MSP430F5438AIPZ

Andreas:

Looks like you are experiencing an MCU shortage. And it looks like all the major suppliers are out of stock.

I think you are trying to find a substitute MCU having the same package and the same set of functions at the same set of pins. You might not be able to find an exact substitute. I think you have three options available to you.

1. Contact TI sales and ask them when an order for those MCUs can be fulfilled, and then wait. (I bet you already did that.)
2. Go to the MSP430 Microcontrollers - Products web page, search for all MCUs which have
   1. the same package type,
   2. the same package dimensions, and
   3. the same functions at the same pins.
3. Go to the MSP430 Microcontrollers - Products web page, search for an MCU which has the same peripheral modules and functions you need, and then design an interface board. The board interconnects the pins on the substitute MCU with their correlating pins on the MSP430F5438AIPZ package.

If anybody has better ideas, I'd like to know about them.

Dear Thomas Foxcroft,

thanks for your quick reply. Right, I had contact with the sales department. He was of the opinion that I would
get to MCU via this route, here in the forum. I think that's a mistake. I am very surprised that nobody has a 
few MCU's in the "small" warehouse. Some would be enough for me, with errors when printing, or I2C doesn't work,
which I don't need either ... I have to check steps two and three over the next few days .... Thanks for your support.

Dear Thomas Foxcroft,

thanks for your quick reply. Right, I had contact with the sales department. He was of the opinion that I would
get to MCU via this route, here in the forum. I think that's a mistake. I am very surprised that nobody has a 
few MCU's in the "small" warehouse. Some would be enough for me, with errors when printing, or I2C doesn't work,
which I don't need either ... I have to check steps two and three over the next few days .... Thanks for your support.

Hi Andreas,

Please accept my friend request so we can discuss your case further.

BR,

Leo

Andreas:

Avoid purchasing the MCU from an Amazon or eBay seller, since counterfeited MCUs is a reality and the magnitude of that problem is very high.

If TI is able to give you a date when they can fulfill an order for 250 units of the MSP430F5438AIPZ, then I would do my best to to be patient. Otherwise, I would go with option 3. Here's why.

Stay with the MSP430F5438A sub-family of microcontrollers since they all have the same set of features. The webpage for that family shows that Texas Instruments has 2,490 units of the MSP430F5438AIZCAR. That is the same microcontroller, but in a different package. You would have to design and produce an interface board to use that package.

Furthermore, since the MSP430F5438AIZCAR and MSP430F5438AIPZ are the same microcontroller, but in a different package, the firmware program written for the MSP430F5438AIPZ should work on the MSP430F5438AIZCAR without any changes. Bingo!

Good luck with your project.