BusPirate

The Bus Pirate is a rather inexpensive debugging tool that can be used to flash bootloaders. In general, this is what is used in actual manufacturing. Unfortunately, while the device is inexpensive, additional parts are required that are somewhat pricey (if you want to use the 10 pin Tag Connect header).

There are two main versions of the Bus Pirate. Make, in general this wiki deals with the Spark Fun variant. (The other variants will still work, but some connectors may need to be reversed)

Parts v2

• 1x Bus Pirate
• 1x USB 2.0 Mini-B Cable
• 1x TC2050-IDC Cable
• Custom Adapter
  • 1x Input Club Tag-Connect SWD/JTAG Adapter v2
  • 1-2x Male keyed ribbon connector
  • 1-2x Female keyed ribbon connector

Note: You may optionally solder multiple connectors if you want to support more than one buspirate and/or JTAG and SWD.

Assembly

Old v3 Bus Pirate (SparkFun)

SWD JTAG

v3.6 Bus Pirate

Example with only JTAG connector soldered (SWD is also supported) JTAG

Features

• SWD and JTAG (require separate plugs)
• Can be configured as a UART (Output only) bridge to read debug messages using the SWD plug
• Tested working on Windows/Linux/Mac

Parts v1

You should try to use the v2 adapter if possible, supports jtag

• 1x Bus Pirate
• 1x USB 2.0 Mini-B Cable
• 1x TC2050-IDC Cable
• Custom Adapter
  • 1x Kiibohd Tag-Connect SWD Adapter
  • 1x Male keyed ribbon connector
  • 1x Female right-angle keyed ribbon connector

Assembly

Old v3 Bus Pirate (SparkFun)

v3.6 Bus Pirate

Note: The key'd connector is flipped in comparison to the v3

Features

• SWD Only
• Can be configured as a UART (Output only) bridge to read debug messages
• Tested working on Windows/Linux/Mac

Notes

• Arch Linux usage details