SparkFun Forums

[wb0gaz]

I have been studying about the MSP430 series for a few weeks, and would like to jump in. My last hands-on work with microcontrollers was in the years 1974-1985 or so, ending with Motorola 68HC11 based stuff. Anyway, here we are 20 years later, things are smaller (I'm game to try SOIC package), but I have yet to pick an initial development environment. In the 68HC11 days it was pretty easy to get started (download a binary image of 256 bytes at 600 bps or so and let it run); it now seems there is much more to it (JTAG?). I'd just like to start off with a small program that wiggles an I/O line (watch with oscilloscope) written in assembler (can I just write a few lines of code and let it run, or is there lots of compulsory initialization needed to get the controller to behave?) and cross-assembled (can I use a linux machine and VI editor, or do I need to learn a big complicated IDE?) to "bare metal" machine code (or do I need to obtain, learn and use some kind of OS?) I've downloaded and printed TI's MSP430 family user's guide (do they publish printed manuals anymore????), but I'd like to find the simplest initial path to proving to myself I can actually wrangle a microcontroller before I get in too deep.

Much tkx for any advice,

Dave
wb0gaz@hotmail.cmo

[wiml]

The MSP430 has a serial bootstrap loader mode ("BSL" they call it) that lets you do stuff over an RS232 connection. My printout of the app note describing it is labeled SLAA089B and it looks like you can download a copy from TI. The protocol's a little more complex than the 68HC11's "256 bytes and go" protocol, you can read memory and flash and fiddle with CPU registers with this mode as well. To get the '430 into this mode you toggle some pins in a magic pattern while bringing it out of reset.

There's a MSP430 GCC project on Sourceforge which also has the gnu assembler, etc., and various small tools for loading code into the chip using the BSL protocol or JTAG, and you can use them without the C compiler if you just want to get started on the bare metal. I didn't get much farther than the blinky LED stage before I had to shelve the '430 for a while, but it doesn't seem much harder to get started than with the 'HC11. More peripherals, more registers, etc., but basically the same kind of thing.