MSP430FR6877: Suddenly writing becomes impossible due to GANG

Hello,

I wouldn't recommend using MSP-GANG with CCS. Please use the MSP-GANG GUI Software instead. You can use the MSP-FET with CCS.

Regards,

James

Hi James,

I'm sorry. The explanation was insufficient.

They ware writing with MSP-GANG (Hardware) and MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI), but suddenly they can't write anymore.
When they tried to connect using MSP-FET and CCS, it said "The Debug Interface to the device has been secured".

Best Regards,
O.H

Hi James,

I have some additional information that I would like to share with you.

It was found that the circuit design of the customer did not follow "Figure 2 -1. Signal Connections for 4 - Wire JTAG Communication" and "Figure 2 -3. Signal Connections for 2 - Wire JTAG Communication (Spy-Bi-Wire)" of "MSP 430 Hardware Tools User's Guide".
(To be more specific, neither a 47 kΩ pull-up register nor a pulldown capacitor of 2.2 nF or less is connected to the RST pin)

Customers are doing FMEA and looking for information about the cause.
Could you tell me if I should doubt the following two items?
1: The reason is that the circuit around the communication line of JTAG is different from the recommendation.
2: If an external power supply is used to supply power to the MSP-GANG, there is a possibility that the "Note" of the "1.3 Hardware Installation" in the "MSP Gang Programmer (MSP-GANG) User's Guide" is not observed, which is considered to be the cause.

Best Regards,
O.H

O.H said:

(To be more specific, neither a 47 kΩ pull-up register nor a pulldown capacitor of 2.2 nF or less is connected to the RST pin)

This is irrelevant for both JTAG & SBW interface. FRAM family is with internal pull-up on RST pin.

Hi zrno soli

Thank you for your reply.

As you said, I understood that there is no need for an external pull-up if they use an internal pull-up resistor.
However, as far as I check the data sheet, I understand that there is a need for a capacitor. Is that correct?

Best Regards,
O.H

Hi James,

With the current additional information, as a manufacturer, could you tell us why they are suddenly unable to write to their devices using MSP-GANG (Hardware) and MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE (GUI)?
Also, could you tell me the measures against this phenomenon?

My customers don't have much time and they want the manufacturer's response.
We would appreciate it if you could reply by 5/27 if possible.

○Additional Information
・When using MSP-GANG (Hardware) , only one custom board (Using the MSP430FR6877) is written and the maximum current is less than 50mA.
・The problem occurs in 2 of 50.

Best Regards,
O.H

O.H said:

However, as far as I check the data sheet, I understand that there is a need for a capacitor. Is that correct?

Capacitor on target device RESET pin is used to provide better start-up and to help in noisy environment. It is related to working standalone device.

Capacitor on RESET pin does not help to JTAG or SBW interface. To be more precise it makes things worst if SBW is used, limiting SBW rate to minimum.

Part Number: MSP430FR6877

Hi experts,

Since the information is scattered, I made a thread again.

When my customer was writing a program with MSP-GANG (Hardware) and MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI) to a custom board using MSP430FR6877, some boards became unwritable.
When they tried to connect the target device to the CCS using the MSP-FET, they received an error screen that said "The Debug Interface to the device has been secured".

Q: as a manufacturer, could you tell us why they are suddenly unable to write to their devices using MSP-GANG (Hardware) and MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE (GUI)?
Also, could you tell me the measures against this phenomenon?

Note:
・The problem occurs in 2 of 50.
・The 0xFF80 to 0xFF84 area has not been rewritten by the implemented software.
・In Setup->SecureDevice in the MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI) , SecureDevice is not checked.
・When using MSP-GANG (Hardware) , only one custom board (Using the MSP430FR6877) is written and the maximum current is less than 50mA.
・the circuit design of the customer did not follow "Figure 2 -1. Signal Connections for 4 - Wire JTAG Communication" and "Figure 2 -3. Signal Connections for 2 - Wire JTAG Communication (Spy-Bi-Wire)" of "MSP 430 Hardware Tools User's Guide".
　※The circuit has been discussed in the previous thread.
・When they try to write to the device that cannot connect to CCS again using MSP-GANG, "ERROR # 033 - IR communication failed" is displayed.

My customers don't have much time and they want the manufacturer's response.
We would appreciate it if you could reply by 5/27 if possible.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hallo,

thanks for contacting the forum.

We will check and let you know.

regards

Kostas

Hi Kostas,

Thanks for your support.
I have added some information to the first post, so please refer to it.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hello,

O.H said:

It was found that the circuit design of the customer did not follow "Figure 2 -1. Signal Connections for 4 - Wire JTAG Communication" and "Figure 2 -3. Signal Connections for 2 - Wire JTAG Communication (Spy-Bi-Wire)" of "MSP 430 Hardware Tools User's Guide".
(To be more specific, neither a 47 kΩ pull-up register nor a pulldown capacitor of 2.2 nF or less is connected to the RST pin)

It's important that these JTAG circuit recommendations are followed. Otherwise, programming issues like this may occur. If they use a target board, the issue should never happen since the JTAG circuit is correct, but as you mentioned earlier, it doesn't look like they've done this yet.

They can also slow down the JTAG or SBW speed in the MSP-GANG GUI under "Interface option". They should also check that the DVCC and AVCC capacitors match the capacitance recommendations in the datasheet.

Regards,

James

Hello James,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

We reconfirmed the importance of the recommended circuit.
We will also check the setting of MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI) and the capacitors of DVCC and AVCC.

Also, I have additional information, so could you tell me about the following questions?
Q: When "ERROR # 033 - IR communication failed" is displayed on MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI), is it considered the same as "Error 33: Ir Interrupted"?
If so, we assume that the contents of the following threads apply as is.
https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp430/f/166/p/337745/1180038#1180038

They tried to write again to the board that they could not write to using MSP-GANG(HW) and MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI) and got the above error.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hi Kostas,

I received an answer from your colleague in the original question thread.
MSP430FR6877: Suddenly writing becomes impossible due to GANG

So I want to continue the discussion in the original thread.
I apologize for taking your time.
And I appreciate your kind support despite the short deadline.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hallo Kostas,

I tried to delete the current thread using the following thread method, but it didn't work.
https://e2e.ti.com/support/site-support/f/1024/t/767634

If there is a thread with the same content, it will confuse the reference person in the future, so could you delete only the current thread using the authority of the administrator?

If the "Original question" can also disappear, we want to leave the current thread in a resolved state.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hello O.H,

I've merged your duplicate threads.

O.H said:

Also, I have additional information, so could you tell me about the following questions?
Q: When "ERROR # 033 - IR communication failed" is displayed on MSP-GANG-SOFTWARE(GUI), is it considered the same as "Error 33: Ir Interrupted"?
If so, we assume that the contents of the following threads apply as is.
https://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp430/f/166/p/337745/1180038#1180038

The Error 33 indicates that the JTAG interface is not responding. As Katie points out in the thread that you've linked above, if the hardware circuitry isn't as recommended, then this error may occur. Katie also lists several key bullet points highlighting things (such as cable length, external power supply, etc.) that affect successfully programming devices with the MSP-GANG.

I would highly recommend ordering a target board and verify that the programming works consistently on a known good unit.

Using the MSP-FET and BSL Scripter, the BSL may be helpful to read back the FRAM memory for the locked devices. The passwords should match or the FRAM memory will get erased. I think you've been working with Eason on this topic in the following thread.

MSP430FR6877: BSL Scripter Error

Regards,

James

O.H said:

2: If an external power supply is used to supply power to the MSP-GANG, there is a possibility that the "Note" of the "1.3 Hardware Installation" in the "MSP Gang Programmer (MSP-GANG) User's Guide" is not observed, which is considered to be the cause.

Could you please clarify this? What's considered to be the cause? Are they using the provided external power supply? Are they powering the board using the MSP-GANG connector? If they're powering the board differently and applying power from the MSP-GANG, there can be power-supply conflicts.

Regards,

James

Hello,

More follow-up questions.

• How long is the JTAG cable?
• Can you share some picture(s) of the hardware - connected to MSP-GANG and also disconnected?

Thanks.

Regards,

James

Hi James,

Thank you for the thread integration and various confirmation items.

As a result, the investigation was suspended until the problem occurred again.
If a similar problem occurs again, we would like to review these details first and then identify the problem.

Thank you for your support.

Best Regards,
O.H

Hello O.H,

O.H said:

Thank you for the thread integration and various confirmation items.

No problem!

O.H said:

As a result, the investigation was suspended until the problem occurred again.
If a similar problem occurs again, we would like to review these details first and then identify the problem.

Thanks for letting us know. Please keep us posted if the issue happens again. If it happens before this thread locks, feel free to reply here with updates. If this thread has locked, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner.

Regards,

James