TMS320C6713 DSK with battery connection

The easiest thing is to use an automotive (lead-acid) battery along with a so-called "power inverter" to generate the AC voltage for the power supply that is shipped with the DSK6713.

If you want to do something else, the only power input needed by the DSK6713 itself is +5VDC, either via the 2.5mm barrel connector (center positive) J5 that the previously mentioned power supply plugs into, or via a standard PC 4-pin peripheral power connector (Molex 53-109-0410), which you would have to purchase and solder onto location J6 of the board.  The Molex connector lets you provide +/- 12V (from any desktop PC power supply) which might be useful with some daughterboards.  If you need really clean DC power for add-on cards such as an A/D converter, don't use the +5V, +3.3V from the DSK with those cards, but instead use a separate power supply (you still need to supply the DSK6713 also, of course).

To do anything useful with the stand-alone DSK6713 you need a PC to program it.  A laptop with USB port running Windows XP or later will suffice.  (You can also use the latest Code Composer Studio under Linux.)  If you load your program properly into the DSK6713's FLASH ROM, then you can remove the DSK6713 from the host PC and it will still run your program when powered on.

I'm not sure that the Molex part number for the 4-pin PC peripheral power connector that I cited is right; it isn't listed at Digi-Key.  What we used was an Amp/Tyco/TE Connectivity 174552-1.  Other versions might be adaptable, but that part number matches the drill holes on the board.

I forgot to mention that the DSK6713 might draw as much as 1A of current from its 5V DC power source, which is 5W of power, so make sure that your portable power source can provide that much for enough time to complete your application.  A motorcycle battery has a capacity of maybe 12 Amp-hours at 12V, so (assuming that the inverter is not horribly inefficient) it should last for up to a day before it needs recharging.  You can get a 30W Duracell power inverter (DC-to-AC) for around $30 at many stores (including Radio Shack).  Inverters normally connect to the battery through an automotive cigarette lighter adapter, so you may have to do some work to get it connected to your battery.  Be careful not to short-circuit the connection and start a fire!

Hi douglas,

Thanks so much for the tip, really appreciate it. I don't have much experience with electronics ( I'm actually doing a separate course but working on an electronics project), but I'm planning to go along with the 5V DC batteries as its power source. So looking at rechargeable batteries (eg. AA NiMH batteries or C size batteries), would they suffice? If I choose to use the rechargeable batteries, all I need is to connect it to a 5V voltage regulator, and then connect it to J5, am I right? 

I've never encountered 5V batteries..  You can connect multiple batteries in series to obtain the desired voltage; the batteries should be identical and all charged at the same level.  NiHM AA size has a typical capacity of around 2 Amp-hours at 1.2V, so 4 of them in series yields 8 Amp-hours at 4.8V, which should work without any added components (other than a 4-cell battery holder, 20-gauge wire, and 2.5mm barrel connector).  In particular, an external voltage regulator wouldn't help any; be sure not to drain the batteries completely while they are powering the DSK.  The DSK6713 uses 3.3V from a pair of on-board buck regulators for everything except a few buffer ICs, and those use a 4.1V shunt regulator, so a 4.8V supply should work as well as the nominal 5.0V.  However, if you plan on attaching any daughterboards, check that 4.8V on the nominally 5V pins will work with those peripherals.  (For example, it could limit the range of an A/D converter to +/- 2.3V instead of +/- 2.5V, assuming a 2.5V reference source on the A/D board.)

J5 (or J6, if you install the missing connector) is of course the right place to attach the "5V" power supply.

The good news is that the DSK6713 board probably draws less than the 1A that I previously estimated.  (The actual consumption depends upon the program being run.)  However, if you add daughterboards powered via the 80-pin connectors, their current draw will be added to that of the basic DSK6713.  So, sticking with the 1A estimate, you could operate the DSK6713 for somewhat less than 8 hours with a 4-pack of AA NiMH batteries before they would need to be recharged.

Okay, thanks for the tip. Will give it a try on your advice. Appreciate it.