Need advice for a micro

Hello all, What do you think about the MPLAB ICD2 and the "USB Pic" in general ?! MSP430xxxx lowers, would you switch to PIC? Is there some USB based developpement board for MSP430 I ignore ?!?

Reply to
panagiotis
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I've used the FTDI245 with an MSP430, and it works very well.

Paul Burke

Reply to
Paul Burke

4 questions.

ICD2 is very useful, I like it. I don't like what MC did to MPLAB (can't use ICD as a programmer and debugger at the same time).

I have not used USB-enabled PICs; they appear expensive. Are Microchip going anywhere with them, or will they end up like the LCD-enabled PICs?

I like the MSP, but I'll only consider FLASH parts. They knock spots off PICs as far as performance is concerned. I use more PICs than MSPs, because of the variety.

I'm unaware of any USB-enabled MSPs. Perhaps TI know something MC don't? But if you mean their Flash Emulation Tool, that's a parallel port jobbie. The mspgcc bunch might have a clue about using it via a USB port. Works well in general.

Regards, Mike.

--
Mike Page BEng(Hons) MIEE           www.eclectic-web.co.uk
Quiet! Tony's battling the forces of conservatism, whoever we are.
Reply to
Mike Page

MSP-430 is targeted for markets dealing with extremely low power. This doesn't mean that it can't be used in situations where such lower power requirements aren't so important (I'm doing projects both having extremely low power as a requirement and not having it, with the MSP-430.) It just means that TI is initially fleshing out their product lines with features that emphasize this focus. For example, an external bus for memory implies added power consumption and there are no parts featuring one, for now. On the other hand, LCD applications often select LCD *because* they require long operation on battery and the MSP-430 initially included such an interface.

It's a different focus, entirely. I certainly don't speak for TI, but I believe TI is trying to hack out a niche and they are doing this by focusing narrowly on an area where they believe they can win almost 100% of the time on the merits. And that is in very low power situations.

So they allow folks to make their own decisions and, if they don't need extremely low power, then they can still select the MSP-430, of course. But they will do it for reasons of their own, not so much for direct reasons that TI is focused on, for now.

I think. And I think TI has done very well, overall.

Jon

Reply to
Jonathan Kirwan

Crossworks make a USB based development tool for the MSP430. I dropped the PIC in favour of the MSP and wouldn't go back. Check out the msp430 group in yahoo, or Rowley Associates.

Al

panagiotis wrote:

Reply to
onestone

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