Beginner
10 min

Create dynamic visual indicators, counters, and notifications with IS31FL3733 and PIC18F57Q43

Compact and versatile red LED matrix solution for dynamic visual indicators and displays

16x12 R Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Sep 22, 2025

Click board™

16x12 R Click

Dev. board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Go-to solution for any application requiring precise and versatile red LED matrix management

A

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

16x12 R Click is based on the IS31FL3733 matrix driver from ISSI, a general-purpose 12×16 LEDs driver with a 1/12 cycle rate. This board integrates a 16x12 red LED display and allows full control of each LED for ON/OFF switching and brightness adjustment, making it an ideal solution for creating advanced visual indicators, status displays, and animation effects. Each of the 192 LEDs can be dimmed individually with 8-bit PWM data, providing 256 steps of linear dimming resolution for precise brightness control. Communication with the host MCU is achieved through the standard I2C 2-Wire interface, supporting Standard-Mode (100 kHz),

Fast-Mode (400 kHz), and Fast-Mode Plus (1 MHz) operation, ensuring compatibility and flexibility across a wide range of applications. The user can configure the I2C address via onboard SMD jumpers labeled ADDR SEL, which set the last three LSBs of the I2C address, allowing multiple devices to coexist on the same bus. In addition to the I2C communication pins, the IS31FL3733 also uses an INT pin for interrupt signaling, RST pin for chip reset, and an SDB pin for shutdown control, further enhancing functionality and power management. With its ability to manage large LED arrays, 16x12 R Click is suitable for applications

such as information panels, event counters, gaming devices, audio spectrum displays, notification systems, and other embedded solutions requiring detailed LED matrix control. 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. Also, this 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.

16x12 R Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive

mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI

GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

48

RAM (Bytes)

8196

You complete me!

Accessories

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Reset / ID SEL
PA7
RST
Shutdown Control / ID COMM
PD4
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Interrupt
PA6
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PB2
SCL
I2C Data
PB1
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

16x12 R Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F47Q10 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Board mapper by product8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Software Support

Library Description

16x12 R Click demo application is developed using the NECTO Studio, ensuring compatibility with mikroSDK's open-source libraries and tools. Designed for plug-and-play implementation and testing, the demo is fully compatible with all development, starter, and mikromedia boards featuring a mikroBUS™ socket.

Example Description
This example demonstrates the usage of the 16x12 R Click board which features a high-brightness red LED matrix display. It displays characters, rotates them in different orientations, prints a scrolling string, and renders a graphical image (MIKROE logo).

Key functions:

  • c16x12r_cfg_setup - This function initializes Click configuration structure to initial values.

  • c16x12r_init - This function initializes all necessary pins and peripherals used for this Click board.

  • c16x12r_default_cfg - This function executes a default configuration of 16x12 R Click board.

  • c16x12r_write_char - This function writes a single ASCII character to the display.

  • c16x12r_write_string - This function scrolls a null-terminated ASCII string across the display.

  • c16x12r_draw_picture - This function draws a picture on the display from a 12-column buffer.

Application Init
Initializes the logger and the Click board and sets the default configuration.

Application Task
Displays single characters and a string in multiple rotations, followed by drawing and inverting the MIKROE logo image.

Open Source

Code example

The complete application code and a ready-to-use project are available through the NECTO Studio Package Manager for direct installation in the NECTO Studio. The application code can also be found on the MIKROE GitHub account.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief 16x12 R Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the usage of the 16x12 R Click board which features a high-brightness
 * red LED matrix display. It displays characters, rotates them in different orientations,
 * prints a scrolling string, and renders a graphical image (MIKROE logo).
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the logger and the Click board and sets the default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Displays single characters and a string in multiple rotations, followed by
 * drawing and inverting the MIKROE logo image.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "c16x12r.h"
#include "c16x12r_resources.h"

static c16x12r_t c16x12r;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    c16x12r_cfg_t c16x12r_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.
    c16x12r_cfg_setup( &c16x12r_cfg );
    C16X12R_MAP_MIKROBUS( c16x12r_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == c16x12r_init( &c16x12r, &c16x12r_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( C16X12R_ERROR == c16x12r_default_cfg ( &c16x12r ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    log_printf( &logger, " Writing digits\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_0;
    for ( uint8_t digit = '0'; digit <= '9'; digit++ )
    {
        c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, digit );
        Delay_ms ( 500 );
    }

    log_printf( &logger, " Rotating char\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_0;
    c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, 'R' );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_180;
    c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, 'R' );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_V_0;
    c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, 'R' );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_V_180;
    c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, 'R' );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_0;
    c16x12r_write_char ( &c16x12r, 'R' );
    Delay_ms ( 500 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Writing text\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_0;
    c16x12r_write_string ( &c16x12r, "MIKROE - 16x12 R Click", 50 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Writing text\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_H_180;
    c16x12r_write_string ( &c16x12r, "MIKROE - 16x12 R Click", 50 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    log_printf( &logger, " Writing text\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_V_0;
    c16x12r_write_string ( &c16x12r, "MIKROE - 16x12 R Click", 50 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Writing text\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r.text_rotation = C16X12R_ROTATION_V_180;
    c16x12r_write_string ( &c16x12r, "MIKROE - 16x12 R Click", 50 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Drawing MIKROE logo\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r_draw_picture ( &c16x12r, c16x12r_img_mikroe );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Drawing inverted MIKROE logo\r\n\n" );
    c16x12r_draw_picture ( &c16x12r, c16x12r_img_mikroe_inv );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    /* Do not remove this line or clock might not be set correctly. */
    #ifdef PREINIT_SUPPORTED
    preinit();
    #endif
    
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

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