Ti msp430

PFloyd36069

Hi,

Does TI's MSP430 have the same capabilities as the Stamp or Propeller chips? I have some of them and didnt know if it was worth trying to make a programmer for them or not.

Thanks,

Bryan

Mike Green

I'm going by memory here, but I think the MSP430 series is a low end 8 bit microcontroller, much like the smaller PICs.· As such, there's no comparison to the Propeller.· It may be similar to the processor used in the BS1 and BS2, but without the built-in support for Basic.· There are C compilers for it and there may be a Basic compiler for it as well, but I doubt if they're free.

Correction: They're 16 bit processors with more memory than the small PICs and the SXs that Parallax uses for the Stamps.· It has more on-chip memory than the Propeller, but is a lot slower and has only one processor.· It's also only 16 bits and has a simpler instruction set (although does have a multiply instruction).· That would put it somewhat "above the Stamps" in capabilities, but well below the Propeller (unless memory is a main concern).






Post Edited (Mike Green) : 3/28/2008 12:02:41 AM GMT

Chris Savage

This thread is off topic and is being moved from the BASIC Stamp Forum to the Sandbox Forum.

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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support

Leon

There is a vast range of MSP430 devices. They are 16-bit devices with a nice architecture primarily intended for very low-power applications.

Leon

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crgwbr

Just curious, was anyone else at 430 Day? I went on thursday (in Cleveland).

They do look like very nice chips, because of the intelligent peripherals and 1uA standby, but they are significantly less powerful than the prop. I think they top out at around 16MIPS (and they only have a 20bit design). But, like several other people have said, they have a lot of memory.

Regards,
CRaig

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Timothy D. Swieter

There is an IAR Embedded Workbench available for the MSP430. It is limited in code size.

The MSP430 chip is an inexpensive, low power chip which can be good for many applications. I picked up one of the ezMSP430 packages a while ago. I played with the chips some and worked on my C programming skills. I think the MSP430 would make a good co-processor sort of chip or is great for low cost, low power devices.

Certainly it does not compare to the Propeller.

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Timothy D. Swieter

www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com

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Tracy Allen

One feature that the MSP430 series shares with the Propeller is an adaptive clock chain. The '430 can run at very low currents on a 32khz crystal, so it can be very good at timing as an RTC, but then when required it uses a secondary high frequency oscillator that can be phase locked to the low frequency crystal. By that mechanism it can very quickly wake up from its low power mode and the frequency lock can be acquired within a few clock cycles for generating baud rates and accurate pulses etc. The Prop too has a sophisticated clock chain. Its low and medium speed oscillators are RC based and not so accurate, but they can respond rapidly to events, and a baseline 4 to 8 megahertz crystal can be brought up to speed and a high frequency oscillator phase locked to that for very high speed processing with accurate timing. The comparison ends there though. The Prop is much faster, capable of over 80 mhz clock and its 8 cores to work with. The MSP430 is getting quite a following and has the full support of Texas Instruments, and low cost tools. It too has its learning curve, of course.

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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com

william chan

Why does the MSP430 and AVRs always need the bulky JTAG connector to program them?
This seems to be a big disadvantage when you are trying to design tiny boards.

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Leon

People making small units make·an adapter so that they can use a smaller connector, or they just put some pads on the board that can be contacted by spring-loaded pins in a programming fixture.

Leon


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Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
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Timothy D. Swieter

I can't speak for AVRs, but the MSP430s that I have worked with use only a four conductor interface. The TI has an interface and I think it is called SpyWire. JTAG is an industry standard so you certainly see that kind of interface for ARM style microcontrollers. There is a large style JTAG header, but there now is a smaller style standards with a fine pitch connector, like what is shown on the evaluation boards from Luminary Micro.

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Timothy D. Swieter

www.brilldea.com·- check out the uOLED-IOC, an I/O expansion for the uOLED-96-PROP
www.tdswieter.com

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One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

For programmable micros in SOIC packages, I use a test clip wired to the programmer which, in my case, is a BASIC Stamp 2pe programmed to program an AVR. The clip snaps right onto the IC, which is already soldered to the target PCB, thus obviating any need for headers, pogo pin pads, or the like. The main caveat is to provide enough clearance in the PCB design for the clip.

-Phil