Quantum QTM300CA User Manual

QTM300CA USER'S GUIDE

Cloning Adapter for the QT3xx family of QProx™ ICs

Description

The QTM300CA is a cloning
adapter designed to interface
between any QT3xx 8-pin
sensor IC (QT300, QT310,
QT320) and a PC or other
host device.

This adapter permits the
designer to upload settings
from a PC into the target chip
or to read the settings inside a
chip. The supplied cable
allows the board to plug
directly into both the E3A and
E3B eval boards.

For production use, the target
PCB can have a similar connector which allows the QTM300CA to upload settings on
a mass basis. The cloning process takes under 1 second to complete.

The QTM300CA’s eeprom memory permits the board to be used as a stand-alone
cloning adapter once it is programmed from a PC with the desired setups. An onboard
socket also allows the user to program QT3xx parts individually. The QTM300CA can
also be used to read back and verify the settings in QT3xx parts.

For the QT300 continuous IC, this adapter also provides the additional functionality of
interfacing to that device’s SPI port to download signal data, which can then be
observed directly on the PC in real time using QT3View software.

Materials
Provided

QT3View PC software is included, and updates can be downloaded from Quantum’s
web site.

You should find the following materials included with your QTM300CA:

 1x QTM300CA board
 1x RS232 DB-9 serial extension cable
 1x RC02 (IDC to IDC) clone cable

RC01 (IDC to 7 way, for older E3B boards) is available on request.

 1x 9V battery
 1x QT3View user guide
 1x CD Rom with QT3View software (or, download latest from www.qprox.com)

You will also need: A PC running any recent version of Windows (98, 98SE, NT4,
2000, XP) upwards, with a free serial port (Com 1 or Com 2), and if desired a bench
power supply to replace the battery (9 - 15V DC) for long term use.

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Overview

The QTM300CA can operate in two basic modes:

- PC-driven mode

- Stand-alone mode

In PC-driven mode, you can -

a. Load Setup information into it for all three part types for use in stand-alone mode,

from a PC running QT3View.

b. Communicate directly from the PC to the QT3xx part without disturbing the

contents of the QTM300CA.

c. Read back the Setups of any QT3xx device to your PC.

d. View actual signal data on-screen in real time (QT300 only).

e. Store many Setups files to disk, and program your devices from them.

In Stand-alone mode, you can -

a. Auto-select which device (QT300 or other) will be cloned.

b. Load Setups information stored in the QTM300CA to a QT3xx device, for example

in a production setting.

Which mode?

Quick Start

PC mode is entered automatically when a PC running QT3View software is connected
to the QTM300CA. If a PC is not connected or running QT3View, the board defaults to
Stand-alone mode.

Use PC mode for development, and Stand-alone mode for production.

To begin using the board right away

1. Connect the QTM300CA to a PC using the serial cable (included). Make sure the
serial port is not being used by any other application or driver.

2. Connect the QTM300CA to the target board’s 10-pin IDC cloning header; the

of the cable connects to the pin marked with a white square.

stripe

3. Run QT3View on the PC.

4. Power up the target board and the QTM300CA.

QT3View will communicate with the QTM300CA and determine the specific QT3xx
variant installed on the target board. The appropriate tab for the detected part will
appear on top.

To show the current Setups in the chip, click the [ Sensor | Download from Chip ]
button (see page 5); the Setups on the tab will be updated with what is in the chip.

It is now possible to change the Setups from the PC using the selector boxes. The new
Setups become effective as soon as you make the change and will operate the next
time you power up the chip in its normal operating mode.

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When you are done making changes, unplug the cloning cable and reset the QT3xx
chip to cause it to recalibrate and run properly.

Note: The cloning adapter is tolerant of power sequencing; it does not matter whether
the cloning adapter or target is powered up or switched off first.

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Board Details

Figure 1 - Board Layout

Power Switch

Power

Connector

RS232

Connector

Cloning

Ribbon Cable

IC Programming

Socket

Program

Button

Selects between the onboard battery (right) or an external power source (left).

For external power, between +8 to +20 Volts DC. Power should be free from switching
noise and short-term fluctuations for best performance. A 9V battery is fine for short
term use, but make sure the battery does not drain to below 8V or erroneous operation
can occur.

Provides communications between the QTM300CA and the PC. It allows the user to
upload or download setups from the cloning adapter to the target QT3xx. The cable to
the PC should be an ‘extension’ type (wired 1:1), included.

Connects to the target board and can be connected whether or not the target is
powered. The cable has a stripe on one side; care should be taken not to reverse this
cable. This stripe aligns with pin 1 (white square) of the E3A or E3B board header.

The QTM300CA can be used to program QT3xx chips onboard. The board can accom­modate either a ZIF socket or a SMT socket (when used with appropriate adapters, not
included - see Figure 1 above and ZIF

Info, Page 11).

In Stand-alone mode, once the chip to be programmed is inserted, the QTM300CA will
detect the chip part number and display it on the ‘DEV0 and DEV1’ LEDs (see below).

If a QT3xx chip has been auto-detected, this button will clone Setups data from the
QTM300CA to the chip. The ‘PROG’ LED (see next section) indicates the programming
result. The QTM300CA can store three sources of data, one for each part type. The
correct source will be used to program the detected part.

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Status LEDs

PC

Indicates if QT3View software is communicating with the QTM300CA.
This LED will turn off five seconds after communications have stopped.

DEV0, DEV1

PROG

Displays the chip type connected via the ribbon cable or in the onboard socket:

DeviceDEV0DEV1

None-­QT300On­QT310-On
QT320OnOn

Indicates the programming status of the target chip in Stand-alone mode.

The PROG LED will light during the cloning process in Stand-alone mode.
Afterwards the LED will flash on/off 3 times to indicate completion:

Fast flashing: (0.1s between flashes) the clone process was a success.

Slow flashing: (1s between flashes) the clone process failed.

If the QTM300CA is not in communication with QT3View software, the PROG LED will
flash on and off.

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