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TMS320F28379D: What could be the difference between F28379D launch pad and control card??

Part Number: TMS320F28379D
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TMDSDOCK28379D, CONTROLSUITE

Hi all,

At high level what is the difference between control cards and lauchpads, any comments please.

Thanks

  • It looks like the Launchpad version is $33.79 and the controlcard version is $159.00

    I've seen using the LAUNCHXL-F28377S and referencing a development kit control card, that the launchpad may contain a subset of the IO of the control card due to it using a different IC package.

    I don't know if this is the case for the 28379D.

    ProgrammableSolution

  • Both the controlCARD and the Launchpad are based on the same package of the F28379D (TMS320F28379DZWT, 337-pin nFBGA).

    A major difference between the two kits are the types of other development kits each support directly. The Launchpad works with all of our C2000 BoosterPacks while the controlCARD will directly work with application kits using the 180-pin HSEC8 connector, such as the IDDK.

    The Launchpad also gives you direct access to the GPIOs while the controlCARD requires the (included) TMDSDOCK28379D MCU Experimenter's kit to do so.

    You can consult the user-guide for each kit to maybe better answer your question:

    Launchpad F28379D: www.ti.com/.../sprui77.pdf
    F28379D controlCARD: www.ti.com/.../sprui76.pdf
  • Hi Billy Stevers,

    Thanks for you are reply.

    I have to do experiment like, bring up or boot the F28379 MCU with CAN interface and also bring up the FRAM which has a minimum size of 2k x 8.

    Please can you suggest which one is better to do the above experiment either F28379 Launch pad or Control card with docking station.

    Thanks in advance.
  • Possibly a more general description that will help differentiate the kits:

    The F28379D Launchpad is similar to other TI Launchpads in that it is intended for software development and learning. The C2000 Launchpads also have more support for InstaSPIN "out-of-the-box."

    The F28379D controlCARD is more robust than the Launchpad and is designed for better performance. It also gives the user access to more GPIO since the Launchpad does not break-out all of the F2879D's GPIO.

    With these points in mind, you can think of the Launchpad as more of an introduction to the F28379D and the controlCARD as a robust breakout of the F28379D that gives the user more flexibility. Also remember that each supports different C2000 kits (see my last post).

    I hope this better answered your question!

  • Hi Billy Stevers,

    Thanks for you are quick reply.

    Went through the user guides of the both controlcard and launchpad, Just thinking which one will be the good considering the Software development, debugging and learning etc.

    Launchpad:
    To use the SCI interface other than CON1 which acts as a JTAG debugger and SCIA/UART communication, like SCIC, SCIB(J5 43,44 or J1 3,4),
    need to have a extra booster pack (www.ti.com/.../boostxl-rs232) , is it true???

    ConrtolCard with Docking station:
    USB JTAG emulation with docking station and sci communication alone using on board A:J1 connector on Conrtol card, with out need of extra serial transceiver, is it true??

    Thanks in advance.
  • LaunchPad:
    The other SCI interfaces can be used by selecting the proper mux values as per Table 1 and Table 3 in the LaunchPad user guide. The pins for the other SCI ports are routed on the Launchpad. You do not require the BoosterPack you linked if you only want to use the additional SCI interfaces. For a full description the muxing options, refer to Section 4.5 of the F2837xD Datasheet: www.ti.com/.../sprs880g.pdf

    controlCARD:
    I hope I am understanding you correctly, but it sounds like you are asking about sending other SCI signals over A:J1? The A:J1 connector will allow you to debug the device and A:SW1 controls which connections are enabled via this connector. It can behave the same way as the Launchpad for SCIA/UART communication. It does not allow you to send the other SCI signals.

    For both kits you must supply your own connectors/jumpers to use the other SCI signals that can be enabled via muxing. Both kits give you access to the other SCI pins. I suppose that the BoosterPack you linked could be used to supply a connection to these pins as well, but I would only suggest that if you want to use that style of connector for your testing.

    ControlSuite has several examples that show how to use the SCI ports. More importantly the examples show you the library functions used to initialize the SCI ports you want. You can take a look at this project to find out more about this:

    controlSUITE\device_support\F2837xD\v210\F2837xD_examples_Cpu1\sci_loopback

    In summary, it sounds like either the LaunchPad or the controlCARD will fit your needs based on what you have mentioned so far.

    I may be better able to help if I had a better understanding of the application.  Are you interested in having a virtual comport, a RS232 UART, or a SCI?


    Kind regards,

    Billy Stevers

  • Hi Billy Stevers,

    Thanks for you are reply.

    Launchpad: wanted to use other SCI interfaces like SCIC, SCIB(J5 43,44 or J1 3,4), implimented a sample application to communicate between Launchpad and PC using sci interfaces.
    Now question is how to verify??
    What kind of connector do need to use between PC and launchpad? Please can you suggest.

    Thanks
  • To clarify, are you trying to use multiple SCIs at the same time? Or do you want to select either SCIA, SCIB, SCIC, etc. and use one at a time?

    Either way you will need some kind of adapter to take the SCIB / SCIC signals to the PC. The RS232 BoosterPack and an RS232 to USB adapter (if needed) could be used for this if you chose the LaunchPad.


    Kind regards,

    Billy Stevers
  • Hi Billy Stevers,

    Wanted to use Multiple SCIs at a time.
    Please can you suggest which RS232 boosterpack is suitable for F28379d launchpad?
    I think the RS232 Boosterpack is not required in case of a controlcard(Experimentkit), even multiple SCIs enabled, is it correct?

    Thanks

  • The RS232 BoosterPack is compatible with the F28379D LaunchPad.  You could use this if you want to use an RS232 cable to send data to the PC.  If you still want to use USB, you can purchase an adapter cable that will go from the RS232 on the BoosterPack to USB.  

    You are correct with the second statement in the sense that the BoosterPack is NOT compatable with the controlCARD.  

    However, neither  the controlCARD nor the LaunchPad require additional hardware (like the RS232 BoosterPack) to use multiple SCI at the same time.  All of the SCI ports are routed to separate pins that you have access to.  The must be enabled via proper mux setup, as previously described in this thread.  SCIA is the only one accessible via the supplied USB connector.  There are various ways to connect the other SCI ports to your PC, the BoosterPack is just one such option that would only work with the LaunchPad and an RS232 cable.

    For running multiple SCI, you can reference this thread.

    Kind regards,

    Billy Stevers