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Scoring
  • Total Score
  • Product Performed to Expectations
  • Specifications were sufficient to design with
  • Demo Software was of good quality
  • Product was easy to use
  • Support materials were available
  • The price to performance ratio was good
Review - Details
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  • Author Author: vish
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Tiva C Series TM4C1294 Connected LaunchPad - Review

vish

Table of contents

RoadTest: Tiva C Series TM4C1294 Connected LaunchPad

Author: vish

Creation date:

Evaluation Type: Evaluation Boards

Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True

What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: arduino/raspberry pi/beagle bone black

What were the biggest problems encountered?: At the time I was setting up the CCS development environment in my Ubuntu PC, full install instructions for Ubuntu14.04 64bit was not available in TI's wiki. I spent a few days facing wierd errors, finally managed to sort things out. Recently TI has updated their wiki for complete install instructions, so no problem for newbies.

Detailed Review:

First of all, thank you element14 for giving me this opportunity for this roadtest.

 

Why I gave this rating?

I would like to start with explaining how I gave scores in each category.

1. Product Performed to Expectations : I wanted a development board which have about 512kB flash memory. This board houses 1MB flash. Also I wanted ethernet support onboard, which is available in this board. RAM size is 256kB, which I think is sufficient for most of the applications. On board CAN interface is another attraction, when you are trying to build a wired home automation system. Also the board comes with a ICDI which is really a boon for hobbyists who may not want to invest in a debugger separately. Si I'm giving 10/10.

2. Specifications were sufficient to design with : Yes. There is very good documentations available at TI datasheets. So 10/10.

3. Demo Software was of good quality : Absolutely!! It worked right out of the box. And I worked almost reliably. Again 10/10.

4. Demo was easy to use : Yes. Setting up account in exosite was not at all a problem. But the network latency was a bit high as sometimes it took approx 30sec for updating the status. But I don't consider this as a big problem. So 10/10.

5. Support materials were available : I will say a big YES!!! TI's wiki is a very good point to start with. Then TI's E2E community worked almost with professional quality and very fast responses. I have used a variety of online forums related to electronics, but E2E stands well above them all in both the quality and fastness in response. So 10/10.

6. The price to performance ratio was good : It's an even bigger YESSSS!!! When I wanted to build my IoT oscilloscope project, I considered a range of alternatives from arduino with ethernet sheild, raspberry pi, beagle bone black. But TI's Connected Launchpad is offering the features I want at half the price of them. A $20 is nothing big while comparing the feature list this board is providing. Again 10/10.

 

The Blogs I worte

As a part of my roadtest, I wrote these blogs explaining the steps I did while I was building my project

1. [TI Connected Launchpad] 0. The packet arrives!!! In this post, I explains the unboxing experience of Tiva C Series Connected Launchpad.

2. [TI Connected Launchpad] 1. Turn On, Tune In, Boot Up -- CLP+Energia+Ubuntu!!! In this post, I explains the steps of installing Energia( arduino like ) programming enviroment in Ubuntu14.04 and how to compile your first sketch.

3. [TI Connected Launchpad] 2. Installing CCSv6 in Ubuntu 14.04 In this post, I explains how to setup CCS v6.0 in Ubuntu 14.04 64bit PC

4. [TI Connected Launchpad] : 3. Hello Internet!!! In this post, I explains how to control the onboard LEDs via ethernet.

5. [TI Connected launchpad] : 4. What about an IoT Oscilloscope??? In this post, I propses my idea of an internet connected oscilloscope.

 

My Roadtest Project

With Tiva C Series Connected Launchpad, I built an oscilloscope like instrument which can work over internet. It can also control the LEDs onboard and 10 digital output pins.

In the following video, I'm giving a detailed explanation on how to build, use and test the system.

 

You can find full instructions at Building your own IoT oscilloscope for less than $25

 

Summary

I was a long time arduino lover. But after this getting this board, I fall in love with this. At a price point of $20, a 1MB flash, 256kB RAM, ethernet interface, ICDI, CAN interface is a dream for every electronics tinkerer. This evaluation kit is an answer to than dream. I'm very happy that I got a chance to use this kit via roadtest and is glad a 5start rating. Also the support provided by TI's E2E community is highly appreciable. It was a great roadtest for me.

Anonymous
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  • Excellent demonstration

    there are about 65 errors when compiling on an Arduino UNO but most of this seems to be with Pin assignments etc which is understandable, I will update to make it more cross compatable and test in the next few days and pass back my finding, probably in one of my tutorial blogs to go along with a blog I have just posted Fast Track to Arduino Programming - Lesson 4b, How to use an Ethernet Shield with a WEB page

     

    its a shame the Tiva C does not have an SD card on board, would be much easier to then provide the HTM page

  • in reply to peteroakes

    Hi Peter,

    Thanks. I am eagerly waiting for the arduino results.

    And about SD card...I also thought the same when I got it first. But it has USB host functionality, so I can connect my pendrive directly into it. I was able to access the files from pendrive smoothly with their demo program. No no need for using card readers. I actually wanted to develop an USB MSC library for Energia as part of this roadtest, but didn't got time.

Comment
  • in reply to peteroakes

    Hi Peter,

    Thanks. I am eagerly waiting for the arduino results.

    And about SD card...I also thought the same when I got it first. But it has USB host functionality, so I can connect my pendrive directly into it. I was able to access the files from pendrive smoothly with their demo program. No no need for using card readers. I actually wanted to develop an USB MSC library for Energia as part of this roadtest, but didn't got time.

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