PDQLogic QTrace STM32Eval Quick Start Manual

QTrace STM32Eval Kit - Quick Start Guide
This application note gives a quick introduction to the QTrace system and will outline the steps required
to begin evaluating it in minutes.

1. Overview

QTrace is a low cost instruction trace system for ARM Cortex M3/M4 based processors. It gives an
exceptional insight into how a target application is running and aids locating hard-to-find bugs. The
system consists of a hardware trace probe and a Windows based trace analyser application.
As well as a QTrace probe, the kit includes a STM32Eval demonstrator board to showcase the capabilities
of the QTrace system out-of-the-box. The board is based on an ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller, a
STM32F446 from ST Microelectronics, which has an ETM trace interface connecting to a 20 way trace
connector. The STM32F446 comes pre-loaded with a USB FLASH disk application that configures the trace
interface hardware and then provides USB access to the onboard Micro-SD card. The application is built
using the free 'Atollic TrueSTUDIO for STM32' V9.2 IDE, see https://atollic.com/.
This quick start guide does not require TrueSTUDIO to be installed or any additional hardware to be
connected. The only prerequisite is a 64-bit Windows 7/8/10 PC with two USB ports, one of which must
be USB 3.0. The QTrace Analyser and the FLASH disk project plus source files are all included as an
installer on the USB FLASH disk.

2. In the box

The following components are included in the QTrace-STM32 kit:

QTrace probe

STM32Eval demonstrator board

10 way 0.05" to 20 way 0.1" JTAG/SWD converter board

20 way splitter ribbon cable

USB 3.0 Type A to Micro-B cable

USB 2.0 Type A to Mini-B cable
QTrace Application Note 001 Copyright © 2019 PDQLogic Ltd
Application Note 001
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