3. Getting Started

Owned by Adam Czajkowski
Last updated: Feb 10, 2023
5 min read


FlashPro-M or GangPro-M Programmer package contains:

  1. One FlashPro-M or GangPro-M programming adapter.

  2. One 6 feet long USB-A to USB-B cable.

  3. FlashPro-M programmer allows to program one target device from one adapter.

  4. GangPro-M programmer allows to program up to six(6) target devices from one adapter.

  5. FPA to M 14-pin to 20-pin adapter (PE036X01) and ribbon cable.

  6. Programming software can be installed by downloading the M package from: https://www.elprotronic.com/pages/downloads

  7. A GangSplitter-ARM can be optionally purchased to provide the hardware connections to connect six JTAG/SWD cables to one adapter. GangSplitter-ARM product: https://www.elprotronic.com/products/gangsplitter-arm layout: GANG_ARM_Splitter.pdf

  8. Customizable sockets that can program raw chips are also available here: https://www.elprotronic.com/collections/universal-socket-boards

The FlashPro-M/GangPro-M software runs under Windows (x86/x64) and Linux (amd64/armhf). Follow instructions below to install the software:

  1. Download Windows installer (M-win.zip), Ubuntu Linux installer (M-amd64.tgz), or Raspbian Linux installer (M-armhf.tgz)

  2. For Linux installation, follow included README.txt file which will provide instructions on how to run .deb auto installer package.

  3. For Windows, run setup.exe and the setup wizard appears automatically. Click Install to begin the process.

  4. Once the installation program starts, on-screen instructions will guide you through the remainder of the installation. You must accept the license agreement before using this software.

3.1 Driver Installation

 

The Linux installation relies on the default libusb-1.0 packages that can be installed using apt.

The Windows installation will install the Elprotronic USB driver files in Windows directories "Windows\inf" and "Windows\system32\drivers".

  1. Plug in the FlashPro-M/GangPro-M Programmer to the PC USB Port, using provided cable extender (USB-A to USB-B).

  2. For Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10. The "New hardware has been found - USB-FPA-BOOT" window should be displayed. Follow wizard instructions to install the drivers.

    1. In the first Wizard dialog screen (see Figure 3.1) select the "Yes, this time only" option.


      Figure 3.1: New Hardware Wizard, step 1. Select "Yes, this time only."

    2. In the second Wizard dialog screen (see Figure 3.2) select the "Install the software automatically (Recommended)" option and press NEXT button.


      Figure 3.2: New Hardware Wizard, step 2. Select "Install the software automatically.

    3. Software will search for the USB-FPA-BOOT driver. It can take a few minutes to find the necessary files. When the driver is found then the following warning will be displayed (Figure 3.3).


      Figure 3.3: New Hardware Wizard, step 3. Ignore this warning.

    4. Ignore this message and press button "Continue Anyway". The first USB-FPA-BOOT driver should be installed and the following message will be displayed (Figure 3.4).


      Figure 3.4: New Hardware Wizard, step 4. USB-FPA-BOOT driver installed.

    5. Press the "Finish" button.


      Figure 3.5: New Hardware Wizard, step5. USB-FPA (Elprotronic) driver installed.

      After a few seconds, a second "New hardware" window will appear regarding the adapter with the name (Elprotronic). Repeat procedures described above to install the Elprotronic driver (see Figure 3.5). If for any reason the wizard cannot find the USB driver's location then use the manual browse option to locate driver files in the software directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Elprotronic\Drivers USB-FPA\XP,Vista,Win-7,8,10".
      For Windows 2000, 98-SE, ME. The "New hardware has been found" window will be displayed instead. Follow wizard instructions to install the drivers.

      1. Press "Next" when the Device Wizard Driver screen appears.

      2. Select the following option on the wizard screen: select a suitable driver for my device (recommended) and press "Next".

      3. Select the third option – "Specify a location" for a location of the driver files.

      4. In the application software directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Elprotronic\Drivers USB-FPAnW2K, W98SE, WinME" and press "Next".

      5. Driver installation process will start.

  3. Driver installation procedures should be done twice to install two USB drivers - the Boot driver and the Application driver.

  4. Reboot computer if necessary.

3.2 Hardware Setup


Connect programmer to target device:

  1. Connect the programming adapter to the PC USB Port or via USB-HUB using provided cable extender (USB-A to USB-B) (see Figure 3.6).

  2. Plug in 14-pin ribbon cable to FlashPro-M programmer and then the M 14-pin to 20-pin adapter (PN: PE036X01) to the end of the ribbon cable. Connect target device to the 20-pin end of the adapter. Make sure that pin 1 on your device board's header is connected to pin 1 of the socket connector (red cable).

Figure 3.6: Hardware setup, cable connections.

3.3 Starting up FlashPro-M/GangPro-M Programmer

 

To start the FlashPro-M Programmer click on the FlashPro-M icon. Once started, the software will attempt to access the programming adapter. If no error messages appear then the software has initialized without a problem and you may begin using it. However, if the programming adapter is not detected an error message will appear. To correct the problem, make sure that the connection cable is properly attached and the USB driver is installed. Several warning messages regarding a mismatch between flash size and code file size may appear, but you can ignore them at this point. They are designed to warn the user before attempting to program a code file that is too large for a selected target device type. These warning messages are relevant after you have selected your desired MCU device type and code file, since code outside of flash will not be programmed.

3.4 FlashPro-M/GangPro-M Programmer Selector

 

The FlashPro-M/GangPro-M Programmer software has a Multi-USB feature. Up to 64 programming adapters can be connected to one PC. Each adapter can be controlled by a separate instance of the programming software application. Up to 64 applications can be opened at the same time. Each application can have independent setup from the others (code file, controlled microcontroller type etc.).
When more than one programmer is connected to a PC, then each time you start the programmer application a selector dialog screen will appear (see Figure 3.7). The dialog screen will list all adapters connected and allow you to choose the adapter you wish the application to control. Make sure that the selected FPA is not used by another opened application. The selected FPA's serial number will be displayed on the left side of the selector dialog screen if connected over USB, and on the right side of the selector dialog screen if connected and found over Ethernet. The ethernet option is only available for the XStreamPro-Iso adapter.
When the Multi-FPA API-DLL is used, then all adapters can be controlled from one software application.

Figure 3.7: Adapter selector. When one or more programmers are connected to the computer at once, the FPA selector allows the user to choose which programmer to operate.