SugarAddict 227 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 So the last few threads I've seen made me wonder about this... We've got the Eagle schematic and board, why not make a custom board and unsolder one and solder it to our own? Using TI's files, modify the RX/TX to be flipped (this would be a HW UART board, unless you wanted to make the jumper suggestion that is supposed to be in the new board Revision?) Put a jumper on that 1.3 pullup... I don't think it would be all that bad to unsolder everything and solder it to a custom setup... Worthy of an attempt? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gwdeveloper 275 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 That would be great! Could they be done for less than $5 is the big question. I would take 4-6 if we could. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Do-able by some, not all. Maybe setup a service. Board conversions for $10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
juani_c 66 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Perhaps a simpler-smaller Launchpad?, without the debugging interface (just the TUSB3410 for serial com) and a 3.3v LDO? I was working in something that looks like that. Fewer parts, making it easier to solder, and all of them available through Texas samples program so no need to unsolder. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gordon 229 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 If so, then God Please Not The TUSB. greeeg and PentiumPC 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zeke 693 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 A while back, I did a job for a customer and now I've got a schematic and pcb layout already done based on the FT232RL USB-UART and the G2231. It's all SMD with 0603 passives. You would have to use an LP to program it. Here's a picture of the two prototyping boards. I would have to combine them into one board but then it would be useful for prime time. What do you think? Would that be of use to anyone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zeke 693 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 The one cool thing about this design is that the FT232RL chip provides 3.3V to power everything. I can't remember how much current it will provide though. On the top left, there is a 4 pin 0.100" footprint where you would connect the LP to it for programming. If we can come up with a list of functional requirements (ie: power budget, MCU footprint, connectors, etc) I could whip up a board for everyone. But, I think I'm hijacking the thread when I make that offer. Sorry about that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gordon 229 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I wouldn't mind if it was able to draw full 500mA (or even 1A with one of those two-headed USB cables). I have actually been entertaining this idea for a short while. I am after a sort of a "carrier booster pack" (Carrier Payload sounded way better ), if you will -- the LaunchPad without the FET (I didn't include the UART bridge, but why not), with proper reset circuitry, provisions for connecting some sort of battery, possibly (provisions for a) LiPo charger. The idea is that one could use this board for putting things in "production" (as opposed to "develop" with the LP) as everything would be there. This is a slight bit more than just a LP replica (also less, as I am not into the button or the LEDs), but maybe worth at least designing for. Whoever needs to populate then can just populate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zeke 693 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 :thumbup: That's what I was thinking too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zborgerd 62 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 It may not be cost effective to make a Launchpad (considering that they are so inexpensive), but what about a ZIF solution? Does anyone know of an inexpensive ZIF socket that could be used to swap TQFP ICs? Last time I looked, the parts that I could find were pretty expensive. But maybe you guys have more experience? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zeke 693 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 It would be cheaper to make pcb's for each type of chip you want to play with. ZIF's are painfully expensive no matter what size you're looking for. QFP ZIF's would be one of the most expensive types. Take a look at this as an example: MSP-TS430PZ5X100 at Digikey. For ~$85, you get a board with ZIF but just F55xx chips. How many pcb's can seeed studio make for that price? Probably a lot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SugarAddict 227 Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 Meh. I'm talking about taking all of the parts off of an LP and moving them to a modified board... not so much recreating the whole thing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zeke 693 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Yikes! That's a lot of work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 You realize that you can slice your LaunchPad along the dotted line and make it physically much smaller, right? You realize that with a JTAG programmer, you should be able to re-program the FET chip on the LaunchPad, right? You realize you can sample a 2816 and get a GoodFet PCB for five bucks from Travis Goodspeed, right? Just sayin'.... ;-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gordon 229 Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 So, who's up for writing a GoodFet driver for MSPDebug? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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