1. Introduction & Overview

The RCM2100 series is an advanced line of modules that incorporates the powerful Rabbit 2000 microprocessor, flash memory, static RAM and an RJ-45 Ethernet port, all on a PCB the size of a business card.

The RCM2100 series modules are designed for use on a motherboard that supplies power and interface to real-world I/O devices. Up to 40 pins of I/O and four serial ports are available for system interfacing.

To accommodate a variety of user and production needs, the RCM2100 family includes versions with varying amounts of onboard memory. Models with and without the Ethernet port are available, to permit simultaneous development of Ethernet-capable and cheaper non-Ethernet versions of production systems. All modules within the family are pin-for-pin compatible and may be installed or swapped in a matter of minutes.

1.1 RCM2100 Series Description

There are four production models in the RCM2100 module series, with an additional module that can be ordered in production quantities. If the standard models do not serve a user's needs, other variations can be specified and ordered in production quantities. (Contact your Z-World or Rabbit Semiconductor sales representative for details.)

Table 1 below provides a summary of all the models in the RCM2100 family.

Table 1. RCM2100 Versions

Feature	RCM2100	RCM2110	RCM2120	RCM2130
Microprocessor	Rabbit 2000 running at 22.1 MHz
Flash Memory	512k	128k	512k	128k
Static RAM	512k	256k	512k	256k
General-Purpose I/O	34	34	40	40
Ethernet	RJ-45	RJ-45	None	None
Serial Ports	4, high-speed, CMOS-compatible; 2 configurable as clocked ports; 1 clocked port dedicated to programming port use.

1.1.1 Standard Ethernet Versions

There are two RCM2100 series modules that incorporate an Ethernet port:

RCM2100

The RCM2100 is the most fully-equipped module in the family, with the Ethernet port, 512k flash memory and 512k static RAM. The Ethernet port uses portions of two of the Rabbit 2000 microprocessor's parallel ports, reducing the available number of I/O pins to 34. This is the version included in the Development Kit.

RCM2110

The RCM2110 is identical to the RCM2100 except that it is equipped with 128k of SRAM and 256k of flash memory.

1.1.2 Standard Non-Ethernet Versions

To accommodate developers and users who want the RCM2100's footprint and capabilities other than the integrated Ethernet port, two standard versions of the module areavailable without the Ethernet hardware:

RCM2120

The RCM2120 is equipped with 512k flash memory and 512k static RAM, but does not include the Ethernet port hardware. In its place, ports D and E of the Rabbit 2000 microprocessor are enabled, giving this module 40 I/O pins.

RCM2130

The RCM2130 is identical to the RCM2120 except that it is equipped with 128k of SRAM and 256k of flash memory.

1.1.3 Other Factory Versions

To further accommodate developers with specific needs, an additional version of the RCM2100 module is available on special order:

RCM2115

The RCM2115 is equipped with 256k flash memory and 128k static RAM as well as the Ethernet port. This version does not include the RJ-45 jack and associated interface transformers. The Ethernet signals are brought to a header for use by the production system. (Users will have to provide the interface components within their design.)

In addition to these standard models, production quantities of modules with custom configurations of memory, I/O and Ethernet capability can be ordered.

1.1.4 Physical & Electrical Specifications

Table 2 lists the basic specifications for all models in the RCM2100 series.

Table 2. RCM2100 Specifications 

Specification	Data
Power Supply	4.75-5.25 V DC (140 mA at 22.1 MHz clock speed)
Size	2.0" × 3.5" × 0.85" (51mm × 89 mm × 22 mm)
Environmental	-40°C to 70°C, 5-95% humidity, noncondensing

NOTE	For complete product specifications, see Appendix A in the RabbitCore RCM2100 User's Manual.

The RCM2100 modules have two 40-pin headers to which cables can be connected, or which can be plugged into matching sockets on a production device. The pinouts for these connectors are shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. RCM2100 Pinout

1.2 Development Software

The RCM2100 series of modules uses the Dynamic C development environment for rapid creation and debugging of runtime applications. Dynamic C provides a complete development environment with integrated editor, compiler and source-level debugger. It interfaces directly with the target system, eliminating the need for complex and unreliable in-circuit emulators.

Dynamic C must be installed on a Windows workstation with at least one free serial (COM) port for communication with the target system. See Chapter 3, "Software Installation & Overview," for complete information on installing Dynamic C.

NOTE	The RCM2100 series modules require Dynamic C v7.04 or later for development. A compatible version is included on the Development Kit CD-ROM.

1.3 How to Use This Manual

This Getting Started manual is intended to give users a quick but solid start with the RCM2100 series modules. It does not contain detailed information on the module hardware capabilities, the Dynamic C development environment, or the TCP/IP software support for the integrated Ethernet port. Most users will want more detailed information on some or all of these topics in order to put the RCM2100 module to effective use.

1.3.1 Additional Product Information

Detailed information about the RCM2100 series will be found in the RabbitCore RCM2100 User's Manual, provided on the accompanying CD-ROM in both HTML and Adobe PDF format.

Some advanced users may choose to skip the rest of this introductory manual and proceed directly with the detailed hardware and software information in the User's Manual.

NOTE	We recommend that anyone not thoroughly familiar with Z-World controllers at least read through the rest of this manual to gain the necessary familiarity to make use of the more advanced information.

1.3.2 Additional Reference Information

In addition to the product-specific information contained in the RabbitCore RCM2100 User's Manual, several higher-level reference manuals are provided in HTML and PDF form on the accompanying CD-ROM. Advanced users will find these references valuable in developing systems based on the RCM2100 series modules:

• Dynamic C Premier User's Manual
• An Introduction to TCP/IP
• Dynamic C TCP/IP User's Manual
• Rabbit 2000 Microprocessor User's Manual

1.3.3 Using Online Documentation

We provide the bulk of our user and reference documentation in two electronic formats, HTML and Adobe PDF. We do this for several reasons.

We believe that providing all users with our complete library of product and reference manuals is a useful convenience. However, printed manuals are expensive to print, stock and ship. Rather than include and charge for manuals that every user may not want, or provide only product-specific manuals, we choose to provide our complete documentation and reference library in electronic form with every development kit and with our Dynamic C development environment.

NOTE	The most current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader can always be downloaded from Adobe's web site at http://www.adobe.com. We recommend that you use version 4.0 or later.

Providing this documentation in electronic form saves an enormous amount of paper by not printing copies of manuals that users don't need. It reduces the number of outdated manuals we have to discard from stock as well, and it makes providing a complete library of manuals an almost cost-free option. For one-time or infrequent reference, electronic doc uments are more convenient than printed ones--after all, they aren't taking up shelf or desk space!

Finding Online Documents

The online documentation is installed along with Dynamic C, and an icon for the documentation menu is placed on the workstation's desktop. Double-click this icon to reach the menu. If the icon is missing, create a new desktop icon that points to default.htm in the docs folder, found in the Dynamic C installation folder.

The latest versions of all documents are always available for free, unregistered download from our web sites as well.

Printing Electronic Manuals

We recognize that many users prefer printed manuals for some uses. Users can easily print all or parts of those manuals provided in electronic form. The following guidelines may be helpful:

• Print from the Adobe PDF versions of the files, not the HTML versions.
• Print only the sections you will need to refer to more than once.
• Print manuals overnight, when appropriate, to keep from tying up shared resources during the work day.
• If your printer supports duplex printing, print pages double-sided to save paper and increase convenience.
• If you do not have a suitable printer or do not want to print the manual yourself, most retail copy shops (e.g. Kinkos, AlphaGraphics, etc.) will print the manual from the PDF file and bind it for a reasonable charge--about what we would have to charge for a printed and bound manual.