Getting Started with FRDM-KW41Z

These steps show how to:

1. Load and build the demo application in IAR Embedded Workbench.

2. Download and run the demo application.

The example used below is for the Generic FSK Connectivity Test demo, but these steps can be applied to any of the Wireless Connectivity demo applications.

1. Load and build the application demo

1. Navigate to the Connectivity Test IAR workspace (located at \boards\frdmkw41z\wireless_examples\genfsk\connectivity_test_genfsk\FreeRTOS\iar)

   

2. After the workspace is open, select the project.

   

3. Click the Make button to build the project.

   

2. Download and Run the application demo

1. Connect your FRDM-KW41Z board to your PC.

2. Click on the Download and Debug button (green arrow located on the toolbar).

   

3. Once the project has loaded, the debugger should stop at main(). Open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port.
   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

4. Click the Go button to resume operation.

   

5. The following output will be displayed in the serial terminal.

   

   If you don't see this output, verify your terminal settings and connections.

6. Refer to \docs\wireless\GENFSK\Generic FSK Link Layer Quick Start Guide.pdf – "Kinetis MKW41Z Generic FSK Link Layer Software" document for more information on this demo application.

1. Import the MCUXpresso SDK

1. Open up the MCUXpresso IDE

2. Switch to the Installed SDKs view within the MCUXpresso IDE window

   

3. Open Windows Explorer, and drag and drop the FRDM-KW41Z SDK (unzipped) file into the Installed SDKs view.

4. You will get the following pop-up. Click on OK to continue the import:

   

5. The installed SDK will appear in the Installed SDKs view as shown below:

   

2. Build an Example Application

The following steps will guide you through opening the GenFSK example.

1. Find the Quickstart Panel in the lower left-hand corner

   

2. Then click on Import SDK examples(s)…

   

3. Click on the frdmKW41Z board to select that you want to import an example that can run on that board, and then click on Next.

   

4. Use the arrow button to expand the wireless_examples category, and then under the genfsk category expand the connectivity_test project and select the freertos version of project. To use the UART for printing (instead of the default semihosting), clear the “Enable semihost” checkbox under the project options. Then, click on Next.

   

5. On the Advanced Settings wizard, clear the checkbox “Redirect SDK “PRINTF” to C library “printf”“ in order to use the MCUXpresso SDK console functions for printing instead of generic C library ones. Then click on Finish.

   

6. Now build the project by clicking on the project name and then in the Quickstart Panel click on Build.

   

7. You can see the status of the build in the Console tab.

   

3. Run an Example Application

1. Now that the project has been compiled, you can now flash it to the board and run it.

2. Make sure that the FRDM-KW41Z board is plugged in, and click in the Quickstart Panel click on Debug ‘frdmkw41z_wireless_examples_genfsk_connectivity_test_freertos’ [Debug]

   

3. MCUXpresso IDE will probe for connected boards and should find the JLink debug probe that is part of the integrated OpenSDA circuit on the FRDM-KW41Z. Click on OK to continue.

   

4. You may see the following message if this is your first debug with JLink of the day. Click on the checkbox at the bottom not to display the message again, and then click on Accept

   

5. The firmware will be downloaded to the board and the debugger started

   

6. Hit the terminate icon to stop the debugger.

   

7. Now disconnect the board, and connect the second FRDM-KW41Z board. Follow the same debugger steps to flash the connectivity software to that board so that both boards have the same firmware on them.

8. Now with both boards connected, open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port for each board.
   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

9. Hit the reset button on both boards

10. The following output will be displayed in each of the two serial terminals.

    

11. Refer to \docs\wireless\GENFSK\Generic FSK Link Layer Quick Start Guide.pdf – "Kinetis MKW41Z Generic FSK Link Layer Software" document for more information on this demo application.

These steps show how to:

1. Load and build the demo application in IAR Embedded Workbench.
2. Download and run the demo application.

The example used below is for the SMAC Connectivity Test demo, but these steps can be applied to any of the Wireless Connectivity demo applications.

1. Load and build the application demo

1. Navigate to the Connectivity Test IAR workspace (located at \boards\frdmkw41z\wireless_examples\smac\connectivity_test\FreeRTOS\iar)

   

2. After the workspace is open, select the project.

   

3. Click the Make button to build the project.

   

2. Download and Run the application demo

1. Connect your FRDM-KW41Z board to your PC.

2. Click on the Download and Debug button (green arrow located on the toolbar).

   

3. Once the project has loaded, the debugger should stop at main(). Open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port.

   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

4. Click the Go button to resume operation.

   

5. The following output will be displayed in the serial terminal.

   

   If you don’t see this output, verify your terminal settings and connections.

6. Refer to \docs\wireless\SMAC\MKW41Z SMAC Demo Applications User's Guide.pdf – "MKW41Z SMAC Demo Applications User's Guide" document for instructions on how to run all the demo applications.

1. Import the MCUXpresso SDK

1. Open up the MCUXpresso IDE

2. Switch to the Installed SDKs view within the MCUXpresso IDE window

   

3. Open Windows Explorer, and drag and drop the FRDM-KW41Z SDK (unzipped) file into the Installed SDKs view.

4. You will get the following pop-up. Click on OK to continue the import:

   

5. The installed SDK will appear in the Installed SDKs view as shown below:

   

2. Build an Example Application

The following steps will guide you through opening the SMAC example.

1. Find the Quickstart Panel in the lower left-hand corner

   

2. Then click on Import SDK examples(s)…

   

3. Click on the frdmKW41Z board to select that you want to import an example that can run on that board, and then click on Next.

   

4. Use the arrow button to expand the wireless_examples category, and then under the SMAC category expand the connectivity_test project and select the freertos version of project. To use the UART for printing (instead of the default semihosting), clear the “Enable semihost” checkbox under the project options. Then, click on Next.

   

5. On the Advanced Settings wizard, clear the checkbox “Redirect SDK “PRINTF” to C library “printf”“ in order to use the MCUXpresso SDK console functions for printing instead of generic C library ones. Then click on Finish.

   

6. Now build the project by clicking on the project name and then in the Quickstart Panel click on Build.

   

7. You can see the status of the build in the Console tab.

   

3. Run an Example Application

1. Now that the project has been compiled, you can now flash it to the board and run it.

2. Make sure that the FRDM-KW41Z board is plugged in, and click in the Quickstart Panel click on Debug ‘frdmkw41z_wireless_examples_smac_connectivity_test_freertos’ [Debug]

   

3. MCUXpresso IDE will probe for connected boards and should find the JLink debug probe that is part of the integrated OpenSDA circuit on the FRDM-KW41Z. Click on OK to continue.

   

4. You may see the following message if this is your first debug with JLink of the day. Click on the checkbox at the bottom not to display the message again, and then click on Accept

   

5. The firmware will be downloaded to the board and the debugger started

   

6. Hit the terminate icon to stop the debugger.

   

7. Now disconnect the board, and connect the second FRDM-KW41Z board. Follow the same debugger steps to flash the connectivity software to that board so that both boards have the same firmware on them.

8. Now with both boards connected, open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port for each board.
   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

9. Hit the reset button on both boards

10. The following output will be displayed in each of the two serial terminals.

    

    If you don’t see this output, verify your terminal settings and connections.

11. Refer to \docs\wireless\SMAC\MKW41Z SMAC Demo Applications User's Guide.pdf – "MKW41Z SMAC Demo Applications User's Guide" document for instructions on how to run all the demo applications.

The following steps will guide you through creating a simple Thread network.. A hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread project will be loaded onto the 1st board so that the board can be controlled via a Bluetooth smartphone application, while a Thread-only project will be loaded onto the 2nd board and controlled via a serial terminal.

1. Build a Hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread Application

1. Navigate to the Hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy Thread Router workspace (located at \boards\frdmkw41z\wireless_examples\hybrid\ble_thread_router_wireless_uart\freertos\iar)

   

2. After the workspace is open, select the project.

   

3. Click the Make button to build the project.

   

2. Download and Run the application demo

1. Connect the first FRDM-KW41Z board to your PC.

2. Click on the Download and Debug button (green arrow located on the toolbar).

   

3. You may see the following message if this is your first debug with JLink of the day. Click on the checkbox at the bottom not to display the message again, and then click on Accept

   

4. The firmware will be downloaded to the board and the debugger started.

5. Right now we only want to load the firmware to the first board, so hit the terminate icon to stop the debugger.

   

3. Download the Thread router application demo to 2nd board

The Hybrid board needs a Thread node to communicate with, so Thread firmware needs to be loaded onto the second board. The Router Eligible End Device project will be loaded onto board #2.

1. Unplug the first FRDM-KW41Z board and plug-in the second FRDM-KW41Z board to your PC

2. Navigate to the Router Eligible End Device project workspace (located at \boards\frdmkw41z\wireless_examples\thread\router_eligible_device\freertos\iar)

   

3. Build and flash the Router Eligible End Device demo using the same steps as before so that the 2nd FRDM-KW41Z has the thread_router firmware loaded onto it.

4. Stop the debugger.

   

4. Run the hybrid demo

1. Open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port that has the thread_router_eligible project firmware on it (board #2)

   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

2. Hit the Reset button on board #2, which can be found near where the USB cable is plugged in. You should see the following on the terminal:

   

3. Plug-in board #1 that has the Hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread firmware loaded on it, so that both boards are now connected.

4. Open the Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox application on your mobile device and click on the Thread Shell function.

   

5. The Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox application should start scanning and find the FRDM-KW41Z board (NXP_THR). Select the NXP_THR device

   

6. The Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox should now be connected to the device. Using the keyboard on your mobile app that appears, you can type commands to the FRDM-KW41Z device. Type “help” to see the list of possible commands. Outputs from the FRDM-KW41Z board should appear in the app as well.

   

7. Start a new Thread network by typing “thr create” or by selecting that command in the Shortcuts menu

   

8. Inside the TeraTerm connectionto the second board (that is just running Thread), join this new network by typing “thr join”.

9. Take note of the ML64 address listed in the terminal for R2 by typing “ifconfig”

10. Inside the smartphone app terminal, type in the command to toggle the LED.

    “coap CON POST /led toggle”

    

11. Refer to \docs\wireless\Thread\Kinetis Thread Stack Demo Applications User's Guide.pdf document for more information on this demo application.

The following steps will guide you through creating a simple Thread network.. A hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread project will be loaded onto the 1st board so that the board can be controlled via a Bluetooth smartphone application, while a Thread-only project will be loaded onto the 2nd board and controlled via a serial terminal.

1. Import the MCUXpresso SDK

1. Open up the MCUXpresso IDE

2. Switch to the Installed SDKs view within the MCUXpresso IDE window

   

3. Open Windows Explorer, and drag and drop the FRDM-KW41Z SDK (unzipped) file into the Installed SDKs view.

4. You will get the following pop-up. Click on OK to continue the import:

   

5. The installed SDK will appear in the Installed SDKs view as shown below:

   

2. Build a Hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread Application

The following steps will guide you through opening the hybrid example. This project will be loaded to one board, while another project will be loaded on the 2nd board.

1. Find the Quickstart Panel in the lower left-hand corner

   

2. Then click on Import SDK examples(s)…

   

3. Click on the frdmKW41Z board to select that you want to import an example that can run on that board, and then click on Next.

   

4. Use the arrow button to expand the wireless_examples category, and then under the hybrid category expand the ble_thread_router_wireless_uart project and select the freertos version of project. To use the UART for printing (instead of the default semihosting), clear the “Enable semihost” checkbox under the project options. Then, click on Next.

   

5. On the Advanced Settings wizard, clear the checkbox “Redirect SDK “PRINTF” to C library “printf”“ in order to use the MCUXpresso SDK console functions for printing instead of generic C library ones. Then click on Finish.

   

6. Now build the project by clicking on the project name and then in the Quickstart Panel click on Build.

   

7. You can see the status of the build in the Console tab.

   

3. Download the hybrid application demo to the 1^st board

1. Now that the project has been compiled, you can now flash it to the board and run it.

2. Make sure that the FRDM-KW41Z board is plugged in, and click in the Quickstart Panel click on Debug ‘frdmkw41z_wireless_examples_hybrid_ble_thread_router_wireless_uart_freertos’ [Debug]

   

3. MCUXpresso IDE will probe for connected boards and should find the JLink debug probe that is part of the integrated OpenSDA circuit on the FRDM-KW41Z. Click on OK to continue.

   

4. You may see the following message if this is your first debug with JLink of the day. Click on the checkbox at the bottom not to display the message again, and then click on Accept

   

5. The firmware will be downloaded to the board and the debugger started

   

6. Right now we only want to load the firmware to the first board, so hit the terminate icon to stop the debugger.

   

4. Download the Thread router application demo to 2^nd board

The Hybrid board needs a Thread node to communicate with, so Thread firmware needs to be loaded onto the second board. The Router Eligible End Device project will be loaded onto board #2.

1. Unplug the first FRDM-KW41Z board and plug-in the second FRDM-KW41Z board to your PC

2. Import the wireless_demos->thread->router_eligible_device->freertos demo using the same steps as you did for the hybrid demo.

   

3. Build and load the end device demo using the same steps as before so that the 2nd FRDM-KW41Z has the thread_router firmware on it.

4. Stop the debugger.

   

5. Run the hybrid demo

1. Open a Terminal Emulator program and open a session to your FRDM-KW41Z COM port that has the thread_router_eligible project firmware on it (board #2)

   Configure the terminal with these settings:

   • 115200 baud rate
   • No parity
   • 8 data bits
   • 1 stop bit

2. Hit the Reset button on board #2, which can be found near where the USB cable is plugged in. You should see the following on the terminal:

   

3. Plug-in board #1 that has the Hybrid Bluetooth Low Energy+Thread firmware loaded on it, so that both boards are now connected.

4. Open the Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox application on your mobile device and click on the Thread Shell function.

   

5. The Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox application should start scanning and find the FRDM-KW41Z board (NXP_THR). Select the NXP_THR device

   

6. The Kinetis Bluetooth Low Energy Toolbox should now be connected to the device. Using the keyboard on your mobile app that appears, you may type commands to the FRDM-KW41Z device. Type “help” to see the list of possible commands. Outputs from the FRDM-KW41Z board should appear in the app as well.

   

7. Start a new Thread network by typing “thr create” or by selecting that command in the Shortcuts menu

   

8. Inside the TeraTerm connectionto the second board (that is just running Thread), join this new network by typing “thr join”.

9. Take note of the ML64 address listed in the terminal for R2 by typing “ifconfig”

10. Inside the smartphone app terminal, type in the command to toggle the LED.
    “coap CON POST /led toggle”

    

11. Refer to \docs\wireless\Thread\Kinetis Thread Stack Demo Applications User's Guide.pdf document for more information on this demo application.