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MSP-EXP432P401R Pre-Production (black PCB) LaunchPad to be Phased Out


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For those who may not have seen it, the black LaunchPads with Rev B pre-release MCU are being phased out.  New red LaunchPads with a revision C production device are replacing it.  The announcement in e2e is located here.   There is information on timing and compatibility with CCS located here.

 

A quote from the second link:

TI recommends that you update all hardware and software be updated to latest Revision C devices. Support for MSP432P401R
on CCS cloud (dev.ti.com) and via MSP432Ware have been updated to match Revision C devices. Pre-production Revision C
samples can be ordered online and an updated LaunchPad using XMS Revision C silicon is also available online.

There is a note at the bottom of the compatibility table that Rev B will be removed from device support packages in 2017.

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OK. So the black ones will stop working in 2017? Like many people I grabbed a few when they were $4.32 (an some when they weren't). I guess they'll soon be scrap / parts donors.

The same happened with the early revisions of the FR5969 Launchpad which were also XMS silicon. I managed to get a sample and replace the IC on that one, but as a hobbyist TI won't send me samples any more.

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Maybe, but I'm not sure I'd keep an old copy just for that one board. It's not a huge problem but a bit annoying.

 

In the case of the FR5969 it was the firmware in the onboard FET that refused to work with the beta chip, and I think CCS insisted on upgrading the FET before it would connect.

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It's slightly annoying that having several of these boards now, and I have to scrap them because support is going away, and I don't recall there was any warning given that this could happen. I just picked up a few more, and now I'm stuck with them and no software upgrade path or discount for people who had gotten the black ones.

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I think it would be nice if TI could provide free MSP432P401R production silicon samples for folks who bought a black LaunchPad and want to try replacing the chip.  Not everyone's got the tools but many of us probably do...

 

I could live with that solution. Maybe I could just ask for samples. I bought them from the TI store, so they even know I'm the owner.

 

Are there any other differences between the red and black Launchpad boards?

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Are there any other differences between the red and black Launchpad boards?

According to section 4.1 of SLAA 700 they moved the reset button, P1, and P2,  and it supports a new debugger.

 

Not only did I buy a couple of these, I bought the Valvano book which is now at least somewhat out of date and will think twice before buying pre-production releases again.

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