dubnet

@@spirilis

When you code your own browser these kinds of bugs are bound to pop up now and then. 

Re-up
 
EDIT : finally got it
 
modify this file energia-0101E0017\tools\common\DSLite\MSP432P401R.ccxml adding the red line :
 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<configurations XML_version="1.2" id="configurations_0">
    <configuration XML_version="1.2" id="Texas Instruments XDS110 USB Debug Probe_0">
        <instance XML_version="1.2" desc="Texas Instruments XDS110 USB Debug Probe_0" href="connections/TIXDS110_Connection.xml" id="Texas Instruments XDS110 USB Debug Probe_0" xml="TIXDS110_Connection.xml" xmlpath="connections"/>
        <connection XML_version="1.2" id="Texas Instruments XDS110 USB Debug Probe_0">
            <instance XML_version="1.2" href="drivers/tixds510cs_dap.xml" id="drivers" xml="tixds510cs_dap.xml" xmlpath="drivers"/>
            <instance XML_version="1.2" href="drivers/tixds510cortexM.xml" id="drivers" xml="tixds510cortexM.xml" xmlpath="drivers"/>
            <property Type="choicelist" Value="1" id="SWD Mode Settings"/>
            <platform XML_version="1.2" id="platform_0">
                <instance XML_version="1.2" desc="MSP432P401R_0" href="devices/msp432p401r.xml" id="MSP432P401R_0" xml="msp432p401r.xml" xmlpath="devices"/>
            </platform>
        </connection>
    </configuration>
</configurations>

Thought this idea looked familiar from a TI app note.
 
Found it pretty quickly. "Crypto-Bootloader (CryptoBSL) for MSP430FR59xx and MSP430FR69xx MCUs" (SLAU657)
 
A little different, does not use USB, but rather the BSL interface. (likely as a drop in replacement for existing products)
It uses AES for encryption. but they mention the API calls are generic enough to enable changing this (for MCUs without an AES module for example)
 

 
Link: http://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/SLAU657
 
 
 

An SD card once initialized will automatically go into sleep mode when there is no activity on the clock line. In sleep mode a SD card will draw between 100 and 200 microamps. Depending on the interval of your powerup/initialize/log sequence, you may be wasting more power re-initializing the card on every power-up than you would be to just let it sleep and not having to initialize it each time you write.
 
It's always good to have the FET control of the SD card power, because that's the only way to reset it if it somehow locks up, but you need to do a careful analysis of power use to find out the best way to save over time.

Hello All,
Here is some feedback. Apologies on the late reply.
 
There was approximately an hour to field our questions/requests.
On a few questions that were not asked, I have an open channel with them.

Energia
- This was my primary focus. I am aware most of you don't care much about it, but there are alot of users coming in from the Arduino world to the TI family.
A couple of others in the room and myself were concerned about the future of Energia and its support. We were assured that more was being done and we'll know
more in some time.

Higher RAM chips on the value line
- Let them know that higher RAM on the chips shipped with the Launchpad is invaluable. It keeps us from implementing the cooler stuff.

USB on MSP on the lower end devices
- Let them know about it. They are aware about the lack of this feature. From my view, low power and USB do not go hand in hand... it may be a challenge.
EDIT: Just wanted to confirm... that it is my view that USB and low power may be a challenge... not TI's.. They may already have something in the works. I don't know.

MSP432 DMA
- Feedback given. They will take this back to the chip architechts.

Driverlib
- This is becoming mainstream in a lot of their devices and is quite popular. I left this discussion off.

TI EStore International Shipping
I was not able to get to the person incharge of the Store. But they do know of the issue. I'll push this again.

Energy Trace requests
- The team would like a list. I'd suggest someone start with a list in the forum and build up on it.

CCS bugs
- A list would be good. I'll have someone from TI look at it and post it in their CCS forums.

MSP software
- More improvements

Grace
- Something new/revamped.
 
Other comments. They were interested in how we used the TI site, the forums and social media. They were looking for feedback on their datasheets, block diagrams,examples and newsletters. There was also a chat with the calculator group and the TI-Innovator system.

If you have an issue with TI's tools, the best place to put them is in their E2E forums. If it is a long list/request list post it here.
 

Looks like they may have incorporated one of the suggestions. TI store now shows free shipping on orders over $150. Threshold is a little higher than I'd like to see, but a nice step in the right direction.

Doctors, lawyers and tech guys seem to have one thing in common. They all wear a shirt that says: Free Advice, Ask Away!

So have you spent more time thinking about what you are going to charge than it is going to take you to write this code? Better factor that into how much your real rate turns out to be.
 
Sometimes I wish I had become a plumber.  When someone's toilet or water pipe is broken they don't even ask how much. The just want it fixed and just fix it, now!  I'm not sure if plumber friends ask for free work but I doubt it.  I never have.  But I certainly have friends that think my computer knowledge is just something I should offer for free.
 
I tend to do fixed price bids.  It makes both of us happy. They know what they are going to pay and I don't have to go crazy justifying my time. I usually spend enough time up front to figure out what it is going to take and then I just multiple by my hourly rate and I stop sweating about it,  I always create a list of software deliverables and provide a time table for when they will be delivered. Most times I do different phases to give the customer something they can look at and also so they feel confident about my direction.  I also provide a grace period after the customer receives the code and typically two weeks to accept it or complain.  I build in the cost of any test jigs or code I will have to develop.  If I have to do research I do that on my time to be sure I'm going to be able to deliver.  I just roll that time into my bid.  Before I do any of that I'm pretty confident the customer is going to engage my services before I even bother.
 
As far as residuals. I've done it both ways. Low up front cost and higher percentage for me and also the inverse.  Unfortunately, my luck there has always been hit or miss.  Something I thought would sell a lot didn't and I got screwed and conversely things I thought were really stupid I missed a big payout when they did sell.  The bottom line, get enough money to make you feel happy either way.
 
-rick

Depends on the friend...
 
Joking aside I would probably take a best guess at the work/learning ratio and try and charge accordingly. If the work was two hours and the learning was 8, charge for 2 hours. If the work or learning took longer no change in the charge but if the work takes only an hour refund an hour.  My .02

I've done this little mod on a MSP432 launchpad so I can program the CC2650 SensorTag with it (and use energytrace too).
 
The 1x7 0.05" headers aren't the easiest to get hold of, so I just took a standard 10-pin cortex debug cable, cut it in half and soldered it directly to J103. The connections needed are (LP -> Cortex debug connector):
 
GND -> GNDDetect (pin 9)
RST -> nRESET (pin 10)
SWCLK -> SWDCLK/TCK (pin 4)
SWDIO -> SWDIO/TMS (pin 2)
3V3 -> VTref (pin 1)
 
Pin 1 is marked by the red stripe on the cable linked above. Apart from making sure to read the pin numbers the right way round, the only fiddly bit is crossing over the GND and reset wires in limited space.
 
The ribbon enters the connector opposite the key at one end and next to it at the other. It's worth checking both halves of the cable to see which gives the best cable routing for your target board.
 
To test you can remove the jumpers from the isolation block and set the JTAG switch to external, then connect the cable to the Ext Debug header on the launchpad and try to program the MSP432 target.

That gets me thinking about fees.
 
If a friend invites me to tackle his problem and I know that I have to climb a learning curve to solve his problem then maybe this would be one of those projects that ought to be done Pro Bono. 
 
If a friend invites me to tackle his problem and I know the solution already then this would be a project that I charge full price for.
 
Thoughts or reactions?

One time, I made an estimate and it ended being way off because I hadn't accounted for the time I would need to create a test jig to properly simulate communications between the target I was designing and the client's existing hardware. That was a whole new chunk of electronics that I had to assemble, program and test. I had to eat a bunch of that time and not charge for it. The customer and I had a lot of long conversations during that project.
 
I have learned from that oversight. It was not intuitively obvious at the beginning but it had to be done. I know better now.
 
To guard against this from happening again, I am developing a pseudo generic dev board + PC software that allows me to simulate  communication between the target system and the rest of the client's system.  
 
 
Do I know everything? Nope. Not even close. So, most times, the work demands you to perform research. I will and do charge for that but I let the client know in advance. I consider it as part of the initial project assessment checklist. I classify this as a combination of due diligence, quality control, professionalism and pride of workmanship.
 
Nobody is perfect but we can be true to our intentions.

Having been at this for over 20 years I have found that setting a rate can be part art, part science.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors (e.g. type of market, competitors, value delivered, customer perception of value delivered, etc.). Like @@Fmilburn mentioned in an earlier post, in the end the rate needs to strike a fair balance between the buyer and seller.
 
Long ago I had an acquaintance who provided similar services to mine. He constantly complained about mistreatment/disrespect from his customers, with a good number who hadn't paid him.  His rate was less than half of what I charged. When he asked what he could do about it I advised him to significantly increase his rate which would do two things. It would scare off the customers looking for the lowest possible cost (the same ones that didn't pay and typically were the most problematic/difficult customers). It would also create a perception of value with the remaining customers as long as he was delivering value commensurate with his rate.  Unfortunately, he didn't heed the advice. His business faltered and he now works for someone else.
 
One of the things I have done in the past, if entering a new market, is to assess what competitors that provide similar services as we do charge for their services. Provided there are enough of them in the market to yield enough data points to be meaningful, I can position our services at a price point that reflects both the marketplace as well as the unique value we provide in the context of that marketplace. However, in the end I probably still don't charge enough.
 
One caveat though, after looking at the market rate, is if all your competitors are living in the back of their vans your cost structure may kill you.  Even after arriving at a market rate you still have to look at all your costs, both hard costs and your time. I have found that doing a post mortem on projects, where you have tracked every minute of your time (billable and non billable), can be a real eye opener in terms of your "real" (now diluted) hourly rate.  With this information you can determine if what you are providing to the market will be truly fruitful to you or not.

@yyrkoon   That's exactly what I allude to in my comments on a post mortem evaluation.  You have to tally all the time and be brutally objective.  Of course, some off clock time needs to be spent staying current on your craft and managing the back end of the business.  But the off clock time creep on projects can seriously erode your income. 
 
EDIT:  Rereading your post prompts the question....Are you charging the client for the research as well?

Having been at this for over 20 years I have found that setting a rate can be part art, part science.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors (e.g. type of market, competitors, value delivered, customer perception of value delivered, etc.). Like @@Fmilburn mentioned in an earlier post, in the end the rate needs to strike a fair balance between the buyer and seller.
 
Long ago I had an acquaintance who provided similar services to mine. He constantly complained about mistreatment/disrespect from his customers, with a good number who hadn't paid him.  His rate was less than half of what I charged. When he asked what he could do about it I advised him to significantly increase his rate which would do two things. It would scare off the customers looking for the lowest possible cost (the same ones that didn't pay and typically were the most problematic/difficult customers). It would also create a perception of value with the remaining customers as long as he was delivering value commensurate with his rate.  Unfortunately, he didn't heed the advice. His business faltered and he now works for someone else.
 
One of the things I have done in the past, if entering a new market, is to assess what competitors that provide similar services as we do charge for their services. Provided there are enough of them in the market to yield enough data points to be meaningful, I can position our services at a price point that reflects both the marketplace as well as the unique value we provide in the context of that marketplace. However, in the end I probably still don't charge enough.
 
One caveat though, after looking at the market rate, is if all your competitors are living in the back of their vans your cost structure may kill you.  Even after arriving at a market rate you still have to look at all your costs, both hard costs and your time. I have found that doing a post mortem on projects, where you have tracked every minute of your time (billable and non billable), can be a real eye opener in terms of your "real" (now diluted) hourly rate.  With this information you can determine if what you are providing to the market will be truly fruitful to you or not.

Having been at this for over 20 years I have found that setting a rate can be part art, part science.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors (e.g. type of market, competitors, value delivered, customer perception of value delivered, etc.). Like @@Fmilburn mentioned in an earlier post, in the end the rate needs to strike a fair balance between the buyer and seller.
 
Long ago I had an acquaintance who provided similar services to mine. He constantly complained about mistreatment/disrespect from his customers, with a good number who hadn't paid him.  His rate was less than half of what I charged. When he asked what he could do about it I advised him to significantly increase his rate which would do two things. It would scare off the customers looking for the lowest possible cost (the same ones that didn't pay and typically were the most problematic/difficult customers). It would also create a perception of value with the remaining customers as long as he was delivering value commensurate with his rate.  Unfortunately, he didn't heed the advice. His business faltered and he now works for someone else.
 
One of the things I have done in the past, if entering a new market, is to assess what competitors that provide similar services as we do charge for their services. Provided there are enough of them in the market to yield enough data points to be meaningful, I can position our services at a price point that reflects both the marketplace as well as the unique value we provide in the context of that marketplace. However, in the end I probably still don't charge enough.
 
One caveat though, after looking at the market rate, is if all your competitors are living in the back of their vans your cost structure may kill you.  Even after arriving at a market rate you still have to look at all your costs, both hard costs and your time. I have found that doing a post mortem on projects, where you have tracked every minute of your time (billable and non billable), can be a real eye opener in terms of your "real" (now diluted) hourly rate.  With this information you can determine if what you are providing to the market will be truly fruitful to you or not.

Having been at this for over 20 years I have found that setting a rate can be part art, part science.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors (e.g. type of market, competitors, value delivered, customer perception of value delivered, etc.). Like @@Fmilburn mentioned in an earlier post, in the end the rate needs to strike a fair balance between the buyer and seller.
 
Long ago I had an acquaintance who provided similar services to mine. He constantly complained about mistreatment/disrespect from his customers, with a good number who hadn't paid him.  His rate was less than half of what I charged. When he asked what he could do about it I advised him to significantly increase his rate which would do two things. It would scare off the customers looking for the lowest possible cost (the same ones that didn't pay and typically were the most problematic/difficult customers). It would also create a perception of value with the remaining customers as long as he was delivering value commensurate with his rate.  Unfortunately, he didn't heed the advice. His business faltered and he now works for someone else.
 
One of the things I have done in the past, if entering a new market, is to assess what competitors that provide similar services as we do charge for their services. Provided there are enough of them in the market to yield enough data points to be meaningful, I can position our services at a price point that reflects both the marketplace as well as the unique value we provide in the context of that marketplace. However, in the end I probably still don't charge enough.
 
One caveat though, after looking at the market rate, is if all your competitors are living in the back of their vans your cost structure may kill you.  Even after arriving at a market rate you still have to look at all your costs, both hard costs and your time. I have found that doing a post mortem on projects, where you have tracked every minute of your time (billable and non billable), can be a real eye opener in terms of your "real" (now diluted) hourly rate.  With this information you can determine if what you are providing to the market will be truly fruitful to you or not.

Having been at this for over 20 years I have found that setting a rate can be part art, part science.  Obviously it depends on a lot of factors (e.g. type of market, competitors, value delivered, customer perception of value delivered, etc.). Like @@Fmilburn mentioned in an earlier post, in the end the rate needs to strike a fair balance between the buyer and seller.
 
Long ago I had an acquaintance who provided similar services to mine. He constantly complained about mistreatment/disrespect from his customers, with a good number who hadn't paid him.  His rate was less than half of what I charged. When he asked what he could do about it I advised him to significantly increase his rate which would do two things. It would scare off the customers looking for the lowest possible cost (the same ones that didn't pay and typically were the most problematic/difficult customers). It would also create a perception of value with the remaining customers as long as he was delivering value commensurate with his rate.  Unfortunately, he didn't heed the advice. His business faltered and he now works for someone else.
 
One of the things I have done in the past, if entering a new market, is to assess what competitors that provide similar services as we do charge for their services. Provided there are enough of them in the market to yield enough data points to be meaningful, I can position our services at a price point that reflects both the marketplace as well as the unique value we provide in the context of that marketplace. However, in the end I probably still don't charge enough.
 
One caveat though, after looking at the market rate, is if all your competitors are living in the back of their vans your cost structure may kill you.  Even after arriving at a market rate you still have to look at all your costs, both hard costs and your time. I have found that doing a post mortem on projects, where you have tracked every minute of your time (billable and non billable), can be a real eye opener in terms of your "real" (now diluted) hourly rate.  With this information you can determine if what you are providing to the market will be truly fruitful to you or not.

@@yyrkoon
 
The price all depends upon the situation. If the person gives me the vibe that they are a risk of not paying then the price is high.
 
I want them to know that I am a Professional Engineer.
 
I've been burned in the past by someone who contacted me via this website. I was not paid for 12 hours of my time. I have chosen to never let that happen again. 
 
For my own reasons, I have not revealed that person's identity to the rest of this community because I believe that they are not a regular here. They know how much of a flake they are. They don't need me to shout it from this rooftop. 
 
I honestly hope they never come back to this website ever again. 
?_? 
 
 
 
On the topic of the price, here are my thoughts. I have an initial one hour phone conversation with the person and make an initial assessment of the scope of work. I figure out these things:
Do I have all the resources needed to solve this person's problem? Do I have the skills to solve this person's problem? Do I have the time to solve this person's problem? Does the person have the time to wait for my solution? Does this person have the authority to solve this problem for him? Does this person have the money to pay for my solution? What does the solution look like? Where can compromises be made in the solution? Can logical milestones be found for the work deliverables? Essentially, what are the risks and rewards for both parties in this work effort?
 
If the time required to complete the project is long then I can afford to lower the hourly rate. If the time is short to complete then I usually increase the price somewhat.
 
Depending upon the relationship that develops between both parties, the payment style can be established i.e.: Lump Sum vs Hourly vs Value Based.
 
If is my opinion that the best example of Value Based pricing is where I create a solution for a client then sell that client many units. In that case, I retain the ownership of the IP.
 
In the case of Lump Sum or Hourly pricing, it is my belief that the customer has a right to ask for ownership of the IP. That IP must be paid for though. There is a lot of wiggle room in this instance i.e.: How much of the IP and how much you charge for it is up for discussion. You have control over what is on the negotiating table.
 
 
The Project Assessment Agreement is my way of initially building trust between two trustworthy parties. It's my way of saying "This is what I am thinking. If you are thinking the same thing then we can do business together. If not then please go away in peace."
 
After the PAA has been completed, a formal contract must be written before the work on the complete project can commence. 
 
The formal contract will spell everything out in gloriously, painful detail so that both parties are keenly aware of the expectations they have agreed to meet.
 
Does that answer the question?
 
By the way, this is a good discussion. I like it.
   
 

@@yyrkoon
 
I've been self employed since 2005. I could tell you my stories.
 
For me, the answer to this question is the most important: What do I want?  My answers typically cover the range from selfish to selfless.
 
The latest craze amongst the self-employed is value based pricing. It's a tricky thing to pull off if you haven't got lots of experience writing proposals and contracts. I haven't done it myself. I usually just charge a high fee.
 
Here's a copy-paste of my Project Assessment Agreement that I give to all new prospective clients. This is my tool to figure out if the work is worth the effort required.
 
=======
Project Assessment Agreement
The purpose of the project assessment agreement is to equally establish expectations of both you (the client) and Nine Micron Inc.
 
Minimum deposit is $1000 which covers the first four hours payable in advance.
 
Work will continue to a maximum of eight hours which caps the assessment fee at $2000.
 
If the assessment takes the full eight hours then the fee is due upon delivery of the report.
 
Work proceeds when all necessary information is provided or otherwise obtained.
 
The assessment phase will result in:
A summary of the problems at hand, A description of all possible solutions and, An assessment of the risks and rewards of each possible solution. Process Flow Steps:
Define the objective. List out all possible successful solutions. Decide which solution to use. Explain why that choice is the best one. Test the solution and collect data to prove that the solution is in fact successful. =========
 
Another benefit of this tool is to weed out the people who will not value your services. It works well to reduce your initial risk and establishes that you are in control on the work effort.
 
 
Feel free to copy, edit, modify and use it too suit your needs.
 
I hope it helps even a little bit.
 
 
 

I will give you my thoughts for what they are worth...  You are selling a product more than your engineering expertise.  I have worked as both an engineering consultant selling expertise (priced by the hour usually but can be bid lump sum) and selling a product - all in a different field of engineering but I think this applies.  Selling expertise means your hour or day rate must be competitive with the competition.  Selling a product means you must be delivering something of value to the customer and it must be at a price point the customer can bear regardless of the hours or expertise that went into it.
 
So, in my opinion, the first thing is to get an understanding of the value your product has to the customer.  If the value to the customer is low relative to your valuation, and especially if they are going to only have a few units, you are probably looking at a per unit fee if you want to do business with them.  Of course you can always look at hybrid cases like starting off with a relatively high per unit fee, reducing the fee if production increases, or converting to some kind of lump sum if the product takes off.  In any case, you would do well to understand the value to the customer and negotiate accordingly.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
No, I have never had reason to consider doing this before and it is the result of a specific issue.   The example may be misleading.   A reset would be initiated in the project only if an error situation is detected.  Although now that I think about it, giving it a kick in the seat of the pants every once in a while just to let it know who is boss might be good
 
Agreed.  The problem is of an intermittent and infrequent nature and I haven't been able to trap it and determine the cause.  In fact, and I should have mentioned this in the first post, it has not reoccurred since this idea occurred to me.
 
I thought it an interesting approach though and did a quick search of 43oh and didn't see it anywhere else, although I could have overlooked it, and thought it worth posting.

You guys are a though crowd today
 
Fist of all, Herzlich Willkommen auf 43oh @@mathiasbuder
 
I don't think that comparing this project to an off-the-shelf MP3 player is useful, comparing to an Android tablet even less so. A customer for this BoosterPack will buy it as a tool to experiment and build their own contraptions (e.g. a radio clock?).
 
MP3 shields for Arduino are a more relevant comparison:
Adafruit sells their Music Maker shield for $30, based on the same IC but seems to have a lot less functionality (no recording, no buttons, no optional display). Sparkfun's MP3 Player Shield is $25, again only audio out. Seeed's Grove Serial MP3 Player is $15, again no recording. There are shields on Ebay for around $10 that support recording, e.g. this one. But software support is probably much worse than with Adafruit et al.  
So your price may be a bit high compared to the competition, even when accounting for the superior functionality. On the other hand, there's nothing like this for TI LaunchPads yet, so there can be a markup within reason. The higher the price the more you will have to justify it with very good support with beginner friendly libraries (Energia) and documentation.
 
Given the small TI LaunchPad ecosystem, I wouldn't expect a lot of sales, even at a lower price point. Sales will most likely be driven by publishing interesting projects based on your BoosterPack that others want to replicate. Think Hackaday, Instructables, etc.
 
My final advice after selling a few hundred of my own widgets: Don't under-price yourself. Making and selling hardware takes a lot of time and money. When your little side project happens to be a success and turns into serious work, it is important that it will pay for your expenses and then some. If it doesn't sell because it was too expensive, you at least learned something and had fun doing so (just don't fabricate 100's of them upfront).
 
Ignoring the business side, I still think it's a nice project. I have an older version of that MP3 chip sitting in my drawer since 10+ years and never came around actually putting it to good use.

If you have a logic analyzer, or can borrow one, then you can see what the signals look like at each point in the chain. Without being able to see where a problem is possibly being introduced by one of the converters, you are shooting in the dark.