcontroller...

The STMG030 running full tilt at 64MHz, with ADC and one timer (4 channels) enabled takes about 6.7mA at 3.3V according to the simulator.

However looking at consumption in the sim with and without the ADC enabled at full speed, the ADC peripheral itself seems to consume a bit over 100uA. In comparison the ADS7042 datasheet says about 200uA at 1MSPS.

I haven't hooked up the STM32G030 (just got some), so I can't verify the simulator. Would be a fun project though.

Of course the STM32 has power-saving sleep modes etc, which reduces the overall chip consumption to a few uA.

Re: Updating STM32 Over-The-Air using ESP32

#63

Post by brokenmachine » Thu, May 28, 2020, 5:12 AM UTC

agustamir wrote: post #55

huntik17 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can automate that using flipflops or maybe MOSFETs.

Not my point though. Use case for over the air update is when one has no access to the device or its debug interfaces. So, the implementation must provide for a way to remotely handle entering programming mode, etc. IMO, the disclaimer section should be a part of the implementation.

You're entitled to your opinion.

My opinion is that if you read the page, which is only like 10 paragraphs anyway, you can clearly see how it works and decide for yourself if it's useful for you.