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Matthew Eshleman (@MatthewEshleman)

Matthew loves to bring electronic devices to life through the magic and discipline of embedded software architecture, development, and engineering. With 20+ years of software and firmware development experience, Matthew has run the gamut, solving software problems in complex high volume consumer electronics to tiny, but deceptively complex, microcontroller based devices. More details here: Matthew Eshleman Consulting

Re: FAT32 SD card support in Embedded Systems

Reply posted 1 year ago (02/21/2023)
Yes, I've encountered this too. In my case the product was using embedded Linux, so we just enabled the additional filesystem in our kernel setup, etc, and then...

Re: Advice on Re-schooling?

Reply posted 2 years ago (03/03/2022)
I agree with Jacob:  C skills are still valuable and useful.Beyond what others note, if considering self employment, look for a firm or two to help bring you...

Re: How to build a network of tiny micros?

Reply posted 2 years ago (02/08/2022)
Those RGB LED strips are great, and a good example here.I played around with those here:https://github.com/mattheweshleman/FreeRTOSEsp32Ac...Modeling the LEDs like...

Re: How to build a network of tiny micros?

Reply posted 2 years ago (02/07/2022)
Many years ago, actually my first professional firmware effort, involved a 9bit serial multidrop bus communication design.It was nice, because the first byte would...

Re: Wifi module prefered interface

Reply posted 2 years ago (10/08/2021)
Echo what 'hodgec' stated. I've used both in multiple projects. The AT commands can be OK, but there are always limitations and depends upon what application functionality...

Re: Why CRC with EPROM?

Reply posted 3 years ago (06/27/2021)
jmford94 and others have given the primary reasons. Other items/raw notes not explicitly noted:Using a CRC or other checksum (I personally use one per logical grouping...

Re: Communication protocol suggestions

Reply posted 3 years ago (03/22/2021)
I've seen something similar with SPI, which is probably what I would try to use today on first glance, mainly because it is nice to have the master provide the clock,...

Re: What are the odds? (Random Numbers)

Reply posted 3 years ago (02/01/2021)
...

Re: How do you test Ethernet? (Manufacturing)

Reply posted 3 years ago (12/08/2020)
Thank you, good to know! Do you know of any good description of using/performing the external loop back test?

Re: How do you test Ethernet? (Manufacturing)

Reply posted 3 years ago (12/08/2020)
Good to know, thank you!

How do you test Ethernet? (Manufacturing)

New thread started 3 years ago
Hi all,During manufacturing, I am curious how different groups test Ethernet interfaces on their embedded products (when applicable), such as 1000BASE-T.Is testing...

Re: Assert() If You Test Pre/Post Conditions

Reply posted 3 years ago (11/13/2020)
I don't have a specific recommendation on assert friendly frameworks. Chances are you might need a build option to replace the standard assert with a macro that...

Re: Assert() If You Test Pre/Post Conditions

Reply posted 3 years ago (11/05/2020)
Hi Daniel,TDD is an excellent tool to add to your engineering skill set. I personally love it.I think for most consumer grade firmware/software projects with typical...

Re: So, You Want to be an Engineering Manager?

Reply posted 3 years ago (10/03/2020)
My boss back in my Toshiba days was a good example of an excellent engineering manager. I even wrote an example of his style here:https://covemountainsoftware.com/2016/11/07/it-mak...Basically:Hire...

Re: How to Get and Keep a Job

Reply posted 3 years ago (09/24/2020)
One of our standard interview questions (not my idea) was:"What would you say if I told you that you are not qualified for this position?"And it was always our last...

Re: Energy managment

Reply posted 4 years ago (08/25/2020)
Gains power through what source? Solar? Electric? How often? How long must the system operate without a recharge? Worst case time periods? I'm not a battery expert,...

Re: Advice on resetting local function variables

Reply posted 4 years ago (06/28/2020)
'waydan' beat me to it, that is exactly what I was going to refer you to too... my example code would be nicely aligned to Samek's section 1 on Encapsulation.Good...

Re: Advice on resetting local function variables

Reply posted 4 years ago (06/27/2020)
Hi, Anytime we put a static variable inside a function, we are creating two issues:A possible thread safety issue, if the method/function was to ever be used in...

Re: To Cast, or Not to Cast

Reply posted 4 years ago (06/26/2020)
The compiler will do it automatically. This topic is about integer promotion rules and implicit type conversions, which are involved, but for the most part follow...

Re: To Cast, or Not to Cast

Reply posted 4 years ago (06/26/2020)
I haven't used the Arduino tools in many years. Check the project's compiler settings. It likely compiled fine due to the lack of enabled warnings as errors.  uint32_t...

Re: To Cast, or Not to Cast

Reply posted 4 years ago (06/26/2020)
Is this C or C++ (I'm assuming C)?Is this a 16bit or 32bit platform? (i.e. what is the size of the int)So, for example, if I try to compile that code for gcc MSP430,...

Re: Software Bugs

Reply posted 4 years ago (05/27/2020)
Feasible: Maybe.Economical: Doubtful.It would have more bugs, since more lines of code would be required. Note the second bullet point.Via:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcyb1lpEHm0&t=825sBest...
I would "second" 'sdbranam's vote for Samek's solutions. I think pairing his QF framework with FreeRTOS will give you a great deal of flexibility.I've applied Samek's...

Re: Embedded Development Predictions for 2020-2029

Reply posted 4 years ago (01/09/2020)
Must generally predict more of the same, where same means:Mostly C code based projects (55-70%) (sigh)Fragmented as it has been. Because each product, business...

Re: Digital PID controller in velocity form

Reply posted 5 years ago (08/09/2019)
I would second mr_bandit's advice.I recently implemented a PID controller with many of the features you mention, but it is owned by my client. But, one thing I did,...

Re: Todo List: Improvements to the Related Sites

Reply posted 5 years ago (05/02/2019)
My vote is for:User profile (show some info - short bio for example - when clicking on a username)Especially in comments on a blog, it is confusing for me to have...

Re: self-learning embedded curriculum

Reply posted 5 years ago (09/19/2018)
Hello!Samek has an extensive YouTube series that may be helpful, although I haven't personally viewed them. See here.However, Samek's books have been very influential...

Re: Wanting to get back into Embedded Systems

Reply posted 6 years ago (05/10/2018)
>> 1. What are the popular processors today; I'm thinking ArmMy opinion: the most popular processor is the processor the customer has already decided upon...

Re: Bit error rate (bit off topic)

Reply posted 6 years ago (03/01/2018)
BER for what particular device or communication scheme or ?? How are you testing and measuring?I spent many many many hours doing BER testing for various RF digital...
With a son of mine currently in college, I have to ask: since when do universities worry about costs?   :-)Silliness aside, it can be very tempting to specify...
The volatile keyword is certainly important for any embedded software or firmware engineer to understand. For many years this was a key question I would ask during...
Tough subject! I would say the recipe for selecting a microcontroller involves mixing: one part: business one part: art one part: resources on hand two parts:...

Re: Multi-language support

Reply posted 7 years ago (09/04/2017)
Another possibility is to maintain all strings in a spreadsheet, write a macro or two in the spreadsheet to export all the strings with unique enumerated values...

Re: Azure IoT Hub UDP Implementation (NB-IoT)

Reply posted 7 years ago (07/19/2017)
Interesting, thanks. NB-IoT is supposed to achieve most of its power savings from the "narrow band LTE" physical/cell layer, it seems strange to restrict support...

Re: Azure IoT Hub UDP Implementation (NB-IoT)

Reply posted 7 years ago (07/19/2017)
There are many options here. I've worked with several GSM modules, which one is this?For example, MQTT is very light weight and requires a TCP socket, so might be...

Re: How to write professional looking test document ?

Reply posted 7 years ago (03/02/2017)
I'm not entirely sure by what is meant by "professionally". MS Word and/or Excel will certainly help a team author and track test cases just fine, but obviously...
Hi Tim,If I understand your concern, I agree with you: while(1) style loops that are just checking bit flags or event flag variables are problematic, and quickly...
Another point: consider a change in architecture.Instead of 3 tasks, perhaps reduce the architecture to a single task with with 3 freertos timer events feeding...
The mutex should be working.... chances are the code is still missing some location where the bit array is manipulated.If the code passes the bit array as a parameter...

Re: GSM-GPS Combined module.

Reply posted 7 years ago (02/04/2017)
I also worked with Telit cellular modules in the 2G and 3G families, some with and some without integrated GNSS (GPS). They work fine, but as noted, tend to be pricier. If...

Re: Quick Tip for the Embedded Systems Engineer

Reply posted 7 years ago (10/21/2016)
Use the compiler to catch your errors before running the code on the target. Create and use "static asserts" to catch common code maintenance issues during compile...

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