Tutorial 16a: Getting Serial

In order to do an actual scientific experiment using the MSP430, we need one more tool. To be fair, we could do with what we've covered so far, but it requires constant (or at least regular periodic) monitoring of the equipment, and manual recording of the data displayed on the LCM. No, what we need is a way to automatically record the data when it is taken.

There are two different paths open to us at this point: the MSP430 has on-board flash memory. We could use it to record multiple measurements. The other, more complicated path is to learn how to communicate between the LaunchPad and a computer via USB. There's some elegance in starting with the former, as our focus to this point has been on the LaunchPad itself, but unfortunately we'd need a way to transfer the data from the flash memory to a useable location anyway, which more or less requires connection to a computer. So even though it will delay getting to some of the cooler things we can do with the MSP430, it's time we tackle serial communication. Once we have this piece mastered, we'll start a little science experiment that will take me a few days/weeks to complete. During that time, we'll begin looking at recording to flash, communicating with external peripherals, and how to put all the pieces together for remote data collection. We'll also start looking at alternative power systems, system control, and other great things that will completely open the field of what's possible with a microcontroller. The future looks bright; but first we'll have to tackle this difficult task.

Well, things aren't really so bleak... serial communication isn't that complicated. In fact, most MSP430 devices have peripherals built in already for that very purpose, making it simple to do. However, of the two devices that come with the LaunchPad, only the G2231 has one of these peripherals, and it only has two modes of operation, conspicuously missing the one we really need first: the Universal Asynchronous Reciever/Transmitter, or UART. So, instead, we are going to turn to learning to implement this functionality in software.

Fortunately, there's some real advantage to this; a solid understanding of how serial communication works helps us understand how to process and record scientific data. In fact, when we get to the USI/USCI peripherals, looking at other modes of communication such as SPI and I2C, we'll take the time to understand how these methods send data. (The particular implementation of a serial communication system is called a protocol. There are even more protocols available, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ZigBee, which are cool things we'll tackle some day!)

You might be asking, "Why are we going to rehash software UART? Lots of people have published articles about it already, and lots of code and examples are available." Well, I'd respond that there are two reasons. The more philosophical reason is that you become a better scientist when you understand how the tools you're using work; Einstein once said you don't really understand anything until you can explain it to your Grandmother. The more practical reason is that none of the articles I've perused give much explanation to why the code is set up the way it is. That's our goal here: by completely dissecting the software UART, we learn how serial communication works, and get a thorough example of using the MSP430 peripherals to our advantage in getting jobs done. We'll also do a very thorough job, starting with just transmission (I guess technically it would be UAT), then moving to just reception (likewise UAR), then designing a full-on UART transceiver. Along the way, we'll talk a bit about crystals as well as learn about calibrating our DCO. We'll even talk about saving DCO calibration to the flash memory, and introduce the concept of a checksum. (So we'll see a little bit about writing to flash memory soon after all!)

If that sounds like a lot to cover, it is. I'll do my best to keep the posts coming regularly and quickly, so that we can move on to more advanced ideas soon. There is motivation for approaching this topic in this way at this time, however. These tutorials have always been designed as notes from my own learning. As a result, sometimes the methods/styles have been a little disjointed, but one of the goals of this blog was to put together a curriculum that could be used to teach science students in a one-semester course on microcontrollers. (After graduation, I'll gather, edit, and format these tutorials into a book that can be downloaded for just such a purpose.) I think the material we've covered to this point fits about a one semester course very well, so think of this tutorial as the final project for the course. It's a bigger concept that will take a while, but will draw on our knowledge from the other peripherals and skills we've learned. The fact that we'll introduce some new ideas along the way will add to the sum total of knowledge taken away from this course. So strap in; we're going to start the final for MSP430 101!