1. Introduction

The RCM3000 RabbitCore module is designed to be the heart of embedded control systems. The RCM3000 features an integrated Ethernet port and provides for LAN and Internet-enabled systems to be built as easily as serial-communication systems.

The RCM3000 has a Rabbit 3000 microprocessor operating at 29.4 MHz, static RAM, flash memory, two clocks (main oscillator and timekeeping), and the circuitry necessary for reset and management of battery backup of the Rabbit 3000's internal real-time clock and the static RAM. Two 34-pin headers bring out the Rabbit 3000 I/O bus lines, parallel ports, and serial ports.

The RCM3000 receives its +3.3 V power from the customer-supplied motherboard on which it is mounted. The RabbitCore RCM3000 can interface with all kinds of CMOS-compatible digital devices through the motherboard.

1.1 RCM3000 Features

• Small size: 1.85" x 2.65"" x 0.86"
  (47 mm × 67 mm × 22 mm)

• Microprocessor: Rabbit 3000 running at 29.4 MHz

• 52 parallel 5 V tolerant I/O lines: 44 configurable for I/O, 4 fixed inputs, 4 fixed outputs

• Two additional digital inputs, two additional digital outputs

• External reset input

• Alternate I/O bus can be configured for 8 data lines and 6 address lines (shared with parallel I/O lines), I/O read/write

• Ten 8-bit timers (six cascadable) and one 10-bit timer with two match registers

• 256K-512K flash memory, 128K-512K SRAM

• Real-time clock

• Watchdog supervisor

• Provision for customer-supplied backup battery via connections on header J2

• 10Base-T RJ-45 Ethernet port

• 10-bit free-running PWM counter and four width registers

• Two-channel Input Capture can be used to time input signals from various port pins

• Two-channel Quadrature Decoder accepts inputs from external incremental encoder modules

• Six CMOS-compatible serial ports: maximum asynchronous baud rate of 1.84 Mbps, maximum synchronous baud rate of 7.35 Mbps. Four ports are configurable as a clocked serial port (SPI), and two ports are configurable as SDLC/HDLC serial ports.

• Supports 1.15 Mbps IRDA transceiver

Appendix A, "RabbitCore RCM3000 Specifications," provides detailed specifications for the RCM3000.

In addition, two different RCM3000 models are available. In addition, the RCM3100 Series RabbitCore modules omit the RCM3000 Series' Ethernet connectivity, but offer a much smaller footprint, which is one-half the size of the RCM3000 Series.

1.2 Advantages of the RCM3000

• Fast time to market using a fully engineered, "ready to run" microprocessor core.

• Competitive pricing when compared with the alternative of purchasing and assembling individual components.

• Easy C-language program development and debugging

• Utility programs for rapid production loading of programs.

• Generous memory size allows large programs with tens of thousands of lines of code, and substantial data storage.

• Integrated Ethernet port for network connectivity, royalty-free TCP/IP software.

1.3 Development and Evaluation Tools

A complete Development Kit, including a Prototyping Board and Dynamic C development software, is available for the RCM3000. The Development Kit puts together the essentials you need to design an embedded microprocessor-based system rapidly and efficiently.

See the RabbitCore RCM3000 Getting Started Manual for complete information on the Development Kit.

1.4 How to Use This Manual

This user's manual is intended to give users detailed information on the RCM3000 module. It does not contain detailed information on the Dyna-mic 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 RCM3000 module to effective use.

1.4.1 Additional Product Information

Introductory information about the RCM3000 and its associated Development Kit and Prototyping Board will be found in the printed RabbitCore RCM3000 Getting Started Manual, which is also provided on the accompanying CD-ROM in both HTML and Adobe PDF format.

We recommend that any users unfamiliar with Z-World products, or those who will be using the Prototyping Board for initial evaluation and development, begin with at least a read-through of the Getting Started manual.

In addition to the product-specific information contained in the RabbitCore RCM3000 Getting Started Manual and the RabbitCore RCM3000 User's Manual (this 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 RCM3000 modules:

• Dynamic C Premier User's Manual

• An Introduction to TCP/IP

• Dynamic C TCP/IP User's Manual

• Rabbit 3000 Microprocessor User's Manual

1.4.2 Online Documentation

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, use your browser to find and load 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.