I am designing a project that is very similar to TI MSP-WDS430BT2000D kit. My design would need rechargeable battery, be Water-resistant and to have some way to talk to external world without opening it, and be rugged to external enviroment (shower, swiming poll and so on). The current version is using a push-pull transformer in order to create a isolated interface to recharge the battery and iRDA interface to communicate with the external world. That is working and got a good level of isolation and protection. However looking at MSP-WDS430BT2000D specifications, it seems to have a spy-by-wire interface exposed to connect to the clip and exposed pins to charge the battery.
I was looking at some photos at this website
Am i over protecting my circuit? My big concern about not isolating the external pins is due to the ground. If a big surge happens i am afraid my MSP430 can get reseted.
One more question if is not a problem. One possible solution is to use USB as my external interface and some ESD protection IC as TPD4S012 or MAX4987. Does these ICs would be able to protect my USB lines if they are totally exposed to the enviroment.
PS: The product is suposed to be a high-reliability circuit. So it must not fail easily. Not life support, but users really hates when it fails as it is used as a long term datalogger.
Regards,
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