This post is a list of resources related to the MSP430 microcontroller from Texas Instruments. If you aren’t familiar with the MSP430, here is an excerpt from the TI website:
“The MSP430 microprocessor platform of ultra-low power 16-bit RISC mixed-signal microcontrollers from TI provides the ultimate solution for a wide range of low power and portable applications.”
Probably the most interesting aspect of the MSP430 is the ultra-low power requirements, as shown in this video:
MSP430 Low Power Demo using Grapes as a Power Source
Here are some useful links to resources from Texas Instruments site:
Here are some other useful links from various sources:
An easy way to get started with the MSP430 is the MSP430 LaunchPad. The Launchpad is an inexpensive (<$5US), easy way to get started programming with the MSP430. Here are some useful links related to the MSP430 LaunchPad.
Texas Instruments also sells the EZ430-Chronos
“… a highly integrated, wearable wireless development system that comes in a sports watch. It may be used as a reference platform for watch systems, a personal display for personal area networks, as a wireless sensor node for remote data collection, or simply as a watch.”
The Chronos is an interesting, easy to use development platform with a number of sensors including an accelerometer and a pressure sensor (interestingly, the SCP100o is considered obsolete). Here are some resources or the EZ430-Chronos:
The MSP430 can be programmed with C or C++ using:
- Code Composer Studio
- IAR Workbench
- mspgcc
The Code Composer Studio IDE is based on Eclipse.
A serial interface driver is here: http://supp.iar.com/Support/?note=18523
Commercial resources for MSP430 for Mac are limited. However there is an good tutorial here on How to Install the MSP430 toolchain under Mac OS X. Note, I could never get mspgcc4 to build correctly on Mac OS X 10.7.2. I had better luck with the MSP430 Launchpad toolchain for Mac OS X. There is also the MSPDebug project for debugging support with Mac OS X.