EVAL-CONTROL BRD2Z - Analog Devices

Evaluation Board User Guide

UG-004

One Technology Way • P. O. Box 9106 • Norwood, MA 02062-9106, U.S.A. • Tel: 781.329.4700 • Fax: 781.461.3113 • www.analog.com

Understanding EVAL-CONTROL BRD2Z/EVAL-CONTROL BRD3Z PC Interface Issues

Please see the last page for an important warning and disclaimers. Rev. 0 | Page 1 of 8

INTRODUCTION

As PCs continue to evolve, differences become evident among the

manufactures of peripheral interfaces. This user guide details

some issues regarding the EVAL-CONTROL BRD2Z/EVAL-

CONTROL BRD3Z (ECB) and the parallel port (LPTn) of the

PC and providesguidelines for configuring and testing the port(s)

for compatibility.

LPT INTERFACE

When PCs were introduced, line printer (LPT) capabilities were

developed for Centronics-style dot matrix printers. In this

topology, the LPT was a basic, byte-wide, transmit-only interface.

As the industry evolved, the LPT was used for more interfaces,

such as tablets, scanners, and external tape drives. Recently, more

control has been adopted, and bidirectional mode has been

introduced. Unfortunately, manufacturers veered away from the

standards because a definitive standard was never clearly

established.

USING ECBS WITH THE ADC EVALUATION BOARDS

Analog Devices, Inc., offers many analog-to-digital converter

(ADC) evaluation boards that use the ECB to capture data and

transfer it to the PC host. The basic methodology is as follows:

1. PC software invokes a command to capture a packet of

converted results.

2. The ADC evaluation board parses requests and sends a

burst of conversion results to the ECB where the DSP

microcontroller packetizes and stores it on the local SRAM.

3. The DSP generates a ready status to upload the SRAM

contents to the PC host.

4. Conversion results are then massaged in data arrays and

displayed via the evaluation board software, such as

LabVIEW by National Instruments.

USING ECBS WITH PULSAR ADC EVALUATION

BOARDS

Following the previous guidelines , the evaluation boards

specific to the PulSAR high resolution SAR ADCs, mostly

falling under the EVAL-AD76xxCBZ (some EVAL-AD79xxCBZ),

use this interface with the exception of a dedicated driver,

GIVEIO.exe. The evaluation software for these ADCs was

developed with the National Instruments LabVIEW graphical

programming environment.

ECB SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For the PulSAR evaluation software, the ECB requires at least

one parallel port set in bidirectional mode. Note that this must

be a native port either on a laptop docking station, or for desktops,

one directly coming from the PC motherboard or PCI peripheral

expansion. The use of USB-to-LPT dongles is not allowed because

the GIVEIO driver needs a legacy LPT, preferably a 0x378, or,

more commonly, a LPT1.

Port type can be verified in the following two ways:

• The Windows® 2000/XP Operating Systems (Win OS)

Device Manager

• The basic input/output system (BIOS) of the PC

Check both to validate the installation and to minimize any

problems that can be encountered when attempting to use the

software.

Windows OS LPT Port Settings

To check the PC port settings, right-click on the My Computer

icon on your desktop, click Properties, and then click Hardware.

The dialog box shown in Figure 1 appears.

08174-001

Figure 1. Hardware Tab

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................................... 1

LPT Interface ..................................................................................... 1

Using ECBs with the ADC Evaluation Boards ............................. 1

Using ECBs with PulSAR ADC Evaluation Boards ..................... 1

ECB System Requirements .............................................................. 1

Revision History ................................................................................2

When All Else Fails .......................................................................7

RAM Test Failure ...........................................................................7

Conclusion .....................................................................................7

ESD Caution...................................................................................7

REVISION HISTORY

6/09—Revision 0: Initial Version

Evaluation Board User Guide UG-004

Rev. 0 | Page 3 of 8

Next, click the Device Manager button. The dialog box shown in

Figure 2 appears.

08174-002

Figure 2. Device Manager Screen

Expand Ports (COM & LPT) and click ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

(see Figure 3), or if it is set from the BIOS, click EPP.

08174-003

Figure 3. ECP Printer Port (LPT1) Screen

Set the port settings similar to the settings shown in Figure 4

and Figure 5, noting the Use this device (enable) and Never use

an interrupt settings. When a setting for using an interrupt is

selected, the PC can timeout indefinitely and it may need to be

rebooted; therefore, we do not recommended using an interrupt.

08174-004

Figure 4. ECP General Settings Tab

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Figure 5. ECP Port Settings Tab

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For the Resources tab, note the I/O space assignments and

make sure Use automatic settings is selected. If any device

conflicts are present, select another port.

08174-006

Figure 6. ECP Resources

PC BIOS LPT Port Configuration

The second method for confirming your port settings is to

check the basic input/output system (BIOS) of the PC. Note that

LPT ports of most PCs come configured in ECP mode from the

factory. However, BIOS settings can be checked and/or modified

without actually saving changes. To check BIOS settings, reboot

the PC and invoke the BIOS setup, which varies from

manufacturer to manufacturer. Some manufacturers use the Esc

key, some use the DEL key, and others use a function key (F1 to

F12). For most Dell PCs, F2 invokes the BIOS setup screen.

Click F2 after the PC is powered up. Sometimes an audible beep

sounds noting that the user setup is starting. When the setup

screen is invoked, it should appear similar to Figure 7.

08174-007

Figure 7. Dell BIOS Setup Screen

To check the LPT settings, scroll-down to Onboard Devices

and expand (usually with the Enter key), as shown Figure 9.

08174-008

Figure 8. Onboard Devices Menu (Collapsed)

The LPT port settings are shown in Figure 9 through Figure 11.

The mode should be set to Extended Capability Protocol (ECP).

If the PC does not have ECP (bidirectional) mode available, the

Enhanced Parallel Port protocol (EPP) mode can also be used.

08174-009

Figure 9. LPT Port Mode

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08174-010

Figure 10. Settings

08174-011

Figure 11. ECP Mode

When the LPT mode is configured properly, save the BIOS

(if changes were made) and exit. Exit is usually done with a

sequence of Esc, scrollbars, and Enter strokes, as shown in the

BIOS on-screen instructions for the system. After you exit the

setup, Windows starts.

PulSAR Evaluation Board Software Installation

This user guide is only intended for the ECB versions of the

software. The software for evaluating the Analog Devices PulSAR®

ADCs is included in the evaluation board box on the enclosed

CD or via download from the website (www.analog.com). Consult

the appropriate document for installing the software and follow

the instructions on the screen. Note that the user installing the

software must have full system administrator privileges because

the Giveio driver needs to overwrite some of the Windows OS

LPT configurations.

When prompted to install the Giveio driver, click Ye s

(see Figure 12).

08174-012

Figure 12. Giveio Installation Window

Note that the PC must be manually rebooted for the driver to

take effect (see Figure 13).

08174-013

Figure 13. Reboot Notice Screen

After installing the software and rebooting the PC reboot, run

the software by selecting C:\Program Files\Analog Devices\

High Res ADCs\ADC.exe (or a similar executable). If downloading

the compressed version from the Analog Devices website, extract

the files first and then run setup.exe. If a correct LPT port is found,

you will hear a series of audible clicks from the ECB followed by

a flashing LED. On the PulSAR evaluation board, a green LED

is usually lit, indicating that the ADC is busy converting. If the

green LED is lit, the evaluation board software can be used as

described in the appropriate evaluation board data sheet.

Evaluation Software Port Problems

The three most common LPT issues encountered include the

following:

• Multiple ports detected

• LPT Port(s) present but not in ECP (bidirectional) mode

• No LPT ports present

Multiple Ports Detected

This is a simple issue because the software just needs to know

which LPT the ECB is connected to. When there are multiple LPT

ports, a message similar to the one shown in Figure 14 displays.

PORT LIST

08174-014

Figure 14. Port List

Note that the PC used for this user guide only had one LPT

port; therefore, only the 0x378 port was identified. When

multiple LPT ports are present and detected, a list of ports

appears in the grey drop-down box.

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No LPT Ports Present

Following the steps outlined in the Evaluation Software Port

Problems and Multiple Ports Detected sections should aid in

alleviating this issue. If no ports are detected, the dialog box shown in Figure 16 appears.

08174-016

LPT Port Present But Not in ECP (Bidirectional) Mode

If some ports exist but are not set to ECP (bidirectional) mode,

the message shown in Figure 15 appears.

08174-015

Figure 16. No Ports Detected Screen

The steps outlined in the previous sections should aid in alleviating

this issue.

PortTest.exe

A simple program to test the LPT ports is available on the CD,

under the ECB subdirectory, and on the Analog Devices website.

Download the compressed (zipped) file and extract the contents

to a temporary directory. Run setup.exe and follow the instructions

onscreen. If the PulSAR evaluation board software or the Giveio

driver was previously installed, then the PC does not need to be

rebooted.

Figure 15. Port Not Set to Bidirectional Mode Screen

Following the steps outlined in the previous sections should aid in

alleviating this issue.

When the installation is complete, run the C:\Program Files\

Analog Devices\PulSAR ADC Evaluation Tools\PortTest.exe

program.

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08174-017

Figure 17. Port Test Program

This program executes automatically and displays data similar to

Figure 17, noting the nomenclature for the valid and invalid

settings. This program can stay open while you reconfigure the

LPT port settings in the Windows Device Manager. To check if

the updated setting works, simply click the right arrow to run

the program.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS

Sometimes, the LPT port of a PC is not configurable for the

PulSAR evaluation software. The port settings may show LPT1

or ECP mode, and the software can still not work. If this occurs, try

using another PC.

RAM TEST FAILURE

In addition, a RAM test failure can occur; however, this error is

not related to the LPT port problems. If a RAM test failure

occurs, it can usually be corrected by returning the ECB to

where it was purchased in exchange for another one.

08174-018

Figure 18. RAM Test Failure Screen

CONCLUSION

This document describes the LPT port of the PC and provides

some configuration options for use with the EVAL-CONTROL

BRDZ2/EVAL-CONTRL BRDZ3 when used as a data capture

board for the Analog Devices high resolution, PulSAR ADC

evaluation boards. This user guide discusses some of the

challenges that tools developers and applications engineers have

uncovered for a variety of hardware, firmware, and software

configurations. The USB-based EVAL-CED1Z data capture board

drivers are now readily available for the PulSAR ADCs.

ESD CAUTION

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NOTES

Evaluation boards are only intended for device evaluation and not for production purposes. Evaluation boards are supplied “as is” and without warranties of any kind, express,

implied, or statutory including, but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under

any patents or other intellectual property by application or use of evaluation boards. Information furnished by Analog Devices is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no

responsibility is assumed by Analog Devices for its use, nor for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties that may result from its use. Analog Devices reserves the

right to change devices or specifications at any time without notice. Trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Evaluation boards are not

authorized to be used in life support devices or systems.

registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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