ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card User's Guide

To o l Sti c k - F 9 1 2 D C
TO O L S T I C K C 8 0 5 1 F 9 1 2 D A UG H T ER C A R D U S E R ’ S G UI DE
1. Handling Recommendations
To enable development, the ToolStick Base Adapter and daughter cards are distributed without any protective
plastics. To prevent damage to the devices and/or the host PC, please take into consideration the following
recommendations when using the ToolStick:

Never connect or disconnect a daughter card to or from the ToolStick Base Adapter while the Base Adapter is
connected to a PC.
 Always connect and disconnect the ToolStick Base Adapter from the PC by holding the edges of the boards.
Figure 1. Proper Method of Holding the ToolStick

Avoid directly touching any of the other components.
Figure 2. Improper Method of Holding the ToolStick

Manipulate mechanical devices on the daughter cards, such as potentiometers, with care to prevent the Base
Adapter or daughter card from accidentally dislodging from their sockets.
Rev. 0.2 5/14
Copyright © 2014 by Silicon Laboratories
ToolStick-C8051F912DC
ToolStick- F 912DC
2. Contents
The C8051F912 ToolStick DC (TOOLSTICK912DC) kit contains the following items:

ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card
One extra A76 battery
A ToolStick daughter card requires a ToolStick Base Adapter to communicate with the PC. ToolStick Base Adapters
can be purchased at www.silabs.com/toolstick.

3. ToolStick Overview
The purpose of the ToolStick is to provide a development and demonstration platform for Silicon Laboratories
microcontrollers and to demonstrate the Silicon Laboratories software tools, including the Integrated Development
Environment (IDE).
The ToolStick development platform consists of two components: the ToolStick Base Adapter and a daughter card.
The ToolStick Base Adapter provides a USB debug interface and data communications path between a Windows
PC and a target microcontroller.
The target microcontroller and application circuitry are located on the daughter card. Some daughter cards, such
as the C8051F912 Daughter Card, are used as general-purpose development platforms for the target
microcontrollers and some are used to demonstrate a specific feature or application.
The C8051F912 Daughter Card includes a pair of GPIO-controlled LEDs, a potentiometer, a switch connected to a
GPIO, a capacitive touch sense switch, and a small prototyping area which provides access to all of the pins of the
device. This prototyping area can be used to connect additional hardware to the microcontroller and use the
daughter card as a development platform. The C8051F912 Daughter Card also includes an A76 1.5 V alkaline
battery which can be used to power the board when not connected to the Toolstick Base Adapter. The C8051F912
will continue to operate from the single “button cell” battery until the supply voltage drops below 0.9 V.
Figure 3 shows the ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card and identifies the various components.
P1.6
P1.5
Red LED Yellow LED
Full Pin Access
ToolStick Power Available
Red LED
Power Source Indicator
Yellow LED
Power Source
Selector
Switch
C8051F912
P0.3 Capacitive
P0.2 Push
Touch Sense Button Switch (S2)
Switch
P0.6 Potentiometer
Figure 3. ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card
2
Rev. 0.2
ToolStick-F912DC
4. Getting Started
The necessary software to download, debug and communicate with the target microcontroller must be downloaded
from www.silabs.com/toolstick. The following software is necessary to build a project, download code to, and
communicate with the target microcontroller:
Simplicity
Studio
C51 Tools
ToolStick Development Tools
Keil
The software described above is provided in the Simplicity Studio and 8-bit microcontroller studio download
packages. The ToolStick Development Tools selection includes example code specifically for the ToolStick
daughter card, documentation including user’s guides and data sheets, and the ToolStick Terminal application.
After downloading and installing these packages, see the following sections for information regarding the software
and running one of the demo applications.
5. Software Overview
Simplicity Studio greatly reduces development time and complexity with Silicon Labs EFM32 and 8051 MCU
products by providing a high-powered IDE, tools for hardware configuration, and links to helpful resources, all in
one place.
Once Simplicity Studio is installed, the application itself can be used to install additional software and
documentation components to aid in the development and evaluation process.
Figure 4. Simplicity Studio
Rev. 0.2
3
ToolStick- F 912DC
The following Simplicity Studio components are required for the C8051F912 ToolStick Starter Kit:
8051
Products Part Support
Developer Platform
Download and install Simplicity Studio from www.silabs.com/simplicity-studio. Once installed, run Simplicity Studio
by selecting StartSilicon LabsSimplicity StudioSimplicity Studio from the start menu or clicking the
Simplicity Studio shortcut on the desktop. Follow the instructions to install the software and click Simplicity IDE
to launch the IDE.
Simplicity
The first time the project creation wizard runs, the Setup Environment wizard will guide the user through the
process of configuring the build tools and SDK selection.
In the Part Selection step of the wizard, select from the list of installed parts only the parts to use during
development. Choosing parts and families in this step affects the displayed or filtered parts in the later device
selection menus. Choose the C8051F91x/90x family by checking the C8051F91x/90x check box. Modify the part
selection at any time by accessing the Part Management dialog from the WindowPreferencesSimplicity
StudioPart Management menu item.
Simplicity Studio can detect if certain toolchains are not activated. If the Licensing Helper is displayed after
completing the Setup Environment wizard, follow the instructions to activate the toolchain.
5.1. Running the Features Demo
To create a project for the Features Demo example:
1. Click the Software Examples tile from the Simplicity Studio home screen.
2. In the Kit drop-down, select C8051F912 ToolStick Daughter Card, in the Part drop-down, select
C8051F912, and in the SDK drop-down, select the desired SDK. Click Next.
3. Select Example and click Next.
4. Under C8051F912 ToolStick Daughter Card, select TS F91x-90x FeaturesDemo and click Finish.
5. Click on the project in the Project Explorer and click Build, the hammer icon in the top bar. Alternatively,
go to ProjectBuild Project.
6. Click Debug to download the project to the hardware and start a debug session.
7. Follow the instructions at the top of the example file to run the demo.
8. Press the Resume button to start the code running.
9. Press the Suspend button to stop the code.
10. Press the Reset the device button to reset the target MCU.
11. Press the Disconnect button to return to the development perspective.
4
Rev. 0.2
ToolStick-F912DC
5.2. Simplicity Studio Help
Simplicity Studio includes detailed help information and device documentation within the tool. The help contains
descriptions for each dialog window. To view the documentation for a dialog, click the question mark icon in the
window:
This will open a pane specific to the dialog with additional details.
The documentation within the tool can also be viewed by going to HelpHelp Contents or HelpSearch.
5.3. Configuration Wizard 2
The Configuration Wizard 2 is a code generation tool for all of the Silicon Laboratories devices. Code is generated
through the use of dialog boxes for each of the device's peripherals.
Figure 5. Configuration Wizard 2 Utility
The Configuration Wizard 2 utility helps accelerate development by automatically generating initialization source
code to configure and enable the on-chip resources needed by most design projects. In just a few steps, the wizard
creates complete startup code for a specific Silicon Laboratories MCU. The program is configurable to provide the
output in C or assembly.
Installing the Simplicity Studio software will automatically install Configuration Wizard 2 if it’s required for the
selected devices. After selecting the desired device in the Product area, the Configuration Wizard 2 tile will appear
in the Tools section.
Rev. 0.2
5
ToolStick- F 912DC
5.4. ToolStick Terminal
The ToolStick Terminal program provides the standard terminal interface to the target microcontroller's UART.
However, instead of requiring the usual RS-232 and COM port connection, ToolStick Terminal uses the USB
interface of the ToolStick Base Adapter to provide the same functionality. The software is available on the ToolStick
webpage (www.silabs.com/toolstick).
In addition to the standard terminal functions (send file, receive file, change baud rate), two GPIO pins on the target
microcontroller can be controlled using the Terminal for either RTS/CTS handshaking or software-configurable
purposes.
To use the ToolStick Terminal program:
1. Download an example to the ToolStick device that uses UART communication. One example of this type is
the TS F91x-90x FeaturesDemo example from the Simplicity Studio example project creation wizard.
2. Disconnect from the device in the Simplicity IDE. The IDE and the ToolStick Terminal cannot communicate
with the daughter card simultaneously.
3. Open ToolStick Terminal from the Start  Programs  Silicon Labs menu.
4. In the top, left-hand corner of the Terminal application, available devices are shown in the drop-down
Connection menu. Click Connect to connect to the device.
5. If using the TS F91x-90x FeaturesDemo example, text printed from the device will appear in the Receive
Data window.
6. Rotate the potentiometer on the board to change the blink rate or brightness of the LED.
In addition to the standard two UART pins (TX and RX), there are two GPIO/UART handshaking pins on the
ToolStick Base Adapter that are connected to two port pins on the target microcontroller. ToolStick Terminal is used
to configure and read/write these pins. Under Pin State Configuration area in ToolStick Terminal, select the
desired state from the drop-down menu and click the Set Selected Pin States button.
The firmware on the C8051F912 target microcontroller does not need to be customized to use the UART and
communicate with ToolStick Terminal. The firmware on the microcontroller should write to the UART as it would in
any standard application, and all of the translation is handled by the ToolStick Base Adapter.
6
Rev. 0.2
ToolStick-F912DC
5.5. Data Logger Modes and Indicator LEDs
The data logger has three modes of operation shown in Table 1:
Table 1. Data Logger Modes
Mode
Power Source
Reset Source
Blinking Indicator LED(s)
Logging Only
Battery
POR or other
Yellow Only
Logging + UART
Battery
/RST Pin
Red Only
ToolStick Base Adapter
Don’t Care
Red and Yellow
Interactive
The Logging Only mode is the lowest power mode and is the mode in which the data logger spends most of its
operating life. The primary goal of this mode is to prolong battery life and keep the data log up to date. The system
enters this mode when it is powered from the battery and the last reset was a power on reset or other reset not
caused by the reset pin. In this mode, the Yellow LED will blink when the S2 switch is pressed to indicate that the
system is in its lowest power mode.
The Logging + UART mode is entered when powered from the battery and a pin reset occurs. A pin reset is
generated on the C8051F912 Daughter Card when the ToolStick Terminal is connected. In this mode, the device
prints a log summary to the screen and blinks the Red LED when the S2 switch is pressed. This mode preserves
battery life, but it requires the MCU to stay in active mode while transmitting information over UART.
When the power source is set to ToolStick Power, the data logger will enter Interactive Mode. Since the MCU is
powered from the ToolStick Base Adapter, it runs at full speed without entering a low power mode. It constantly
monitors the potentiometer ratio, the capacitive touch sense switch oscillation period, and the current temperature.
Since the battery is disconnected when being powered from the ToolStick Base Adapter, the MCU cannot measure
the battery voltage. When S2 is pressed, the system toggles between displaying a log summary and interactive
content in addition to blinking both the Yellow and Red LEDs.
Rev. 0.2
7
ToolStick- F 912DC
6. Using the C8051F912 Daughter Card as a Development Platform
The prototyping area on the ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card makes it easy to interface to external hardware.
All of the digital I/O pins are available so it possible to create a complete system.
6.1. C8051F912 Pin Connections
It is important to note that if external hardware is being added, some of the existing components on the board can
interfere with the signaling. The following is a list of port pins on the C8051F912 that are connected to other
components:









P0.2—This pin is connected to the P0.2 switch. The switch and R10 can be safely removed from the daughter
card if they are not needed.
P0.3—This pin is connected to a capacitive touch sense switch. The 0  resistor R15 can be safely removed
from the daughter card if the capacitive touch sense switch is not needed.
P0.4, P0.5—These pins are connected directly to the ToolStick Base Adapter for UART communication.
P0.6—This pin is connected to the output of the potentiometer. The 0  resistor R11 can be removed to
disconnect the potentiometer from the pin.
P1.0, P1.1—These pins are connected directly to the ToolStick Base Adapter’s GPIO pins. By default, these
GPIO pins on the Base Adapter are high-impedance pins so they will not affect any signaling. Configuring these
pins on the Base Adapter to output pin or handshaking pins could affect signaling.
P1.3—This pin is connected to the power source detect signal.
P1.4—This pin is connected to the potentiometer enable signal. This allows the potentiometer to be disabled by
software when not in use. The 0  resistor R11 can be safely removed from the daughter card to disconnect the
potentiometer enable from the pin.
P1.5—This pin is connected to the cathode (-) of the red LED on the daughter card. The LED or R4 resistor can
be removed to disconnect the LED from the pin.
P1.6—This pin is connected to the cathode (-) of the yellow LED on the daughter card. The LED or R5 resistor
can be removed to disconnect the LED from the pin.
See the daughter card schematic in Section 7 for more information.
6.2. VREF Capacitor
On the C8051F912 devices, if VREF is generated using the High-Speed Internal Reference, no output capacitor is
required. If using the on-chip Precision Voltage Reference, it is highly recommended to place a capacitor on the
VREF output pin. On the ToolStick C8051F912 Daughter Card, there are pads on the board (C5) to populate a
0603 surface mount capacitor. There are also pads on the board (R14) to facilitate shorting P0.1 to the ground
plane for use as an analog ground reference (AGND). The firmware examples for the daughter card use the HighSpeed Internal Reference as VREF and the GND pin as a ground reference, so no external capacitor on P0.0 is
necessary for proper operation. Also, P0.1 may be used for general purpose I/O.
6.3. C2 Pin Sharing
On the C8051F912, the debug pins, C2CK, and C2D, are shared with the pins /RST and P2.7 respectively. The
daughter card includes the resistors necessary to enable pin sharing which allow the /RST and P2.7 pins to be
used normally while simultaneously debugging the device. See Application Note “AN124: Pin Sharing Techniques
for the C2 Interface” at www.silabs.com for more information regarding pin sharing.
8
Rev. 0.2
PWR
R1
4k7
VBUS_OUT
Rev. 0.2
TCK_C2D 6
TDO_C2CKPS 8
GND
C2
X7R
1.0UF
VDD
NEG
POS
RF2
RUBBER FOOT
2
1
FI1
FIDUCIAL
R2
0.0
I measure
TP5
1K
680nH
L1
P1.3
SUSPEND
C3
X7R
4.7UF
D2
1.8V YELLOW
TP25
3
VBAT
DCEN
GND/DC-
VDD/DC+
2
GND
25
DAP
5
4
C4
X7R
1.0UF
1
DC+
P0.0/VREF
8
9
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
24
6
RST/C2CK
7
P2.7/C2D
XTAL4
XTAL3
P1.0
P1.1
P1.2
P1.3
P1.4
P1.5
P1.6
P0.1/AGND
P0.2/XTAL1
P0.3/XTAL2
P0.4/TX
P0.5/RX
P0.6/CNVSTR
P0.7/IREF0
U1
C8051F912
C5
X7R
C2CK
C2D
TP26
TP1
NO POP
R14
Y1
32.768KHZ
P1.0
P1.1
P1.2
P1.3
P1.4
P1.5
P1.6
P0.4
P0.5
P0.6
P0.2
NO POP
P0.1
P0.0
TP3
DC+
R13
NO POP
NO POP
C6
R12
NO POP
DC+
Figure 6. C8051F912 Daughter Card Schematic
TP4
R16
R3
1.2K
DC+
VDD
Power
Source
P0.4
P1.1
C2D
DC+
FI2
FIDUCIAL
DC+
6
3
4
5
S1
2
1
VPPCTL(OUT) 14
TSTERMINAL_RX 10
GPIO1_CTS 12
BAT2
NEG_BATTERY_CONTACT
GND
RF1
RUBBER FOOT
D1
1.8V RED
3
2
1
1.5V 11.6mm
POS
NEG
POS
Button Cell
BAT1
13 SUSPEND(OUT)
9 TSTERMINAL_TX
11 GPIO0_RTS
SUSPEND
5 TDI_C2CK
7 TDO_C2DPS
P0.5
P1.0
2
4
TOP SIDE
J1
EDGE-MEC1-108-02-F-D-EM2
1 GND
VDD(3.3V)
3 VBUS(5V)
VIO(IN)
C2CK
P2.7
GND
VBUS_OUT
CARD EDGE CONNECTOR
BOTTOM SIDE
NO POP
C7
P1.5
P1.6
P0.3
TP13
TP12
TP11
TP10
TP9
TP8
TP7
TP6
P0.7
P0.3
P0.2
P1.4
P0.6
C2D
C2CK
DRAWN BY:
PART NUMBER:
TITLE:
P0.7 (IREF0/GPIO)
TP22
10K
R8
D4
1.8V RED
P2.7 (C2D/GPIO)
P1.6 (Orange LED)
P1.5 (Red LED)
P1.4 (Potentiometer Bias)
P1.3 (Power Source)
P1.2 (GPIO)
P1.1 (GPIO1_CTS/GPIO)
P1.0 (GPIO0_RTS/GPIO)
P1/P2
D3
R5
1.2K
SILICON LABS
TP21
TP20
TP19
TP18
TP17
TP16
TP15
TP14
GND
C2CK
C2D
R4
1.2K
DC+
1.8V YELLOW
DC+
TP24
TP23
ENGINEER:
-
SA-TS077PCB-000
TOOLSTICK F912 DC
AnGa
R
P0.6 (CNVSTR/Potentiometer)
P0.5 (RX)
P0.4 (TX)
P0.3 (XTAL2/TouchSense/GPIO)
S3
S2
C2D
P2.7
C2CK
DEBUG CIRCUIT
P0.2 (XTAL1/Switch/GPIO)
P0.1 (AGND/GPIO)
P0.0 (VREF/GPIO)
P0
TOUCH SENSE SWITCH
R15 0.0
R10 1K
R11 0.0
R9 1K
1K
R7
R6
1K
DC+
ToolStick-F912DC
7. C8051F912 Daughter Card Schematic
9
ToolStick-F912DC
DOCUMENT CHANGE LIST
Revision 0.1 to Revision 0.2

Updated "4. Getting Started‚" on page 3 and "5.
Software Overview‚" on page 3 with instructions for
Simplicity Studio.
Rev. 0.2
10
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Disclaimer
Silicon Laboratories intends to provide customers with the latest, accurate, and in-depth documentation of all peripherals and modules available for system and software implementers
using or intending to use the Silicon Laboratories products. Characterization data, available modules and peripherals, memory sizes and memory addresses refer to each specific
device, and "Typical" parameters provided can and do vary in different applications. Application examples described herein are for illustrative purposes only. Silicon Laboratories
reserves the right to make changes without further notice and limitation to product information, specifications, and descriptions herein, and does not give warranties as to the accuracy
or completeness of the included information. Silicon Laboratories shall have no liability for the consequences of use of the information supplied herein. This document does not imply
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