Smart Star
User's Manual
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2. Getting Started

Chapter 2 explains how to connect the power supply to the Smart Star backplane, how to install the CPU Card on the backplane, and how to connect the programming cable to the CPU Card. Once you run a sample program to demonstrate that you have connected everything correctly, you will be ready to go on to install I/O cards and finish developing your system.

2.1 Attach the CPU Card to the Backplane

  1. Orient the backplane with the PROCESSOR SLOT facing away from you as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Attach the CPU Card to the Backplane

  1. Position the CPU Card above the backplane as shown in Figure 1.

  2. Carefully insert the CPU Card header into the PROCESSOR SLOT on the backplane and line up the facing edge of the CPU Card with the back edge of the alignment holes on the backplane as shown in Figure 1.

NOTE Be careful to line up the pins on the CPU Card with the socket on the backplane when installing the CPU Card. The CPU Card can be damaged once power is applied if the CPU Card is not installed correctly.

  1. Use the two 4-40 screws supplied with the CPU Card to anchor the plastic brackets so that they hold the CPU Card firmly in place on the backplane.

2.2 Connect the Power Supply

Connect the power supply to the POWER IN connector on the backplane--the red (positive) wire to +RAW and the black (negative) wire to GND, as shown in Figure 2.


Figure 2. Power Supply Connections
(North America)

CAUTION:
 Be careful to hook up the positive and negative leads exactly as described. Only the +5 V circuitry is protected against reverse polarity.

A USER connection is supplied on the backplane to allow an independent power supply to be used for future development. For now, use a wire jumper to connect USER to +RAW so that they share the same power supply.

Notice to Customers
Outside North America

The power supply included with the Smart Star Tool Kit may be used worldwide. Customers outside North America simply need to exchange the line cord and plug from the power supply to their wall outlet with one available locally.

  1. To exchange the line cord and plug, first remove the existing line cord. To access the screws, use a screwdriver to gently lift up and remove the plastic insulating cover.
Figure 3. Power Supply Connections (overseas)

  1. Unscrew the wires at the ground, L, and N terminals.

  2. Attach the line cord that you obtained locally to the power supply. Be sure to follow any color-coding conventions, for example, green/yellow to ground, brown to L, and blue to N terminals.

  3. Ensure that the wires are attached securely and are not touching each other. Snap on the plastic insulating cover.

NOTE The power supply included with the Smart Star Tool Kit is in-tended for development purposes only.


2.3 Programming Cable Connections

  1. Connect the programming cable to the CPU Card.

Connect the 10-pin PROG connector of the programming cable to header J2 on the CPU Card as shown in Figure 4. Connect the other end of the programming cable to a COM port on your PC. Note that COM1 on the PC is the default COM port in the Dynamic C installation.

NOTE Be sure to use the programming cable (Part No. 101-0513) supplied with the Smart Star Tool Kit--the programming cable has red shrink wrap around the RS-232 converter section located in the middle of the cable. Programming cables from other Rabbit Semiconductor kits are not designed to work with the Smart Star.


Figure 4. Programming Cable 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. 540-0070) with the programming cable supplied with the Tool Kit. Note that not all RS-232/USB converters work with Dynamic C.

  1. Apply power.

Plug the power supply in to a nearby outlet. The CPU Card is now ready to be used.

NOTE A hardware RESET is accomplished by unplugging the power supply, then plugging it back in.

2.4 Installing Dynamic C

If you have not yet installed Dynamic C version 7.06P3 (or a later version), do so now by inserting the Dynamic C CD from the Smart Star Tool Kit 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 setup.exe file on your CD drive. Click OK to begin the installation once you have selected the setup.exe file.

The online documentation is installed along with Dynamic C, and an icon for the documentation menu is placed on the workstation's desktop. Double-click this icon to reach the menu. If the icon is missing, create a new desktop icon that points to default.htm in the docs folder, found in the Dynamic C installation folder.

The latest versions of all documents are always available for free, unregistered download from our Web sites as well.

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.

2.5 Starting Dynamic C

Once the CPU Card is installed and connected as described above, start Dynamic C by double-clicking on the Dynamic C icon or by double-clicking on dcrab_XXXX.exe in the Dynamic C root directory, where XXXX are version-specific characters.

Dynamic C defaults to using the serial port on your PC that you specified during installation. If the port setting is correct, Dynamic C should detect the CPU Card and go through a sequence of steps to cold-boot the CPU Card and to compile the BIOS. (Some versions of Dynamic C will not do the initial BIOS compile and load until the first time you compile a program.)

If you receive the message No Rabbit Processor Detected, the programming cable may be connected to the wrong COM port, a connection may be faulty, or the target system may not be powered up. First, check both ends of the programming cable to ensure that it is firmly plugged into the PC and the programming port.

If there are no faults with the hardware, select a different COM port within Dynamic C. From the Options menu, select Communications. Select another COM port from the list, then click OK. Press <Ctrl-Y> to force Dynamic C to recompile the BIOS. If Dynamic C still reports it is unable to locate the target system, repeat the above steps until you locate the active COM port. You should receive a Bios compiled successfully message once this step is completed successfully.

If Dynamic C appears to compile the BIOS successfully, but you then receive a communication error message when you compile and load a sample program, it is possible that your PC cannot handle the higher program-loading baud rate. Try changing the maximum download rate to a slower baud rate as follows.

If a program compiles and loads, but then loses target communication before you can begin debugging, it is possible that your PC cannot handle the default debugging baud rate. Try lowering the debugging baud rate as follows.

2.6 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), compile it using the Compile menu, and then run it 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 does not test the serial ports on the CPU Card, but does ensure that the CPU is basically functional.

2.7 Installing I/O Cards

  1. Orient the backplane with the CPU Card already installed and facing towards you as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Installing I/O Cards on the Backplane

  1. Position the new I/O card above the backplane over any unused slot position (SLOT 0 to SLOT 6) as shown in Figure 5. Note the slot number and the type of I/O card since Dynamic C addresses the I/O cards by slot number.

  2. Carefully insert the I/O card header into the slot on the backplane and line up the tabs on the I/O cards with the slots on the backplane as shown in Figure 5.

  3. Use the two 4-40 screws supplied with the I/O card to anchor the plastic brackets on the CPU Card or the I/O card firmly on the backplane. Tighten the screws as needed using a Phillips screwdriver whose shaft is at least 3" (7 cm) long, but is no thicker than 0.16" (4 mm).

2.8 Where Do I Go From Here?

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

If there are any problems at this point:

If the sample program ran fine, you are now ready to go on to install I/O cards, explore other Smart Star features, and develop your own applications.

Chapter 3, "Hardware Features," provides detailed information about the CPU Card, and how to install the I/O cards. Be sure to take the total current consumption of the individual cards into account when selecting a power supply. Appendix C.1, "Current Requirements," provides more detailed information. Chapter 4, "Software," describes the Dynamic C software libraries and introduces some sample programs for use with the CPU Card. Chapter 6, "Smart Star Specifications," provides specifications for the backplanes and the CPU cards, including mounting and clearance recommendations.

Separate sections in this manual have been prepared for the various I/O cards, and include complete information about their pinouts and Dynamic C software libraries, including sample programs.

Once you have developed your application and bench-tested the finished system, you may install the finished system.

Rabbit Semiconductor
www.rabbit.com
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