Hey guys, this is jjt and this is my first post for gerthy's blog which is maximu. Well, this blog is about random stuffs so I decided to share my two new micro-controllers at home which is one of my toys for now including my PS3 :p.
The red micro-controller from the image above is a MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit of Texas Instruments and the black one is an ACEduino 328 which is an Arduino Clone from Alexan Commercial. And so lemme present the descriptions for each hardware:
About MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development Tool
The MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad is a low cost flash programmer and debugging tool from Texas Instruments wherein you can drop in any 14 or 20-pin DIP MSP430 Value line device and start coding your applications. You can download the free compilers and debuggers for flashing this tool including Code Composer Studio and IAR Embedded Workbench Kickstart from their official website. The board itself has a built-in Flash emulation for debugging and programming, 2xUser LEDs, power LED, user button, reset button, and a 10-pin header for external circuit connection.
All in all, the package that ships with the box includes;
- Launchpad Value Line development tool (MSP-EXP430G2)
- MSP430G2452IN20 - 8kB Flash, 256B RAM, 16GPIO, 1x 16 bit timer, WDT, BOR, 1xUSI(12C/SPI), 8ch 10-bit ADC, 8ch Comparator, Capacitive Touch I/O Module
- MSP430G2553IN20 - 16kB Flash, 512 RAM, 16 GPIO, 2x 16 bit timers, WDT, BOR, 1x USCI (12C/SPI/UART), 8ch 10-bit ADC, 8ch Comparator, Capacitive Touch I/O Module
- Mini USB Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- 10-pin PCB connectors - 2 male headers (populated) and 2 female headers
- Micro Crystal 32.768 kHz Oscillator.
This micro-controller costs 4.38$ and includes a free shipping if you but it online from their e-store.
About ACEduino 328
ACEduino 328 is an Arduino Clone from Alexan which is a good micro-controller for beginners especially for those who don't have little knowledge on electronics because there are a lot of Arduino C language learning references in arduino.cc. ACEduino 328 is compatible with the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) as long as you set your board options to Arduino ATMega 328.
The features for this board includes:
- 6 Analog Input pins (with pin for Analog reference)
- Different communication lines available - UART (Rx, Tx), I2C (SDA, SCL) and ISP (MISO, MOSI, SCL)
- On-board solderable prototyping nodes
- 32KB Flash Memory (ATmega328) and automatic power selector between USB and DC power
I bought this micro-controller in a local electronic shop here in Cebu for just 900+ pesos.
Which is better?
As a neutral enthusiast, I cannot say that the MSP-EXP430G2 - MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit is better than ACEduino 328 or vice versa. They have their own pros and cons but MSP-EXP430G2 has no full support for flashing or working under Linux unlike ACEduino 328 and that's why ACEduino 328 is the winner in terms of cross platform support. We all have our preferences but for now I'm focusing on enhancing my knowledge on Arduino which is a good open source hardware for me to start. I'm also starting to tinker my MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit and waiting for the shipment of my Stellaris Launchpad from Texas Instrument.
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Good day Sir! i just want to ask, in what electronic shop in Cebu did you buy your micro-controller? do they also sell MSP-430 in there? i hope you can reply to this immediately since we will be needing this for our project. Thanks!
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