2. TARGET HARDWARE DEBUGGING
Even though firmware is bug free embedded product
need not function as per expected behaviour.
This is because of dry soldering, missing connections,
un-noticed errors in PCB etc.
Debugging the target board is the only way to sort out
these issues.
3. Contd..
Hardware debugging involves
Monitoring various signals of target board.
Checking connection between components.
Circuit continuity checking.
4. Hardware debugging tools
Hardware debugging tools are
Magnifying Glass(Lens)
Multimeter
Digital CRO
Logic Analyzer
Function Generator
5. Magnifying Glass(lens)
It is a visual inspection tool.
Surface of target board can be examined for dry
soldering, improper soldering, track damage etc..
Magnifying station incorporates magnifying glass
attached to CFL tubes.
The station may incorporate multiple lens.
Main lens acts as visual inspection tool.
Other small lens is used for magnifying small area of
the board for thorough inspection.
6. Multimeter
Mutimeter is used for measuring various electrical
quantities.
Primary debugging tool for physical contact based
hardware debugging.
Mainly used for checking circuit continuity, signal
value, polarity, measuring supply voltage.
Both analog and digital versions are available.
Digital versions have better readability and accuracy.
7. Digital CRO
CRO is used for waveform capturing and analysis,
measurement of signal strength etc.
It is a very good tool in analysing interference noise in
power line and other signal lines.
They are available in both analog and digital form
Digital CROs are suitable for high frequency support
and best suited or target board debugging.
8. Logic analyzer
Used for capturing digital data from digital circuitry.
It contains special connectors and clips attached to
target board.
It captures states of various port pins, address bus and
data bus of target processor.
Logic analyzers give exact reflection of what happens
when the firmware is running.
9. Function generator
It is an input signal simulator tool.
It is capable of producing various periodic waveforms
like sine, square, sawtooth waves.
The waveforms are of different frequencies and
amplitudes.
In debugging environment, the function generator
serves the purpose of generating and supplying
required signals
