RX261 Evaluation Kit
Overview
The EK-RX261 is an Evaluation Kit for the Renesas RX261 MCU Group, designed to evaluate features of the RX261 family and accelerate embedded system development. The board includes rich interfaces, peripheral connectors, and expansion support for popular ecosystem modules.
The key features of the EK-RX261 board are categorized in three groups:
MCU Native Pin Access
RX261 MCU (R5F52618BGFP), 32-bit RXv3 core at 64MHz
512KB Code Flash, 8KB Data Flash, 128KB RAM
Native pin access through 6 x 2-pin and 14 x 2-pin x 3-piece male headers
MCU current measurement points for current consumption measurement
Precision 8.000MHz main oscillator and 32.768kHz sub-clock
System Control and Ecosystem Access
Four 5V input sources:
USB (USB DEBUG1, USB FULL SPEED, USB SERIAL)
External power supply (via TP5, TP6)
Two Debug Modes: - Debug on-board via E2 Emulator OB (FINE interface) - Debug in via 14-pin external header (FINE interface)
User LEDs: - 3 User LEDs (Red, Green, Blue) - 1 Power LED (White) - 1 Debug LED (Yellow)
User Buttons: - 2 User Switches - 1 Reset Switch
Popular ecosystem expansion connectors:
2x Grove connectors (I2C / Analog)
1x SparkFun Qwiic connector (I2C)
2x Digilent Pmod connectors (UART/SPI/I2C)
Arduino Uno R3-compatible header
mikroBUS connector
USB Full Speed Host and Device (micro-B connector)
USB to Serial communication via FT234XD
Special Feature Access
CAN FD transceiver with 3-pin header
Touch interface (2 buttons)
Hardware
Detailed hardware features can be found at: - RX261 MCU: RX261 Group User’s Manual Hardware. - EK-RX261 board: EK-RX261 - User’s Manual.
Supported Features
The ek_rx261 board supports the hardware features listed below.
- on-chip / on-board
- Feature integrated in the SoC / present on the board.
- 2 / 2
-
Number of instances that are enabled / disabled.
Click on the label to see the first instance of this feature in the board/SoC DTS files. -
vnd,foo -
Compatible string for the Devicetree binding matching the feature.
Click on the link to view the binding documentation.
Programming and Debugging
The ek_rx261 board supports the runners and associated west commands listed below.
| flash | debug |
|---|
Applications for the ek_rx261 board can be built, flashed, and debugged using standard
Zephyr workflows. Refer to Building an Application and Run an Application for more details.
Note: Currently, the RX261 is built and programmed using the Renesas GCC RX toolchain. Please follow the steps below to program it onto the board:
Download and install GCC for RX toolchain:
Set env variable:
export ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT=cross-compile export CROSS_COMPILE=<Path/to/your/toolchain>/bin/rx-elf-
Build the Blinky Sample for EK-RX261
cd ~/zephyrproject/zephyr west build -p always -b ek_rx261 samples/basic/blinky
Flashing
Program can be flashed to EK-RX261 via either the on-board E2 Emulator OB or an external SEGGER J-Link debugger (using the FINE interface).
Renesas Flash Programmer (RFP) can be used with the on-board E2 Emulator OB. RFP is available at: https://www.renesas.com/software-tool/renesas-flash-programmer-programming-gui
SEGGER J-Link can be used with the 14-pin FINE connector (J27) for external flashing. J-Link drivers are available at: https://www.segger.com/downloads/jlink/
Connect to the debugger:
For E2 Emulator OB: connect USB DEBUG1 (J26)
For J-Link: connect to 14-pin FINE header (J27)
Set jumper configuration according to the selected flash mode:
E2 Emulator OB (on-board):
J22: Open
J23: Jumper on pins 2-3
J24: Open
J25: Open
J-Link (external debugger):
J22: Open
J23: Jumper on pins 1-2 or 2-3
J24: Closed
J25: Open
Run flashing command:
west flash # For E2 Emulator OB west flash -r jlink # For J-Link (external debugger)
Debugging
The EK-RX261 supports debugging through:
On-board E2 Emulator OB (via USB DEBUG1)
External debugger using the 14-pin FINE header (J27)
To use on-board E2 Emulator:
J22: Open
J23: Jumper on pins 2-3
J24: Open
J25: Open
To use external debugger:
J24: Closed
J22: Open
J23: Jumper on pins 1-2 or 2-3 (depending on desired pull-up/down)
J25: Open
Note: External debugger (e.g., E2 Lite) cannot power the board. Supply external 5V via USB or TP5/TP6.