Rev. 0.1 9/07 Copyright © 2007 by Silicon Laboratories ToolStickUniDC
ToolStickUniDC
TOOLSTICK UNIVERSITY DAUGHTER CARD USER’S GUIDE
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, consider 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 board.
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.
ToolStickUniDC
2 Rev. 0.1
2. Contents
The ToolStickUniDC kit contains the following items:
ToolStick University Daughter Card
The ToolStickUniSK Starter Kit includes the following items:
ToolStick Base Adapter
ToolStick University Daughter Card
3-foot USB extension cable
A ToolStick daughter card requires a ToolStick Base Adapter to communicate with the PC. If the daug hter card was
not purchased as part of a Starter Kit, ToolStick Base Adapters can be purchased separately 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 ToolStick University 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 ToolStick University Daughter Card features a Silicon Laboratories C8051F020 Mixed-Signal MCU. The
external circuitry on the daughter card includes a 22.1184 MHz crystal to enable UART communicatio n, 4 LEDs, 4
push-button switches, an 8-bit DIP switch, a potentiometer, and a reset switch. Ports P0, P1, and P2 of the MCU
are accessible via standard headers. A separate header is available for analog input/output that connects external
signals to the ADC and comparator inputs, and DAC outputs of the MCU. A small area for prototyping is also
provided that can be used to connect additional hardware to the microcontroller and use the daughter card as a
developme nt platform.
Figure 3 shows the ToolStick University Daughter Card and identifies the various components.