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Curiosity Pro Kit - Quick Start Guide for MPLAB® Harmony v3

Last modified by Microchip on 2026/09/22 11:49

Introduction

Thank you for evaluating this Curiosity Pro Development Board. This guide explains how to run the demonstration application provided with the kit. 

The demonstration application hosts a web page on the board. You can access this page from a web browser on your PC through a direct Ethernet connection between the PC and the board. No LAN, router, or corporate network is required. Successfully accessing the page confirms that the board is operating correctly.

Prerequisites:

  • Verify that the following items are included in the box:
    • One of the following Microchip development boards:
      • SAM9X75 Curiosity Pro Development Board (P/N: EV29J11A)
    • microSD™ card
    • USB Type-A to USB Type-C® cable for power
    • VSC8541 EDS2 SODIMM extension board
    • Two snap-lock pins
  • The following additional equipment is required:
    • A PC with an Ethernet port, or a USB-to-Ethernet adapter
    • An SD card reader, or a USB-to-SD card adapter
    • An Ethernet cable

Download, Setup and Run the Demo

Download the harmony.zip file corresponding to your board and extract its contents directly at the root directory of the provided microSD card (or any other SD card previously formatted as FAT32).

SAMA7D65SAM9X75
harmony3.zip harmony3.zip

After extraction, the root directory of the microSD card must contain the harmony.bin and boot.bin files, and the web_pages folder.

Warning

Make sure these items are located directly in the root directory of the SD card and are not inside another folder.

SD card content

Set up the board.

Refer to the following board-specific section as needed to connect the peripherals described in the next steps.

  • Install the VSC8541 EDS2 extension board on the SODIMM connector and secure it using the two snap-lock pins.
  • Insert the microSD™ card containing the required files into the microSD card slot J42.
  • Connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the EDS2 extension board and the other end directly to the PC.
Warning

1 - Do not connect the board through a LAN, router or corporate network.

2 - Make sure to use the EDS2 Ethernet port (and not the Curiosity Pro Ethernet port when available).

  • On the Curiosity Pro board, make sure that:

    • Jumpers J77 (NAND Flash Chip Select) and J78 (QSPI Flash Chip Select) are open so that the MPU boots from the SD card
    • J83 is closed on pins 2-3
    • J53 is open
    • J45 is closed on pins 2-3 for SAMA7D65

    For SAM9X75 Curiosity Pro:

    1790005665973-657.png

    For SAMA7D65 Curiosity Pro:

    1790005698097-389.png

  • On the EDS2 extension board:
    • Install the 2×4 jumper over the RGMII section of jumper J4
    • Install the 1×3 jumper over pins 1-2 of jumper J8
    • Close jumpers J6 and J7 on pins 1-2
    • Close jumper J2 on pins 3-4
    • Check SW1 is configured as 1-on, 2-off
    • Check SW2 is configured as 1-on, 2-on

EDS2 Daughter Card

  • Power the board using the provided USB Type-A to USB Type-C® cable by connecting the USB Type-C end to the board’s USB Type-C connector, J1 (USB A), and the USB Type-A end to a suitable power source.

 

After powering on the board, the LED initially turns green.

After approximately 10–15 seconds, once the system has completed the boot process and initialized the Ethernet stack, the LED turns blue. This indicates that the Ethernet stack is up and running.

Open a web browser on your PC and enter the following URL, depending on which board you are using:

SAMA7D65SAM9X75
http://sama7d65.localhttp://sam9x75.local 
Warning

1 - Make sure that the URL starts with http://, not https://.

2 - If the PC runs Linux®, set the Ethernet connection to Link-Local Only if necessary. Otherwise, Linux may wait for a DHCP server, which is not available in a direct board-to-PC connection.

You should now see the web page hosted by the board. This confirms that the board is operating correctly.

SAMA7D65 web page result

From the web page, you can:

  • Change the color of the board’s RGB LED.
  • Check the USER button by pressing it on the board.
  • Access the online documentation by clicking the provided links. Your PC must be connected to the Internet to access these resources.

Congratulations!

Your Curiosity Pro board is now connected directly to your PC over Ethernet, and the demonstration application is running successfully.

Alternatively, the same web server demonstration can be run using a Yocto Project® or Buildroot Linux image. See the "Curiosity Pro Kit - Quick Start Guide for Linux" page for these demos.

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Additional Information

DocumentsSAMA7D65SAM9X75
Curiosity Pro Board page (User Guide, Design Files)Kit PageKit Page
Microchip.com Product page (Datasheet, Errata, ...)Product pageProduct page
Linux4SAM SolutionsSAMA7D65 Curiosity ProSAM9X75 Curiosity Pro
MPLAB Harmony v3 SolutionsRepositoryRepository
MPLAB DiscoverCode ExamplesCode Examples

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Troubleshooting

ProblemTips

The Web Page Does Not Load

 

  • Make sure the required files are correctly copied in the microSD card. Are they located in the root directory and not in a subfolder?
  • Make sure the jumpers are correctly set on the board and on the extension board.
  • Is the Ethernet cable connected directly between the PC and the board?
  • Running Linux? Try changing the Ethernet connection to Link-Local Only.
  • If you are using Windows®, make sure that the Ethernet port configuration is set to DHCP mode, rather than being in Manual mode with a fixed IP address.
The LED Stays Red
  • Make sure the microSD card is properly inserted.

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