tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post6830134381171083496..comments2023-05-24T09:37:45.708-04:00Comments on MSP430 LaunchPad: A Shield Standard ProposalNJChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05101156243681023963noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-9384926094306838532010-08-17T12:27:01.539-04:002010-08-17T12:27:01.539-04:00I sent the designs to "Laen" at:
http://...I sent the designs to "Laen" at:<br />http://www.dorkbotpdx.org/wiki/pcb_order<br /><br />$5/sq.in. for THREE copies. So, for my 2x3.25" design, it was just over $30, and I get THREE copies (of each board in the design). They have VERY nice specs, too: 2-layers, 6mil traces/spacing (!!!), silk screen & solder mask BOTH SIDES!<br /><br />Definitely check the info on that page if you're looking at anything other than a commercial production run.<br /><br />A mini LaunchStack? That would be hilarious! The board is less than 2.25x0.75". The headers are 0.1" wider than a standard DIP-14, but I may be able to tighten it up if I do another revision. That would make it easier to design shields. You could use a regular DIP-14 socket on top of the shield (or even the mini-LP), and offset some male headers on the bottom. Hmmm... that's going to be tight...<br />D@%* it! I WAS going to be productive today! ;-)GeekDocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-89955809343419671302010-08-17T05:02:20.465-04:002010-08-17T05:02:20.465-04:00Very cool. Where did you have it made? Looking for...Very cool. Where did you have it made? Looking forward to seeing the final result. PS: I really like the idea of the mini launchpad. Maybe that can be added to the standard to create a mini-BaseBoard. or something like that.NJChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05101156243681023963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-73825687102392129362010-08-15T19:06:04.414-04:002010-08-15T19:06:04.414-04:00@NJC:
I designed that breadboard adapter and sent ...@NJC:<br />I designed that breadboard adapter and sent it off. I'll let you know how they look. I added a couple other goodies to fill the space: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52764485@N07/4895805804/<br /><br />Eagle files available on request (Doc [at] DocsTech [dot] net).GeekDocnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-11502965819083431962010-08-14T13:18:03.336-04:002010-08-14T13:18:03.336-04:00@bluehash
You can think of the BaseBoard like a mo...@bluehash<br />You can think of the BaseBoard like a motherboard of a computer, and the shields as PCI cards. The BaseBoard contains the processor. The LaunchPad is half BaseBoard, half Emulator. You can hook up a BaseBoard to the emulator side of the LaunchPad to program it, just like you connected the Target side of the LaunchPad to the Emulator side to program it.<br /><br />Hope that helps clear things up. If not, keep asking. :-)NJChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05101156243681023963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-15235200495150691762010-08-14T12:23:23.189-04:002010-08-14T12:23:23.189-04:00I'm not clear on the whole baseboard subject.I...I'm not clear on the whole baseboard subject.Is the Launchpad a part of the Baseboard at all? or are you just using it for the emulator that comes with it.bluehashhttp://www.43oh.com/forumnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-38440685187818844612010-08-13T23:50:27.501-04:002010-08-13T23:50:27.501-04:00You're right on the money, as usual, NJC. No ...You're right on the money, as usual, NJC. No hiding anything from you... :P I was actually thinking logic analyzer to begin with, but then I thought "the g2231 has an ADC" and thought an o'scope would be a cool thing to hack together.suspended-chordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860338313781145586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-31154979474169575112010-08-12T19:46:58.946-04:002010-08-12T19:46:58.946-04:00Sparkfun folks replied quickly and had this to say...Sparkfun folks replied quickly and had this to say:<br /><br />"Thanks for checking with us on this. We order directly from 4uconn. They are a good company, and one we work with quite extensively. I would recommend you contact them to see if they can assist you with this part, and with a datasheet for it. They are generally very helpful and fast."<br /><br />I will contact them, but the DB behind their website died while I was talking to sparkfun, so it will be later.<br /><br /><br />Beretta mentioned samtec on the TI wiki page and they have something that looks about right: SSA-110-W-T found it on digikey too call for price, but the right angle version is listed for $2.19 eachBillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05385892146458842780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-50587341319111322492010-08-12T15:02:11.459-04:002010-08-12T15:02:11.459-04:00I have a email to sparkfun in my drafts folder alr...I have a email to sparkfun in my drafts folder already asking them about the headers. I will send it out in a bit.<br /><br />I saw a mention on an arduino forum that the 4ucon min order on those type of things is 1k. which is a lot, but not the kind of crazy big numbers I see from some suppliers.<br /><br />Something else I keep seeing as I have been searching for the right headers are surface mount headers. Two sided boards as a default would not be my first choice, but it would allow you to stay symmetrical and it would let you maybe do some cool stuff with switching the shields higher in the stack on and off within a power board or something. I am not certain I like the idea of using surface mount parts as the only physical connection between components though as I could see them coming off a fair bit easier than through hole.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05385892146458842780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-84746768132216070682010-08-12T13:31:48.057-04:002010-08-12T13:31:48.057-04:00@ Bill
Good point about the power connector. I sho...@ Bill<br />Good point about the power connector. I should have been a little more specific, I meant to say "A power connection", instead of "The Power Connector". I forget that people would want a power supply shield which could do some form of high voltage conversion, or even provide solar power. My intent was exactly what you thought, I do not want a user to have the ability to plug in two separate power supplies which would wreck the whole LaunchStack.<br /><br />@ Connector/Header Topic<br />I like Bill's idea about zig zagging the headers. Ideally it would zig zag back and forth but sometimes won't be able to; this provides the same downside as my idea but with more flexibility. When/If I design any expansion boards I will be using Bill's idea.<br /><br />@Plazma<br />Great idea with the jumper as an SPI enable. I would recommend making it an actual jumper though and not a solder jumper so it can easily be reconfigured. As far as the SPI standard goes, I'm not gonna touch a communication protocol standard for the LaunchStacks. As I've said in my past blogs, I only provide information which I have tested and/or consider myself an expert with. Communication standards is not something I consider myself knowledgeable on.<br /><br />@Bill again :-P<br />I have seen that, it seems though that 4uconnector is quite elusive online. If anyone really desires stackable headers I would recommend emailing Sparkfun and ask them how they order their Arduino headers. (I would not ask them to sell the LaunchPad headers just yet though)<br /><br />@Gatesphere<br />I will be writing up an update post in the next day or so (maybe even today) about what's next. The ADC is coming soon. I expect that you want to build a simple low speed oscilloscope. I have some cool software tools I've recently got working which will make building an oscilloscope super easy; I will write a post about this when the time comes (soon).<br /><br />Thanks again everyone for the support and ideas.<br /><br />Stay Tuned...NJChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05101156243681023963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-84066258046368084582010-08-12T02:14:22.959-04:002010-08-12T02:14:22.959-04:00Nice work, NJC. However, I mirror the sentiments ...Nice work, NJC. However, I mirror the sentiments voiced by Bill and Anonymous.<br /><br />Also, I'm looking for a post about the ADC, so please please please write one. I have an idea for a really cheap version of a standard lab tool. It wouldn't be the best possible tool for the job, but it would get the job done if one couldn't afford the tool. And it requires the use of the ADC.suspended-chordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860338313781145586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-69412901325352908742010-08-11T14:14:35.822-04:002010-08-11T14:14:35.822-04:00looking at sparkfun arduino header (http://www.spa...looking at sparkfun arduino header (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9280) data sheet there 6 pin female is from 4con <br />(http://www.4uconnector.com/online/index.asp) part number 18688. There is something that looks like a 10 pin version under part number 19950 but the data sheet pdf is broken so I am not certain.<br /><br />Would this help?Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05385892146458842780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-63574241830657447292010-08-11T02:21:51.466-04:002010-08-11T02:21:51.466-04:00Value Line devices have very few IO pins. One way ...Value Line devices have very few IO pins. One way to help this is to use SPI communication for the shields and use the left over IO pins for enable signal. All the SPI shields need a solder bridge jumper etc. to choose the right enable pin.plazmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-48536161497119089772010-08-10T20:08:58.695-04:002010-08-10T20:08:58.695-04:00@Anonymous you have a point and I wasn't clear...@Anonymous you have a point and I wasn't clear:<br /><br />I was imagining that the headers were provided separately and you could chose if the bottom headers were in the left or right sockets as you saw fit:<br /><br />11111_<br />_22222<br />33333_<br />_44444<br />_baseb<br /><br />but then if you started a different project all the pieces could still play nice without extra soldering:<br /><br />11111_<br />_33333_<br />__baseb<br /><br />Maybe I am being unimaginative, but I am not certain I could see having many more than 4 shield boards before needing a baseboard with more launchstacks than the simple launchpad and that would be under .5" offset.<br /><br />if I am understanding the OP correctly with the inner/outer arrangement you stand a 50% chance that each board you add will need the headers desoldered and reversed when you add it to a stack which is decidedly inconvenient if you do your development someplace you cannot solder and increases the odds that something gets damaged.<br /><br />There are other possibilities, but they would all involve adding to the cost by adding more parts.<br /><br />the part to make them arduino style stackable has to be out there somewhere. the closes I have found so far is this: http://www.westfield.co.uk/tp/html/42.html but the spacing between the shields would be crap. maybe just use wirewrap DIP sockets split down the middle?Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05385892146458842780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-76837189941459991052010-08-10T18:24:34.836-04:002010-08-10T18:24:34.836-04:00>> If you altered this to the second row alw...>> If you altered this to the second row always being to the right or always to<br />>> the left of the original rows you could maintain the spacing throughout the<br />>> stack with only a tiny bit of zig-zag to the stack.<br /><br />I think that it won't result in a zig-zag structure, but instead each further board would be shifted by one row to the same side, which may course instability problems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2168992611451428662.post-64993641487495013012010-08-10T15:57:36.224-04:002010-08-10T15:57:36.224-04:00two things:
"The Power Connector must not be...two things:<br /><br />"The Power Connector must not be present on any shield unless there is a specific need for a separate power supply, such as for an analog supply"<br /><br />I think you are saying that only a shield that is itself a power supply should have a power connector. If that is your intent then would it not be safer to stipulate that the power connector should still be different than the launchpad power connector to prevent someone from accidentally plugging the wrong two things together?<br /><br /><br /><br />In the "Connections Between Shields and the BaseBoard" section you mention adding a second set of header rows outside the base-matching set. If you altered this to the second row always being to the right or always to the left of the original rows you could maintain the spacing throughout the stack with only a tiny bit of zig-zag to the stack. <br /><br />If you did this and also stipulated that the male pins always pointed toward the base then I think you should be able to avoid ever having to re-solder new headers just to make a stack work.<br /><br />maybe I am missing something...Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05385892146458842780noreply@blogger.com