Rev. 0.7 7/13
Copyright © 2013 by Silicon Laboratories
CP2104-EK
C P 2 1 0 4 - E K
C P 2 1 0 4 E
V A L U A T I O N
K
I T
U
S E R
’
S
G
U I D E
1. Kit Contents
The CP2104 Evaluation Kit contains the following items:
CP2104 Evaluation Board
RS232 Serial Cable
USB Cable
DVD
Quick Start Guide
2. Relevant Documentation
Application notes can be found on the Interface Application Notes page for all fixed-function devices:
www.silabs.com/interface-appnotes
.
AN721: CP210x/CP211x Device Customization Guide
— Customize the VID, PID, serial number, and
other parameters stored in the CP2104 one-time programmable ROM.
AN197: Serial Communications Guide for CP210x
— Programming guide for using the Virtual COM Port
(VCP) drivers.
AN169: USBXpress Programmer’s Guide
— Programming guide for using the USBXpress drivers.
AN220: C8051F32x and CP210x USB Driver Customization
— VCP or USBXpress driver customization
tool.
AN223: Port Configuration and GPIO for CP210x
— Programming guide and DLL for runtime control of
the CP2104 GPIO pins.
AN571: CP210x Virtual COM Port Interface
— USB interface details for CP210x devices.
3. Software Setup
The Software Development Kit (SDK) for the
CP2104
kit is included on the kit DVD. The latest version of this
installer can also be downloaded from the
www.silabs.com/interface-software
website. This package includes:
Device Customization Utility (AN721)
Documentation
—
data sheet, application notes, user’s guide, quick start guide, etc.
CP210x Virtual COM Port (VCP) Drivers
Software
— Driver Customization Utility (AN220) and programming examples
The Windows installer should launch automatically after inserting the
DVD
. For Mac and Linux, browse to the
appropriate directory on the
DVD
to install the software package. Follow the instructions to install the SDK and
drivers to the system.
3.1. USBXpress Driver Development Kit
The Silicon Laboratories USBXpress
®
Development Kit provides a complete host software solution for interfacing to
CP210x devices. No USB protocol or host device driver expertise is required. Instead, a simple, high-level Application
Program Interface (API) for the host software is used to provide complete USB connectivity. The USBXpress
Development Kit includes Windows device drivers, Windows device driver installer, host interface function library
(host API) provided in the form of a Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL). See Application Note AN169, “USBXpress
Programmer’s Guide” for detailed information on using the USBXpress drivers.
The USBXpress drivers are available here:
www.silabs.com/usbxpress
.
Click the USBXpress Development Kit link in the Download for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista/Win7 section
to download the USBXpress drivers. Run the installer and follow the steps to install the software to the desired
