Projects Argon - SPI NOR flash reader & writer

Argon - SPI NOR flash reader & writer

This project consists of two boards: Argon and Benzene.

Argon is a SPI NOR flash programmer & reader. It's based on the FT2232H microcontroller (with two UARTs - A & B). The board has three LED indicators of data - on TX, RX and CS lines and some sockets to be able to plug in the logic analyzer. Version 1.0 of Argon is available in the releases section on my Github.

Benzene is a DIP-8/DIP-16 to Argon adapter. It includes mostly a few capacitors and resistors to allow SPI flash to run smoothly. There is also a 555 timer with LED indicator on CS line goldpins to attach the logic analyzer. Version 1.0 of Benzene is available in the releases section.

Repository

Project is open source and you can find it on Github:

Software

Argon driver is available in this repository. It can be used both with Argon board or any FTDI-based board with SPI flash attached. It was tested with N25Q, S25FL512S and Winbond W25Q flashes.

Software is available in two formats: as a manual command line interface (handy on flash debugging) and as a CLI created especially for automation.

Usage

Argon is meant to be used as SPI NOR flash reader & writer with:

  • Benzene & flash soldered to DIP-8/DIP-16 board adapter
  • Benzene & flash inside DIP-8/DIP-16 adapter
  • Benzene & clip with DIP-8/16 adapter to read or program flash placed on another board

It can be also used standalone as USB to UART/FIFO/I2C/SPI converter (all FTDI Mini Module functionalities in the nicer and more readable form).

You can find full schematics, code & designs in the Github repository. Enjoy!