rebeltaz 36 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I'm just curious. Almost all projects I see based on the MSP seem to be built around the Lauchpad, as opposed to just designing the circuit around the IC itself. Is this indeed common practice? And if yes, might I ask why? Personally, I have always preferred to design circuits around discreet components instead of around a development board. I guess that's just me, though? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chibiace 46 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 since it doesnt require many parts to move it off the launchpad, that leads me to think its a programming issue, that or dip sockets are too expensive heres what i do for pcbs Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cde 334 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 $4.30. That's why. Hell, look at the arduino. 35 or more, everyone includes the actual board in their projects instead of a 5 dollar clone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fred 453 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 It's definitely the cost. I was making a quiz show buzzer for my brother and had breadboarded all the discrete components. When it came to the soldering I just couldn't be bothered so coded a MSP430 instead. Then I realised that if I left it on the Launchpad I got USB connectivity to a PC for a nice UI. So cheap and easy it seemed daft not to. For anything serious or in quantity it would definitely be just the microcontroller though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rei Vilo 695 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I've taken the MSP430 out of the LaunchPad for a couple of smart devices, i.e. with their own embedded processing capabilities. See my smartColours sensor and smartLED display. Two MSP430 MCUs are more expensive than the old priced LaunchPad MSP430 kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yyrkoon 250 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The reflow oven controller wulf designed can work either way. standalone msp430g2553, or launchpad. Its actually pretty cool, because you can just plug a computer into the board to debug or upload code, then later you just pop on a G2553, and it will run exactly the same way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I believe you are seeing bias error. There is no particular reason to build onto the LaunchPad other than the fact that for a long time it was very cheap. Even though I picked up a dozen launchpads when they were still $4.30, I rarely use the target side. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paulpthcom 19 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Learning how to create custom PCBs can be a daunting task, figuring out the tools, how to order a board, waiting weeks to get something back, and if you make a mistake starting over again. Much easier to just buy a launchpad or two and hook it up with some jumper wires. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 I believe you are forgetting about breadboards and protoboard. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rebeltaz 36 Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 I guess I am just old school. On the last project I built - a MSP-based nixie clock - I drew the board patterns out on a piece of paper by hand, transferred the patterns to the copper clad with a sharpie and cut the traces out with a dremel tool and a hobby knife. Sure.. it may take more time, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I actually did it by hand. @@chibiace - I like the board. I made one of those myself, just with a longer cable. I also connected another cable that terminates in a 20-pin socket that I can plug into a breadboard to take the place of jumper wires from the headers. I'll post a photo of it later. I appreciate the responses, guys... chibiace 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chibiace 46 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 stripboard is great, i like it much better then pad per hole, anything too complex or smd and ill cad up a board and wait the week and a half for a pcb from seeed. i also have my Zif socket launchpad with male headers pointing down under the board so the whole thing can be plugged into a double size breadboard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rebeltaz 36 Posted May 13, 2013 Author Share Posted May 13, 2013 ZIF socket for my other Lauchpad is next on my list. Is your's soldered in place of the original socket or plugged into the original socket? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chibiace 46 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 soldered in place. theres a couple of posts on the forum about zif sockets, the use case for them is pretty small. like preprogrammed chips for kits, boards that are too small to have either dip sockets or programming pins. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 Are there any components on that PCB? Or are you just using it attach cables to connectors? If so, it seems like it would be a lot easier to just solder the wires directly to the connectors. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Druzyek 36 Posted May 13, 2013 Share Posted May 13, 2013 @@rebeltaz, working with copper clad like that is neat for small things. I would like to do that too. Do you have an more info on your nixie clock? I wanted to do something similar but I don't know the best way to work with the voltages. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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