Getting Started with the MSP430 Launchpad
By Adrian Fernandez and Dung Dang
()
About this ebook
This book explores the world of microcontroller development through friendly lessons and progressively challenging projects, which will have you blink LEDs, make music with buzzers & interact with different sensors like accelerometers and temperature sensors. This book is focused on the MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad Evaluation Kit, which is a complete microcontroller development platform that includes everything you need to start creating microcontroller-based projects. Many of the 25+ projects will also leverage external components, such as the highly-integrated Educational BoosterPack, which is a modular extension to the LaunchPad and includes many components such as an RGB LED, character LCD & potentiometer.
This book provides helpful guides that break down hardware circuits through visual diagrams and includes fully-commented code examples. Concepts are broken down and explained in an easy to follow language and analogies to help you understand the principles behind each project/system. The projects will encourage you to use and even combine the fundamental concepts to develop your ideas in creating new microcontroller solutions.
Coverage includes:
- Digital Input/Output: buttons, LEDs, turning anything into a button
- Analog Input/Output: sensors, temperature, accelerometer, potentiometer, etc.
- Programming fundamentals: conditional branches & loops, flow, logic, number systems
- Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM): square wave, buzzer, analog signal simulation
- Serial Communication: UART, SPI & I2C
- Code development using Energia, a free, open-source code editor and compiler
- Debugging through serial communication with a computer
- Interfacing with external components such as LEDs, buzzers, potentiometers, sensors & more.
With the help of this book, you will be challenged to think about developing your own unique microcontroller-based application, and you will be equipped to start solving various problems, adding intelligence to existing products, or even developing your own innovative creations with a LaunchPad development kit.
- Includes over 25 projects which focuses on a learn by doing approach
- Contains easy to follow diagrams and code examples
- Covers Programming fundamentals, such as conditional branches and loops, flow, logic, number systems
Adrian Fernandez
Adrian Fernandez is the manager of the Microcontroller Customer Experience team at Texas Instruments and holds a B.S.E.E from the University of Texas at Austin. In his role, he is responsible for defining the microcontroller development ecosystem and augmenting the ways developers interact and develop with TI microcontrollers. In recent years, Adrian has focused on the LaunchPad Evaluation Development Platform to create a low-cost, easy-to-use and friendly tool for enabling people of all experience levels to start making stuff with microcontrollers. Through developing the LaunchPad ecosystem, Adrian has had the pleasure of working and interacting with the online & maker community. Adrian lives in Dallas, TX with his better-half Ellen and pug Ollie.
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Book preview
Getting Started with the MSP430 Launchpad - Adrian Fernandez
1
Prepare for Liftoff!
However you came here, we’re glad that you did! In the following pages, we’re going to learn a lot about a little red board that we call the MSP430 LaunchPad Evaluation kit. For the purpose of this book, we’ll call our new friend LaunchPad
.
We’ve got a long way to go, but if you stick with us, we think that you and the LaunchPad can become the best of friends. This could be the beginning of a special bond filled with flashing LEDs, buzzing buzzers, and spinning motors!
May you embark on a journey full of discovery and wonder as you conquer the ultimate quest alongside your trusty LaunchPad.
1.1 Who Should Read This Book?
The LaunchPad is a great introduction to the world of microcontrollers. Interested readers from all experience levels may find this book a great resource to help guide them through their journey with the LaunchPad.
You came to the right place if:
• You are a student or a curious reader without any background or experience with electronics or microcontrollers.
• You are a hobbyist who wants to get their hands dirty making new electronics by yourself. This book can help you get started.
• You are an electrical engineer who has focused on circuits and hardware but have not yet had a chance to step into the world of embedded programming. This book can reveal the simple steps needed to get started with coding and giving your design some intelligence.
• You are a software developer who can write code in your sleep but have not had a chance to touch the hardware side of things. This book can show you how easy it is to make the first step over to the hardware side.
• You come from a different professional discipline and want to incorporate electronics into whatever it is that you do. This book can be a good way for you to learn about electronics and may spark some creative ideas on how to incorporate this new-found knowledge into unique avenues.
This book is suitable for a wide variety of audiences, regardless of age, background, or level of knowledge on electronics or microcontrollers. As long as you are interested in learning, we think that this book could be a great tool for you.
1.2 What to Expect Out of This Book
This book will show you how to have fun with your LaunchPad and help you learn a thing or two along the way. By the end of this book, you will be able to do the following:
1. Know what a LaunchPad is and what it is capable of. Most importantly, we want you to know what you can make with the LaunchPad.
2. Understand what it takes to create cool things with your LaunchPad. We’ll learn how to teach our LaunchPad new tricks, explore the inner workings of the LaunchPad, and control how the LaunchPad behaves and interacts with the outside world.
3. Make simple but fun real-world applications with the LaunchPad. With our LaunchPad and clever coding, we can solve lots of problems. Are you down for a challenge?
Challenge:
Think of one thing that you really, really want to make. Now write it down! What is the main purpose of your dream thing
? What does it do? How does it behave or interact in different scenarios? Using only what you know as of now, describe how you would implement it, what components you think it should have, and how they work together.
My dream creation: _____________________________________
By the end of the book, we will come back to this idea. Except by the end of the book, we will redo the exercise using all of the new concepts that you have learned. We will compare the notes and see if there’s any difference in the way you approach the problem. Ultimately, we hope that with your newly gained microcontroller knowledge, and more importantly, a newly gained perspective in electronics and problem solving, you will be able to clearly identify the pieces of the puzzles and become much more equipped to go off and make the next great microcontroller