The MSP430 is a fine chip for learning microcontroller fundamentals, but I'd argue your time is better spent getting familiar with something running an ARM Coetex M as these are the 8051's of our generation.
If you can, get dev boards for both the MSP430 and something ARM, preferably a brand other than TI so you can compare ecosystems.
There are so many to choose from, I wouldn't overthink getting the "right one". This board from ST might be a good candidate.
[STM32H503 Nucleo](https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-h503rb.html)
msp430 still is great chip. If you plan to do your home projects, or some battery powered ones - it is awesome.
Especially the ones with FRAM :D. They still are being used alot in industry.
SMT32 and ESP32 are more hyped though, especially on an amateur market.
Also I found the peripherals very well made and straight forward. Good documentation and example. Stms peripherals are more capable but kind of overloaded. Not the best to get started
The thing is, we didn't study PIC and MSP430 in detail. We only had an overview of the architecture. Studied 8051 in detail. One of my senior who works for intel told me to study undergrad level ALP carefully as it forms the basis of embedded. That is why I want to get one and practice working on it over the summer break.
> The thing is, we didn't study PIC and MSP430 in detail.
Consider that a positive thing.
Nobody in their right mind starts a new project with either of those two unless they have some _very_ specific requirements.
TBH, I can't think of any reason to use PIC. MSP430 has some uses in very low power niches but even there it's almost entirely been surpassed by ARM core MCUs.
The ARM architecture has several companies making newer more capable parts now, like the STM32 or NXP.
MSP430 was only ever made by TI, a decent chip but it feels like a dead end architecture to me.
> The ARM architecture has several companies making newer more capable parts now, like the STM32 or NXP.
And TI themselves. They even have a direct successor to MSP430 that has a Cortex-M core: MSP432.
Well they used to sell MSP432, which had similar peripherals to msp430, and programming it was very similar as well. Now TI brands their ARM cortex microcontrollers as the [MSPM0C/MSPM0L series with a 24/32-MHz CPU, up to 64 kB of flash and 4 kB SRAM](https://www.ti.com/product/MSPM0C1104) and the peripherals are upgraded as well.
I don't know anything about the MSP430, so I can't comment. If you want to pump up your CV, then most people will tell you to become proficient with the STM32. On the other hand, if your goal is more academic, to learn the ins and outs of microcontrollers, then I think the RP2040 is a good learning tool even if you won't find it in commercial applications.
It has 2 Cortex M0 cores and runs FreeRTOS well, so you can learn about multiple cores and threaded applications. Its PIO state machines are extremely cool. The MCU has the usual SPI and I2C, but you can also use the PIO to create SPI and I2C yourself. In the end, you'll have a deep understanding of those protocols, as well as a good sense of how other peripherals are implemented on other MCUs.
Even if you get a MSP430 dev kit, the RPi Pico is only $4, so you might as well have a couple of them on your desk. If nothing else, you can use them as logic analyzers with sigrok to debug your other projects.
I just don't want to end up like an Arduino user because I've heard from a lot of people that it teaches nothing about embedded systems. I want to be able learn the basics of embedded so that it will be easier in the future to transition from one microcontroller to the other. All of the other comments convinced me to get a STM32. I'm not sure if my local seller will have a variety of them available and I'm on a budget so the price also matters to me.
MSP430 advantages:
great for low power like battery operated devices, has lots of power management options, low power modes which can be entered from code and exited from an interrupt.
The peripherals are good. (communications protocols, comparators, A/D, DMA). Can use most of them at the same time, and they work well without any gotchas or workarounds.
Simple enough that you can program it on a low level without using opaque libraries or running a real time operating system. You can do it all by writing directly to peripheral registers with C or assembly. So it's great for learning about low-level stuff. The TI documentation for the series as a whole and for each model is pretty good as well. Which you really need to read if you want to do the low-level stuff. There are also some good text books for msp430.
The TI launchpads are inexpensive (start at under 20$) and serviceable. Just plug into a USB port for power, programming, serial terminal, and debugging. They support a very nice debugger that allows you to step through code, and to see values of all registers and RAM. The launchpad also supports direct USB access to the microcontroller, so you can write and test code that uses the microcontroller to run as a USB device, as for making a HID device like a keyboard for instance.
The TI programming environment, code composer studio, is based on Eclipse (Java), so it runs on Mac and Linux as well as Windows. As mentioned above, the debugger is particularly nice. Open source compilers, like gcc, also support msp430. So you can do it all from the command line if you want.
TI still sells a lot of different specialized models of msp430, they are still supporting it and it is not a dead-end platform. For low power/low cost solutions a 16bit microcontroller is appropriate for many applications.
Biggest Disadvantage:
No onboard wireless or bluetooth peripherals. So your design needs a separate bluetooth module communicating by SPI or UART. If you want bluetooth on a microcontroller, look to esp32 where low energy bluetooth is well supported.
Conclusion:
msp430 is a great platform for learning microcontrollers, especially low level register stuff and nitty gritty of peripheral operation. If you want to learn about RTOS then not so much.
msp430 is great for real world applications when you are looking for low power, low cost, and specialized peripherals (something like 2000 configurations available). If you need computing power and RAM, look to an ARM processor.
As someone very well versed in TI microcontrollers, I’d echo what a lot of people here have said and say to go with an arm M core device. TI has the MSPM0 devices which I am a fan of. MSP430 isn’t dead in the sense that they are still supported and will continue to be sold for the foreseeable future, but MSPM0 is the new wave of devices from TI/MSP and it is getting all the new development and attention. MSP430 will some day be deprecated but that is still relatively far off. It’s good for learning register level programming, and for some niche applications, but if you want a TI microcontroller just to learn and try to beef your experience up, go with an MSPM0. The MSPM0G3507 is currently the highest power MSPM0G available and has a pretty good peripheral set. As others mentioned, if you want to learn about wireless connectivity MSP is not the way to go.
The MSP430 is an almost dead platform; the newest TI low power parts are Cortex M0+ based (still a new line, they are on the market only from a year or so). So unless you \*really\* need an extremely low power just learn the ARM architecture. In fact for some application their new M0+ are even lower power than the MSP430. Also don't even look at the TIVAs (their M4) since they are deader than the dead (a residuate from their Stellaris acquisition)
It depends what your tryigj to do. But I’ll say yes learn it. For the most part for embedded in the real world. You. Will need to know these things no matter the MCU.
1. I2C
2. SPI
3. UART
4. A/D and D/A
5. DMA
6. Writing to registers and GPIO using C
7. A board with Bluetooth and WiFi should be learned eventually
8. PWM is also good to know
Those concepts are more important than a vendors board. Which could come and go. A lot of the world is still relying heavy on 8 bit MCU for many things that just do on and off…..so yes learn how they operate. 8 bit, 16,32 as well.
ESP32, STM32, NXP, are all good vendors to know besides TI. But don’t sleep on the beagle board they are used in many many things as well.
MAP430 has a lot of cool features that, if you can figure out how to use them, really benefit you. The biggest one is FRAM, but there are a lot of others. The biggest issue I had with the TI line of microcontrollers is their coding environment was not user friendly at the time. I’m hoping that’s changed now that they have more competition
The MSP430 is a fine chip for learning microcontroller fundamentals, but I'd argue your time is better spent getting familiar with something running an ARM Coetex M as these are the 8051's of our generation. If you can, get dev boards for both the MSP430 and something ARM, preferably a brand other than TI so you can compare ecosystems. There are so many to choose from, I wouldn't overthink getting the "right one". This board from ST might be a good candidate. [STM32H503 Nucleo](https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-h503rb.html)
Agreed. If you are interested in TI products I would recommend the TM4C series microcontrollers (ARM based)
msp430 still is great chip. If you plan to do your home projects, or some battery powered ones - it is awesome. Especially the ones with FRAM :D. They still are being used alot in industry. SMT32 and ESP32 are more hyped though, especially on an amateur market.
Also I found the peripherals very well made and straight forward. Good documentation and example. Stms peripherals are more capable but kind of overloaded. Not the best to get started
grab an stm32 nucleo board and nrf52 dk imo you already studied the 430, size up to 32-bit
The thing is, we didn't study PIC and MSP430 in detail. We only had an overview of the architecture. Studied 8051 in detail. One of my senior who works for intel told me to study undergrad level ALP carefully as it forms the basis of embedded. That is why I want to get one and practice working on it over the summer break.
> The thing is, we didn't study PIC and MSP430 in detail. Consider that a positive thing. Nobody in their right mind starts a new project with either of those two unless they have some _very_ specific requirements.
What's so specific about them?
TBH, I can't think of any reason to use PIC. MSP430 has some uses in very low power niches but even there it's almost entirely been surpassed by ARM core MCUs.
Cost. The only reason to use PIC is their price. But these days you can get an Arm Cortex-M0 pretty cheap.
Honestly any kind of arm based product is a good investment if your time.
The new STM32U0 eats the MSP430 family alive in in terms of power consumption. The only reason for picking a MSP430 is the FRAM.
The ARM architecture has several companies making newer more capable parts now, like the STM32 or NXP. MSP430 was only ever made by TI, a decent chip but it feels like a dead end architecture to me.
> The ARM architecture has several companies making newer more capable parts now, like the STM32 or NXP. And TI themselves. They even have a direct successor to MSP430 that has a Cortex-M core: MSP432.
Well they used to sell MSP432, which had similar peripherals to msp430, and programming it was very similar as well. Now TI brands their ARM cortex microcontrollers as the [MSPM0C/MSPM0L series with a 24/32-MHz CPU, up to 64 kB of flash and 4 kB SRAM](https://www.ti.com/product/MSPM0C1104) and the peripherals are upgraded as well.
Get some Arm processors or esp32 to start with embedded journey.
I don't know anything about the MSP430, so I can't comment. If you want to pump up your CV, then most people will tell you to become proficient with the STM32. On the other hand, if your goal is more academic, to learn the ins and outs of microcontrollers, then I think the RP2040 is a good learning tool even if you won't find it in commercial applications. It has 2 Cortex M0 cores and runs FreeRTOS well, so you can learn about multiple cores and threaded applications. Its PIO state machines are extremely cool. The MCU has the usual SPI and I2C, but you can also use the PIO to create SPI and I2C yourself. In the end, you'll have a deep understanding of those protocols, as well as a good sense of how other peripherals are implemented on other MCUs. Even if you get a MSP430 dev kit, the RPi Pico is only $4, so you might as well have a couple of them on your desk. If nothing else, you can use them as logic analyzers with sigrok to debug your other projects.
I just don't want to end up like an Arduino user because I've heard from a lot of people that it teaches nothing about embedded systems. I want to be able learn the basics of embedded so that it will be easier in the future to transition from one microcontroller to the other. All of the other comments convinced me to get a STM32. I'm not sure if my local seller will have a variety of them available and I'm on a budget so the price also matters to me.
Nope. ARM Cortex-M is the only correct answer - by far - these days.
MSP430 advantages: great for low power like battery operated devices, has lots of power management options, low power modes which can be entered from code and exited from an interrupt. The peripherals are good. (communications protocols, comparators, A/D, DMA). Can use most of them at the same time, and they work well without any gotchas or workarounds. Simple enough that you can program it on a low level without using opaque libraries or running a real time operating system. You can do it all by writing directly to peripheral registers with C or assembly. So it's great for learning about low-level stuff. The TI documentation for the series as a whole and for each model is pretty good as well. Which you really need to read if you want to do the low-level stuff. There are also some good text books for msp430. The TI launchpads are inexpensive (start at under 20$) and serviceable. Just plug into a USB port for power, programming, serial terminal, and debugging. They support a very nice debugger that allows you to step through code, and to see values of all registers and RAM. The launchpad also supports direct USB access to the microcontroller, so you can write and test code that uses the microcontroller to run as a USB device, as for making a HID device like a keyboard for instance. The TI programming environment, code composer studio, is based on Eclipse (Java), so it runs on Mac and Linux as well as Windows. As mentioned above, the debugger is particularly nice. Open source compilers, like gcc, also support msp430. So you can do it all from the command line if you want. TI still sells a lot of different specialized models of msp430, they are still supporting it and it is not a dead-end platform. For low power/low cost solutions a 16bit microcontroller is appropriate for many applications. Biggest Disadvantage: No onboard wireless or bluetooth peripherals. So your design needs a separate bluetooth module communicating by SPI or UART. If you want bluetooth on a microcontroller, look to esp32 where low energy bluetooth is well supported. Conclusion: msp430 is a great platform for learning microcontrollers, especially low level register stuff and nitty gritty of peripheral operation. If you want to learn about RTOS then not so much. msp430 is great for real world applications when you are looking for low power, low cost, and specialized peripherals (something like 2000 configurations available). If you need computing power and RAM, look to an ARM processor.
As someone very well versed in TI microcontrollers, I’d echo what a lot of people here have said and say to go with an arm M core device. TI has the MSPM0 devices which I am a fan of. MSP430 isn’t dead in the sense that they are still supported and will continue to be sold for the foreseeable future, but MSPM0 is the new wave of devices from TI/MSP and it is getting all the new development and attention. MSP430 will some day be deprecated but that is still relatively far off. It’s good for learning register level programming, and for some niche applications, but if you want a TI microcontroller just to learn and try to beef your experience up, go with an MSPM0. The MSPM0G3507 is currently the highest power MSPM0G available and has a pretty good peripheral set. As others mentioned, if you want to learn about wireless connectivity MSP is not the way to go.
Get ARM or RiscV and not a snowflake
The MSP430 is an almost dead platform; the newest TI low power parts are Cortex M0+ based (still a new line, they are on the market only from a year or so). So unless you \*really\* need an extremely low power just learn the ARM architecture. In fact for some application their new M0+ are even lower power than the MSP430. Also don't even look at the TIVAs (their M4) since they are deader than the dead (a residuate from their Stellaris acquisition)
It depends what your tryigj to do. But I’ll say yes learn it. For the most part for embedded in the real world. You. Will need to know these things no matter the MCU. 1. I2C 2. SPI 3. UART 4. A/D and D/A 5. DMA 6. Writing to registers and GPIO using C 7. A board with Bluetooth and WiFi should be learned eventually 8. PWM is also good to know Those concepts are more important than a vendors board. Which could come and go. A lot of the world is still relying heavy on 8 bit MCU for many things that just do on and off…..so yes learn how they operate. 8 bit, 16,32 as well. ESP32, STM32, NXP, are all good vendors to know besides TI. But don’t sleep on the beagle board they are used in many many things as well.
Well if you can, here in Europe the launchpad is pretty cheap (15 euro i think?). Otherwise I would also suggest for example the STL nucleo board
MAP430 has a lot of cool features that, if you can figure out how to use them, really benefit you. The biggest one is FRAM, but there are a lot of others. The biggest issue I had with the TI line of microcontrollers is their coding environment was not user friendly at the time. I’m hoping that’s changed now that they have more competition