rampadc 29 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Hey guys, is there a small device that lets you store firmwares in an SD card or other memory devices and flash MSP430 MCUs on-the-go without a computer? Preferably with a simple user interface for non-tech-savy users to select which firmware they need to flash. I can probably build one but it would be much nicer to use an existing solution. Thanks greeeg 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bluehash 1,581 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Maybe implement BSL on another microcontroller and connect it serially to your target. The BSL guys would know better. rampadc and greeeg 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spirilis 1,265 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Yeah I doubt you'll find a pre-engineered solution for this but @@bluehash 's idea would work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
greeeg 460 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 There is an olimex product that connects to 2 targets. And reads the contents of one onto the other. I'll see of I can fond a link when I get to my desktop. Otherwise if you didn't want to use the BSL look into the MSP430 source for the ezFET and MSPFET. The code is heavy. But very modular, should be able to take out some SBW parts. bluehash 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rampadc 29 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 There is an olimex product that connects to 2 targets. And reads the contents of one onto the other. I'll see of I can fond a link when I get to my desktop. Otherwise if you didn't want to use the BSL look into the MSP430 source for the ezFET and MSPFET. The code is heavy. But very modular, should be able to take out some SBW parts. Connecting to multiple targets isn't necessary in my case. I just need maybe a small board that has a removable memory card. The user would copy a new firmware onto the card and flash his device with a push of a button. It's preferred if multiple firmwares are available to select. SBW is preferred in this case. I'm just reading through the app note on SBW at the moment and will look at ezFET Lite in a sec. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fred 453 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 It looks like the MSP Gang Programmer should do what you need. Might be a bit over the top though. http://www.ti.com/tool/msp-gang Several programming modes: * Interactive Mode KatiePier 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rampadc 29 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 It looks like the MSP Gang Programmer should do what you need. Might be a bit over the top though. http://www.ti.com/tool/msp-gang That is uber fancy! it has everything I need though I don't think I can afford one just yet. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jazz 209 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 That is uber fancy! it has everything I need though I don't think I can afford one just yet. I believe that one day my flasher (much faster / simpler / smaller than MSP-GANG, and affordable too) will work with any android mobile phone. So txt/hex firmware file will be transferred from PC to phone, and later flashed with flasher connected to phone, anytime, anywhere. rampadc and greeeg 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 All of the MSP430 parts are fully self-programmable. All you need to is read blocks from the SD card and write them into the MSP430's flash memory. abecedarian 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
abecedarian 330 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 All of the MSP430 parts are fully self-programmable. All you need to is read blocks from the SD card and write them into the MSP430's flash memory.The problem lies in the fact the 'programmer' has to be able to run from RAM, and would have to include the necessary functions to from the SD card and place that into flash, i.e. be able to perform I2C functionality and buffer reads so they can be written to flash, and presumably be able to buffer enough to write one flash page / block at a time. Note: I'm an idiot and may not fully grasp the situation, so have mercy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rockets4kids 204 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 While the programmer can run from RAM you do not need to do it that way and should not do it that way in this case. The easy solution here is to use a custom bootloader that loads code updates from an SD chip instead of serial. I am not aware that such a bootloader exists for the MSP430, but it would not be difficult to write one. Doing so is *far* simpler than any of the other options so far presented. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cde 334 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 A small SBC like the RPI or any variety of linux computers, with a nokia lcd, would work. Arguably, can be battery powered too. Size, roughly the size of a original game boy. 40~60 dollars plus development time you spend on it. RPI MSPGCC Nokia LCD Batteries Case Launchpad Of course, it is a computer, but that's semantics now a days. Alternatively, a Android Cell Phone with USB-OTG capability. You would need to port the launchpad drivers over. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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