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MSP430F5438A Firmware upgrade using BSL.

VINOTHKUMAR ARUMUGAM
Prodigy 40 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MSP430F5438A, MAX3232

Hi,

We want to update the firmware of a msp430f5438a microcontroller remotely using BSL , for this purpose we have 3 pins on the board ,P1.0,P1.1,P1.2 . From this forum we found we can do this with the Ti's USB Firmware Upgrade Software . But in the board we dont have the USB to UART converter , we have a TTL RS 232 RG cable (USB to UART) which we are using for C6678 UART access , can we use the same cable for the msp430 USB firmware upgrade ? . If it is possible we want to try it first in the msp430f5438a Evaluation board , does the Evluation board have this pins for this purpose?

  • 0
    Guru 227245 points

    Your serial connection needs to provide RTS/DSR (?) signals to enter BSL mode. Besides this you can connect the RX and TX lines to both, the hardware UART pins and the BSL software UART pins (which are actually timer pins). At power-on, all will be high-impedance inputs, and in BSL mode the hardware UART isn’t used and in your application, the timer pins aren’t used, so there is no conflict. However, if the RS232 interface is permanently connected, the timer pins cannot be used for anything else in your application (well, a simple jumper may fix this J )

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 40 points

    Hi Gross,

    From the MSP 430 user manual, (http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/msp430f5438a.pdf), it seems like

    only these six pins are needed. Here nothing is specified for RTS/DSR pins. please confirm hardware requirements for BSL.

  • 0 in reply to VINOTHKUMAR ARUMUGAM
    Guru 227245 points

    The datasheet (it’s not the users guide) isn’t clear here. The notice ‘entry sequence’ means, on these two pins, the entry sequence has to be generated. The PC application uses RTS and DSR to do so. These signals are not used for their original purpose (data flow control), but they are the only other two output signals besides TxD, and they can be directly controlled by the application.

    VCC isn’t required as connection, as long as the MSP is powered properly.
    And keep in mind that the MSP takes TTL level signals, while a COM port uses V.24/RS232 signal levels. Unless oyu have an UBS/SER bridge cable that outputs TTL signals, you’ll need a level shifter such as the MAX3232.

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 40 points

    Hi Gross,

    Thanks for ur reply .

    RST/NMI/SBWTDIO -  Entry sequence signal
    TEST/SBWTCK           - Entry sequence signal

    From your reply i came to know that these two entry sequence signals are to be connected with RTS/DSR for triggering the BSL.Can you specify exactly which has to be connected to RTS and DSR , i didnot find these information in the data sheet.

  • 0 in reply to VINOTHKUMAR ARUMUGAM
    Prodigy 40 points

    Hi Gross,


    We are using TTL-232RG(TTL to USB serial generic cable) for this purpose. But it is having VCC, GND, RX, TX, RTS. CTS pins only.. That is instead of DSR it is having CTS. will it be okay to use this cable or do we need to find a new one.

    Thanks,

    Vinoth

  • 0 in reply to VINOTHKUMAR ARUMUGAM
    Guru 227245 points

    VINOTHKUMAR ARUMUGAM said:
    i didnot find these information in the data sheet.

    While pinout is, its use isn’t a device-specific information. So it would be rather found in the users guide.

    However, there’s a dedicated application note, the BSL users guide slau319.pdf

    RTS/CTS and DTR/DSR are pairs that go into different directions. So having RTS/CTS  won't help as one is from PC to MSP and one is from MSP to PC. (I always confuse whcih is which.) You need two from PC to MSP, in addition to RX and TX.

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