To test his LCD launchpad booster packs, Robg improvised some DIY test connections. Using slightly larger than standard male headers and some rubber-bands, he is able to make solder-less contact between the Launchpad and his LCD booster pack. Via 43oh.
Category Archives: MSP430
LCD touch and button Boosterpacks are available at 43oh
Lars designed and produced these LCD touch and button Boosterpacks for the MSP430. It’s an LCD breakout with 4 tactile buttons or 4 cap buttons, depending on the version. It sits on top of the 430 LaunchPad, but can also function independently if a microcontroller is soldered on. This pack is a good component if […]
MSP430 based intelligent fan controller
Kenneth needed to tame an old PC that was just too loud. He designed a fan controller based on the 16bit MSP430 microcontroller that adjusts the speed of 3 fans depending on the temperature of the CPU. Source code and schematics are available. During the Maker Faire Salvage Crawl last month, I picked up a […]
MSProbot Launch Pad robot platform
The MSProbot is one of the projects The Longhorn Engineer featured at the Bay Area Maker Faire 2012. It’s an MSP430 Launch Pad with tank treads, a prototyping area, and sensor breakouts. Check out our interview with Parker and see the MSProbot in action. Via the contact form.
IAR KickStart kit for TI MSP430FR5739
IAR Systems is offering the MSP-EXP430FR5739 Experimenter’s board as part of an IAR KickStart Kit. The kit includes Integrated TI MSP430FR5739 device, USB debugging and programming interface, 3-axis accelerometer, NTC thermistor for temperature sensing, 2 user input switches and a reset switch, 8 LEDs for output display. The board also provides for connectivity to the […]
MSP430 based frequency counter with Nokia 1202 LCD
A while ago we wrote about using cheap Nokia 1202 LCDs for projects. These LCDs come with a solderable connector, and are easy to interface over the I2C bus. Toxic239 made a frequency counter based on the MSP430 Launchpad and this LCD. Source code for his project is available in the forum.
MSP430 based 32 LED driver
Parker designed a MSP430 based 32 LED driver. His intends to use it as a VU meter, by reading a ADC line with the uC and turning LEDs on and of depending on the calculated VU level. Finished the VU. Changed the name to a 32 LED Driver as that is what it really is. […]
Graphing TI ez430 Chronos watch data in Processing
Chemicaloliver has written a short post describing how to graph ez430 Chronos watch data in Processing. His post includes links to the source code, which is an extension of the earlier Processing code by Sean Brewer. Originally written in 2010, this info remains relevant for newly minted Chronos hackers who’ve just received their TI packages […]
TIDeals: eZ430-Chronos watch again
If you missed it before, TI is offering the Chronos Watch as their current week’s deal at $24.50. The eZ430 deal includes the wireless enabled watch, CC1111 USB RF access point, and a CD containing software and documentation. A welcome change by TI is the elimination of the deal coupon codes. TI is now fulfilling […]
MSP430: using ACLK and the 32kHz crystal
NJC was designing a home automation system, to control lights at preset intervals. He wanted to use the MSP430 Launchpad but found the high frequency clock source of the valueline MCU to be insufficiently accurate. He wrote this post on the MSP430 Launchpad Blog detailing how to install the 32.768kHz crystal and run an ACLK […]
Chronos hacking update
JP Norair has been hacking away with the TI 433 MHz Chronos. My project is OpenTag, which is a 433 MHz centric IoT/M2M stack. It’s 433-centric because it implements DASH7 and because it makes design assumptions that multihop is not of great importance (at 433 MHz, it certainly isn’t). You can check the wiki, which […]
MSP430 PC GUI evaluation tool
Nathan Zimmerman has developed this PC GUI evaluation tool for the MSP430. Coded in VC++, the GUI allows control of all the peripherals on a MSP430 controller. He’s currently testing it using the MSP430G2553. This GUI would be very handy to have from a hardware/software test debug standpoint. For example, say I wanted to test […]
TI’s Wolverine is an even lower power MSP430
Texas Instruments claims to have concocted an even lower power MSP430. The MSP430 Wolverine series uCs consume 100uA per MHz when active, and 360nA in standby. TI claim this is 50% less power consumption than any other micro. You can download the whitepaper and check out all the specs. Tasty samples available around June 2012. […]
43Oh’s “name a device using MSP430” contest
Our friends at 43Oh.com are conducting a contest. They ask: “Do you know of any devices or gadgets in the wild open market that have MSP430 microcontrollers in them?” They will be giving a Capacitive Touch BoosterPack to one lucky entrant! Their contest ends 12:00PM on 2/23/2012. Visit the 43Oh contest webpage for entry rules.
Sniffing SPI data with Bus Pirate
Greg Whitmore at Four-Three-Oh forum has written a quick how-to post on using the Bus Pirate to sniff SPI data on the MSP430. We’re reproducing the post here in its entirety with Greg’s permission.
MSP430 microcontroller comparison tool
Compare Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontrollers with this online tool. Differences are highlighted in red: This comparison engine has been developed using data found on TI homepage. As there are close to 400 types of MCUs at TI, it’s often difficult to know at once what differs form 1 CPU to another. This utility is based […]
TI’s CC110L RF Module BoosterPack
asdf informs us that TI has the CC110L RF Module BoosterPack now in stock and available for $19. According to TI: The CC110L RF BoosterPack is a low-power wireless transceiver extension kit for use with the Texas Instruments MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad development kit. Based on the CC110L device, the on-board Anaren Integrated Radio (AIR) A110LR09A radio […]
Tutorial: setting up CCS v4 for MSP430 Launchpad
Raj inform us that he recently finished writing a step-by-step guide for setting up the Code Composer Studio v4 build and debug environment for TI MSP430 Launchpad. You can read Raj’s tutorial at Embedded lab. Via the contact form.
TI debuts sub-GHz CC430 based spectrum analyzer
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player TI has introduced a sub-GHz spectrum analyzer using the SA430 chip. Known as the MSP-SA430-SUB1GHZ, the CC430 microcontroller that the SA430 is based on is a highly integrated system-on-chip featuring an on-board sub-GHz radio chip based on the CC1101. As TI describes it: The MSP-SA430-SUB1GHZ Spectrum Analyzer is a CC430-based […]
Texas Instruments anounces new F563x and F663x MSP430 microcontrollers.
Texas Instruments just announced the addition of F563X and F663X lines of microcontrollers to their MSP430 range. Here is the feature list of the new devices: More memory options with 256kB flash and 18kB RAM allow the addition of wireless stacks, more application features, richer graphical user interfaces (GUI) and the addition of a real-time […]