SLAU664B February   2016  – August 2017

 

  1.   MSP430FR2311 LaunchPad™ Development Kit (MSP‑EXP430FR2311)
    1.     Trademarks
    2. 1 Getting Started
      1. 1.1 Introduction
      2. 1.2 Key Features
      3. 1.3 What's Included
        1. 1.3.1 Kit Contents
        2. 1.3.2 Software Examples
      4. 1.4 First Steps: Out-of-Box Experience
        1. 1.4.1 Connecting to the Computer
        2. 1.4.2 Running the Out-of-Box Demo
      5. 1.5 Next Steps: Looking Into the Provided Code
    3. 2 Hardware
      1. 2.1 Block Diagram
      2. 2.2 Hardware Features
        1. 2.2.1 MSP430FR2311 MCU
        2. 2.2.2 eZ-FET Onboard Emulator With EnergyTrace™ Software
        3. 2.2.3 Emulator Connection: Isolation Jumper Block
        4. 2.2.4 Application (or "Backchannel") UART
        5. 2.2.5 Special Features
          1. 2.2.5.1 Smart Analog Combo (SAC)
      3. 2.3 Power
        1. 2.3.1 eZ-FET USB Power
        2. 2.3.2 BoosterPack Plug-In-Module and External Power Supply
      4. 2.4 Measure MSP430 MCU Current Draw
      5. 2.5 Clocking
      6. 2.6 Using the eZ-FET Emulator With a Different Target
      7. 2.7 BoosterPack Plug-in Module Pinout
      8. 2.8 Design Files
        1. 2.8.1 Hardware
        2. 2.8.2 Software
      9. 2.9 Hardware Change log
    4. 3 Software Examples
      1. 3.1 Out-of-Box Software Example
        1. 3.1.1 Source File Structure
        2. 3.1.2 Power Measurement
      2. 3.2 Blink LED Example
        1. 3.2.1 Source File Structure
      3. 3.3 Software I2C Example
        1. 3.3.1 Source File Structure
    5. 4 Resources
      1. 4.1 Integrated Development Environments
        1. 4.1.1 TI Cloud Development Tools
          1. 4.1.1.1 TI Resource Explorer Cloud
          2. 4.1.1.2 Code Composer Studio Cloud
        2. 4.1.2 Code Composer Studio IDE
        3. 4.1.3 IAR Embedded Workbench for Texas Instruments MSP430
        4. 4.1.4 Energia
      2. 4.2 LaunchPad Websites
      3. 4.3 MSPWare Software and TI Resource Explorer
      4. 4.4 FRAM Utilities
      5. 4.5 MSP430FR2311MCU
        1. 4.5.1 Device Documentation
        2. 4.5.2 MSP430FR2311 MCU Code Examples
        3. 4.5.3 MSP430 MCU Application Notes and TI Designs
      6. 4.6 Community Resources
        1. 4.6.1 TI E2E Online Community
        2. 4.6.2 Community-at-Large
    6. 5 FAQ
    7. 6 Schematics
  2.   Revision History

2.2.4 Application (or "Backchannel") UART

The backchannel UART allows communication with the USB host that is not part of the target application's main functionality. This is very useful during development, and also provides a communication channel to the PC host side. This can be used to create graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and other programs on the PC that communicate with the LaunchPad development kit.

Figure 6 shows the pathway of the backchannel UART. The backchannel UART is the UART on eUSCI_A0.

On the host side, a virtual COM port for the application backchannel UART is generated when the LaunchPad development kit enumerates on the host. You can use any PC application that interfaces with COM ports, including terminal applications like Hyperterminal or Docklight, to open this port and communicate with the target application. You need to identify the COM port for the backchannel. On Windows PCs, Device Manager can assist.

fig07_Application_Backchannel.pngFigure 7. Application Backchannel UART in Device Manager

The backchannel UART is the "MSP Application UART1" port. In this case, Figure 7 shows COM13, but this port can vary from one host PC to the next. After you identify the correct COM port, configure it in your host application according to its documentation. You can then open the port and begin communication to it from the host.

On the target MSP430FR2311 MCU side, the backchannel is connected to the eUSCI_A0 module. The eZ-FET has a configurable baud rate; therefore, it is important that the PC application configures the baud rate to be the same as what is configured on the eUSCI_A0.