First MSP430 Launchpad Project

In case you're not aware of it, Texas Instruments has a value line of microcontrollers, the MSP430 line. They have a starter kit called the Launchpad and they're practically giving these things away! The Launchpad costs $4.30 and that includes shipping! You can order three at a time from TI's online store (registration required).

The MSP430 is not a particularly powerful microcontroller, but for the cost it's definitely worth getting and playing with. One nice thing is that it's a 16 bit controller so it's able to crunch numbers a little faster than an 8 bit proc. Be sure to download the Getting Started Guide, as the datasheets are really not terribly useful to a beginner. TI did a pretty good job with the labs in the Getting Started Guide.

Here's a video of my first project. I did this in a few hours of studying and coding, but then again I have some experience working with other microcontroller families that helped me get up to speed more quickly. In future videos I'll go over the Launchpad and the MSP430 in more detail, and we'll dissect the code I used to create this project.

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