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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
6.
The device is not answering to any communication, JTAG or UART.
If you are experiencing difficulties in communicating to the attached MSP430 target device, even
though all the communication drivers for the MSP-EXP430G2 are loaded correctly, the emulator is
probably set to a wrong communication state. This can be fixed by reconnecting the LaunchPad
evaluation kit and restarting the communicating application. Also make sure that all the jumpers on J3
are connected properly between the emulator and the target device. On revision 1.5 and newer, the
orientation of the UART jumpers must align with the software implementation on the target device.
7. I soldered the 32-kHz crystal to the board and the oscillation is not starting.
The MSP430 driving capabilities for the low-frequency crystal is limited, because it is designed for low-
power applications. To ensure proper operation, the load on these pins must be as small as possible,
the matching capacitors (12.5 pF for 32.768 kHz) for the crystal must be soldered to the board, and the
resistors R28 and R29 must be removed. Measuring the frequency of the oscillation with an
oscilloscope typically disturbs the oscillation.
8. The power consumption of the board is much higher than specified in the device data sheet, or I am
not measuring a current at all.
The MSP430 device inside of the LaunchPad socket can be powered with an external power supply at
header J6 or J4. To measure the power consumption in this mode, the VCC jumper, usually used to
measure the power consumption, must be removed, and the current must be measured directly at the
power supply. If the jumper J3 is not removed, the emulator circuitry of the LaunchPad is powered as
well. Measuring the current consumption during a debug session is not possible, because the cross
current through the JTAG connection influences the measurement. The most accurate results are
achieved with all jumpers on J3 removed. If the measurement is still not matching the data sheet
parameters, make sure that the code is aligned with all the power saving recommendations on the web
site
MSP430™ - The World's Lowest Power MCU
.
LaunchPad revisions 1.3 and 1.4 come with R34 populated. The 47-k
Ω
resistor is used as a pullup for
the button S2. If the port P1.3 is driven to ground, as suggested to keep the power consumption down,
the pullup resistor generates an additional current of approximately 77 µA. To reduce the power
consumption, the port should stay in input mode or the resistor should be removed if button S2 is not
used. The internal pullup of the MSP430G2xx can be used instead.
25
SLAU318F – July 2010 – Revised January 2015
MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad Evaluation Kit
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