µCore Starter Kit Quickstart Guide

For those of you in a hurry!

You will need a µCore starter kit and a suitable power supply (+12VDC 300mA).

Hardware Setup

1. Check the contents of your Kit against the shipping list.
2. Insert the µCore module in the socket on the µCore carrier (make sure it is the right way around)
3. Connect the µPod to your PC using the serial cable provided
4. Plug the µPod into the µCore carrier µPod interface (again check orientation)
5. Connect the µCore carrier to a suitable power supply
6. All done.

Software Setup

1. Place the CD in your CD drive.
2. Copy the directory "gcc-h8" from the CD to the root of your hard drive.
3. Copy the directory "project" from the CD to your desktop.
4. If you wish you can rename the new project directory.
5. Right click on the desktop project directory and select "Properties".
6. If the "Read Only" box is checked, uncheck it and accept.
7. You are now ready to develop for µCore.

Developing for µCore

1. Enter your new project directory, double click "Command Prompt".
2. At the command line type "ed main.c"
3. Notepad will open and display the contents of main.c You can change the message in the printf statement if you wish.
4. Save main.c & exit Notepad.
5. At the command line type "buildall", the buildall script will now compile your program.
6. At the command line type "flash".
7. The uFlash-H8 utility will now program your µCore with the application & run it.
8. Congratulations, you are now an embedded µCore programmer.

What went wrong?

The most likely problems are:

The command prompt didn't work

You need to create a new command prompt shortcut for your system, to do this:

1. Remove the current shortcut by moving it to the Recycle Bin
2. Locate the Command Prompt for your system and create a shortcut in your project directory
3. Right click the shortcut and select properties
4. Select the Shortcut tab on the properties window
5. After the current contents of the Target field add the text "/K .\script\setenv.bat" (excluding the quotemarks - "")
6. Apply these changes and quit the preferences.

Command prompt reported "out of environment space"

1. Right click your command prompt shortcut and select properties
2. Select the Memory tab
3. In the "Initial environment" field, enter 1024
4. Apply changes and exit properties.

The uFlash-H8 driver was unable to open the communications port

The flash script defaults to using com1, to modify this:

1. In the project\script directory, edit the file flash.bat
2. Change the phrase -com1 to reflect the com port configuration on your PC.