Boot issues with MSP430 firmware v 2.6

Jakob,

I have sent you a friend request and if you message me I will assist you with this problem.

Regards,

Blair

A known workaround for this problem is to remove all power from the device (including the USB connector) and then reconnect the power.

Hello,

I have encountered the same problem as Jakob where after installing the MSP430 firmware, the DLP Lightcrafter is unable to be powered on.  Similar to his situation, the device powers off after booting.  The green LED next to the power plug remains on while the red LED flashes once every 5 seconds.  In this state, if either the power plug or USB are connected, the device will remain in this state.  If both are removed, the device fully powers off.

I'm not sure how to attempt the workaround mentioned above, because the device fully powers off once the power plug and USB are both disconnected.  Because of this problem, I am unable to connect the device to the Lightcrafter GUI, and thus cannot restore to an earlier version of the MSP430 firmware.

Any help you can offer to resolve this issue would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-Nathaniel

Nathaniel,

When you say that the red LED blinks every five seconds, how long does the red LED stay lit? Also, have you made any hardware modifications to the LightCrafter?

Regards,

Blair

Hello,

The red LED stays on for 5 seconds at a time and blinks off for about half a second.

No hardware modification have been made to the device.  The only changes made have been to the Lightcrafter firmware.

-Nathaniel

Nathaniel,

I believe the root cause of  your problem may be your power supply. In the 2.6 version of the MSP430 firmware we added some new diagnostic tools. One such tool protects the LightCrafter from under- and over-voltage situations and notifies the user with the LED's blinking in the way you described them. 

Do you have another wall wart or bench top power supply that you could try with your LightCrafter?

Regards,

Blair

Hello,

Thanks Blair, we have gotten the Lightcrafter working by using a bench power supply.

If possible, could you provide version 2.5 of the MSP430 firmware?  Before the 2.6 version of the MSP430 firmware was installed, we were able to use a wall power supply without any issues.

Thanks again,

-Nathaniel

Nathaniel,

If you would like to use the version 2.5 firmware you will need to download the "DLP LightCrafter Firmware and Software Bundle" version 1.1 from http://www.ti.com/tool/dlplightcrafter. Be aware that after downgrading the MSP430 firmware, the GUI will warn you that the firmware versions do not match. You may ignore this warning for this case and everything else should function correctly.

Regards,

Blair 

Hi Blair,

I have the same problem as Nathaniel. I have two lightcrafters. After updating the msp430 firmware version 2.6, one Lightcrafter works fine as usual, the other one switches off before the boot process is completed. I have measured the voltage of my power supply. I find 5.23 Volt when it is disconnected and 5.17 Volt during the boot process when it is connected. You say that the problem might be the power supply, because the new 2.6 firmware has new diagnostic tools. Can you tell me how large are the tolerances for the power supply? What is the maximum allowed voltage above 5.00 Volt, and what is the minimum allowed voltage below 5.00 Volt?

Best regards,

Rudolf

Hi Rudolf,

First, I apologize that I didn't get back to you before the weekend. Back to your question though. 

The DLP LightCrafter operating voltage is specified between 2.7V and 5.2V.  A voltage transient during power up is likely causing the fault.  Whereas, the steady state supply voltage is within specification. While the diagnostic tool added in version 2.6 of the MSP430 firmware properly protects the LightCrafter from steady state over- and under-voltage conditions, it does not properly account for transient ones. 

We are releasing a new software bundle very soon to remedy the power supply problem and also the boot/shutdown button problem originally discussed in this thread. The release should be expected within one or two weeks. 

Best regards,

Blair

Hi Blair,

thank you very much for your help. I have connected my Lightcrafter to a superstable power supply at 5 Volt, and then it booted again successfully. The problem is indeed the power supply and probably related voltage fluctuations. I have changed the MSP430 firmware from version 2.6 to the older version 2.5, and then it boots again also with my normal power supply.

Since you want to release a new software bundle soon, here I have to report a software bug which should be fixed. It concerns the command

3.11 Pattern definition (0x04 0x01)

in the document dlpu007c.pdf. This command can be used in to directions:

1. Host Write Command:  Patterns are send from the computer to the Lightcrafter

2. Host Read Command:  A pattern is received by the computer from the Lightcrafter

While 1. works perfectly, there is a bug for 2. Host Read Command. The pattern is transferred from the Lightcrafter to the computer in several packages. After the last package is received, the command ends successfully and the pattern is saved successfully on the computer as BMP file. HOWEVER, AFTER THAT IT IS NO MORE POSSIBLE TO DO ANY OTHER NEW COMMAND. I can circumwent this problem if I disconnect the Lightcrafter and then connect it again (press the CONNECT/DISCONNECT button twice  on the Lightcrafter GUI).

I have found this problem because I have programmed my own Lightcrafter GUI following the specifications of the commands in the document dlpu007c.pdf. I would be grateful if your software team can look for this problem and fix it in the next release of the Lightcrafter software bundle.

Best regards,

Rudolf

Hi Rudolf,

Thank you for letting me know about this problem.

Regards,

Blair

Hi Blair,

Has this software update been released? We're running into the same issue with the latest firmware.

Thanks,

Mark

Mark,

Yes, we recently released an update to the software bundle. The new 2.0.1 version is available online at http://www.ti.com/tool/dlplightcrafter in the available versions section.

This new version fixes two issues from the MPS430 v2.6 firmware: 

• The original problem in this post stating that the LightCrafter would not turn on after being shut off with the power button.
  • If this problem was encountered, completely remove power from the device (including USB) and reapply power. After the device boots, install the firmware onto the LightCrafter using the GUI supplied in the software bundle.
• The problem where some power supplies created insignificant transients that should not have caused the protection code to shut down the device.
  • If this problem was encountered, please use a different power supply, such as a bench top supply or a different wall wart, to power the LightCrafter. After the device boots, install the firmware onto the LightCrafter using the GUI supplied in the software bundle.

If there are any problems installing the new firmware, please let me know.

Best regards,

Blair

Blair,

I ran into a problem after upgraded to MSP430 v2.7. After the splash screen was shown, instead of showing the color bar pattern, the Lcr would shut off. At this point the power button was not responding, I had to disconnect USB cable and power supply before Lcr would reboot again, which will again shut off after the splash screen.

The power supply has a output spec of 5v 1.5A.

Thanks for your help.

Hello Bing Ouyang1,

Do you see any blinking lights on the board when it shuts down? Also, have you modified the board or removed the light engine?

Best regards,

Blair

Blair,

Yes the light was trying to turn green to red when it shuts off.After lcr shut off, the was a light on the second level board besides the power supply was still blinking. All lights on the top level was off.

We did remove the light engine. Is that what's causing the issue?

Removing the light engine when the MSP430 version is 2.6 or 2.7 causes the LightCrafter to shut down. The next Software Bundle release will allow the light engine to be removed.

For now, you need to reconnect your light engine and install v2.5 of the MSP430 firmware from version 1.1 of the Software Bundle. You do not need to change any of the other firmware. The GUI will tell you to upgrade the MSP430 firmware and notify you about a version mismatch, but you can ignore those warnings. 

Best regards,

Blair

Ok, will do. Thanks a lot!