Purpose of this document

Documentation

Kit Contents

The SSP1492 Developers Kit contains one of each of the following items:

Software included in the kit

Installation Overview

The USB driver must be installed on your system and the port configuration tool executed in order to create the necessary configuration file that both SSP application tools use to find the port that the Sensor Platforms hardware is connected to on your system. The procedure to install the driver and to operate the port finder tool is given in the next section.

Tip! Before you start, you may find it useful to print a copy of this document so that you can follow along without constantly having to switch windows back and forth to read this.

Tools Installation

1. 1. Open the ssp.zip file and Extract contents to the C:\ directory. Note: The contents of this ZIP file will automatically be extracted to a child directory of the \sp directory. For that reason it is important that you extract the ZIP file to c:\ (AKA the root directory) so that the files end up in the c:\sp directory automatically. It is not necessary to create the C:\sp directory beforehand.
2. If you would also like to install the code development tools Open the ide.zip file and extract its contents to the C:\ directory as well. The uncompressed tools and resource files are now located in the c:\zip directory and its subdirectories.

Optional

The c:\sp directory contains Windows shortcuts that can be moved to taskbars, start menu, desktop or any conveniently location where you would like to launch the Sensor Platforms tool applications.

Installing the USB driver

You must have the USB drivers extracted and placed on your hard drive before connecting the Sensor Platforms hardware to your system and installing the drivers to your operating system. Installing the drivers is a two-step process. First the COM Port drivers are extracted (step 1), then the USB driver is installed (step 2)

Step 1 - Extract all Virtual COM Port Drivers

Initial software setup requires running CP2101_Drivers.exe to extract all of the device drivers. This file is located in the c:\sp\drivers directory. After following the prompts, the utility will copy the driver files to a specified directory or the default directory, “C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101”. Each set of drivers will be extracted to sub menus.

Step 2 - Virtual COM Port Driver Installation

Important: Step 2 varies depending on your operating system. Below are three operating system choices to choose from for the next step.

Windows 2000

1. Connect the USB cable between the host computer and the USB-Sonoma Bridge Board as shown in Figure 1.
2. Windows will open a “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Press Next to continue.
3. Select "Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended)" and press Next.
4. Check "Specify a location" and press Next.
5. Press Browse to locate the “slabbus.inf” driver installation file. The default location is the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this file is selected press OK.
6. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
7. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB Composite Device".
8. Windows will open another “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Yes, this is the second time this dialog box appears. Press Next to continue.
9. Select "Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended)" and press Next.
10. Check "Specify a location" and press Next.
11. Press Browse to locate the “slabw2k.inf” driver installation file. The default location is the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this file is selected press OK.
12. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
13. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller".

Windows XP

1. Connect the USB cable between the host computer and the USB-Sonoma Bridge Board as shown in Figure 1.
2. Windows will open a “Found New Hardware Wizard” window.
3. Select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" and press Next.
4. Select "Include this location in the search".
5. Press Browse to locate the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this directory is selected press OK.
6. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
7. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB Composite Device".
8. Windows will open another “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Yes, this is the second time this dialog box appears. Press Next to continue.
9. Select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" and press Next.
10. Select "Include this location in the search".
11. Press Browse to locate the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this directory is selected press OK.
12. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
13. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller".

Windows 98 SE

1. Connect the USB cable between the host computer and the USB-Sonoma Bridge Board as shown in Figure 1.
2. Windows will open a “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Press Next to continue.
3. Select "Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)" and press Next.
4. Select "Specify a location".
5. Press Browse to locate the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this directory is selected press Next.
6. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
7. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB Composite Device".
8. Windows will open another “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Yes, this is the second time this dialog box appears. Press Next to continue.
9. Select "Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)" and press Next.
10. Select "Specify a location".
11. Press Browse to locate the "C:\SiLabs\MCU\CP2101\WIN" directory. Once this directory is selected press Next.
12. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press Next.
13. Press Finish to finish installing the "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller".

Figure 1 - Minimal connections necessary to install and test USB drivers and USB port

Using the Port Finder Utility

This tool is used to help you find and verify which port the Sensor Platforms hardware is connected to. It is also used to create the necessary configuration file that other SSP application tools use as a map to connect with the Sensor Platforms hardware on your system. This utility should only have to be used once, which is usually during initial use of the Sensor Platforms tools. You may need to use it again if other USB devices and/or serial communication devices are added or removed from you system.

1. Connect the USB-Sonoma Bridge or the Sonoma Serial Bridge board to your PC using the corresponding cable.
2. If you are using the Sonoma Serial Board you must supply an external 3.3V +/-0.3V to the board.
3. Launch the PortFinder.exe application located in the c:\sp\ directory.
4. On the left side of the window select the type of communications hardware that you are using. The type of hardware is written on the communications board.
a. Select USB Bridge if you are using the USB-Sonoma Board b. Select COM Board if you are using the Serial-Sonoma Board
5. On the right side of the window in the “Select a Comm Port” drop-down list box select a communications port that you think is likely to be the port that the Sensor Platforms hardware is connected.
6. To verify that you selected a port connected to Sensor Platforms communication hardware click the “Push To Test” button.
7. The utility will “ping” the hardware to see if it is a Sensor Platforms product.
8. If the results are negative (a “hardware NOT found” message appears) go back to step 4 and select another port.
9. If the result of the ping was positive (a “hardware found!” message appears) then create a configuration file that other Sensor Platforms applications can use to find the same port and the same hardware type by clicking on the “Save Configuration” button.

Configuring the IDE tools

10. Click on the PFE (Program File Editor) shortcut located in the c:\sp directory or click on the application itself (PFE.exe), which is located in the c\sp\pfe directory. Note, there is no shortcut created in the Start menu for PFE.
11. Click on Options in the menu bar then on Preferences located in the drop-down menu
12. In category list in the new Preferences window that appears select Configuration Sets by clicking on it.
13. Click the New button located in the refreshed right side of the Preferences window.
14. Type SP in the popup dialog box that appears. Then click OK.
15. Click on the SP configuration set that now appears in the Existing Configuration Set list.
16. Click the “Import To…” button.
17. Navigate the file explorer window that pops-up to the c:\sp directory
18. Select the sp.rcf file.
19. Click Open, then OK on the message dialog box that appears.
20. With the SP configuration set still highlighted in the Existing Configuration Set list, click the “Make default startup set” button.
21. Click OK in Preferences window. The Preferences window should now be closed.
22. Exit the PFE application.

The next time you launch the PFE the application will be configured to work with the Sensor Platforms tool set.

Where to go from here

It is recommended that whether your plans are to simply verify your sensor with the SSP1492 or to develop custom sensor firmware for your smart sensor module that you first familiarize yourself with the Sensor Platform application software and its controls. These tools allow you communicate, control and collect sensor data from the SSP1492 via a graphical user interface from your PC. The Universal Demo Boards are preloaded with fixed components already installed in sensor locations R1 and C1 such that you can be taking pseudo sensor measurements straight out of the box and become familiar with the tools before you actually connect your sensor to the Universal Demo Board by following the text given in the document: “Sensor Platforms SSP Application Software Users Guide”.