Fox (LP3500) User's Manual

2. Getting Started

Chapter 2 explains how to connect the programming cable and power supply to the LP3500.

2.1 LP3500 Connections

1. Use the 4-40 screws supplied with the Tool Kit to attach the metal standoffs to your LP3500 series board as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Attach Stand-Offs and Remove Battery Cap

2. Attach the LP3500 main board to the Prototyping Board as shown in Figure 3.

Press the pins from the headers on the bottom side of the LP3500 board firmly into the corresponding header sockets located at J1, J2, and J4 on the Prototyping Board.

NOTE

It is important that you line up the header pins on the LP3500 exactly with the corresponding header sockets J1, J2, and J4 on the Prototyping Board. The header pins may become bent or damaged if the pin alignment is offset, and the LP3500 will not work. Permanent electrical damage may also result if a misaligned LP3500 is powered up.

Figure 3. Attach LP3500 Main Board to Prototyping Board

3. Connect the programming cable to download programs from your PC and to program and debug the LP3500.

NOTE	Use only the programming cable that has a red shrink wrap around the RS-232 level converter (Part No. 101-0513), which is supplied with the LP3500 Tool Kit. Other Rabbit programming cables with clear or blue shrink wrap might not be voltage-compatible or their connector sizes may be different.

Connect the 10-pin PROG connector of the programming cable to header J5 on the LP3500 board. Ensure that the colored edge lines up with pin 1 as shown. There is a small dot on the circuit board next to pin 1 of header J5. (Do not use the DIAG connector, which is used for monitoring only.) Connect the other end of the programming cable to a COM port on your PC. Make a note of the port to which you connect the cable, as Dynamic C will need to have this parameter configured. Note that COM1 on the PC is the default COM port used by Dynamic C.

Figure 4. Programming Cable and Power Supply Connections

NOTE	Some PCs now come equipped only with a USB port. It may be possible to use an RS-232/USB converter (Part No. 20-151-0178) with the programming cable supplied with the LP3500 Tool Kit. Note that not all RS-232/USB converters work with Dynamic C.

4. Connect the power supply.

Hook up the connector from the wall transformer to header J5 on the Prototyping Board as shown in Figure 4. The orientation of this connector is not important since the VIN (positive) voltage is the middle pin, and GND is available on both ends of the three-pin header J5.

NOTE	Do not connect the AC adapter to the VBAT terminal on the Prototyping Board. The VBAT terminal supplies the backup battery voltage of 3 V, and the LP3500 may be damaged if subjected to the raw DC voltage from the AC adapter through the VBAT terminal.

5. Apply power.

Plug in the AC adapter. If you are using your own power supply, it must provide 3 V to 30 V DC--voltages outside this range could damage the LP3500.

NOTE

A hardware reset may be done by pressing the RESET switch on the LP3500. The LP3500 may also be reset by unplugging the AC adapter, then plugging it back in. However, when the LP3500 is operating in the power-save mode, the backup battery will provide sufficient voltage to prevent a reset from happening, in which case you will have to press the RESET switch on the LP3500.

Figure 5. Locations of LP3500 RESET Switches

Reset switches are located on both sides of the LP3500 board.

2.2 Remove Battery Tab

The backup battery on the LP3500 has a plastic tab to protect the battery against discharging before the LP3500 is placed into service.

Figure 6. Remove Battery Tab

NOTE	Rabbit recommends that the battery tab not be removed until you are ready to place the LP3500 in normal service with regular power connected through header J2.

The backup battery protects the contents of the SRAM and keeps the real-time clock running when regular power to the LP3500 is interrupted. If you plan to use the real-time clock functionality in your application, you will need to set the real-time clock once you remove the plastic tab. Set the real-time clock using the onscreen prompts in the demonstration program. Alternatively, you may set the real-time clock using the SETRTCKB.C sample program from the Dynamic C SAMPLES\RTCLOCK folder. The RTC_TEST.C sample program in the Dynamic C SAMPLES\RTCLOCK folder provides additional examples of how to read and set the real-time clock.

2.3 Installing Dynamic C

If you have not yet installed Dynamic C version 7.26P (or a later version), do so now by inserting the Dynamic C CD in your PC's CD-ROM drive. The CD will auto-install unless you have disabled auto-install on your PC.

If the CD does not auto-install, click Start > Run from the Windows Start button and browse for the Dynamic C setup.exe file on your CD drive. Click OK to begin the installation once you have selected the setup.exe file.

The Dynamic C User's Manual provides detailed instructions for the installation of Dynamic C and any future upgrades.

NOTE	If you have an earlier version of Dynamic C already installed, the default installation of the later version will be in a different folder, and a separate icon will appear on your desktop.

2.4 Starting Dynamic C

Once the LP3500 is connected to your PC and to a power source, start Dynamic C by double-clicking on the Dynamic C icon on your desktop or in your Start menu.

If you are using a USB port to connect your computer to the LP3500, choose Options > Project Options and select "Use USB to Serial Converter" on the Communications tab.

Dynamic C assumes, by default, that you are using serial port COM1 on your PC when you are running a program. If you are using COM1, then Dynamic C should detect the LP3500 and go through a sequence of steps to cold-boot the LP3500 and to compile the BIOS. If the error message "Rabbit Processor Not Detected" appears, you have probably connected to a different PC serial port such as COM2, COM3, or COM4. You can change the serial port used by Dynamic C with the OPTIONS menu, then try to get Dynamic C to recognize the LP3500 by selecting Reset Target/Compile BIOS on the Compile menu. Try the different COM ports in the OPTIONS menu until you find the one you are connected to. If you still can't get Dynamic C to recognize the target on any port, then the hookup may be wrong or the COM port might not working on your PC.

Dynamic C automatically uses a maximum debug baud rate of 38,400 bps when an LP3500 series board is in use.

2.5 PONG.C

You are now ready to test your set-up by running a sample program.

Find the file PONG.C, which is in the Dynamic C SAMPLES folder. To run the program, open it with the File menu (if it is not still open), then compile and run it by pressing F9 or by selecting Run in the Run menu. The STDIO window will open and will display a small square bouncing around in a box.

This program shows that the CPU is working.

2.6 Where Do I Go From Here?

NOTE	If you purchased your LP3500 through a distributor or Rabbit partner, contact the distributor or partner first for technical support.

If there are any problems at this point:

• Use the Dynamic C Help menu to get further assistance with Dynamic C.

• Check the Rabbit Technical Bulletin Board and forums at www.rabbit.com/support/bb/ and at www.rabbit.com/forums/.

• Use the Technical Support e-mail form at www.rabbit.com/support/.

If the sample program ran fine, you are now ready to go on to explore other LP3500 features and develop your own applications.

Chapter 3, "Subsystems," provides a description of the LP3500's features, Chapter 4, "Software," describes the Dynamic C software libraries and introduces some sample programs. These sample programs can be used as templates for applications you may wish to develop.