CCS/MSP-EXP432E401Y: Console not able to receive data from MSP432 LaunchPad UART0 MSP432 when running Display driver example, but able to receive data when running the same program on a TIVA LaunchPad

Just tried reinstalling CCS and all associated TI packages and the problem remains. Originally I had CCS 7 and CCS 8 installed, along with both a TIVA SDK and the MSP432 SDK mentioned above.
- uninstalled all of SDKs, and the CCSs
- removed the C:\ti folder completely
- rebooted the computer
- installed CCS8
- installed SimpleLink MSP432E4SDK v2.20.0.20
- created brand new workspace
- imported C:\ti\simplelink_msp432e4_sdk_2_20_00_20\examples\rtos\MSP_EXP432E401Y\drivers\display\tirtos\gcc
- built and ran

Same problem. Display_printf calls still do not appear in console.

I have been unable to recreate but I also have a Windows 7 machine. The latest version of ccs is 8.1 ( processors.wiki.ti.com/.../Download_CCS ) and there was a release of the XDS emulation software in June (processors.wiki.ti.com/.../XDS_Emulation_Software_Package ) however, I do not see a specific mention of any issues related to Windows 10. I have reached out to the tool experts and will provide an update by the end of the week.

Chris

Paul,
Since you can see the com port in Teraterm it would seam that the drivers are working properly. My understanding in talking with the XDS developers is that no binaries are installed to make the COM ports work. The drivers use the binaries included with windows.

Chris

Thank you Chris for the feedback. Good to know that the drivers use the same binaries included with windows. I have a hard time understanding that just because I can see the COM port that the drivers are working properly. I can easily imagine situations where the COM port gets enumuerated, etc, but is not able to do its job. So the next question is as follows. What is the difference in the way the TIVA LaunchPad causes the virtual com port to be setup and the way the virtual com port is set up by the MSP432 Lauchpad? Can you point me to which Windows binaries we are referring to?

I have since run another experiment where I configure the Display driver example to use UART5 instead of UART0 (via the XDS), and I am able to see the console output as expected.


I will be focusing on the trying to find out more information about the drivers specific to my system, but would much appreciate any insights from TI. I use my system for serial communications all the time, and this is the first time I have encountered anything like this. Could be a subtle issue with the drivers on my system, but it could also be a subtle issue with how the XDS emulates a com port on the MSP432 Lauchpad, or both.

Hi Chris. I have one other question. I have looked at the target configuration files which reference various xml files which then reference various other files. Is there anything in these files that would affect how the XDS emulates the COM port?

Paul,
My understanding is that the driver simply tells Windows which endpoints on the XDS110 are to be used for the COM ports. I am not familiar with the xml structure and will need to get back to you on that. I am looking at the driver here; C:\ti\ccsv8\ccs_base\emulation\windows\xds110_drivers .

In the case where you move the display to UART5, are you jumpering the UART to the RXD/TXD pins on the XDS110 side of the launcpad ( MSP-EXP432E401Y)?

Chris

Have you selected the correct com port?

Hi Chris:

 I appreciate you keeping an eye on this, as I do need to get this resolved.  I have not yet taken a closer look at the drivers on my system to see if there is something I can adjust there.  I have had other things that I need to take care of, but I will be getting back to it.  It seems to me that there has to be something different about how the XDS110 emulates the comport on the TIVA lauchpad versus the MSP Lauchpad.  It seems like there is an awful lot going on in those configuration files, and I can't help but wonder if that has something to do with the issue.

 When I am using UART5, I am connecting to the receive and transmit pins of my serial cable to the PC6 and PC7 header pins of the Lauchpad (so as not to use the XDS emulation), and have the UART configuration code set up accordingly.

Hi Keith:

At the beginning of this thread, I indicated

"When running the same program on another Windows 10 system using the same version of Teraterm, same CCS, same SDK, the same target board, the console output DOES display the Display_printf data."

So there is no misunderstanding, I meant the MSP432 lauchpad as the "same target board". Everything was configured the same way, just using a different host. This demonstrates that it is not a com port selection issue, either on the Launchpad or in the code.

There is no reason to believe that Windows 10 uses the same com port number as another version of windows.

When you say
"I am connecting to the receive and transmit pins of my serial cable to the PC6 and PC7 header pins of the Lauchpad (so as not to use the XDS emulation)"

What are you using to get the serial into the PC? Or are you connecting directly to that rare beast a real serial port.

I don't believe I made any statement that should lead one to assume anything about particular COM port numbers being used on Windows.  The com port number on the Windows side is the one which maps to the XDS110 Class Application/User UART as described at the beginning of this thread.  In the case of TIVA, it would be the port that maps to the Stellaris.  The actual number is not important.  I am using a USB-RS232 converter cable to connect the PC to UART5 of the Launchpad.

Edit: July 31 - 2018

I pasted the wrong link above regarding the converter cable we are using.  Please refer to the post below dated July 31, 2018 for the correct link to the specification for the converter cable.

You do know that the Launchpad does not output RS232, right? It is 5V serial.

Hello Keith: I don't believe you have made sufficient effort to absorb all of the information in this thread. With respect, your questions and comments have not been helpful, and are distracting from the fundamental issue at hand. It has nothing to do with a wrong RS232 adapter, and nothing to do with wrong Windows com port numbers. If you think the RS232 adapter I am using is the root cause of this issue, then rather than quizzing me, it would be much more helpful (to me and other readers of this thread) for you to provide a detailed explanation why the use of this adapter relates to the issue described above. Please re-read and carefully absorb all of the information in this thread before further posting.

Hooking up an RS232 adapter directly to a GPIO on an MSP432 can damage it, which may explain your problem.

Please refer to previous post which provides a link to the type of RS232 adapter we are using, and let me know if you think that can damage the board.

I already did, and depending on how negative it goes it can damage the board. RS232 can go to -12 V.

I would be grateful if you could point me to the part of the specifications in the link that I provided above that lead you to believe that the adapter could damage the board.

Paul,
I was hoping to isolate the issue to the UART0. Specifically if you could connect the UART5, which you have confirmed works, with the onboard XDS110 and show that it does not work, then that would help me eliminate the UART0 as the possible issue and give me more ammunition to go back to the driver team with.

Thanks,
Chris

Hi Chris:

I am not sure if I understand what you want me to do here. I was not aware that one could route UART5 to the XDS110. My understanding is that the jumpers JP4 and JP5 can either be configured to route UART0 to the XDS110 or UART2 to the XDS110. What do I need to do to route UART5 to the XDS110? If this is possible, and you can provide me some additional details, I will be eager to try it out.

I am going to be out next week, but I will be able to dive back into this the following week.

Thank you.
Paul

Paul,
You would need jumper wires. On the launchpad you can configure PC6 and PC7 to output UART5 (J1). You can then jumper these pins to the appropriate connection on the XDS110 side of the J101 header.

Chris

Hello Keith: 

   Thank you for pasting in the relevant information from the link to the spec that I provided.  It made me realize that I provided the wrong link (above) to the part we are using.  I apologize for the confusion, and extra work this caused you to do!

The correct link to the part we are using is below.  We are using the 3V3 part.

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/163/DS_TTL-232R_CABLES-217672.pdf

I will edit the earlier post to refer to this one to help minimize confusion for others.

Paul

Hello Chris:

I connected UART5 to the XDS110 as you described and am still observing the same issue.

To start with, I repeated the experiment above where I ran the program using UART5 with a USB to serial adapter connected to PC6 and PC7 on J1, and observed the console output as expected (this confirms that everything in the software configuration is correct). I then removed the serial adapter from PC6 and PC7, and jumpered PC7 to the TXD pin on the XDS side of J101, and jumpered PC6 to the RXD pin on the XDS side of J101, and removed the jumpers from JP4 and JP5. Ran the same program as before, and NO output was observed on the console. I also tried this on another MSP432 Launchpad and had the same result.

I also uninstalled CCS CCS Version: 8.0.0.00016 and installed the latest  Version: 8.1.0.00011 on the off chance that would have some effect.  Still the same issue is observed.

Please let me know if there is other information that I can provide that would be helpful. It is important for me to resolve this as soon as possible.

Thank you.
Paul