BOOST-DRV8711: At User's Guide step 4.2.4_Figure 8, I don't believe the CCS is connecting to the target.

Hey Roger, 

Just to make sure, are you providing power (8V - 52V) to the motor supply connector when trying to connect to it?  And are the jumpers installed as described in 3.2 Configuring the LaunchPad?  

Cheers,

Jacob Thompson

Hi Jacob,

Thank you for your response.

Yes, I reconfigured and removed the jumpers per the instructions.  I followed the guide step by step.

Roger

Oh, and yes 48V is applied to the motor connector.

Roger

Hey Roger, 

I wonder if it's a Target Configuration issue. Go to View, Target Configurations, and see if the expanded tree of the configuration there looks right.  Here's a video about using Target Configuration view:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNQJWCWaypY

And some other target configuration notes:  https://software-dl.ti.com/ccs/esd/documents/application_notes/appnote-common_target_configurations.html

Not sure if yours uses JTAG or not, but several related questions to the DRV8711 mention JTAG issues:  https://software-dl.ti.com/ccs/esd/documents/ccsv7_debugging_jtag_connectivity_issues.html

Beyond that I would recommend re-following the user guide for this section and see if you get different results.  Is this on a work computer where firewall or other IT security measures could be interfering with things?  

I personally have no experience with this board or GUI but I've reached out to my team for further guidance as well and will update you if they have any other suggestions.  

Regards,

Jacob Thompson

Hi Jacob,

I will look into your suggestions and let you know how I make out.

Thank you,

Roger

Hi Jacob,

I looked into your suggestions but they seemed to be unrelated to my issue.

What I have done is changed out my launch pad and motor driver evaluation boards for new ones and attempted to load using method 2 of the user guide.  The results were the same.  I then tried using the "FLASH" button on the CCS to load the MSP430.  This seemed to get me to a new level.  When the GUI was opened, I found that it reported the correct status of the nFAULT and nSTALL LEDs on the motor drive eval module (nFault ON, nStall OFF).  Another interesting difference was that I did not have to change the com port selection on the GUI.  It came up with the "MSP430 Application UART" selection by default.  Despite these positives, nothing else on the GUI was functional.  Also, on power up the nFAULT status should not be active.

I am now at the point of diminishing returns.  I was hoping to use this evaluation setup to easily establish the DRV8711 operating parameters for my stepper motor application.  However, since the evaluation setup needs its own debug out of the box, I am finding that it would be best to redirect my effort to establishing my motor operating parameters through the less desirable method of direct code changes in my application.

My impression is that TI's BOOST-DRV8711 evaluation setup and/or firmware has not kept up with CCS and MSP430 LaunchPad revisions.  Some evidence to this are my issues above as well as these observations:

• Per User Manual 4.2 step 1 "This application was developed in CCS v5.5.0", but the latest download is 12.0.0.
• The MSP430 LaunchPad photos in the user guide are of a board that is not exactly like the board available today implying a significant revision.
• The link for the GUI Compose Runtime in the user guide at 4.3 step 1 is no longer valid.

I can only hope that TI revisits their Boost-DRV8711 evaluation package to ensure that everything is up to date and that the user guide can be followed word for word to achieve a functional setup with today's hardware. 

Roger

Roger,

Please allow me to dig into this some more.  

As a parallel path to get you up and running, could we consider an alternative EVM?

https://www.ti.com/tool/DRV8711EVM

Regards,

Ryan

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for your response.

Yes, I am aware of this EVM.  At the time I was searching for an EVM I could not find it available anywhere, whereas the Boost-DRV8711 was readily available.  A quick check of availability shows this is still the case.  I see that it uses a different GUI.  Maybe it is more user friendly.  Anyhow, I am moving forward.

Thank you,

Roger  

Roger,

I am sorry for the out of stock situation.  

I found this post that probably explains your issue. 

https://e2e.ti.com/support/motor-drivers-group/motor-drivers/f/motor-drivers-forum/844797/boost-drv8711-the-evm-doesn-t-operate-with-sp-exp430g2et/3143633#3143633

I know it is not helpful, but just wanted to let you know of the incompatibility with the new launchpads that hasn't been addressed yet.  Unfortunately, I don't have a solution at this time.  

Regards,

Ryan