Texas Instruments Hercules RM42x LaunchPad Evaluation Kit LAUNCHXL-RM42 LAUNCHXL-RM42 Data Sheet

© 2013 Texas Instruments Incorporated. The platform bar, Hercules and Code Composer Studio are 
trademarks of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

SPNU588 

Welcome to the Hercules RM42x  LaunchPad Evaluation Kit. The Hercules LaunchPad is a USB-
based evaluation platform that provides everything you need to start evaluation and development 
with Hercules MCUs. 
 
1. 

Go to 

www.ti.com/launchpad

. Select Launchpads tab and then select Hercules. Here you can 

download and install Code Composer Studio™ (CCS). This will install the necessary drivers for 
LaunchPad. If you choose the custom install option of CCS, select ‘Cortex-R4F MCUs’ support at 
a minimum. Select  'Free CCS License – For use with XDS100 emulators'. Note:  Complete the 
CCS installation before connecting the board. 
Additional software and documentation can be found on the Hercules LaunchPad wiki page: 

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Hercules_LaunchPad 

Connect the LaunchPad using the included USB cable to 
a Windows PC (XP or 7).  The board will be powered via 
the PC's USB port.  If prompted, allow Windows to 
automatically install the driver software for the on-board 
XDS100v2 JTAG emulator and the Virtual COM Port. 
 
3. Quick 

The MCU on the Hercules LaunchPad comes pre-
programmed with the Hercules Safety MCU Demo 
Software.  This software can be used stand alone on the 
LaunchPad or in conjunction with the PC application 
shown in section 4 of this guide.  When the board is 
powered on via the USB port the demo software will 
show a startup blinking sequence on the GIOA2 and 
NHET08 LEDs. The demo also lets you toggle the 
GIOA2 LED through the push button GIOA7.  
 
You can start learning about the Hercules MCU’s built-in 
safety features right out of the box. Inject an Oscillator 
fault by connecting OSCIN to GND (close jumper JP1).  

 

Upon detecting the fault, on-board Hercules MCU will respond by asserting the error pin 
(nERROR) low, indicated by the red LED on the bottom right corner of the board. Note: Open 
jumper JP1 and reset the board before continuing with other demos. 

Go to the Hercules LaunchPad wiki page to download and install 
the Hercules Safety MCU Demos. Once the installation is 
complete, start the Hercules demo software. The software will be 
available in ‘Start->All Programs->Texas Instruments->Hercules-
>Hercules Safety MCU Demos'. 

It includes a safety features demo and other demos using LEDs and ambient light sensor that let 
you interact with and learn about features on Hercules MCUs. 

When you are ready to take the next step, complete Project 0. For more information go to 

www.ti.com/launchpad

 

and click on the Project 0 link for Hercules LaunchPad.