TS-7250

TS-7250

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Cirrus Logic EP9302
CPU User Guide

Introduction

About this Manual

This manual is intended to provide the user with an overview of the board and benefits, complete features specifications, and set up procedures. It contains important safety information as well.

TS-72XX Series

The TS-72XX series Single Board Computers (SBC's) run on a 200 MHz ARM9 processor with power as low as 1/2 Watt. Low board complexity, low component count, and low power/heat makes for an extremely reliable embedded engine. The TS-72XX SBC's are available in thousands of configurations, many of which are Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) and available to ship today.

The EP9302 processor from Cirrus is the highly integrated 200Mhz ARM9 processor that the TS-72XX SBC's are built around and includes an on-chip 10/100 ethernet, USB, serial, and Flash/SDRAM controller. For example, on the TS-7200 model there is 32 Mb of Micron SDRAM running at 66 Mhz and 8 Mb Intel Strata flash on-board. A supplemental PLD provides glue logic, watchdog timer, Compact Flash IDE, and 8 bit PC/104 support. Integer CPU performance is about 20% faster than our 133 Mhz x86 offerings. Even with the standard power consumption of 2 Watts, the TS-72XX SBC�s run without fans or heat sinks in the temperature range of -20� to +70�C. Extended Temperature -40� to +85�C is also standard, but CPU clock must be decreased to about 166MHz for higher temperatures. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is enabled through a standard 5 channel, 12bit A/D converter (Optional 8 channel, 12 bit A/D converter), 20 DIO lines and 2 standard serial ports.

The 8/16 bit PC/104 interface enables additional functionality through Technologic Systems� broad product line of PC/104 peripheral daughter boards. The TS-7KV adds video, CAN, Com Ports, and A/D conversion. The TS-ETH10 allows the addition of Ethernet ports. The TS-CAN adds CAN connectivity. The TS-Modem boards add both wired and cell phone capabilities.

The TS-72XX rugged ARM9 SBC's have found their way into many embedded applications. Customers are using the TS-72XX series SBC's in: energy generation, manufacturing process control, traffic management, printing system management, communication infrastructure, website hosting, data gathering and laboratory test equipment. We use a TS-7200 to host our complete website and to prepare and test your SBC prior to shipping.

Product Overview

The TS-7250 is a compact, full-featured Single Board Computer (SBC) based upon the Cirrus EP9302 ARM9 CPU. The EP9302 features an advanced 200 MHz ARM920T processor design with a memory management unit (MMU) that allows support for high level operating systems such as Linux, Windows CE, and other. As a general-purpose processor, it provides a standard set of peripherals on board and a full set of Technologic Systems featured peripherals via the standard PC/104 Bus.

Benefits

Out-of-the-Box Productivity Technologic Systems Linux products get you to your application quickly. Our Single Board Computers boot directly to Linux as shipped. There is no complicated CMOS setup or configuring of a Linux derivative Operating System to source, define, and load. Technologic Systems has pre-configured each SBC in flash memory.

The TS-7250's user can power up the board and immediately begin application development. Of course, should you wish to configure your own version of Linux or use a different operating system, this is easy too. Technologic Systems provides the solution to fast application development without tedious OS configuration.

Impressive Performance The ARM920T's 32-bit architecture, with a five-stage pipeline, delivers very impressive performance at very low power. The EP9302 CPU has a 16 KB instruction cache and a 16 KB data cache to provide zero-cycle latency to the current program and data, or they can be locked to guarantee no-latency access to critical sections of instructions and data. For applications with instruction-memory size restrictions, the ARM920T�s compressed Thumb instruction set can be used to provide higher code density and lower Flash storage requirements.

As a benchmark, the TS-7250's CPU integer performance, at a supplied 200 MHz, is about twice as fast as the Technologic Systems 133MHz 586-based products.

Features

The TS-7250 comes standard with these features:

• TS-Linux Embedded Operating System Installed
• 200 MHz ARM9 CPU with MMU
• 32 MB on-board NAND Flash (Boots to TS-Linux)
• 32 MB RAM
• 2 USB 2.0 Compatible OHCI ports (12 Mbit/s Max)
• 2 serial ports (up to 230 Kbaud)
• 10/100 Megabit Ethernet port
• 20 total Digital I/O lines
• 5 channel 12-bit A/D converter
• Watchdog Timer
• PC/104 expansion bus
• SPI bus interface
• Alphanumeric LCD and Matrix keypad interfaces
• Single +5VDC power supply @ 450 mA
• Small size 3.8 x 4.5 inches (9.7 x 11.5 cm)
• Operating Temperature Range: Fanless from -20� to +70�C
• Extended Temperature -40� to +85�C standard at lower CPU clock speeds (166MHz)

Configurability

The TS-7250 can be configured for your application using the following available on-board options and external accessories:

On-board Options

• TS-7xxx-yyy-zzzF: up to �yyy� MB of on-board SDRAM and �zzz� MB of Flash memory

upgrade for TS-7xxx board models. For example, TS-7250-64-128F selects model TS- 7250 upgrade with 64 MB of SDRAM and 128 of NAND Flash.

Model (xxx)	SDRAM (yyy)	on-board Flash (zzz)
TS-7200	Up to 64 MB	Up to 16 MB
TS-7250	up to 64-128 MB	Up to 64-128-256 MB
TS-7260	up to 64-128 MB	Up to 64-128-256 MB

• OP-ADC: 12 bit 8 channel A/D Converter (TS-7200 and TS-7250)
• OP-2TTLCOM: Two additional COM (COM4 and COM5) ports with TTL levels (TS- 7260)
• OP-SDSOCKET: One SD Card socket for additional flash memory (TS-7260)
• OP-BBRTC: on-board sealed-battery backed RTC
• OP-TMPSENSE: High-precision temperature sensor
• OP-485-FD: RS-485 full duplex interface on COM2
• OP-485-HD: RS-485 half duplex interface on COM2
• OP-16BIT-104: 16-bit PC/104 Connector
• OP-STHRU-104: 16-bit Pass-Thru PC/104 Connector
• OP-ROHS: RoHS directive compliant built board

Note:

The TS-7250 SBC can be built compliant with the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances ) Directive. Contact Technologic Systems for RoHS support.

External Accessories

• CF-512-LIN: 512 MB Compact Flash Card with full ARM tool chain and Debian installed (TS-7200)
• SD-256: 256 MB SD Flash Card with full ARM tool chain installed and Debian (TS-7260)
• SD-512: 512 MB SD Flash Card with USB Interface, full ARM tool chain installed and Debian (TS-7260)
• USB Flash Drive: 256 MB with full ARM tool chain installed and Debian
• OP-EJECT: Compact Flash Ejector (TS-7200)
• WIFI-G-USB: Linux-supported USB 802.11g WiFi transceiver for wireless networking
• OP-LCD-LED: Alphanumeric 2x24 LCD with back light and cable
• OP-KPAD: Matrix keypad with cable
• PS-5VDC-REG: Regulated 5VDC Power Supply, 110 VAC Input
• TS-ENC720: Metal Enclosure with Power Converter
• RC-DB9: COM2 adapter cable to DB-9

In addition, a complete set of interfacing cables, connectors, and enclosures is available.

Note:

Check our website at www.embeddedARM.com for an updated list of options and external accessories

PC/104 Peripherals

Technologic Systems offers many add-on peripherals to complete the requirements of your application. These products directly interface with the TS-7250 using the PC/104 bus, adding a wide variety of functionalities at very reasonable prices. Some of these functionalities includes:

• NVRAM - adds 32K, 128K, 1MB or 2MB bytes of battery-backed SRAM. Battery backed SRAM provides non-volatile memory with very fast write times and unlimited write cycles, unlike Flash memory. This can be very important if the data is constantly being updated several times per minute, since Flash devices can wear-out after a few million write cycles. It also eliminates the latency that Flash memory has during write cycles. This resource is a byte-wide memory device using a lithium battery that will last a minimum of 10 years with or without power applied.
• Analog VIDEO interface � When a video monitor is needed.
• CAN Bus � Useful for automotive applications.
• Modems � Phone Line or GSM Cellular modems.
• Additional Ethernet ports.
• Additional DIO interface with either 24 or 64 new lines..
• Additional 12 bit ADC and DAC: useful for industrial automation applications.
• Additional COM and Parallel ports � Make more communication channels available.
• Power-over-Ethernet
• Radios � Long-range wireless radios, Xbee modules

Note:

New PC/104 boards are always in development. Contact Technologic Systems or visit the PC/104 peripherals page at our website for a complete and updated list of additional functionalities that can be added to the TS-7250 using the PC/104 bus. You can also contact Technologic Systems about your custom project design.

TS-ARM Development Kit

The TS-ARM Development Kit for the TS-7250 Single Board Computer includes all equipment necessary to boot into the operating system of choice and start working. The development kit is highly recommended for a quick start on application development. The TS-ARM Development Kit contains a 256 or 512 MB Flash drive (Compact Flash for 7200, USB for 7250 and 7260) which includes:

• a self-hosting ARM installation of the Debian Linux 2.0 distribution compiled for ARM
• gcc 2.95.4 and gcc 3.0 compiler with full tool-chain
• Build tools and source for JFFS/YAFFS file system in on-board NAND Flash.
• Hardware test routines source code and other example source code
• Debian package system: apt-get, tasksel, dselect The development kit additionally includes:
• USB Compact Flash reader for TS-7200
• 5 VDC regulated power supply (international versions available)
• NULL modem cable
• Adapter cable from 10-pin header to DB9
• Various cables for connection DIO, LCD, Keypad, etc.
• Development CD with complete TS-Kernel source, manuals, example code, etc.
• Printed supporting documentation for TS-72XX's Hardware, Linux for ARM and Development Kit.

Note:

Single Board Computer is not included on the Development Kit (sold separately).

Software and Support

Technologic Systems provides:

• Free system software and documentation updates available on our web site
• Free technical support by phone, fax, or email
• 30-day, money back guarantee on evaluation units
• One-year, full warranty

Linux OS Support

The ARM processor (the EP9302) comes from Cirrus and the platform is very similar to the Cirrus EDB9302 evaluation board. Cirrus has strongly promoted running Linux on this chip and has done most of the legwork in creating a patch set to the Linux 2.4 kernels, but we have also had to modify the Linux Kernel (TS-Kernel) so it can support the 8MB onboard Flash chip (via mtd drivers), the compact flash IDE driver, and the A/D converter. If you want to use Linux and aren't tied to the x86 architecture, the TS-72XX boards can be very cost-effective.

The TS-72XX SBC's are shipped standard with the compact TS-Linux embedded operating system installed in the on-board Flash memory. The fullfeatured Debian Linux can also be used with an NFS root file system or larger Flash drives, such as Compact Flash cards, SD cards and USB flash drives. The TS-Kernel used is based upon the version 2.4.26, patched and compiled for the Cirrus EP9302 ARM920T processor, and is real-time capable through RTAI.

The root file system used by the Linux OS can be any of the following:

• JFFS/YAFFS file system image in the on-board Flash (if using RedBoot, it should include the option root=/dev/mtdblock1 to instruct the kernel to boot here)
• EXT2 file system image in the Compact Flash card (if using RedBoot, it should include the option root=/dev/hda)
• NFS root, via Ethernet port (if using RedBoot, it should include the option root=/dev/nfs nfsroot=<IP>:<DIRECTORY> ip=dhcp)

Note:

The TS-Kernel supports the Real-Time Application Interface (RTAI project), making the embedded operating system capable of handling applications with hard real-time restrictions.

Other OS Support

The TS-7250 can be loaded with other operating systems such as Windows CE, NetBSD, etc. Technologic Systems will provide support for these, and possibly other operating systems, in the future. Currently, only Linux and NetBSD are supported on the TS-7250.

Getting Started

Installation Procedure

Before performing any set up or placement procedures, take the precautions outlined in this section.

Handling the Board Safely

Be sure to take appropriate Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) precautions. Disconnect the power source before moving, cabling, or performing any set up procedures.

WARNING:

Inappropriate handling may cause damage to the board.

Setup and Installation Instructions

Follow these guidelines for safety and maximum product performance:

• Observe local health and safety requirements and guidelines for manual material

handling

Setup Tools

Depending on placement and cabling, you may need the following tools:

• Small flat-blade screwdriver
• Small Phillips screwdriver

Setup Procedure

After locating, setting up, grounding, and cabling the TS-7250:

• Apply power
• Monitor the TS-7250 using a terminal emulator to verify that the board is operating properly

Note:

Your board might include a screw power connector on the power input. Notice this connector is removible. Please pull this connectior off before applying power.

Disconnecting AC Power

• Unplug from the power source.
• Disconnect other cables as required.

Console and Power Up

The TS-72XX SBC's have no video controller or keyboard interface. This was done to keep the board size small and the cost low. COM1 is typically used as a console port to interface the TS-72XX to a standard terminal emulation program on a Host PC. An ANSI terminal or a PC running a terminal emulator is required to communicate with your Embedded PC. Simply connect an ANSI terminal (or emulator) to COM1 (DB9 female connector) using a null modem cable (this is included in the TS-ARM Development Kit), using serial parameters of 115,200 baud, 8 data bits, no parity, no flow control, 1 stop bit, and make sure jumper JP2 is installed. If you are running Linux, the minicom program works well, Windows users can run the Hyperterm application. Technologic Systems offers a null modem cable with both 25 pin and 9 pin connectors at each end as part number CB7-05. Some systems also require the 10-pin header to 9-pin Sub-D adapter which is P/N: RC-DB9.

The console can be changed to COM2 by installing JP4 (with JP2 also installed). If your application does not require a console or both COM ports are required, then removing the jumper JP2 easily disables all console output. Connect a regulated 5VDC, (1A minimum) power source using the included 2 screw terminal strip/connector. Please note the polarity printed on the board. The boot messages, by default, are all displayed on COM1 at 115200 baud.

Boot Sequence

The boot sequence has four distinct stages:

1. TS-BOOTROM messages
2. RedBoot ROM monitor messages
3. Linux Kernel messages
4. Login prompts

Upon power up, the board executes proprietary Technologic Systems boot-code, TSBOOTROM, then immediately executes RedBoot. RedBoot is a feature rich boot-ROM monitor, that allows manipulation of the on-board flash, JFFS2/YAFFS2 images, loading and execution of a kernel or executable from either tftp (trivial ftp), serial console, or from flash, and offers GDB debugging stubs.

If not interrupted by the user within one second, a pre-existing RedBoot script is executed, loading a default Linux kernel into memory from on-board flash. This will cause the preexisting JFFS2/YAFFS2 file-system to boot.

One can view the RedBoot defaults for the board, as well as the default script, by entering at the RedBoot command prompt:

$ fconfig -l

The defaults can be changed by simply entering �fconfig� at the RedBoot prompt and answering the prompts. A final chance to write or discard the changes to the board will be given by RedBoot.

The default script instructs RedBoot to load the Linux kernel from the flash, and instruct the Linux kernel to use the JFFS2/YAFFS2 image on the flash chip for its root file-system. The Linux kernel must be loaded into memory address 0x00218000. Loading the kernel from flash is done automatically by RedBoot in the default script with the following command:

$ fis load vlinux

After loading the kernel, the default script then executes the kernel with the following command:

$ exec -c "console=ttyAM0,115200 root=/dev/mtdblock1�

After the TS-Kernel is loaded, The login prompt is displayed. Type �root� at the login prompt, without a password. A Bash shell login prompt will then appear. At this point, the TS-7250 is executing the run-time Technologic Systems Linux kernel and accepting user commands.

Loading or Transferring Files

Three methods are available for transferring files between a desktop PC and your TS- 7250: Ethernet downloads, flash memory devices, and Zmodem downloads. Full descriptions of each are detailed below. Other programs that use serial ports to transfer should work as well.

Transferring Files via the Ethernet Port

The default JFFS Linux root file system includes a small FTP server that can be used for uploading/downloading of files across an Ethernet network. Simply point your preferred FTP client to your TS-7250 IP address (default is 192.168.0.50). You can login as root or any valid user previously created from the useradd utility. By default, the JFFS image will not accept anonymous FTP.

Transferring Files via Flash Memory Device

The TS-7250 removable Compact Flash card, an SD card or an USB flash memory card can be used to easily move files from a host system. We suggest using a low-cost SanDisk USB Compact Flash card or SD card interface for your host system. USB memory devices need no extra accessory to connect to the host PC. The flash memory devices can then be hot swapped (inserted or removed without rebooting the host PC).

Zmodem Downloads

Using the Zmodem protocol to send files to and from the TS-7250 SBC is simple and straightforward. The only requirement is a terminal emulation program that supports Zmodem, and virtually all do. If you are using Windows 95 or later for your development work, the HyperTerminal accessory works well. To download a file to the TS-7250 from your host PC, execute lrz at the Linux command line on the TS-7250 (while using console-redirection from within your terminal emulator) and begin the transfer with your terminal emulator. In HyperTerminal, this is 'Send File...' from the 'Transfer' menu. To upload a file from the TS-7250 to your host PC, execute lsz <FILENAME> at the Linux command line on the TS-7250 and start the transfer in your terminal emulator. Many emulators, HyperTerminal among them, will automatically begin the transfer themselves. Occasionally there may be errors in transmission due to background operations. This is not a problem -- Zmodem uses very accurate CRC checks to detect errors and simply resends bad data. Once the file transfer is complete the file is completely error free. For best results when using HyperTerminal, the hardware handshaking must be enabled in HyperTerminal.

Hardware Components

The following picture shows where the main headers, connectors and most important hardware components are located on the TS-7250. Understanding this picture will help you to follow the header-connector oriented organization of this manual. The blue marked objects on the picture are the on-board chips and components, while the red ones are the various on-board headers and connectors for peripherals.

Processor

Cirrus EP9302

The EP9302 features an advanced 200 MHz ARM920T processor design with a memory management unit (MMU) that allows support for high-level operating systems such as Linux, Windows CE, and other embedded operating systems. The ARM core operates from a 1.8 V supply, while the I/O operates at 3.3 V with power usage between 100 mW and 750 mW (dependent on speed). As a general-purpose processor, it provides a standard set of peripherals on board and a full set of Technologic Systems add-on peripherals via the standard PC/104 Bus.

The ARM920T's 32-bit architecture, with a five-stage pipeline, consisting of fetch, decode, execute, memory, and write stages, delivers very impressive performance at very low power. The EP9302 CPU has a 16 KB instruction cache and a 16 KB data cache to provide zero-cycle latency to the current program and data, or they can be locked to guarantee no-latency access to critical sections of instructions and data. For applications with instruction-memory size restrictions, the ARM920T�s compressed Thumb instruction set can be used to provide higher code density and lower Flash storage requirements.

EP9302 key features include:

• ARM (32-bit) and Thumb (16-bit compressed) instruction sets
• 32-bit Advanced Micro-Controller Bus Architecture (AMBA)
• 16 kbyte Instruction Cache with lockdown
• 16 kbyte Data Cache (programmable write-through or write-back) with lockdown
• MMU for Linux�, Microsoft� Windows� CE and other operating systems
• Translation Look Aside Buffers with 64 Data and 64 Instruction Entries
• Programmable Page Sizes of 1 Mbyte, 64 kbyte, 4 kbyte, and 1 kbyte
• Independent lockdown of TLB Entries

For further information about the EP9302 features, refer to the EP9301 User's Guide.

Note:

The EP9302 is identical silicon to the EP9301 except it is rated to run at 200 Mhz, instead of 166 Mhz. The available EP9301 User's Guide can still be used as the main reference manual.

MMU

The EP9031 features a Memory Management Unit, enabling high level operating systems such as Embedded Linux and Windows CE to run on the TS-7250. In the same way, the Linux TS-Kernel takes advantage of the MMU functionality. The MMU is controlled by page tables stored in system memory and is responsible for virtual address to physical address translation, memory protection through access permissions and domains, MMU cache and write buffer access. In doing so, software applications can access larger "virtual" memory space than the available physical memory size, allowing multiple programs to run and use the system memory simultaneously. For further information about the MMU functionalities, refer to the EP9301 User's Guide.

Interrupts

The EP9302 interrupt controller allows up to 54 interrupts to generate an Interrupt Request (IRQ) or Fast Interrupt Request (FIQ) signal to the processor core. Thirty-two hardware priority assignments are provided for assisting IRQ vectoring, and two levels are provided for FIQ vectoring. This allows time critical interrupts to be processed in the shortest time possible.

Internal interrupts may be programmed as active high or active low level sensitive inputs. GPIO pins programmed as interrupts may be programmed as active high level sensitive, active low level sensitive, rising edge triggered, falling edge triggered, or combined rising/falling edge triggered. The EP9302 interrupt controller also includes the following features:

• Supports 54 interrupts from a variety of sources (such as UARTs, GPIO and ADC)
• Routes interrupt sources to either the ARM920T�s IRQ or FIQ (Fast IRQ) inputs
• Three dedicated off-chip interrupt lines operate as active high level sensitive interrupts
• Any of the 19 GPIO lines maybe configured to generate interrupts
• Software supported priority mask for all FIQs and IRQs

Note:

For peripheral driver development purpose, notice that the external IRQ lines 5,6 and 7, which are ISA/X86 architecture based, are mapped to EP9302 external interrupt lines 22, 33 and 40, respectively. For further information about interrupts, including the EP9302 interrupt controller and map, refer to the EP9301 User's Guide, chapter 5.

Memory

TS-7250 uses three type of memory. The SDRAM is the fast access volatile memory used to run applications by the processor and the on-board flash is the non-volatile memory used for storage purpose. Flash memory may also be added using USB memory drivers. On-Board SDRAM

The TS-7250 uses 32 MB SDRAM technology to provide 32 or 64 MB of high-speed volatile memory. The memory is soldered directly to the board, making the TS-7250 more reliable in high-vibration environments. The TS-7250's RAM is not contiguous in the physical memory map of the EP9302. But the MMU is programmed to remap the blocks of RAM to appear as a contiguous block of memory at the very beginning of the virtual memory map. In the case of a 256 Megabit SDRAM chip (32 MB), it is located at 0 through 32 MB in the virtual memory map. Refer to the MMU section of this manual to understand how the physical memory is mapped and the virtual memory is translated.

Note:

It is possible to use larger sizes of the SDRAM chip than the standard 32 MB one. The TS-7250 is designed to accommodate both 32 MB and 64 MB chips, providing up to 128 MB of RAM memory. Contact Technologic Systems for larger SDRAM sizes.

Battery Backed SRAM

There is a peripheral board available for the TS-7250 named TS-NVRAM that adds 32K bytes or 128 Kbytes or 512K bytes of battery-backed SRAM. Battery backed SRAM provides non-volatile memory with very fast write times and unlimited write cycles, unlike Flash memory. This can be very important if the data is constantly being updated several times per minute, since Flash devices can wear-out after a few million write cycles. It also eliminates the latency that Flash memory has during write cycles, since Flash technology write cycles are about 10-100 times slower than read cycles. The TS-NVRAM peripheral board is located at the PC/104 memory space base address of 0x11AA_0000. This resource is a byte-wide memory device using a lithium battery that is guaranteed to last a minimum of 10 years with or without power applied.

On-Board NAND Flash

The TS-7250 uses a NAND Flash chip for its on-board Flash resource. The physical address of the Flash chip is 0x6000_0000. The first 16KB is reserved for the TSBOOTROM code. The TS-BOOTROM code initializes various internal configuration registers for proper operation, and initializes and tests the SDRAM. The last 3 MB are reserved for the RedBoot ROM monitor, RedBoot FIS (Flash Image System) and RedBoot FCONFIG (Flash configuration). The Linux kernel shipped by default is pre-loaded in the FIS and the default boot script and Ethernet MAC address are contained in the FCONFIG. You may also use the RedBoot FIS to store and load images that contain eCos applications or other OS/RTOS boot loaders. The rest of the on-board flash is used for the Linux YAFFS2 file system. This is a journaling file system that is aware of the wear-out mechanism of the NAND flash and incorporates ECC algorithms at the file system level to maximize Flash lifetime. It is also extremely tolerant of power failures during file write sequences. The entire Flash chip can be write-protected by removing Jumper 3. When JP3 is not installed, the Flash chip becomes a read-only resource.

Note:

It is possible to use larger sizes of the NAND Flash than the standard 32 MB chip. The TS-7250 is designed to accommodate both 32 MB and 128 MB chips, providing up to 256 MB of on-board flash. Contact Technologic Systems for larger Flash sizes.

Note:

The YAFFS1 file system runs on the TS-7250 boards that feature NAND chips with 512 byte page size, enabling up to 128 MB of on-board flash. The YAFFS2 file system supports the new NAND technology, with 2k page size, hence it will be installed on TS-7250 boards that are configured with 128-256 MB of flash.

USB Flash Drive or Compact Flash Card

Additional non-volatile storage may be added with a USB flash drive or a Compact Flash card. These devices supply additional non-volatile storage either for data or for a complete operation system distribution, such as Debian. A tar-file of Debian is available on the Technologic Systems website. Alternatively, the developer's kit includes a USB flash thumb-drive or Compact Flash card pre-loaded with Debian. Flash memory provided by these devices behaves much as a hard drive does with sizes ranging from 32MB to 1GB. These products are inherently more rugged than a hard drive since they are completely solid-state with no moving parts. However, they have the added advantage of being removable media Use of a Compact Flash card with TS-7250 SBC or higher requires a USB Compact flash adapter, which will also be included in the TS-ARM Development Kit if requested. The USB flash drive has the advantage over a CF card in that the USB drive can be hot swapped. Note Drivers are available in the TS-Linux distribution to support USB flash drives. One can load Debian OS with two scripts provided by the on-board flash TS-Linux file system. First, invoke /usr/bin/loadUSBModules.sh, then run the script /usr/bin/loadUSB.sh to chroot into the Debian OS.

Glue Logic CPLD

The TS-72XX ARM SBC's include a CPLD (a Xilinx 9572 on TS-7200 and TS-7250, or an Altera MAXII on TS-7260) which is responsible for taking control over the internal components communication through glue logic implementation. For instance, the CPLD is used to control the NAND flash through internal registers configuration. The CPLD handles control signals on the PC104 bus, has a watchdog timer, enables jumper settings reading, handles the reset button, interfaces to the real-time clock and controls the EEPROM chip select. It also implements peripheral features that, together with EP9302 modules, makes available an advanced set of communication ports, DIO pins, ADC converters, and others.

The inclusion of a CPLD on the SBC allows customized programming for customers with special needs, without having to do a more expensive board redesign. For example, the MAXII CPLD on the TS-7260 can be configured with three different cores:

• 2TTLCOM option: 2 extra TTL-only serial ports with TX enable signals and that includes a very simple GPIO core (data direction register and data register only).
• TS-XDIO option: uber-GPIO that can do quadrature, PWM, freq-counter, pulse timing, IRQ and DRQ, etc
• SDSOCKET option: a special core for a SD interface that requires a special Linux driver module to be of use.

The CPLD can be programmed using the JTAG header and special software/hardware supporting tools. Contact Technologic Systems for support on CPLD programming software and tools.

Real-Time Clock

The TS-7250 optionally supports a Non-volatile Battery-backed real-time clock (RTC) which is soldered onto the board. This option uses an ST Micro M48T86PC1 module for the real-time clock function. This module contains the lithium battery, 32.768 kHz crystal, and a RTC chip with 114 bytes of battery-backed CMOS RAM. It will maintain clock operation for a minimum of 10 years in the absence of power. The 114 bytes of non-volatile RAM, physically located in the RTC chip, are available to the user. Contact Technologic Systems for driver support. The RTC is accessed using two registers. The write-only index register is located at physical address location 0x1080_0000 and the RTC data register is location at physical address location 0x1170_0000. These are byte-wide registers with the Index Register property of write only. The Data Register has a read/write property. Valid Index Register values are between 0 and 127, decimal. The first 14 index locations are used for accessing the RTC Time and Date registers. The next 114 locations are non-volatile RAM locations. This option is NOT compatible with the TS-5620, a peripheral board that also uses an ST Micro RTC module for real-time clock functionality. While the two options are mutually exclusive, it is possible to use the TS-5620 peripheral board on a TS-7250 that does not have the on-board RTC option installed. Any source code that utilizes the RTC is compatible with both optional installations. The TS-Kernel shipped with the boards includes support for the TS-5620 peripheral board.

Watchdog Timer

The TS-7250 incorporates a Watchdog Timer (WDT) unit. The WDT can be used to prevent a system "hanging" due to a software failure. The WDT causes a full system reset when the WDT times out, allowing a guaranteed recovery time from a software error. To prevent a WDT timeout, the application must periodically "feed" the WDT by writing a specific value to a specific memory location.

Register	Address	Access
WDT Control register	0x2380_0000	Read/Write
WDT Feed register	0x23C0_0000	Write Only

The WDT Control register must be initialized with the timeout period desired. This may be as short as 250 mS or may be as long as 8 seconds. After the WDT has been enabled, the WDT counter begins. The application software can reset this counter at any time by "feeding" the WDT. If the WDT counter reaches the timeout period, then a full system reset occurs.

Value	MSB	MID	LSB	Timeout Period
0x00	0	0	0	Watchdog Disabled
0x01	0	0	1	250 mS
0x02	0	1	0	500 mS
0x03	0	1	1	1 second
0x04	1	0	0	-- Reserved
0x05	1	0	1	2 seconds
0x06	1	1	0	4 seconds
0x07	1	1	1	8 seconds

In order to load the WDT Control register, the WDT must first be "fed", and then within 30 uS, the WDT control register must be written. Writes to this register without first doing a "WDT feed", have no affect. In order to clear the WDT counter (feeding the watchdog), a value of Hex 05 must be written to the WDT Feed register.

By default, a user process does not have the physical address space (access) of the watchdog registers mapped. When using the Linux OS, the watchdog can be reached from user C code by using the mmap() system call on the /dev/mem special file to map the areas of physical address space into process user address space. See section 3.4.

WARNING:

Use only the Watchdog Timer implemented by Technologic Systems in the CPLD. The Watchdog Timer included in the EP9302 has serious problems.

Feedback and Update to this Manual

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FCC Advisory

This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly (that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions), may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device in accordance with the specifications in Part 15 of FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the owner will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

If this equipment does cause interference, which can be determined by turning the unit on and off, the user is encouraged to try the following measures to correct the interference:

Reorient the receiving antenna. Relocate the unit with respect to the receiver. Plug the unit into a different outlet so that the unit and receiver are on different branch circuits. Ensure that mounting screws and connector attachment screws are tightly secured. Ensure that good quality, shielded, and grounded cables are used for all data communications. If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for additional suggestions. The following booklets prepared by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may also prove helpful:

How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems (Stock No. 004-000-000345-4) Interface Handbook (Stock No. 004-000-004505-7) These booklets may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

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