Quickly identify and troubleshoot issues on the mikroBUS™ lines with PIC18F57Q43
Real-time mikroBUS™ pin monitoring solution featuring a 2x6 LED array and SI2310 MOSFETs
Published Feb 05, 2025
Click board™
Tester 2 Click
Dev. board
Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F57Q43
Track mikroBUS™ pin logic levels in real time with visual feedback, perfect for debugging and troubleshooting embedded systems
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Tester 2 Click is a diagnostic Click board™ designed to provide immediate and reliable visual feedback on the logic levels of mikroBUS™ pins. It features a 2x6 array of orange LEDs, each connected to a specific mikroBUS™ pin, allowing developers to instantly determine whether the logic state on a pin is HIGH or LOW. For easy identification, each LED is clearly labeled with the name of the corresponding pin, such as PWM or AN. Additionally, the board includes two LEDs dedicated to monitoring the mikroBUS™ power rails, signaling the presence of +3.3V and +5V voltages. This functionality eliminates the need for additional diagnostic tools or complex measurement setups, saving developers valuable time and effort during debugging and troubleshooting. Using Tester 2 Click is straightforward. Once the board is inserted into the mikroBUS™ socket, it becomes fully operational without requiring additional configuration or setup. The power indication LEDs immediately signal the
presence of voltage on the mikroBUS™ power rails, while the rest of the LED array lights up based on the logic states of their respective pins. The simplicity of the design, which uses LEDs and SI2310 N-channel MOSFETs for controlling their operation, ensures reliability and ease of use, making it an indispensable tool for developers working with mikroBUS™ systems. The board is built to be fully compatible with the standardized mikroBUS™ connector, a key feature of MIKROE development systems. This connector ensures that all commonly used interfaces, including SPI, I2C, UART, PWM, analog input (AN), and various GPIO pins such as CS, INT, and RST, are consistently mapped across all platforms equipped with mikroBUS™ sockets. It also incorporates two power supply rails, +3.3V, and +5V, allowing compatibility between different systems and a wide range of Click boards™. This standardization means that Tester 2 Click can be used across various platforms without requiring hardware
modifications, ensuring flexibility and ease of integration for developers. A notable addition to this board is a switch that activates the ClickID feature, allowing the signal from ClickID to be used on the CS pin instead of the standard SPI Chip Select functionality. Additionally, the board includes LP CUT traces on its backside, which are designed to support low-power operation. By severing these traces, the power supply to the LEDs and the ClickID section is disconnected, drastically reducing power consumption and enabling efficient operation, especially in applications where energy efficiency is critical. 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.
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.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
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.
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
1. Application Output - In Debug mode, the 'Application Output' window enables real-time data monitoring, offering direct insight into execution results. Ensure proper data display by configuring the environment correctly using the provided tutorial.
2. UART Terminal - Use the UART Terminal to monitor data transmission via a USB to UART converter, allowing direct communication between the Click board™ and your development system. Configure the baud rate and other serial settings according to your project's requirements to ensure proper functionality. For step-by-step setup instructions, refer to the provided tutorial.
3. Plot Output - The Plot feature offers a powerful way to visualize real-time sensor data, enabling trend analysis, debugging, and comparison of multiple data points. To set it up correctly, follow the provided tutorial, which includes a step-by-step example of using the Plot feature to display Click board™ readings. To use the Plot feature in your code, use the function: plot(*insert_graph_name*, variable_name);. This is a general format, and it is up to the user to replace 'insert_graph_name' with the actual graph name and 'variable_name' with the parameter to be displayed.
Software Support
Library Description
Tester 2 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 use of Tester 2 Click board by controlling all LEDs on the Click board together and in sequential pin toggling with different delays.
Key functions:
tester2_cfg_setup- Config Object Initialization function.tester2_init- Initialization function.tester2_toggle_all- This function toggles all mikroBUS pins together a desired number of times with the selected delay between each toggle.tester2_toggle_seq- This function toggles all mikroBUS pins one by one with the selected delay between each toggle.
Application Init
Initializes the driver and logger.
Application Task
Toggles all pins together 5 times with a 500ms delay between each toggle, then toggles each pin sequentially with a 300ms delay between toggling each pin.
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 Tester 2 Click Example.
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of Tester 2 Click board by controlling all
* LEDs on the Click board together and in sequential pin toggling with different delays.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and logger.
*
* ## Application Task
* Toggles all pins together 5 times with a 500ms delay between each toggle, then toggles
* each pin sequentially with a 300ms delay between toggling each pin.
*
* @author Stefan Filipovic
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "tester2.h"
static tester2_t tester2; /**< Tester 2 Click driver object. */
static log_t logger; /**< Logger object. */
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
tester2_cfg_t tester2_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.
tester2_cfg_setup( &tester2_cfg );
TESTER2_MAP_MIKROBUS( tester2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
if ( DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN == tester2_init( &tester2, &tester2_cfg ) )
{
log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
for ( ; ; );
}
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
log_printf( &logger, " Toggling all pins together 5 times with 500ms delay\r\n\n" );
tester2_toggle_all ( &tester2, 5, 500 );
log_printf( &logger, " Toggling all pins sequentially with 300ms delay\r\n\n" );
tester2_toggle_seq ( &tester2, 300 );
}
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
Category:Proto
