Hardware
10
SLAU747B – October 2017 – Revised January 2019
Copyright © 2017–2019, Texas Instruments Incorporated
MSP432P4111 SimpleLink™ microcontroller LaunchPad™ development kit
(MSP-EXP432P4111)
On the host side, a virtual COM port for the application backchannel UART is generated when the
LaunchPad 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.
Figure 7. Application Backchannel UART in Device Manager
The backchannel UART is the XDS110 Class Application/User UART port. In this case,
shows
COM156, 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.
The XDS110-ET 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 backchannel UART.
2.3.3
Using an External Debugger Instead of the Onboard XDS110-ET
Many users have a specific debugger that they prefer to use, and may want to bypass the XDS110-ET to
program the MSP432 target MCU. This is enabled by jumpers on isolation block J101, and the connector
J8. Using an external debug probe is simple, and full JTAG access is provided through J8.
1. Remove jumpers on the JTAG signals on the J101 isolation block, including RST, TMS, TCK, TDO,
and TDI.
2. Plug any Arm debugger into J8.
a. J8 follows the Arm Cortex Debug Connector standard outlined in
3. Plug USB power into the LaunchPad, or power it externally
a. Ensure that the jumpers across 3V3 and GND are connected if using USB power
b. External debuggers do not provide power, the Vcc pin is a power sense pin
c. See
for more details on powering the LaunchPad development kit.
