Blackhawk™ re-designed entry-level controller has more features, same price and FREE software IDE

Online, June 28, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Mount Laurel, N.J. -- (June 28, 2010) - Blackhawk™, a leading maker of digital signal processor (DSP) hardware and software development tools, today announced a new updated design of its low-cost entry level JTAG controller, the USB100v2. The USB100v2 is an XDS100-class controller compatible with a select group of TI's processors. At the writing of this release, the supported processors are the 32-bit ARM® Cortex™ and TMS320C28x™ MCUs as well as the TMS320C54x™, TMS320C55x™ and TMS320C674x DSPs. Support for these devices is included in Code Composer Studio™ (CCStudio) integrated development environment (IDE) version 4, which is available as a free download from TI's website.

The USB100v2 follows the Texas Instruments XDS100v2 reference design but adds several enhancements. Among the enhancements are a native 20-pin cTI target connection with included 14-pin TI adapter, status LED, detachable 5-inch cable and smaller size. The USB100v2 also has a high-speed (480Mb/s) USB host interface supplying the user with more than five times the performance boost during debug operations compared to full-speed products. Additional features include 1.8/3.3 volt device I/O support and CCStudio v4 support. CCStudio v4 is available for free from TI with use of this XDS100-class emulator.

Designed to be a low-cost alternative to the more expensive XDS510-class emulators, Blackhawk's implementation of the TI XDS100-class with the USB100v2 exceeds the features and performance of other similarly priced products. The Blackhawk USB100v2 has a big advantage in that it includes both 14-pin and 20-pin cTI (compact TI) JTAG header connections. This means that the USB100v2 eliminates the need to buy an adapter to interface to 14-pin target hardware. Other competing products do not provide both connections and therefore require an expensive adapter, which can double the cost.

Blackhawk has extensive experience with TI JTAG emulation since introducing the first USB Emulator for TI DSPs in 2001. Blackhawk JTAG Emulators cover the full-spectrum of emulation needs from a low-cost TMS320C2000™ MCU all the way up to the XDS560 Trace System. The USB100v2, as with all other Blackhawk products, is assembled and tested in the U.S. In addition, technical support and driver updates are free of charge and readily available from http://www.blackhawk-dsp.com/support.

Pricing and Availability

The $99 (MSP) Blackhawk USB100v2 Emulator is available for immediate delivery in the U.S. and Canada through Corelis, Ceritos, CA and Ultimate Solutions (USI), based in Tewksbury, Mass., and a worldwide network of industry resellers. Please visit www.blackhawk-dsp.com/resellers.aspx for a complete list.

About the Texas Instruments Developer Network

Blackhawk is a member of the TI Developer Network, a community of respected, well-established companies offering products and services based on TI analog and digital technology. The Network provides a broad range of end-equipment solutions, embedded software, engineering services and development tools that help customers accelerate innovation to make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun. For more information, please visit www.ti.com/dspdevnetwork.

About Blackhawk

Blackhawk™ is a brand of EWA Technologies, Inc., of Herndon, Virginia, that designs and builds hardware and software for the rapid development of DSP-based applications for a wide variety of vertical markets. Blackhawk™ is a TI DSP Third Party member and the first to develop a USB-based JTAG emulator for TI DSPs. For more information on Blackhawk, please visit http://www.blackhawk-dsp.com

Blackhawk is a trademark of EWA Technologies, Inc. Code Composer Studio, TMS320C54x, TMS320C55x, TMS320C28x and TMS320C2000 are trademarks of Texas Instruments. ARM is a trademark of ARM Holdings. Cortex is a trademark of ARM, Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners.

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