What is a Microcontroller? Computer on a Chip Microprocessor Input / Output RAM and/or ROM Signal Processing

Microcontrollers Are Everywhere  Automotive  Manufacturing  Robotics  Medical  Aeronautics  Mobile Devices

ECE 251 – Microprocessors  Taught with a Freescale Microcontroller  MC68HC12 Development Board  $80 Per Board  $30 Covered By ECE Department  $50 Cost to Students

Texas Instruments MSP430  Popular TI Microcontroller  Low Cost ~ $20  Portable  USB Interface  Same Relevant Features as the Freescale Product  Superior Development Software For Students

Why Switch? Freescale  $80 Per Student  Aging RS232 Interface  CISC Architecture Lots of instructions  Text Based Development Interface TI MSP430  $20 Per Student  Commonplace USB Interface  RISC Architecture Few Instructions  Windows Style Visual Development Interface

Development of Labs  Group redesigned labs 3-10 of ECE 251 for use with TI-MSP430  Miguel completed labs 3, 7, 8 & 9  We completed 4, 5, 6 & 10  Also 2 practical exams  We revised Miguel’s labs extensively and wrote solutions  Made the labs ready for student use

ECE 251 MSP430 Labs  Lab 3 – Introduction to the MSP430  Lab 4 – Addressing Modes  Lab 5 – Subroutines and the Stack  Lab 6 – BCD Math  Lab 7 – Parallel I/O  Lab 8 – Interrupts  Lab 9 – Timer Module  Lab 10 – A/D Converter

Working With Students  All inexperienced as TAs  Had to learn to communicate with students Being clear about required assignments Different perspective when writing labs  Had to learn to teach effectively

Issues We Faced  No keyboard/console capability (Lab 4)  RISC vs. CISC architecture (Lab 6, Lab 10)  Clock inaccuracy (Lab 9)  Fewer I/O pins (Lab 10)  USB tool only worked on installed computer

Solutions to Issues  Focused on what MSP430 does have  Provided subroutines to students  Experimented with different ways to output to 7-segment display  Considered ways to integrate labs

What Didn’t Go So Well  Miscommunication Meeting times When assignments were due  Students had trouble being responsible for both microcontrollers

What Went Well  Gained experience with the MSP430 which will be applied to design project  Students enjoyed flexibility of USB  Able to use material from the 68HC12 labs  Completed lab set if transition is made (course needs textbook)

What Went Well (Cont.)  Interest from Rice University  More intuitive development tool  Invitation to present at TI developers conference session on Education  Working with Dr. Eads

Future Plans  Design of a self-setting clock which makes use of the WWVB radio signal Located in Ft. Collins Transmits to entire US including Alaska and Hawaii  Makes use of several ECE concepts Analog Design Communications Microcontrollers

WWVB  Broadcast signal cycles every minute  Signal contains the following time information Time Date Daylight savings Leap year warning Leap second warning

Design Phase Overview Receiver/ Amplifier DecoderClockDisplay TI-MSP430 Local Temperature Sensing RF remote Temperature sensing Extras, Time permitting Solar Power Generation Alarm Capabilities

Design Phase Details  Build receiver circuit for pulse width modulated 60kHz signal  Program MSP430 Decode data signal Set clock Control clock time during normal operation Allow for manual setting and time zone adjustment Output to display

Budget  Had no operating costs during semester Approximate donation of $700 from Texas Instruments in microcontrollers and development kits  Still have $300 remaining in budget for design phase

Acknowledgements  Thanks to Texas Instruments for the hardware donations  Miguel Morales Help getting started Gave assistance when needed  Dr. Bill Eads Provided guidance and practical perspective Burgers, brats, beer, fishing & kayaking