MicroTRAK/MSP430-C Complete Support & Frequently Asked Questions

[1] How do I download programs to the board ?

[2] What are the software options for programming the board ?

[3] How can I power the board from external 3.3 Volt supply ? How can I power from external 5 Volt supply without using USB connector ?

[4] How do I power MicroTRAK/MSP430-C ?

[5] How many analog channels are there on the MINI-MAX/MSP430-C ?

[1] How do I download programs to the board ?

You can use either the USB port or the JTAG port. To use the JTAG port, you need a JTAG emulator for MSP430 processors. USB port looks like a COM port to the PC; it uses the FTDI USB to COM converter chipset.

[2] What are the software options for programming the board ?

We offer the MSP Development System that includes a free GNU C ( GCC ) compiler and our Micro-IDE to get started. We have also used IAR compiler successfully with this board.

[3] How can I power the board from external 3.3 Volt supply ? How can I power from external 5 Volt supply without using USB connector ?

MINI-MAX/MSP430-C can be powered from X10 header. We provide pins 1 and 2 on X10 for battery powered applications. To power MINI-MAX/MSP430-C from external 5 Volts without using the USB connector, you can apply 5 Volts directly to the Expansion connector ( VCC and GND pins ). In this casethe board is powered through the body diode of T1B MOSFET. The software should turn on T1B MOSFET on as first step. The only disadvantage of this approach is that the Expansion connector would have 5 Volts supply voltage permanently so the board could not switch power on/off to peripherals to conserve power.

[4] How do I power MicroTRAK/MSP430-C ?

MINI-MAX/430-C board on the MicroTRAK powers from the USB cable. Peripheral boards on MicroTRAK are also powered from the USB cable through MINI-MAX/MSP430-C. MicroTRAK, LCD and IO Module power from MicroTRAK's 6VDC Wall Adapter.

[5] How many analog channels are there on the MINI-MAX/MSP430-C ?

MSP430 chip has 12 external and 4 internal analog channels. 5 of the external channels are on the analog terminal block and 7 of the external channels are on the keypad connector. Analog inputs have 12-bit resolution.If more channels are needed, DAQ-2543-DA-1 peripheral board adds 11 more 12-bit channels.