LaunchPad MSP430G2

The LaunchPad is a development platform from Texas Instruments for the MSP430G2 value line MCUs.

There's a strong commitment to details:
  • the board has 4 protection rubbers beneath 
  • the USB cable is supplied
  • 2 MCUs msp430g2452 and msp430g2553 and a 32MHz crystal
  • a printed quick introductory guide

The board has a built-in debugger.

The MSP430 value line is expanding with new MCUs!
The IDE or integrated development environment is called Energīa. It is derived from Arduino 1.0. As Processing-based Wiring-derived, it is platform-agnostic and runs on either Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.  

Looking for more features, I designed a template I could use with Xcode:  embedXcode.

BoosterPacks

In LaunchPad speak, shields are called BoosterPacks. 

Some are built by Texas Instruments, and many others by external manufacturers. A comprehensive list is available here.

Right, the example of the AIR Module BoosterPack.

SPI, I²C and Serial Pins

As SPI, I²C and Serial pins are specific to each MCU, here are the schematics for the two most popular MSP430:
The maps are based on Energia implementation.

Pros

  • Very nice package, with USB cable, crystal and 2 MCUs.
  • Incredible USD4.30 price tag.
  • Low priced BoosterPack extension shields.
  • Very low power consumption.
  • Large offer in IDEs: 2 professional IDEs from Texas Instruments, Arduino-like Energia, and embedXcode.

Cons

  • As per now, maximum flash is 16 KB.
  • The MSP430 family is very large, and one could easily get lost selecting a reference among it, and looking for its specifications.
  • SPI, I²C and Serial pins are specific to each MCU.

Wrap-Up

  • Tremendous value.
  • A perfect cost-effective introduction to micro-controllers and very low power MCUs.

Links