Getting started with the STM32 microcontroller - STM32F103C8T6 via Arduino

In this video I explain as simple as possible how you can start programming the STM32F103C8T6 microcontroller (Blue Pill). It’s cheap and very fast….. But be aware of the 32-bit pitfalls.

My video about direct port manipulation in Arduino

I bought the STM32F103C8T6 here:

And also the FTDI programmer:

The Arduino_STM32 project of Roger Clark on GitHub

[hoangbachdang]

Just bought a dev board and found this Youtube channel. Thank you so much for your sharing.

[mosespio]

I'm a beginner in Arduino. I am amazed at the possibilities and usefulness for automation. Your videos are educational and of great value. Thank you so much Mr. Joop Brokking for sharing such important information.

[valerioturrini]

Your videos are always really interesting, thanks for sharing!

[ozgemmo]

Absolutely brilliant - I have learnt so much by your patient and exceptionally clear explanations! Ditto for your following video as well (which I watched before this one)!!! I have looked at stm32 boards previously and as a newby to this microprocessor felt a bit overwhelmed by it - you have succeeded in clearing away a lot of the fog. Cheers and keep up the really great videos.

[andygyakobo]

It's been 3 years now and I still watch your videos

[ChunkySteveo]

Awesome timing - not watched yet, but just got one of these boards and need to know the basics and why i've bought one?!! cheers!

Steve

[heyarno]

Thanks a lot, I was considering this chip for a while, but wasn't sure if the hurdles with the native development environment might be too big. This easy alternative gives me more confidence.

[PatrickHoodDaniel]

Very clear and well organized explanation of the STM32 Arduino development environment. That specific line of stm32 chips has an onboard USB feature I believe. Too bad the FTDI is needed. It would be nice for the bootloader to take advantage of the USB on-chip peripheral. The stm32 chips are excellent and very inexpensive. Keep up the great work. We should collaborate as I teach bare chip STM32.

[manuel_youtube_ttt]

Your video is absolutely awesome. No unnecesary info, no delays to get to the information, clear speaking. Just awesome. I cringe every time I get to a youtube video that makes me waste life. Good job.

[Cptnbond]

In the past, STM32_Arduino core or "Rogers core" was the only Arduino core (wrapper) for the STM32F103 chip.
The STM32duino was written by ST themselves and is now considered the "official" Arduino core. This core supports many more boards Nucleo, disconvery, and chips, F0, F1, F2, F3, F4, F7. The official core uses HAL where as "Rogers" core (STM32_Arduino core) uses the Standard Peripheral library. I think in this video you are using the Rogers core which many people still use. The STM32duino core can be installed into the arduino ide . The ST official core became available in May 2017.

[pixelflow]

As someone who just took the blue pill dive, this saved a TON of confusion and information overload. Also you can choose st-link in the IDE if yours came with one of those clone usb boards. Connect SWDIO/GND/SWCLK/3.3V to the 4 pin header, and prestouplodo (the boot pin does not seem to affect its ability to upload)

[PilatusPorterPC]

Thank you, You are a gifted teacher. On mine, I had to unplug power and then put the jumper in program position and after that, it worked just as you showed.

[mgeo]

Thanks, got me started. I have years of PIC and Arduino experience and a large code base, but needed something cheap and a bit faster than 16 MHz!

[gatisozols]

Thank You Joop for showing that this board can be programmed with UART only that made my day! I use these boards for about a year now they are great! But I use ST-LINK v2 USB dongle to program them, because it allows to debug the code by stepping through it. Unfortunatelly my ST-LINK died last week so I had no means to program my MCUs! Now I will use my USB to UART converter to do the same thing!

[DerickPelser]

Always happy to watch one of your videos. Very information!

[abhijitrashinkar]

My goodness, what a fantastic explanation, I appreciate all your efforts.

Thank you.

[alex.germany]

Joop, you are such a great guy. I love your videos and they helped me sometimes to understand things without hours of research on the Internet. It's one of my favorite channel. Thank you :-)

[Loopyengineeringco]

Great video but you missed an important trick - you can load a DFU bootloader to the STM32F103C8T6 which enables uploading and serial straight through USB with no jumper swapping necessary! Google for the details. PS these boards also have double the flash than they claim, you can use it by changing the setting in Arduino IDE :)

[noamw]

Great video, you explained everything so well. Learnt quite a few things about the stm32 boards.

[keen]

Awesome video you made mate. Totally subscribed. Thanks for your time.