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TPL0401EVM: Cannot get TPL0401_GUI.exe to execute

Part Number: TPL0401EVM

I have set up the TPL0401EVM board with the chip included in the box with the MSP430 launchpad as specified in the EVM guide (http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/sliu008a/sliu008a.pdf

  • Wow I just realized now that it did not take the rest of my message. I will add it here. Okay so out of the box, the MSP430 chip that comes with the TPL0401EVM should have 3 modes included in it's firmware. I placed the included MSP430 chip onto the launchpad and then attached the TPL0401EVM to the launchpad as well. I power up the 5V rail and connect the launchpad to my PC, and as specified by the start guide, the board should start doing something with the multiple color LED switching or what have you. This does not work.

    Second, the guide says that I can change the mode from LED mode to one of the other 2 modes and run the TPL0401_GUI.exe file included in the downloads and should get something, but the .exe does not seem to run at all. I double click and it loads for a second, but no GUI comes up. Could you help me out? My goal is to be able to bring up the GUI and evaluate the digital pots on the TPL0401EVM kit.

    Thanks in advance!
  • Luke,

    I did not develop this EVM / GUI myself so I am somewhat limited in the capacity in which I can debug it, but there are two things I would suggest.

    I am not so sure that the LaunchPad comes with the firmware pre-flashed. You may need to use the CCS firmware in the download to set that up, which may also explain the issues you've pointed out in your first point.

    For the second inquiry concerning the GUI the User's Guide mentions that the LaunchPad first needs to be setup and connected via the USB port. If the LaunchPad is indeed not pre-flashed or was otherwise corrupted, then the GUI likely cannot connect via USB to the HW. The second observation I will make is that the GUI appears to rely on Java - so you will likely also need to ensure your JRE is up to date.
  • It shows in the guide that it comes with a preprogrammed chip, but I will flash it with some new firmware to see if that helps.

  • Hi Luke,

    Yeah - I saw the note as well but from some other experiences that isn't universally the case so it's just one low-hanging fruit possibility to eliminate and it would appear to have some common-cause linkage to both issues you mentioned. I could especially see the direct association to the default application not functioning, at the very least.

    If that does not resolve the problem we may need to look towards some other avenues to solve the problem, perhaps some specific CCS Cloud project or something we can put in your hands to facilitate your evaluation without the GUI.
  • Hi Kevin,

    I was unable to resolve the issue by programming the chip from CCS. Can we talk about getting that cloud project in hand? I really need to get this evaluated this week if possible.
  • Hello Luke,

    Please pardon the delayed reply - I have been out of office on business travel.

    Specifically, what would you be evaluating? Just trying to understand specifically what you would require any new body of code to actually support.
  • Hi Kevin,

    My understanding was that the TPL0401EVM should come with some code to run a GUI with it. That is according to the datasheet/guide for the eval kit. However, I ended up just hooking the i2c lines up to an arduino and tested it from there. The goal was to have an easy way to vary the resistance of the digital pot with some form of GUI application.

    Thanks,

    Luke

  • Hi Luke,

    Okay - thanks for the update.

    We're revamping our General Purpose DAC EVM platform - I think we can easily extend support to the DigiPots as well to help modernize these EVMs as well.