Programming CC1110 using Easy 8051 Programmer

Question

I purchased the VT-CC1110PA-433M RF Data Transceiver Module from DigiRF which has a CC1110 module embedded on it. The datasheet for CC1110 from Texas Instruments suggests there is an 8051 CPU inside the module as shown in the block diagram below:

I have an Easy8051 programmer from Mikroelektronika which uses the 8051Flash software as shown below:

I can't seem to figure out which 8051 microcontroller is embedded on the module. How do I program it? Or is CC-Debugger the only device that can program it?

Answer 1

The CC111x debug / programming interface is not part of the 8051 (de facto) "standard", so unless the Easy8051 supports it explicitly there's no reason to expect it to work. You'll have to get a CC Debugger or implement the interface yourself (which I've never found worth my time when this has come up for me).

Answer 2

I found the answer to this as well and would like to get back here.

Unlike CC112x which uses an external microcontroller (MSP430), the CC1110 has an inbuilt microcontroller. It's like the CPU inside the CC1110 module just uses the 8051 architecture. It does not mean there is an 8051 microcontroller explicitly embedded on CC1110 evaluation modules. Hence it is not possible to program that 8051 with the standard 8051 tools.