IA MSC-UGLB2 Chipset Evaluation and Development Loadboard Version 2 User Guide Revision 1.0r IA MSC-UGLB2 rev 1.0r 0907 2007, Silicon Laboratories, Inc.
Silicon Labs, Inc. 400 West Cesar Chavez Austin, Texas 78701 Tel: 512.416.8500 Fax: 512.416.9669 Toll Free: 877.444.3032 www.silabs.com/integration wireless@silabs.com Chipset Evaluation and Development Loadboard Version 2 User Guide Revision 1.0r Revision Date: September 20, 2007 The information is provided as is without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of merchantability, non-infringement of intellectual property, or fitness for any particular purpose. In no event shall Silicon Laboratories, Inc., or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the use of or an inability to use the materials. Silicon Laboratories, Inc., and its suppliers further do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, text, graphics, or other items contained within these materials. Silicon Laboratories, Inc., may make changes to these materials, or to the products described within, at any time, without notice. 2008 Silicon Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Silicon Laboratories is a trademark of Silicon Laboratories, Inc. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. ii
ABOUT THIS GUIDE The Chipset Evaluation Loadboard is a platform independent communication board. The Loadboard provides a standard USB communication interface, and protocol translation between personal computers, and the Silicon Labs development platforms used in chipset evaluation and product development. The Loadboard also provides a platform for injecting and monitoring test signals. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Guide... iii Table of Contents...iv 1. Architecture... 1 FEATURES:... 1 CONTROLLING THE TEST BOARD... 2 POWER SUPPLY OF THE TEST BOARD... 2 MEASURING THE CURRENT CONSUMPTION OF THE TEST BOARDS... 2 TEST BOARD BASE BAND SIGNAL CONNECTORS... 2 BASE BAND DATA I/O ROUTING... 3 EEPROM PROGRAMMING INTERFACE... 3 2. User Interfaces... 4 HIGH LEVEL COMMAND INTERFACE TO THE PC... 4 LEDS... 4 2. Loadboard Schematic... 5 3. PCB... 7 4. Appendix... 8 40-PIN TEST BOARD CONNECTOR... 8 HIGH LEVEL COMMAND INTERPRETER COMMANDS... 9 SETTING UP COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PC AND THE LOADBOARD...11 LOADBOARD FIRMWARE REVISIONS...14 5. Notes...15 iv
1. ARCHITECTURE The block diagram of the Loadboard can be seen in the picture below: All system digital logic (microcontroller, level shifters, etc.) and power supply units are available on the board. The Loadboard operates as a motherboard for the different Silicon Labs radio Test Boards used in product development and evaluation. The Test Boards themselves only have the RF and some application specific components. The Test Boards are available in two forms: - Normal IAI Test Boards with 40pin connector for evaluation - Test Boards for application development in the Microchip PICKit 2 design environment. FEATURES: USB connection to the PC High level command interface Programmable DC power supply Test Board base band interfaces (clk, data) Base band data signal routing via the command interface Current monitoring via the command interface 1
CONTROLLING THE TEST BOARD The microcontroller can control the target Test Board via the SPI compatible port and via the I/O lines. SPI Compatible Port The SPI compatible port is an essential part of the Loadboard - Test Board communication. In the example of the ISM band product line, the SPI compatible port is used for chip configuration. These lines are directly connected to the appropriate pins of the target device on every Test Board: TEST BOARD control signal measurement pins These pins can be found next to the 40pin connector at the edge of the Loadboard, and are provided to make easy the debugging of the communication between the Loadboard and the Test Board. The SPI compatible port, the digital I/O lines, as well as the two power supply measurement points are available here. POWER SUPPLY OF THE TEST BOARD The Loadboard operates as a low power (max 100mA) USB port powered device, and provides a dual voltage DC power supply for the Test Boards: Fixed: +5 VDC (depends on the USB line voltage) Programmable: +2... +5 VDC The microcontroller controls the programmable power supply via a dedicated SPI port (independent chip select signal). The voltage can be set via the high level command interface. Both supply voltages are connected to the 40-pin Test Board connector via jumpers (JP1-4). Only the programmable VDD (after the jumper) is connected to the Microchip PICKit 2 compatible connector. (See schematic.) MEASURING THE CURRENT CONSUMPTION OF THE TEST BOARDS The current consumption of Test Boards can be measured in two ways: - Removing the appropriate jumpers JP1-2 or JP3-4 respectively and connecting a DC current meter in Serial. - By using the on board current meter circuit whose value can be read out via the high level command interface For precise current measurement, use the first method the on board current meter has low resolution and accuracy, and is designed to give information towards the order of magnitude of the current. TEST BOARD BASE BAND SIGNAL CONNECTORS Beside the SPI port and the I/O lines there are 4 connectors on the Loadboard which are connected to the 40 pin Test Board connector. These are used to control/monitor different signals of the Test Board by external instruments such as a spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, function generator, etc. CLK In This is a general purpose digital input for the Test Boards. However CLK In is not usually used as an external reference clock input. The signal goes through a level shifter which converts the signal to the correct level provided by the programmable PSU, so the input amplitude can always be 5 V. To give a proper termination for signal generators if necessary, a 50 Ohm termination resistor is on the board, which can be connected to the input with the JP7 jumper (below the CLK In connector). If the connector is left open, a 100 k resistor pulls the line to logic low (see schematic). 2
CLK Out This is a general purpose connector, directly connected to the Test Board slot. In most cases, the data CLK output of the target chips appear here. Note: To check this signal by oscilloscope, engineers should take care what signal is connected to here on the given Test Board. If this is a high speed signal such as the microcontroller clock output of Silicon Labs radio, then use the high impedance probe of the oscilloscope, not an SMA/BNC cable. DATA Out Receiver chipset data output is available here. FSK In This connector is used in connection with transmitter / transceiver Test Boards as a data input for FSK modulation. The signal goes through a level shifter which converts the signal to the correct level of the programmable PSU, so the input amplitude can always be 5 V. If the connector is left open, a 100 k resistor pulls the line to logic low (see schematic). BASE BAND DATA I/O ROUTING The communication lines from the PC (converted to TTL RS232), the FSK data I/O lines from the Test Board, the base band SMA data out connector and the microcontroller I/O pins are connected to an analog multiplexer to enable the routing between them. The available connections are as follows: 1. Test Board I/O is connected to the SMA data out connector External I/O mode 2. Test Board I/O is controlled by the microcontroller (default) Internal I/O mode 3. Test Board I/O is connected to the TTL RS232 lines coming from the on board USB to serial converter Data mode The routing is controlled by the on board microcontroller via the command interpreter. The common name for modes 1 and 2 is Command mode, since here the on board microcontroller is connected to the PC and the high level command interpreter is available. In mode 3 the on board microcontroller is not connected to the PC, so commands are not accepted. To change back to command mode a min. 100ms long Break signal should be sent over the virtual serial port. After receiving the Break signal the on board microcontroller will switch the router to the default Internal I/O mode For further details please see the High level command interpreter commands chapter in the appendix. DATA mode is used to create wireless serial data link between two PCs. (In this case, two Loadboards will be required where one is used with a Tx and the other is used with an Rx Test Board, for example. EEPROM PROGRAMMING INTERFACE This interface is provided for programming the EEPROM on Silicon Labs demo boards where the wireless chip is in EEPROM mode. An example of this is the Push Button Demo: IA ISM-DAPB. This interface is also handled by the high level command interpreter, and it uses the same SPI port which is also used for the Test Boards. Note: - It is not recommended to use this interface and connect any of the Test Board at the same time! - VDD is also provided for the HW under program. 3
2. USER INTERFACES HIGH LEVEL COMMAND INTERFACE TO THE PC The digital I/O ports (including the SPI compatible port), and the other features such as the signal router, current meter, programmable power supply, etc. are not directly available. These can be controlled through the microcontroller s ASCII interface with any terminal program, such as Windows HyperTerminal, Minicom under Linux, or by using Silicon Labs specific evaluation software the Wireless Development Suite (WDS). All of the Loadboard features are fully controlled by the Wireless Development Suite. The Loadboard should be connected to the PC via a standard USB A to B cable. The physical USB interface in the Loadboard is based on the FTDI s FT232R chip. To configure the Loadboard to communicate with the PC, a USB to virtual serial port driver needs to be installed. The may be included on the WDS CD-ROM, but may also be downloaded from Future Technology Devices at http://www.ftdichip.com. For setup instructions please see the appendix. The serial port settings are: Parameter Value Baud rate: 19200 Data bits: 8 Stop bits: 1 Parity: Flow control: none no For detailed command description please check the Appendix. LEDS PWR LED This red LED indicates that the board is powered properly from the USB port. USB LED This red led indicates the USB communication, blinks whenever a USB transmission occurs in both direction. CPU1 and CPU2 LEDs These LEDs has three different operating modes, selectable via the high level command interface: Mode CPU1 CPU2 Normal (default) blinks at every 100ms ON - data mode, OFF - command mode Link debug shows the state of the nirq pin shows the state of the VDI pin CW test ON if the FSK pin is 0 ON if the FSK pin is 1 4
2. LOADBOARD SCHEMATIC 5
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3. PCB Power LED USB LED Reset switch Programming connector Mode switch CPU1 LED CPU2 LED USB connector PSU jumper Secondary serial port Serial port VDD jumper Data in connector 5V VDD jumpers Programmable VDD jumpers Clk in connector Clk in 50 Ohm Terminator Enable/Disable Data out connector PB demo programming connector Clk out connector Test Board connector Test Board signal measurement pins For use with Test Boards based on Microchip PICKit2 connector 7
4. APPENDIX 40-PIN TEST BOARD CONNECTOR Description Pin Pin Description MOSI 1 2 DI0 SCK 3 4 DI1 SEL 1 5 6 nres 4 DATA/FFS 4 7 8 ARSSI 4 nint 4 9 10 DCLK 4 DO5 11 12 nirq 4 DO6 13 14 DI6 DO7 15 16 MISO +5.5V 17 18 +2... 5V +5.5V 19 20 +2... 5V GND 21 22 GND GND 23 24 GND CLK IN 2 25 26 EBID0 5 GND 27 28 EBID1 5 FSK IN 2 29 30 EBID2 5 GND 31 32 EBID3 5 CLK OUT 3 33 34 EBID4 5 GND 35 36 EBID5 5 DATA OUT 3 37 38 EBID6 5 GND 39 40 EBID7 5 Note 1: Used as the chip select signal of the target device Note 2: Digital inputs of the Test Board. SMA connectors are connected to these pins via level shifters. Note 3: Digital outputs of the Test Board. SMA connectors are connected to these pins directly. Note 4: Not connected in every Test Board. These are the appropriate pins of the radio on the Test Board where applicable. Note 5: These pins are used for the Test Board identification. 8
MICROCHIP PICKIT 2 COMPATIBLE TEST BOARD CONNECTOR Pin Description 1 DCLK 2 2 MOSI 3 NC 4 DATA/FFS 2 5 SEL 1 6 MISO 7 NC 8 SCK 9 nirq 2 10 ARSSI 2 11 VDI 2 12 nres 2 13 +2... 5V 14 GND Note 1: Used as the chip select signal of the target device Note 2: Not connected in every Test Board. These are the appropriate pins of the radio on the Test Board where applicable. 9
HIGH LEVEL COMMAND INTERPRETER COMMANDS The commands accepted by the command interpreter are shown in the table below: Command Description Ex Echo mode S1xx Send xxh via SPI S2xxxx Send xxxxh via SPI SXxx,yy,.. Send xxh, yyh,.. via SPI Ln Set output bit n to low Hn Set output bit n to high Zn Allow output bit n to float RI Read input bits RO Read status of the output bits RSn Read n byte(s) from SPI (no SEL control) WSxx,yy,.. Write xxh, yyh,.. to SPI (no SEL control) Vxx Set supply voltage (64: 2.0V C1: 5V) Fe,c,n,r Setup recever IT to read an ASCII packet, where: e: read until 1:EOP or PL, 2:EOP, 3:PL, 0:disable read c: End Of Packet character (EOP) n: Packet Length (PL) r: IA4320 revision (1:C,D,E; 0:F and above) T \"...\" Transmit packet (transceiver only) AO Set the gain of the current sense amplifier to 50 A1 Set the gain of the current sense amplifier to 100 AD read the data from the current sense A to D converter Mx Select multichip mode: x=0: Multichip mode disabled x=1: Multichip mode enabled Xx Select data direction: x=0: External FSK input (SMA) x=1: LB microcontroller controls the FSK input of the radio x=2: FSK I/O of the radio is connected to the PC Yxy Select the modulation mode: x=0: chip modulated by 0 x=1: chip modulated by 1 x=2: chip modulated by PN15 sequence x=3: stop modulation y=0: IA4221 is used y=1: IA442x is used Dx Select the function of LEDs: x=0: CPU1: blinks at 100ms CPU2: ON - data mode, OFF - command mode x=1: CPU1: shows the IRQ pin CPU2: shows the VDI pin x=2: CPU1: ON if the FSK pin is 0 CPU2: ON if the FSK pin is 1 U1xx Send xxh via the Second Serial Port I Print firmware version information Note: The commands are not case sensitive 10
SETTING UP COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PC AND THE LOADBOARD To configure the Loadboard to communicate with the PC, a USB to virtual serial port driver need to be installed. Follow the following procedure to install the USB driver for the FT232R chip, and the virtual serial port emulating driver: 1. Connect the Loadboard USB port to the PC, the board will be powered by the USB port. 2. When the PC detect a new device (LoadBoard 2.x), don t let the Wizard to go to Windows Update to search for software. Check No, not this time. 3. Check to Install from a list or specific location. 4. Browse for the provided driver: 11
5. Once the USB driver installation is done, click Finish : 6. Now the USB driver setup for the Loadboard is complete, and the virtual serial port emulating driver installation will start automatically. 7. When the PC detect a new device (USB Serial port), don t let the Wizard to go to Windows Update to search for software. Check No, not this time. 8. Press next on the following two screens: 12
9. Press finish to complete the installation Notes: - This procedure is only needed for the first time of connecting the Loadboard to the PC. Next time the driver will automatically assign a serial port to the Loadboard. - Every Loadboard has different USB serial number, so the driver will assign different serial ports to each Loadboard connected to the same PC (for a given Loadboard the port number will be the same always). 13
LOADBOARD FIRMWARE REVISIONS V 2.21: Initial release 14
5. NOTES 15
Silicon Labs, Inc. 400 West Cesar Chavez Austin, Texas 78701 Tel: 512.416.8500 Fax: 512.416.9669 Toll Free: 877.444.3032 www.silabs.com/integration wireless@silabs.com The specifications and descriptions in this document are based on information available at the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Silicon Laboratories assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, and disclaims responsibility for any consequences resulting from the use of information included herein. Additionally, Silicon Laboratories assumes no responsibility for the functioning of undescribed features or parameters. Silicon Laboratories reserves the right to make changes to the product and its documentation at any time. Silicon Laboratories makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees regarding the suitability of its products for any particular purpose and does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit, and specifically disclaims any and all liability for consequential or incidental damages arising out of use or failure of the product. Nothing in this document shall operate as an express or implied license or indemnity under the intellectual property rights of Silicon Laboratories or third parties. The products described in this document are not intended for use in implantation or other direct life support applications where malfunction may result in the direct physical harm or injury to persons. NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE OFFERED IN THIS DOCUMENT. 2008 Silicon Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Silicon Laboratories is a trademark of Silicon Laboratories, Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. 16