Setup the Development Environment

Prepare the Software

This section explains how to prepare the software development environment for the SC-OBC Module A1.

Target Platform

This document targets Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64 systems.

You can use any of the following environments.

  • A PC with Ubuntu installed

  • A system container (e.g., Incus)

  • A virtual machine (e.g., QEMU, VirtualBox, VMware)

  • Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) (see TIP)

For Windows or macOS users, refer to the upstream Zephyr Getting Started Guide.

According to the Install dependencies section on the upstream Zephyr Getting Started Guide, firmware flashing from WSL is not supported. However, for the SC-OBC Module A1 Development Board, we have confirmed that flashing is possible on WSL. Detailed instructions for WSL user are provided in the Connect the Hardware section.

Install Required Dependencies

This section is mostly the same as Zephyr official documentation.

Update your system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Install dependencies

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends git cmake ninja-build gperf \
  ccache dfu-util device-tree-compiler wget \
  python3-dev python3-pip python3-setuptools python3-tk python3-wheel xz-utils file \
  make gcc gcc-multilib g++-multilib libsdl2-dev libmagic1

Get Zephyr and Python Requirements

Create your working directory

mkdir -p ~/myproject && cd ~/myproject

Install the Python venv package

sudo apt install python3-venv

Create a new virtual environment

python3 -m venv ~/myproject/.venv

Activate the virtual environment

source ~/myproject/.venv/bin/activate

Install the west

pip install west

Clone the SC-OBC Module A1 sample repository using west

cd ~/myproject
west init -m https://github.com/spacecubics/scobc-a1-sample
west update
west zephyr-export

Install the Python requirements

west packages pip --install

Install the Zephyr SDK

west sdk install

Install udev rules

Install the udev rules, which allow you to flash most Zephyr boards as a regular user.

sudo cp ~/zephyr-sdk-[VERSION]/sysroots/x86_64-pokysdk-linux/usr/share/openocd/contrib/60-openocd.rules \
        /etc/udev/rules.d
sudo udevadm control --reload

Install the OpenOCD related package

Install the packages required for flashing via OpenOCD.

sudo apt install libftdi1 libgpiod2 libhidapi-hidraw0 libcapstone4

Install the tio package

Although there are several tools available for working with a serial console, this document uses tio.

sudo apt install tio

Connect the Hardware

Before starting development, make sure you have the following components:

  • ✔️ SC-OBC Module A1

  • ✔️ SC-OBC Module A1 Development Board

  • ✔️ USB Micro-B Cable

  • ✔️ AC Adapter (5V/3.0A PL03B)

Refer to SC-OBC Module A1 Development Board Product Manual for detailed instructions on how to make the connection.

This document does not require a connection between the MPLAB PICkit and the Platform Cable USB II.

For WSL User

CON2 on the SC-OBC Module A1 Development Board is the USB Micro-B DEBUG interface and is connected to the onboard FT4232H USB interface. It provides FPGA JTAG, CPU JTAG, FPGA UART, and TRCH UART.

Use a USB cable to connect CON2 to your Windows PC, then attach it to WSL using Microsoft’s USB connection guide.

To attach the device to WSL, run usbipd list on Windows and identify the FTDI multi-port USB device for CON2 (VID:PID 0403:6011). You need the BUSID from this output for the usbipd bind and usbipd attach command. The device name may be truncated in the DEVICE column, but the VID:PID (0403:6011) is sufficient to identify it.

Example (BUSID may differ on your system):

PS C:\Users\user> usbipd list
Connected:
BUSID  VID:PID    DEVICE                                                        STATE
...
9-1    0403:6011  USB Serial Converter A, USB Serial Converter B, USB Seria...  Not shared

Attach the device to WSL using the BUSID shown by usbipd list:

usbipd bind --busid 9-1
usbipd attach --wsl --busid 9-1

After attaching, the serial ports appear in WSL as /dev/ttyUSB*.

We have confirmed that the west flash command takes longer to complete on WSL compared to native Linux. (65 KBytes writing: WSL - about 1 minute / Native Linux – about 20 seconds)

Check the DIP Switch status

To use the Zephyr console, bit3 (RX) and bit4 (TX) of DIP Switch (SW1) must be turned ON. If they are currently OFF, please switch them ON.

Power ON the SC-OBC Module A1 Development Board

Once all connections and checks have been completed, switch ON the power switch (SW2) on the Development Board to apply power.