ToolStick Base Adapter
Rev. 0.1 3
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:
Silicon Laboratories Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Keil Demonstration Tools
ToolStick Terminal application
The Silicon Laboratories IDE and the Keil Demo Tools are described in more detail in Section 6. ToolStick Terminal
provides data communication functions between the PC and the target microcontroller.
Other useful software that is provided on the ToolStick website includes:
Configuration Wizard 2
Keil uVision2 and uVision3 Drivers
Configuration Wizard 2 presents device peripheral options in a GUI and simplifies the generation of peripheral
initialization code. The program is configurable to provide the output in C or assembly. The Keil uVision2 and
uVision3 Drivers enable Keil uVision IDEs to debug Silicon Laboratories MCUs.
To simplify the download process, the necessary software described above is provided in two download packages.
The ToolStick package includes the Keil Tools, example code, documentation including User’s Guides and data
sheets, and the ToolStick Terminal application. The IDE, Configuration Wizard 2, and the Keil uVision Drivers are
available as a separate download. After downloading and installing these two packages, see the following sections
for information regarding the ToolStick functionality and how to use the Silicon Laboratories IDE.
5. ToolStick Base Adapter Functions
The ToolStick Base Adapter performs two main functions for the target microcontroller: 1) It provides a debug
interface, and 2) it provides a data communication interface. The Base Adapter can perform only one of these
functions at a time. The Base Adapter does not require any USB drivers to be installed for either of these functions
because it uses standard USB class drivers.
The Base Adapter also provides power to the daughter cards. The yellow LED on the Base Adapter is a power
indicator. If the yellow LED is on, the base adapter is properly connected to the PC and is receiving USB power. If
the LED is off, the base adapter is not properly connected to the PC or the PC is in a suspended state.
5.1. Debug Mode
All of the Silicon Laboratories MCUs have on-chip debugging hardware that allows full, non-intrusive access to the
CPU, peripherals and memory. The Base Adapter provides a USB interface between the Silicon Laboratories IDE
and the on-chip debugging hardware.
The Base Adapter has green and red LEDs that indicate the status of the target microcontroller. If the red LED is
on, the target microcontroller is halted. If the green LED is on, the target microcontroller is running. If neither LED is
on, the Base Adapter is not connected in a debug session with the target microcontroller. If a debug session is not
running and the target microcontroller is powered, it will start to execute its firmware.
5.2. Data Communication Mode
The connection between the Base Adapter and the daughter card includes four pins that are dedicated for data
communication. Two of the pins are the UART pins, TX and RX. The other two pins can be configured as general
purpose input-output (GPIO) pins or as UART hardware handshaking pins, RTS and CTS.
UART configuration/communication and GPIO configuration/access to the target microcontroller is performed
using the Windows program, ToolStick Terminal. See the ToolStick Terminal help file for information on how to use
ToolStick Terminal.
