Semi-permanent lookup tables

[ngkdc]

Good evening all,

I'm trying to develop a lookup table (actually a calibration table for the ServoPod's 16 ADC channels) that can be read on startup to get the current calibration values. I also want access to each of these values (to change them) when I recalibrate. I really don't want to have to reload the application after editing values each time a calibration is required. Further, I can't simply update the variable because a power loss will cause any change to be lost.

I've noticed that the EEAVAIL number doesn't appear to change from freshly scrubbed to fully loaded ... is this a viable option? If so, how would I go about creating variables (floating point no less) in this space, and then writing and reading? I think I've gotten everything else figured out ... calibration routines and so on ... just need a push in the right direction on non-volatile writes and reads. Once I have this ability, my program will fetch the calibration data and load my regular program variables. Recalibration will include a restart so the new values get grabbed!

I had wrestled with the ADC on the ServoPod ... and have some solutions to write up (pending approval from my boss).

Regards,


Rick

[RMDumse]

Seems you might be right, so we are investigating.

[nmitech]

Hi Rick,
Here is the info from our lead programmer regarding to EEVAIL word,

This is normal behavior. EEAVAIL never changes because our
kernel now does not use Data Flash ROM.

A very old version of the IsoPod kernel did use Data Flash for the
dictionary. We keep EDP and EEAVAIL in the kernel for application
programmers who want to use them, but we don't use EDP ourselves. The
only thing we use Data Flash ROM for these days is the SAVE-RAM image,
and this doesn't affect EEAVAIL.


We will add this info on the IsoMax document next time we update.

[ngkdc]

Well, I worked it all out. I've gotten the documentation down to 8 pages, but it does cover the range of Pods. I'll e-mail it to you guys and let you sift through it and publish it. The only thing I can't make happen is to have my data remain through a flash. I did look at the configuration file for the flash utility, and believe that the User Data Flash CAN be left alone if a value is changed ... but I'm going to let you guys take a look at that. Quite frankly, if I'm upgrading the firmware, I really need to recalibrate anyway!

Thanks for the encouragement, and all the help throughout my projects!


Warmest regards,


Rick

[ngkdc]

Another thought is to submit this to Circuit Cellar as the first of quite a few "Using The IsoPod" articles. Of course, this means I'll need to clean it a bit more, and add photos, screen shots, etc ... but hey, that's kinda fun when the problems have been resolved!


Warmest regards,


Rick

[ngkdc]

I've attached an 8-page PDF tutorial on working with User Data Flash to store system parameters that will withstand a reset, reboot, scrub, AND firmware flash (assuming the User Data Flash area doesn't change in subsequent versions).

I'd appreciate your comments and feedback. Feel free to add this to your download page. If you want/need the WORD document (if you see a need to edit), please let me know.

Regards,


Rick