Displays the intensity of an audio signal using LM3914 and PIC32MZ2048EFH100
Volume Unit Meter
Published Mar 12, 2023
Click board™
VU Meter Click
Dev Board
Flip&Click PIC32MZ
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC32MZ2048EFH100
Lighten the bar graph display according to the sound quality
A
A
Hardware Overview
How does it work?
VU Meter Click is based on the LM3914, a monolithic integrated circuit that senses analog voltage levels and drives a 10-segment bar graph display from Texas Instruments. This solution is a compact volume unit meter. This analog-controlled driver means it can control display by an analog input voltage and eliminates the need for additional programming. A volume unit meter represents a device that displays the intensity of an audio signal; more specifically, it is used to visualize analog signals. That's why VU Meter Click is suitable as a volume measurement gadget. The LM3914 is configured to work in bar mode, where all parts of the bar graph display below a certain point turn on. This board is manufactured with an onboard sound-detecting device (microphone), the MC33072 Op-Amp, and the LM3914, which gleams the bar graph display according to the sound's quality.
Initially, the microphone captures and transforms the sound into linear voltages to sound amplitude. The capacitor then stops the DC component of the transmission, allowing the AC input from the microphone to enter the MC33072 Op-Amp. One part of the MC33072 represents a variable gain inverting amplifier using the TPL0501, an SPI-configurable digital potentiometer from Texas Instruments, while the second part represents a signal buffer. After filtration and amplification, these filtered and amplified signals are finally provided to LM3914. Considering that this driver is analog controlled, this Click board™ also provides the ability to monitor the analog signal by the MCU via the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. The LM3914 operates in a voltmeter format and lights the XGURUGX10D, a ten-segment bar graph array, according to the strength of the given signal.
The onboard bar graph display segments are bright and uniformly colored, providing pleasant and clean visual feedback. Each segment is composed of green and red-colored LEDs, making it possible to have various essential states marked in a different colors. It can use green, red, and a combination of these two, resulting in amber-colored segments. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCC SEL jumper. This way, both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs can use the communication lines properly. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.
Features overview
Development board
Flip&Click PIC32MZ is a compact development board designed as a complete solution that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It comes with an onboard 32-bit PIC32MZ microcontroller, the PIC32MZ2048EFH100 from Microchip, four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, two USB connectors, LED indicators, buttons, debugger/programmer connectors, and two headers compatible with Arduino-UNO pinout. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology,
it allows you to build gadgets with unique functionalities and features quickly. Each part of the Flip&Click PIC32MZ development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition, there is the possibility of choosing the Flip&Click PIC32MZ programming method, using the chipKIT bootloader (Arduino-style development environment) or our USB HID bootloader using mikroC, mikroBasic, and mikroPascal for PIC32. This kit includes a clean and regulated power supply block through the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector. All communication
methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board, including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, user-configurable buttons, and LED indicators. Flip&Click PIC32MZ development kit allows you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
PIC32
MCU Memory (KB)
2048
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
100
RAM (Bytes)
524288
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Flip&Click PIC32MZ as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output via Debug Mode
1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.
2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for VU Meter Click driver.
Key functions:
vumeter_read_an_pin_voltageThis function reads the results of the AD conversion of the AN pin and converts them to a proportional voltage level.vumeter_set_gain_levelThis function sets the input signal gain level (the microphone sensitivity).vumeter_calculate_vu_levelThis function calculates the VU level from the analog voltage input.
Open Source
Code example
This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.
/*!
* @file main.c
* @brief VUMeter Click example
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of VU Meter click board.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and sets the gain level (the microphone sensitivity) to maximum.
*
* ## Application Task
* Calculates VU level from the analog voltage read from AN pin, and displays the results
* on the USB UART approximately every 100ms.
*
* @author Stefan Filipovic
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "vumeter.h"
static vumeter_t vumeter;
static log_t logger;
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
vumeter_cfg_t vumeter_cfg; /**< Click config object. */
/**
* Logger initialization.
* Default baud rate: 115200
* Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
* @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX
* are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will
* need to define them manually for log to work.
* See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
*/
LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );
// Click initialization.
vumeter_cfg_setup( &vumeter_cfg );
VUMETER_MAP_MIKROBUS( vumeter_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
err_t init_flag = vumeter_init( &vumeter, &vumeter_cfg );
if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag )
{
log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );
for ( ; ; );
}
vumeter_set_gain_level ( &vumeter, VUMETER_GAIN_LEVEL_MAX );
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
log_printf( &logger, " VU level: %.3f VU\r\n", vumeter_calculate_vu_level ( &vumeter, 100 ) );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
