CAPTIVATE-ISO: No communication with the Design Center when using CAPTIVATE ISO

Hi Christopher,

For reference, Captivate Technology Guide, CAPTIVATE-ISO.

The CAPTIVATE-ISO pcb provides both ground and power isolation.  This means you need to provide power to the "target" side of the CAPTIVATE-ISO pcb.  The minimum voltage required on the "target" side is 2.7v.  This is the minimum operating voltage on one of the ISO devices.

If you have this setup and still not seeing communication, are you using UART or I2C ?

Hi Dennis,

I have applied a 3.3V power supply. The communication takes place via I2C. It is noticeable that as soon as I plug in the iso board, the output of the detection via the LED on the dev board no longer works. Or rather, the "scan LED" no longer flashes.

Ok, this would indicate the HID-BRIDGE (MSP430F5528) on the CAPTIVATE-PGMR may not responding to the IRQ from the target.  Assuming you are using the Captivate Design Center, after you connect up the hardware, try disconnecting, then re-connecting the communications and make sure you have selected BULK_I2C.

If that doesn't work, if you have a scope or logic probe, try connecting to the SDA, SCL and IRQ pins on the CAPTIVATE-PGMR side of the ISO pcb and verify you see the isolated signals.

Hi Christopher,

Unfortunately, I don't have one of those PCBs with me at the moment, but I will be going into the office later today and will connect one up and try to see if I have similar issue.

It looks like my MSP430 board is defective. I got a new board and it works there. Where the error comes from, I can't say. Thank you very much for your support!

Hi Christopher,

Ok, glad to hear you isolated the issue.  Did you want to replace the MSP430 board?

Hi Dennis, yes I will replace the MSP board as a first step. I will put the fault localisation on the back burner for the time being and carry out further tests with the new board.