Data transmission from MSP430F2619 to PC

janmay b c said:

... use the FT2232D chip to send data to the PC, 

but i  really am not able to make this scheme work.

Why not??

That really does sound like the simplest and most obvious way to do it!!

Lots of people manage to do this - where are you stuck??

How will i send the data to the PC (SPI or UART) 

PCs don't have SPI ports - so you can't use that directly.
A UART will go to the PC's COM port (or to a USB adaptor, if the PC doesn't have a real COM port).
But the FT2232D is exactly the chip you need to connect a UART to a PC via USB - so what's your problem?
and which pins do i need to bring out 

Obviously, you have to bring out the SPI pins if you want to use SPI, or the UART pins if you want to use a UART!!
( coz its better to know which pins will be required before i mutilate my PCB )

If your "project guide" insists that you use that board then, surely, it must be suitably equipped for the task that you have been set??
 I did some snooping around the internet and found that a level shifter is required in-between the MCU and PC

A PC COM port is RS232 - so you would need a "level shifter" (more precisely, an RS232 Transceiver) to connect that to your MCU.
But, again, if you're thinking of doing this then why not just use the FT2232; that's exactly what it's for! It effectively takes the place of the RS232 Transveicer for connecting via USB  to a "virtual" COM port on the PC!
 
FTDI said:

This device features two multi-purpose UART/FIFO controllers which can be configured individually in several different modes.  As well as a UART interface, a FIFO interface and the Bit-Bang IO mode of the 2nd generation FT232B and FT245B devices, the FT2232D offers a variety of additional new modes of operation including a Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine (MPSSE) interface which is designed specifically for synchronous serial protocols such as I2C, JTAG and SPI bus.




http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT2232D.htm

Well, I don't know what you've done to mess up the forum like that!!

Let's try again:

janmay b c said:

... use the FT2232D chip to send data to the PC,

but i  really am not able to make this scheme work.

Why not??

That really does sound like the simplest and most obvious way to do it!!

Lots of people manage to do this - where are you stuck??

How will i send the data to the PC (SPI or UART)

PCs don't have SPI ports - so you can't use that directly.

A UART will go to the PC's COM port (or to a USB adaptor, if the PC doesn't have a real COM port).

But the FT2232D is exactly the chip you need to connect a UART to a PC via USB - so what's your problem?

and which pins do i need to bring out

Obviously, you have to bring out the SPI pins if you want to use SPI, or the UART pins if you want to use a UART!!

( coz its better to know which pins will be required before i mutilate my PCB )

If your "project guide" insists that you use that board then, surely, it must be suitably equipped for the task that you have been set - surely??

Why are you not seeking advice & guidance on this from your "project guide"...?

I did some snooping around the internet and found that a level shifter is required in-between the MCU and PC

A PC COM port is RS232 - so you would need a "level shifter" (more precisely, an RS232 Transceiver) to connect that to your MCU.

But, again, if you're thinking of doing this then why not just use the FT2232; that's exactly what it's for!
It effectively takes the place of the RS232 Transveicer for connecting via USB  to a "virtual" COM port on the PC!

FTDI said:

This device features two multi-purpose UART/FIFO controllers which can be configured individually in several different modes.  As well as a UART interface, a FIFO interface and the Bit-Bang IO mode of the 2nd generation FT232B and FT245B devices, the FT2232D offers a variety of additional new modes of operation including a Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine (MPSSE) interface which is designed specifically for synchronous serial protocols such as I2C, JTAG and SPI bus.

http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT2232D.htm

Perhaps the simplest way to just connect a UART to a PC via USB is to use one of these:

Also available with bare wire ends:

The USB end just plugs into the PC, and appears as a COM port;

The other end just connects to the UART's logic-level pins.

Take care to use the correct version for your UART logic levels - 3.3V or 5V

janmay b c said:

How will i send the data to the PC (SPI or UART)

Most likely UART, since UART cards (or USB/USRT converters) are common, but SPI interfaces are special (and therefore expensive and rare) industrial stuff.

janmay b c said:

which pins do i need to bring out

The same you had used for stuffing the FTDI chip (basically, those USB/serial converters are nothing more than an FTDI-liek chip and an additional level shifter for RS232 output levels (if any).
If you want to connect to a real COM port ont he PC, you'll need a level shifter on the MSP side for the required RS232 signal levels. For 3V VCC, use the MAX3232 or similar.

janmay b c said:

If there are any other links/webpages/schematics that elucidate this scheme, please post them.

Did you search this forum? There have been several threads about this. You're not the first one wanting to attach an MSP to a PC :)

janmay b c said:

my guide wants results out of my current board

What one wants and what one gets are often two different things :) I have been asked to violate some physical laws during my IT courses too. I refused to, as I was afraid what the universe could do to me then. Still got my diploma. Sometimes you don't need to solve a task, you only need as good explanation why you didn't. :) (and providing an alternative solution gains extra points)

However, in your case, there is hope :)

Hi Mr Andy,

Thanks for your prompt response.

Before i explain my situation and well before the ever-helpful Mr 

Roberto Romano accuses my knowledge of MSP's to be microscopic :-). 

Here are the Facts:

1) I simply dont understand the datasheet of FT2232D, the problem is that i have 

copied the connections of the pins of FT2232D pins from an earlier design

 which used the FT2232D in FIFO mode.

Now, for fifo mode i need to connect 8 I/O pins of MCU to the FT2232D, 

in my case i have connected 6 (only god knows how i made this mistake during design !!)


2) There's no step-by-step kinda documentation for the FT2232D.

3) My project guide just wants to avoid the cost of making another board, thats it :-)


4) Till now i have installed the needed drivers and the FT2232D is being

 recognised as COMPORT15 and COMPORT16 in my device manager


All in all, my understanding of the FT2232D is not that great. And nobody in my institute is using it,

 infact i am the first to use a MSP430 over here!!, the rest work with the 8-bit PIC MCU.  But Thats not an

 valid excuse i know.

best wishes
janmay

Dear Sir,

Jens-Michael Gross said:

For 3V VCC, use the MAX3232 or similar.

Thanks for your prompt response.

best wishes

janmay

Dear Sir,

Jens-Michael Gross said:

For 3V VCC, use the MAX3232 or similar.

Thanks for your prompt response.

best wishes

janmay

janmay b c said:

I simply dont understand the datasheet of FT2232D

So just use one of the ready-made cable assemblies, then!

As I said, with those cables all you have to do is connect the wires to your UART pins, and plug the other end into your PC!
Simples!

Alternatively, you might look at one of the simpler FTDI chips - one that just does UART-to-USB (without the FIFO, etc).

Or look at one of the many modules using the FTDI chips.

Or any other manufacturer's USB-to-UART bridge chips...

My project guide just wants to avoid the cost of making another board

Again, why are you not getting your "guide" to actually guide you in this?!

the rest work with the 8-bit PIC

That's completely irrelevant!

The way you connect the MCU's UART pins to a UART-to-USB bridge is identical whether it's a PIC or an 8051  or just a plain 16550 UART.

The FTDI chips are so common that you must, surely, be able to find an examle somewhere...

 

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your quick response. Will ponder over the things you said.

Yes, the FT2232 does seem to be commonly used. Will go back,

do some reading and experimentation. Thanks.

best wishes

janmay

Why don't you just use one of the FTDI cables:

As previously mentioned, you just connect the wires direct to your UART pins - that's all there is to it!

Just make sure you use the correct voltage option. 

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your advice. Before i jump into any more hardware modifications, i want to get my code right.

If possible plese clear my following doubts:

I want to send 20(h) to the PC.This is how i am doing it.

UART initialization:

UCA0CTL1 = UCSSEL_1 | UCSWRST; // Clk = Aclk(32KHz), Reset = 1
UCA0CTL0 = UCMSB; // send MSB first
UCA0BR0 = 0x03; // select baud rate as 9600, 32kHz/9600 = 3.41
UCA0BR1 = 0x00;
UCA0MCTL = UCBRS1 + UCBRS0; // Modulation UCBRSx = 3 (Don't Know what this does
                                                      but every example prgm on UART has this)
UCA0CTL1 &= ~UCSWRST; // Reset = 0

Sending 20(h):

UCA0TXBUF = 0x20; // send 20(h)
   while (!(IFG2 & UCA0TXIFG));

1) What is meant by this "Modulation"?? i read the users guide,
but could not make out its purpose.

2) Is the sending part correct??
    
best wishes

janmay

janmay b c said:

UCA0BR0 = 0x03; // select baud rate as 9600, 32kHz/9600 = 3.41
UCA0BR1 = 0x00;
UCA0MCTL = UCBRS1 + UCBRS0; // Modulation UCBRSx = 3 (Don't Know what this does
but every example prgm on UART has this)

32kHz/9600 is 3.41, yet the baudrate divider is an integer (you cannot count to 3.41 clock pulses, you only know at the 4th clock pulse that you're too late).
So 32768/3 is 10922Bd, not 9600Bd.

The modulation now introdices a patter that for soem bits not 3, but 3+1 is used. If properly selected, some bits are too short (too-high baudrate) and some are too long (low baudrate), but the average is the desired baudrate and the bit edges fall not too far from the desired timing.

The clock module uses a similar mechanism for the DCO.

Dear Sir,

In layman terms, this modulation compensates for the 0.41 part and makes

sure that the baud rate remains 9600Bd, am i right?

and sir, are the init and sending part okay??

janmay b c said:

Before i explain my situation and well before the ever-helpful Mr 

Roberto Romano accuses my knowledge of MSP's to be microscopic :-). 

 Hey Janmay, lack of knowledge to complete this project signify you MUST get a couple of book with topic basic electronics and basic programming, after that I suppose you  also need a BASIC programming course on MSP, you confuse port register bit and what they mean. At almost port bit register need to be fully understood, where you can go whitout this? Is this your job? Ok we cannot solve for you.. so....

 You posted this question in Stellaris forum and I told you about your code is still wrong. Again no port initialization exist and without this knowledge base you cannot complete the project.

 Again I pointed that on how you settled spi cannot program precise phase relationship on AD9834 pairs, if you need to do sync rectification or IQ demodulator from them  to evaluate phase and amplitude of real and imaginary part of signals jiiter fail miserably integration and measurement.

 Again on FT2232 I suggested you to use a cable like the one Andy pictured to check FT interface is ok then proceed step by step checking MSP communication..

 I suggested to get an MSP board with USB and experiment and fully understand with code examples on that board, you answered a new pcb is making???

 I completed myself my thesis without screaming to professors how to write single chapter or paragraph....

 If you did'nt grasp knowledge of how to solve problem you never go to a solution, making a new pcb is not a good solution: new error can be added to.. best is to rewire the one you have then make the final version. Try insist other solve your miriad of single problem and this generate a bad set of ununderstood  and system block never can fit together.

 Regards

Roberto Romano said:

making a new pcb is not a good solution: new error can be added to.. best is to rewire the one you have

That, of course, depends on how much re-wiring is needed!

Dear Sir,

Roberto Romano said:

Again I pointed that on how you settled spi cannot program precise phase relationship on AD9834 pairs, if you need to do sync rectification or IQ demodulator from them  to evaluate phase and amplitude of real and imaginary part of signals jiiter fail miserably integration and measurement.

First Off, thanks a ton for your advice, to spend some time to help a guy out 

who is at the other end of the world is truly super duper:-)

Now the serious part. At the cost of sounding like a total idiot 

i want to ask the following questions:

1) Rewiring: the FT2232 on my board has to be connected to the pins of MSP430 

in such a way that  data can be transfered  in SPI mode rather than in UART mode,

 is this the purpose of rewiring??  


2) I installed the drivers from the FT2232D site, on connecting the chip to the PC 

(there's a USB connector on my PCB), the FT is being recognised as COMPORT 15 and COMPORT 16,

 this is good right??


3) How do i make sure the FT chip is working fine,

 like how does one do a echo-data check kinda thing from the MSP(MSP communication)??


Thanks in advance.


best wishes
janmay

janmay b c said:

the FT2232 on my board has to be connected to the pins of MSP430 in such a way that  data can be transfered  in SPI mode rather than in UART mode

Why are you going back to SPI??

I thought you'd decided to use a UART connection??!!

You really, really should sit down with your "project guide" and talk this through thoroughly - with the board, and schematics, and datasheets in front of you.

You are struggling enough with out adding the added difficulties of remote assistance from people who don't know anything about you or your project!!

 

Hi Andy,

Andy Neil said:

You really, really should sit down with your "project guide" and talk this through thoroughly

Yes, point taken :-)

best wishes

janmay

 Hy Andy, IMHO not so much, just remove the LS244 (I suppose DIP from his writing) he added and use to wire up both DDS chip together, use two bit on same port to drive FSYNK firing in sync at end of initialization, this remove Jitter and phase error. I also suggested to use an IQ DDS on next instead of two expensive function gen DDS.

 I don't know nothing about analog part that can also be plagued by error. Network analyzer suffer a lot from interference and ground so an isolated board need to be built..

 FT part can be it work as is, I don't know that chip and need too much time to learn about. In the Stellaris forum Tsuneo Say'd wiring is ok to use with serial connection so just two wire are needed to check FT2232 work.

 As last I suggested to get a MSP5xxx board with USB and study example on this board.

 Benefit of this board are lot of working example, a graphic display on board and just connecting few wires to onboard cpu can control old hardware with less pain...

 Regards

 Roberto

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your helpful insight, i will do some reading

and experimentation and get back here :-)

Roberto Romano said:

get a MSP5xxx board with USB and study example on this board.

True sir, this is the one which would have been great for my project,

but unfortunately i have no money left now !!. So will try to manage with the

MSP430F2619 on my custom made board. Now, sending ADC conversion

results to the PC is my final task. So relentlessly working in

that direction :-)

best wishes

janmay 

janmay b c said:

Now, sending ADC conversion

results to the PC is my final task. So relentlessly working in

that direction :-)

 Hi Janmay, this way we cannot go somewhere, how big are project files of schematic pcb and which format? Can you send me by email so I can do a complete survey on?

 The only FT2232 I own is from TI JTAG and present as TXI Luminary Micro ICDI at Win virtual side but I am using Linux not winzz.

 You see two serial port so one of these can be the correct one, do you have another board or at least few US$ to buy a cp2102 or a simple FT232 serial device?

 SO do these check: open serial communication, you can find in start->accessory->communication->hyperterminal, launch it then select direct communication, baud rate 9600, 8 bit no parity No handshake then one of the two comport, try both, erase the MSP, short the two communication pin together or attach your scope, power cycle and see if you receive something typing on hyperterminal window, if not try change port. You get no echo on screen without shorting rx and tx, this is the basic test, you can do that by software with a loopback external.

For further help I need complete schematic to follow you otherwise it is impossible to understand what are you doing

Dont remake a new pcb till you get this one working at the cost of more wire than track.

Regards

:~$ lsusb
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0451:f432 Texas Instruments, Inc.
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 0403:bcda Future Technology Devices International, Ltd

 On windows side see the picture of device manager and hyperterminal setup

janmay b c said:

All in all, my understanding of the FT2232D is not that great. And nobody in my institute is using it,

 infact i am the first to use a MSP430 over here!!, the rest work with the 8-bit PIC MCU.  But Thats not an

 valid excuse i know.

  PIC is completely out of order for your application, you saved a lot of money and time to try get something working about a too slow processor, PIC and DSPIC cost more than MSP and don't do more than a high end MSP that cost a fraction of, MPLAB is a very slow IDE and I forever need say thank to FAE presented me MSP a long time ago.

  This is a good point to your side.

 Remember when you remake the pcb to never use analog input as digital output, this introduce noise on conversion, your ADC is a precision 12 bit not PIC 8 bit. Also remember to pack more pin as possible on same port and if you drive a selector use consecutive bit.

 I forgot in the other answer so try read these document about measurement theory, HP was a big source of information and is still available:

http://www.hpmemory.org/ressources/resrc_an_01.htm

http://www.hpmemory.org/an/pdf/an_243.pdf

http://www.hpmemory.org/an/pdf/an_346-4.pdf

http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5965-7707E.pdf

Here a source of shielding material for future EMF compliance:

http:/www.aaronia.com/products/shielding-screening/

">http://www.aaronia.com/products/shielding-screening/

 Regards

 Roberto

Edited feb 20 2012: made link working

Dear Sir,

Roberto Romano said:

Can you send me by email

Sure sir, i would be truly honoured to get your valuable assitance in dealing with my problem.

I will be greatly benefitted by your inputs. My mail i d is bcjanmay.comp@gmail.com.

You could, if possible, send your mail i d by the "start conversation" feature available on my profile.

Roberto Romano said:

at least few US$ to buy a cp2102 or a simple FT232 serial device?

Yes sir, i do, fortunately i have a great family, who always have financially

 supported me in all projects :-), 

they were the ones who bought the Emulator and target board for me. 

My college/dept just discourages students and forces 

them to use 8-bit PIC(with one PIC start plus for the entire dept!!)

And, thanks for the links sir. Will certainly go through them.

Roberto Romano said:
hyperterminal window

Sir, Here there is a slight change of plans, my OS is Windows 7, 

which has no hyper terminal, 

but currently i was able to get a HTerminal kind of program written in Visual Basic, 

will attach it in my mail, hers's its screenshot.

Will try out the communication test that you have mentioned. Thanks a lot.

best wishes

janmay

Hi Janmay, this can be a starting point but it is a trouble when you simply need type something or just do autorepeat to test communication lines.

 M$ hided telnet and hyperterminal, try download an alternative like Putty or try this.

 Possibly avoid proprietary expensive and slow envirnoment, for now if not pay'd from education program use but change to a multiplatform ASAP, many people like me hate winzz and his worst monopoly.

 Check this multiplatform logic instrument to see a smart solution. I own an agilent logic analyzer mainframe with pattern vector generator and integrated fast scope, more fast and precise but this small board behave more and more better on slow data analysis like SPI i2c and serial comm and still get place on laptop bag too.

 Regards

 Roberto

Dear Sir,

Roberto Romano said:

Possibly avoid proprietary expensive and slow envirnoment

True sir, i also have ubuntu installed on my Laptop, but dont use it much.

Roberto Romano said:

I own an agilent logic analyzer

Sir, i had never heard about such analyzer's ever before!!. These would be of

immense help to capture data during SPI and UART interfacing.

I have very much benefitted by your suggestions and advice. Thanks

a lot.

best wishes

janmay 

janmay b c said:

True sir, i also have ubuntu installed on my Laptop, but dont use it much.

 Hi Janmay, as you can see from picture I am using XP SP2 locked to SP2 by isolation, It run on a linux windows, I can do copy and paste from Linx to XP seamless and XP is confined to local network only to avoid viruses and unwanted upgrade. Turn on Ubuntu and install VBOX and wine, win appication are much more faster than on native platform too and you can test multiple installation in just one pc too.

janmay b c said:

Sir, i had never heard about such analyzer's ever before!!. These would be of

immense help to capture data during SPI and UART interfacing.

 They are of immense use on fast digital lines, weight over 25Kg and are very expensive too so remained on old labs, see here 16702b, this was the last one unix based and I refused to buy a win based instrument, you can see price of substitute that is equivalent to old one and lost scope board and integration and support to old board series(not less expensive than mainframe!!!). For MSP and protocol debug I now use Saleae Logic tools, it is more simple to use and setup, run on same pc in use to debug, not least stay on laptop bag without  fear. Download his demo software and play with it to see what it offer It is not a real Logic analyzer but it can be useful in your case.

 Regards

 Roberto

Hi Roberto!

While complete off topic - thanks for your pointer to Saleae LAs. Really affordable and  looks quite promising from the website :-)

BTW, I loved my old HP LA with HP/UX booting ;-)

Cheers,

Jan

To give some input to this discussion also, I tried some USB to SPI and UART converters from Microchip (sorry, TI) a while ago and found them quite simple and easy to use and more development friendly since thier soic package:

http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en546923

http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en556614

Both are quite cheap (<2$ for singe units) and I build up simple USB to SPI and UART wires with them for testing since no none had a already manufactured cable available.

Just as a hint :-)

Hi Jan,

Thanks for your inputs. A FT2232D equivalent chip in TI's stable is the TUSB3410

http://www.ti.com/product/tusb3410

 . 

best wishes

janmay

 Hi Jan, FT2232 chip Janmay selected is a good chip, the only bad thing are their lack of experience and no guidance... Anyway FT offer a complete USB solution series chip from simple serial to multiprotocol with fifo to complete stand alone host solution. TI offer similar feature on hi end processor and Stellaris series that are cheap enough to be in place of.

 I am revising his project and at a first glance I think it can work out of the box with just some wiring on a dip socket. Great result for a so worst condition.

 About microchip interfaces I think it can be an error to use them, best is to change processor and switch to MSP 5xxx series with USB and or add BT or wireless device to completely avoid ground looping.

 IMHO after switching out of microchip in favor of MSP I never used them dropping away every pieces of that brand.

 Regards

 Roberto

Hi Roberto,

of course you are right - FTDI seems to be a defacto standard. They are populated on some of TIs development boards also - even if TI has it's own USB protocol converters like the TUSB3410 (with is used on the launchpad for example).

I mentioned the microchip devices for information only as I build up just a converter cable by flying wires myself from them as they are cheaper and in a more wide spaced package for airwiring ;-) (maybe FTDI or TI has devices now available with leads having more than 0.6mm spacing, haven't looked for them quite a long time ago) As additional information the mentioned MCP22xx devices are nothing special - they are fixed firmware programmed pic18f15k50. I came from PICs (those otp and uv eraseable ones) and made the switch to TI a long time ago and found the architecture much more pleasurable and easier to program - I won't go back for new projects without force ;-)

In a real project I completely agree that using a smaller mcu and a sperate converter connected to it is not worth the board space - with aquivalent or less money someone can get a MSP430F5xxx controller with UART and USB out of the box. No need of converters, no need for an additional software stack. In my opinion such converters are only really useful for legacy applications where UART is already implemented and there is need for USB without redesigning or development. Think of the MSP430F5508 for about 3 EUR and a FT2232 for about 6 EUR (ok, much more than a USB-UART converter, the MSP itself does not have a external JTAG of of the box).

For the dropped brands - I think every enigneer has it's on "bad company".

But for the topic of this thread, I think Janmay will get it working with a litte help and reading - it's not too hard.

Cheers,

Jan

Jan Kesten said:

maybe FTDI ... has devices now available with leads having more than 0.6mm spacing

No, they don't. It would not be worth their while for the tiny volumes involved.

Instead, they offer the modules and cable assemblies mentioned earlier...

Hi, 

Yes,  MSP430F5xxx controller  would have been ideal for me, but

in a hurry to do things super-fast i selected a MSP430F2xxx MCU :-).

But thanks a ton to this forum and especially to Mr Roberto Romano

his patience and MSP knowledge is simply awesome :-).

Coming to FT2232D modules here's another one

http://www.vandijkenelektronica.nl/main.php?action=product&categories_id=0&products_id=2659

Its in dutch.

PS : can anybody please tell me how to convert these long URL's to a single word

while posting, Thanks.

best wishes

janmay

 Hi Jm, write the name you wish for link, then select it, press link button and paste the link:

This is Your link

 Regards

Dear Sir,

Thanks for the reply.

I tested with google and it works !!

Thanks once again :-)

best wishes

janmay

Jan Kesten said:

While complete off topic - thanks for your pointer to Saleae LAs. Really affordable and  looks quite promising from the website :-)

Coming back from vacation, I found the "Logic" from Saleae on my desk. I quickly tested it by analyzing the serial output from my 5438 breakout board. I works perfectly. The software is simply brilliant. Not the typical "well, people want software for the expensive hardware, so we provide something" crap, but really usable.
The only problem is that my old workhorse has only USB1.1, this means I cannto get past 500kHz sampling rate. Which is sufficient for 15200Bd UART, but not for 16MHz SPI :(

You really get much bang for the buck wiht this baby. And if 8 channels aren't enough, you can go for the 16 bit "Logic16".

If you don't have the money for a _really_ good digital scope, this one is an excellent extenstion to an analog (or even a cheap digital) scope. At a fraction of the money.

Jens-Michael Gross said:

If you don't have the money for a _really_ good digital scope, this one is an excellent extenstion to an analog (or even a cheap digital) scope. At a fraction of the money.

 Hi Jens, happy to see you appreciated Logic, the only one negative impact is the USB. I don't miss the fast Logic analyzer nor the fast scope but this is very useful for data analysis and software is the best I ever see  more simple to use than the Agilent LA.

 Regards

 Roberto

Roberto Romano said:

the only one negative impact is the USB

Right. The USB latency seems to be handle fine by the software, but you definitely need USB2.0 if you want to go past 500kHz sampling rate.
However, what would be the alternative connection? A PCI card with proprietary connector? Parallel or serial, even if available on your machine, won't be fast enough. And FireWire or SCSI are no longer supported and also woudl drive the price higher and higher.

As bad as USB is, it's the only high-speed connection widely available.

And I've seen devices which performed way worse on USB (including some USB scopes)

Greetings Jan,

A friend of mine wants to buy a MSP430 target board, with USB data transfer capability from the MSP to the PC.

I found the MSP-TS430PZ100USB to be a good choice. But i find no USB transfer chips such as

the FT2232 or the TUSB3410 in the schematics of the target board.

I just wanted to know, without any of these chips on the target board,

how is the MSP capable of data transfer to the PC??

Please let me know how only a stand-alone MSP target board is capable of data transfer to the PC??

I will be very grateful to you, if you could help me out.

best wishes

janmay

Hi Janmay,

is answer is easy - the USB is integrated in some MSP430 devices and can be used then without any other chip. The lowers sometimes the overall system cost and mostly required board space. As for your board, you need to pick an apropriate MSP430 for the socket that comes with usb support. 

Most MSP430 with USB also have "normal" serial UART capabilities - so you have to ways to connect the board to your PC (but you will need a MAX3232 or similar for level translation). 

Dear Sir,

Jens-Michael Gross said:

663x and 563x MSPs only, which have an internal USB controller

Thanks for the reply sir

best wishes

janmay

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the reply.

Jan said:

you will need a MAX3232 or similar for level translation

Yes, this was the doubt i wanted to get cleared. So, even though there's a USB RECEPTACLE

on the board, i will need a  MAX3232 in-between the Target board and the PC, am i right??

So this eliminates chips such as FT2232 or TUSB3410 chips, but i would still need

a level translating chip in-between my target board and my PC.

Please do let me know whether i am understanding the situation correctly. Thanks a lot for the explanation.

best wishes

janmay

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the quick and exhaustive reply. It was most helpful and cleared all my doubts.

Once again thanks for taking the time to explain the situation correctly to me.

best wishes

janmay

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your quick reply.

Roberto Romano said:

what you need to do with?

Background: A friend of mine needs to sense the ADC channels repeatedly and send the data to PC (for which application, i do not know)

So, basically he needs a ready-made MCU mounted board with USB capability.

In short: He just wants to plug-in the target/evaluation board to the PC via a USB cable, and transfer data.

So, he asked me whether there was any board available from TI hosting the MSP430 MCU, capable of doing
the above mentioned function. Since, i struggled with a separate chips(FT and MSP) i too am interested to know whether

such a board is available or not.

Roberto Romano said:

Wich data rate do you need?

Sir, i did not understand this question. are you talking about MB/s or baudrate??

Roberto Romano said:

Is isolation necessary from PC and or ground?

This question too i don't understand. Sir, How is it possible to isolate PC?? (Please forgive my ignorance)

Roberto Romano said:

Are battery operation a required feature?

Sir, This too i don't understand, are you referring to the MSP being operated by a 3 V battery??

Roberto Romano said:

How much computing power do you need?

Till now my friend told me that he wants to send ADC sampled data to PC, that's it !!

Roberto Romano said:

Before to seek for a solution

Thanks a lot for the evaluation board links sir, i just want to be extra careful in suggesting the

right board to my friend, so that he does not lose money and his time unnecessarily because

of my mistake of ordering a wrong board .

best wishes

janmay

 Hi Janmay,

janmay b c said:

Background: A friend of mine needs to sense the ADC channels repeatedly and send the data to PC (for which application, i do not know)

So, basically he needs a ready-made MCU mounted board with USB capability.

 You have no idea of what it think to do, if slow data read is enough again speed of serial emulated communication in order of few 10K bit rate can work. If faster sustained data reading are necessary at full ADC speed then just the native USB can sustain at full 12 or 480Mbps, so this point must be clarified to select a launchpad or an USB part.

 On the other side one of wifi or BT part are more simple to use, you don't need drivers for USB and data can be simply streamed thru interface to PC and cellphone and tablet too.

janmay b c said:

Thanks a lot for the evaluation board links sir, i just want to be extra careful in suggesting the

right board to my friend, so that he does not lose money and his time unnecessarily because

of my mistake of ordering a wrong board .

 In front of preceding part this is not your failure but simply the missing information, overkill it suggesting 5-6xx USB full speed part. The trouble start on winzozz side and cannot be so simple to solve.

janmay b c said:

Wich data rate do you need?

Sir, i did not understand this question. are you talking about MB/s or baudrate??

[/quote]

 Bitrate is same of baudrate on unmodulated baseband communication so on serial line common speed are in the range of 110K to 960kbps max, on USB side the speed is 12Mbps for USB1 or USB2 low speed to 480Mbps USB2 full speed.

janmay b c said:

Is isolation necessary from PC and or ground?

This question too i don't understand. Sir, How is it possible to isolate PC?? (Please forgive my ignorance)

[/quote]

 TO avoid introduce common mode or ground loop noise often is required to have pc ground separated from external device. To accomplish this a galvanic isolation can be added on communication side (standard for firewire and lan) or a air gap separated communication in place so WIFI and BT are not only galvanic but physically separated too. Using one of these two technology also permit to transport data to other device than pc.

 So before to say I think this board can fit your need ask your friend to answer all the question.

janmay b c said:

In short: He just wants to plug-in the target/evaluation board to the PC via a USB cable, and transfer data.

So, he asked me whether there was any board available from TI hosting the MSP430 MCU, capable of doing
the above mentioned function.

Why not using the LaunchPad?
Take a look at this nice project. It uses a standard LaunchPad to show an analog input signal on an MSP pin as a realtiem scope signal on the PC.

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your detailed reply and very much sorry for my late reply !!

The Intended applications:

1) To sense voltages from 3 voltage sensors repeatedly and sending the data to PC

2) A PC oscilloscope - where any wave form sensed on the ADC channels is seen on the PC, via a GUI.

For the time being the focus is one 1).

Now, it is definitely not possible for us students to write drivers on the PC side. So for these applications, if possible

please suggest an appropriate evaluation board/target board, wherein data from the MSP430 can be viewed on PuTTy.

Thanks a lot for your invaluable inputs sir. My friend and also i will be extremely grateful to you if you could suggest an suitable ready-made MSP430 board from TI. Thanks.

best wishes

janmay