Tuesday, April 26, 2011

NJC's MSP430 Store Is Open For Business!

Today I opened my new online store! The DEV.BO is the first item in the store, and a breakout board for the MSP430F5510 called the DEV.BREAK is the second. The two posts before this one provide details of the two items. Please make sure you read the important information at the top of the store before you buy anything.

Now that the store has been opened, I will be writing more technical posts which show off some cool things the LaunchPad and other MSP430s can do.

Please note that all these prices are introductory and are subject to change. If you have any questions, please contact me via email: webmaster (at) msp430launchpad (dot) com.

Check it out!

The Official Version of the DEV.BO (2.0)

Version 2.0 of the DEV.BO is now for sale in my online store!

The DEV.BO is a development board based off of the MSP430F5510. This board can easily be programmed using the LaunchPad or any MSP430 JTAG programmer. Click here to see the post on the older DEV.BO.


DEV.BO Ver. 2.0 - Please ignore the flux residue on the board. I am out of flux remover and am expecting more in the mail soon.


Features and Specs
  • Based on the MSP430F5510
    • Max clock speed of 25MHz
    • Integrated 32kHz crystal
    • Broad supply voltage range - 1.8 V to 3.6 V 
    • 25K of flash memory
    • 1 USCI_A (UART/LIN/IrDA/SPI)
    • 1 USCI_B (I2C/SPI)
    • 2 16-bit (3CCR), 1 16-bit (5CCR), 1 16-bit (7CCR)
    • 10-bit SAR ADC
    • Internal temperature sensor
    • Hardware multiplier
    • Much more!
  • Connectors for both SBW and JTAG
    • The SBW is made for easy connection to the LaunchPad
  • USB interface (FTDI323RL)
  • On board reset button
  • 1 programmable push button
  • 1 programmable LED
  • Easy to use jumpers for disabling all non-mandatory circuitry
  • Extra power connectors for expansion boards

Available Documentation

Bare PCB (Unassembled) - $15

If you have all the tools you need to solder one up yourself, already have an MSP430F5510 from TI's free sample program, and all of the other parts needed, you can buy just the bare unassembled PCB. The handling time will also greatly reduced if you buy the bare board. Please note, that if you select this option, you will receive no components, you will only receive the PCB.


Without FTDI USB (MSP430 Assembled) - $35

This option is for those of you who do not need USB communication abilities and just want to use the MSP430F5510. If you select this option, you will receive a mostly assembled PCB. Everything needed to program and use the MSP430F5510 will be soldered onto the board but everything relating to the FTDI USB circuit (including the USB connector and the FTDI jumpers) will not be soldered to the board, and the parts will not be included. Male headers are also provided to connect to the MSP430's pins (the headers will not be soldered onto the board).


Full Board (Assembled) - $45

This option comes with everything already soldered onto the board. Male headers will also be included to connect to the MSP430's pins, but they are not soldered onto the board.


Example Code

Every DEV.BO which will have the MSP430 F5510 soldered onto it (Options: Without FTDI USB and Full Board) will come with a modified version of the LaunchScope code which samples at a rate of 4kHz. This code will be released as it's own post in the upcoming weeks once I have a chance to fully document it.

A New DEV - The DEV.BREAK

The second product available in my new online store is the DEV.BREAK! This board is simply a breakout board for the MSP430F5510 (or really any other chip with the 48LQFP package).

Do you want to build a small project on a breadboard with one of the most powerful MSP430s out there? Then this board is for you!

The bare DEV.BREAK PCB
This board doesn't require much explanation as it just breaks out all of the MSP430F5510's pins to a breadboard-able size. In a standard breadboard the DEV.BREAK leaves room for one row of wires on each side.

Purchasing Options

There are two options when purchasing this board. The first is to simply purchase the bare PCB for $9 with no chip soldered on, you will receive only the PCB (no MSP430 or headers). The second option is to buy the PCB with the MSP430 soldered onto it with headers included (but not soldered) for $20.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Housekeeping and a Store

I have just finished created a page which lists the most popular and important past posts. There are many times where I am asked a question on a newer posts which I answered at length in a previous post. Hopefully this page is found to be useful for many of you. If you find any typos anywhere, please let me know. As always, feel free to contact me via email: webmaster at msp430launchpad dot com.

Lately I have been putting my efforts into updating the look and feel of my blog to make it a bit more reader friendly. There is still much work to be done to make the new template really look and feel good, but I feel like I have made a lot of progress on organizing the blog and getting ready for the future.

One of the things which I have been working on behind the scenes, is a small web store where I will be selling a few boards I have created. This includes the DEV.BO, which I wrote about here, and a few other simple breakout boards which are pertinent to the LaunchPad and the MSP430.

Let me know what you think and stay tuned...