Please purchase or obtain the following items according to the timeline below. All items are required unless otherwise noted. I will provide each student group (2-3 students) or EOL student with a FRDM-KL25Z and an expansion shield with LCD to use for the semester.

Textbooks

Embedded Systems Fundamentals…, Alexander G. Dean, ISBN 1911531034, 1st Edition. Be sure to get the first (FRDM-KL25Z) edition, which targets the NXP KL25Z MCU and FRDM-KL25Z. Don’t get the second edition, which targets the ST Nucleo-F091RC. Downloadable PDF: Dean_ESF_FRDM_Book Errata (corrections) are located here.
Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems, David J. Agans, ISBN 9780814474570.

Equipment

• You are expected to have a digital multimeter and a logic analyzer (at least eight channels) and an oscilloscope (at least two channels). The multimeter is needed for general troubleshooting and measurements. You will use the logic analyzer and scope to view and decode I2C, SPI and serial communications, as well as view processor activity using twiddle bits, especially when using the real-time kernel and evaluating system responsiveness.
  • I strongly recommend purchasing your own Digilent Analog Discovery 2 (AD2). The expansion shield has been updated to plug directly into the AD2, greatly simplifying wiring set-up. The instructions in the labs, projects and demos all target the Digilent Analog Discovery 2. It is also used in other courses in the NCSU computer engineering curriculum (including ECE 461/561 and ECE 785). It is programmable in JavaScript and provides many other features as well: dual channel voltmeter, dual variable power supplies, dual waveform generators, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, data logger, impedance analyzer, stereo audio amplifier. The AD2 list price is $299, but if you register as a student with Digilent you can get the academic price of $199. Digilent recently introduced the Analog Discovery 3, which is an upgrade over the AD2. Improvements include USB-C interface, larger buffer, increased sampling rate, and higher current outputs. The prices for the AD3 are $379 and $249 (academic).
• If I were interviewing engineers for hiring, I’d start off by asking “Do you own a digital multimeter, logic analyzer and oscilloscope? Tell me about why you bought them and how you have used them. How have you used them outside of schoolwork?” That would help prioritize candidates.
  • Still not convinced? The test equipment is essential for getting real value out of the course (and making it a lot easier, too). You just can’t see how the system is really working without this kind of gear.
    • Think of it this way: a carpenter building a house would really do a bad job without basic tools to help measure accurately and cut precisely: a tape measure, a ruler, a yardstick, a level, a speed-square (to get right angles right quickly), a miter box/saw to cut things at correct angles, fences for saws to cut straight lines quickly, clamps for holding things while cutting them, et cetera. Would you hire someone to build you a house if he didn’t measure, but instead just “eyeballed” everything? If he estimated all the lengths and angles, and couldn’t consistently make accurate cuts?
    • It’s the same thing with embedded systems. We need to see when signals change and what data comes in and goes out, otherwise we’re shooting in the dark when we tweak the code! Trust me, you will be amazed by how you got by without the right tools.

Timeline for Material Purchases

Please obtain the materials early enough to meet this timeline:

• ESF textbook before start of classes
• Debugging textbook before week 4
• Test equipment (Scope, logic analyzer, DMM) before week 4