MacWorkstationSetup

From The Neuros Technology Wiki

This is an intial attempt at creating a page for setting up your Mac workstation to connect to the Neuros OSD. I am doing this by the seat of my pants, so this is very much a work in progress. Where the instructions are particular to Mac Book Pro, they will be marked so, otherwise they describe setup for both PPC and Intel based Macs.

[edit] Compiling the Toochain

Get started by going to http://kegel.com/crosstool/crosstool-0.42/doc/crosstool-howto.html#mac. It has instructions for how to download and configure the toolchain to allow you to compile your applications under Mac OS X for the ARM9TDMI processor in the OSD.

The simplest thing to do is to download the script posted by Nikolaus Schaller found here

A few comments:

1. I ran the script the first time which downloads all the toolchain and starts building
2. I got compiler errors, fixed them, and ran the script again, this time adding -nounpack to the command line, so files would not be re-downloaded.
3. The end of the script creates a test program on the fly, but which did not compile, so I modified to say "Hello Duck" and sent it off to the OSD on a USB disk and it ran successfully.

I built for gcc-3.4.1 with glibc-2.3.3. I hope this lasts somehow.. I had no intention of creating an image with these tools (i.e. to recompile the OS) and built only to make application development possible.

[edit] Connecting to the OSD

In order to see and interact with the OSD's console, you'll need a serial communications program. The OSD doesn't come with a USB to serial connection, so you'll have to pick up a USB to serial adapter with OSX drivers. I am using the USB-2920 from Cables Unlimited. Download the drivers and install them. I needed to reboot, but I may have done something wrong. Click here for instructions for "Cables To Go" cable.

Next, determine the name of the serial device you connected the OSD to. On my mac, the driver created a device called /dev/tty.usbserial-FTCW6PSE. Now, if you're using a non-Intel based Mac, you can install minicom using Fink and follow the normal instructions. (If you don't have Fink, an alternative is to open a terminal window and type in the following: 'sudo port install minicom'. This will download Minicom from http://www.darwinports.com/)

[edit] Configuring ZTerm to Talk to the OSD

However, minicom doesn't run on the new intel based macs.

(note: minicom does work beautifully on Intel Macs... try the darwinports build)

I found another terminal application called Zterm and I will be using that. Note: ZTerm is not free, though I am unsure what the demo limitations are. if anyone can find another minicom replaced, I'd be glad to hear about it.

1. Download and install ZTerm for OSX.
2. Launch ZTerm.
3. Configure ZTerm to connect to the /dev/tty device. In my case, it's /dev/tty.usbserial-FTCW6PSE
4. Bring up the "Connection" window ( Apple-E ). Set the following parameters:
   1. Data Rate = 115200
   2. Data Bits = 8
   3. Parity = None
   4. Stop Bits = 1
   5. Uncheck Xon/Xoff & Hardware Handshake Flow Control options
5. Click 'Ok'
6. Click 'File->Transfer Connect' and select 'Text'.
7. Power up your OSD and you should now be seeing debug messages in your 'Local' ZTerm window.