EZ430 Backchannel UART Configuration

From Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki

The Below is a Frequently-Asked Question Regarding EZ430 Setup

Q: How can I communicate between the EZ430-RF2500 and its host PC? (also applies to EZ430-RF2480)

A: The EZ430-RF2500 has a backchannel UART connecting the USCI's channel A through the USB port to allow application data transfers. It is limited to 9600 baud.

Implementation

We have USCI channel A UART code examples. Select one with 9600 baud

For the PC the EZ430 drivers need to be installed. To install the drivers you need:

• A Windows XP or Vista (32-bit only) machine with an available USB port
• A Development Environment installed such as IAR
• The EZ430U Emulator plugged into the PC
• The target board plugged into the emulator (when it is time to load the code to the MSP430)

Driver Install Process: See the Hardware Installation Guide of the FET User’s Guide (SLAU138)

Setting up Hyperterminal A COM port is established once the EZ430U’s drivers are installed. To determine the COM port number you need to look for the MSP430 Application UART (COMxx) entry in the Ports (COM & LPT) category of your PC’s Device Manager (see below)

When configuring Hyperterminal the connection needs to connect using the COM port # associated with the MSP430. For the PC with the Device Manager shown in Figure 2 “COM43” should be chosen. The Port Settings should be set to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity and no flow control.

Also you may be interested in the following application utilizing this feature: EZ430 Chat

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