MSP-FET430UIF vs MSP-FETU430IF

Rod,

What makes you say you have a MSP-FETU430IF?  I have never heard of this as a product.  The MSP430 emulator is MSP-FET430UIF, at the website you cited.

http://www.ti.com/tool/MSP-FET430UIF

There may be some mix-ups in software driver documentation or Windows system listings or something that cites the MSP-FETU430IF, but I don't believe there is a product called this.

- David

Do you mean you have a MSP-FET430PIF?  This doc http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau278l/slau278l.pdf in section "1.1 Flash Emulation Tool (FET) Overview" has a nice over view of all of the msp430 programmers.  

The emulator has MSP-FETU430IF printed on the case,  I tried to upload a photo

David M. Alter said:

What makes you say you have a MSP-FETU430IF?  I have never heard of this as a product

User Christian Steffen seems to have one: http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/p/132773/816447.aspx#816447

Edit: 

And I now see that he was making a post in this thread at the same time as me!

David M. Alter said:

What makes you say you have a MSP-FETU430IF?  I have never heard of this as a product

Andy Neil said:

User Christian Steffen seems to have one: http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/p/132773/816447.aspx#816447 

Actually, it seems that user BenH (originator of the other thread) also has one of each: http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/p/132773/816467.aspx

So it's not an isolated incident...

Note that it isn't actually an Emulator:

 http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/p/227532/800287.aspx#800287

I found a declaration of conformity signed by TI for the MSP-FETU430IF. See the pdf attached. It is dated to the year 2004.  Maybe it's an old product name from earlier days.

All,

These are the same tool.  I see the picture that Rod posted of his MSP-FETU430IF.  I think someone is playing with the silk screen at the factory.  There is only one USB emulator part number: MSP-FET430UIF.  After reading everyones thread, I further convinced myself by opening this document: MSP430(tm) Hardware Tools User's Guide (Rev. L), and going to page 141.  The section header says MSP-FET430UIF, but the legend in the schematic says MSP-FETU430IF.  I think this is just some sloppiness with the name.  Someone used the wrong name in the schematic way back when, and others have copied that name at various points in time.  They are the same product with the same pod guts, as Christian said earlier in his post.  The version number on the pod (or circuit board) is the important thing in terms of knowing what tool version you have.

In terms of it being an emulator or not (as Andy was debating), it is true that it is not an IN-CIRCUIT emulator.  As Andy's post described, that is something which actually replaces the microcontroller on the board with the emulator pod (usually an FPGA in the emulator pod nowadays, although in-circuit emulators are very rare now).  Rather the MSP-FET430UIF is a pod that performs SCAN-BASED emulation.  I therefore call it an emulator.

Rod, if you are all set with this now, please close the thread.

Regards,

David

David M. Alter said:

the MSP-FET430UIF is a pod that performs SCAN-BASED emulation

I would say that it does not perform any sort of emulation at all - hence it should not be called an "emulator".

What it provides is access to the actual target hardware - not emulation of that hardware.

But I guess that the term is too deeply entrenched to stop it now - much like the "DB9" (sic) connector...

Texas Instruments invented JTAG scan-based emulation. See here.

TI [...] augments this [JTAG] capability with additional emulation logic to provide even greater visibility and access into registers and other internal functions such as on-chip cache memories.

It is used in TI' XDS-series emulators and I think the MSP430 USB-Debug-Interface is set to become there, even if there is no on-chip cache memory in MSP430 devices for example. I usually do not call that interface an emulator, but rather an emulation tool. I think we just got a little off topic.

Christian Steffen said:

Texas Instruments invented JTAG scan-based emulation

I think Motorola (now Freescale) might take issue with that...

Christian Steffen said:

an emulation tool

No, it's not an emulation tool, because there is no emulating involved at all;  it is the Real McCoy - not emulated or simulated in any way!

Christian Steffen said:

I think we just got a little off topic

Surely not...

;-)

Andy Neil said:

Texas Instruments invented JTAG scan-based emulation

I think Motorola (now Freescale) might take issue with that...

[/quote]

I didn't said TI invented boundary scan (IEEE1149.1 or JTAG). My statement is based on Texas Intruments' own information about the extension of the JTAG capabilities with additional emulation logic on that link mentioned above. I didn't want to start a lawsuit. I wanted to explain some possible origin of the word emulation in MSP430 USB-Debug-Interface context, as it is used by TI ;-)

Christian Steffen said:

My statement is based on Texas Intruments' own information ... I didn't want to start a lawsuit

Entirely understood

Please go trough the following.

http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau278l/slau278l.pdf in section "1.1 Flash Emulation Tool (FET) Overview"

you will be getting it..

Thanking you...

Thank you very much.

Best regards,

Rod