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CC3100BOOST: COM ports not showing

Michele Grisafi
Prodigy 120 points
Part Number: CC3100BOOST
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MSP430F5529, , CC3100, CC31XXEMUBOOST, UNIFLASH

Hi guys, I'm struggling with setting up my CC3100BOOST with my MSP430F5529. I'm following the official guidelines but I'm stuck at point 5 of section 4.1. The device, in fact, doesn't appear in Windows10 device manager. As Figure 4 shows, there should be at least 2 ports belonging to CC3100, instead I only see the usual two of the underlying MSP430F5529 board. I know that "technically" the instructions are for CC31XXEMUBOOST, but it also says that it works just as well with any other MSP430 device. 

I've already installed uniflash, the SDK and the drivers contained in the SDK folder but nothing... do you have any suggestion?

It may be that those ports shown in the Figure only shows for the CC31XXEMUBOOST, but then I wonder if I have to use the normal UART port I've always used for the MSP430F5529 or something else... there is no documentation on that.

Thank you

PS: the board works since I've tried it in Access Point mode and I could connect to it.

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 40965 points

    Hi,

    Yes, the UART that you are supposed to use to load code is the MSP430 UART/JTAG. This is because it is the MSP430 that runs the application, including the networking code. The CC3100 is the NWP that is used by the MSP430 to perform the actual network functionality; the host driver that runs on the MSP430 will communicate with the CC3100 over SPI.

    The USB port on the CC3100 board is only for power and you cannot run the application off of that UART. The UART ports you see in figure 4 are from the CC31XXEMUBOOST.

    Now, the CC3100 does require programming of the servicepack, which does require you connect the CC3100 to your PC over UART. This can be done through the CC31XXEMUBOOST, or through your own PC to UART adapter. The steps in section 4 refer to this firmware servicepack programming process, and once programmed you run the actual application through the MSP430.

    Let me know if you need more clarification or have any further questions on this topic.

    Regards,

    Michael

  • 0 in reply to Michael Reymond
    Prodigy 120 points

    Thank you very much for the reply. I think I understood. Just to be clear, in order to use the cc3100 I need first to program the service pack, thus I need to obtain either a "PC to UART adapter" or a CC31XXEMUBOOST board?

    Is there a way to use the board skipping this procedure?

    Thank you again

  • 0 in reply to Michele Grisafi
    TI__Mastermind 40965 points

    Hi,

    Technically speaking, the CC3100 on the boosterpack will have firmware in ROM that is usable. It's just highly recommended that you flash the servicepack onto the device before trying to use it with the MSP430 or any other host. This is because newer host driver versions are not guaranteed to be compatible with older firmware versions and you will run into unexpected behavior if no servicepack is flashed.

    However, you should be able to program the CC3100 with the MSP430 eZ-FET debugger. If you look at your launchpad, there is a row of isolation headers that connect the MSP Application UART from the actual MSP430 chip to the eZ-FET UART to USB functionality. If you disconnect those UART jumpers and connected them to the CC3100, then you should be able to program the CC3100 through that UART to USB bridge. Please take a look at the MSP430 launchpad schematic and give that a try.

    Regards,

    Michael