Measure how much electrical current is flowing through a circuit with INA196 and STM32F302VC

Current sensing has never been this electrifying!

Current Click with CLICKER 4 for STM32F302VCT6

Published Jul 22, 2025

Click board™

Current Click

Dev. board

CLICKER 4 for STM32F302VCT6

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F302VC

Achieve precise current measurements (from 2mA up to 2Amps) by sensing voltage drops across the added shunt resistor

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Current Click is based on the INA196, a current shunt monitor from Texas Instruments. The INA196 has a voltage output that can sense drops across shunts at common-mode voltages from −16V to +80V, independent of its supply voltage. It is also characterized by a gain of 20V/V and 500kHz bandwidth, simplifying current control loops' use across a vast temperature range, making it suitable for many consumer, enterprise, telecom, and automotive applications. This Click board™ measures current values in various bands. The board receives current from the output circuit connected to IN(+) and OUT(-) pins of the first

screw terminal, where the INA196 converts this current into a voltage, while the second screw terminal is used for the external shunt connection. Users need to provide the shunt of the appropriate value allowing the measurement up to 2048mA, based on the reference voltage set by MAX6106. Therefore, four shunts with different values are provided in the package (0.05, 0.2, 1, and 10Ω). The output signal of the INA196 can be converted to a digital value using MCP3201, a successive approximation A/D converter with a 12-bit resolution from Microchip using a 3-wire SPI compatible interface, or can be sent directly

to an analog pin of the mikroBUS™ socket labeled as AN. Selection can be performed by onboard SMD jumper labeled as OUTPUT, placing it in an appropriate position marked as AN or ADC. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWRSEL 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

Clicker 4 for STM32F3 is a compact development board designed as a complete solution, you can use it to quickly build your own gadgets with unique functionalities. Featuring a STM32F302VCT6, four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click boards™ connectivity, power managment, and more, it represents a perfect solution for the rapid development of many different types of applications. At its core, there is a STM32F302VCT6 MCU, a powerful microcontroller by STMicroelectronics, based on the high-

performance Arm® Cortex®-M4 32-bit processor core operating at up to 168 MHz frequency. It provides sufficient processing power for the most demanding tasks, allowing Clicker 4 to adapt to any specific application requirements. Besides two 1x20 pin headers, four improved mikroBUS™ sockets represent the most distinctive connectivity feature, allowing access to a huge base of Click boards™, growing on a daily basis. Each section of Clicker 4 is clearly marked, offering an intuitive and clean interface. This makes working with the development

board much simpler and thus, faster. The usability of Clicker 4 doesn’t end with its ability to accelerate the prototyping and application development stages: it is designed as a complete solution which can be implemented directly into any project, with no additional hardware modifications required. Four mounting holes [4.2mm/0.165”] at all four corners allow simple installation by using mounting screws. For most applications, a nice stylish casing is all that is needed to turn the Clicker 4 development board into a fully functional, custom design.

CLICKER 4 for STM32F302VCT6 double image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

256

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

100

RAM (Bytes)

40960

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output

PC4

RST

SPI Chip Select

PA4

SPI Clock

PA5

SCK

SPI Data OUT

PA6

MISO

MOSI

Power Supply

3.3V

Ground

GND

PWM

INT

SCL

SDA

Power Supply

Ground

GND

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

PIC32MZ MXS Data Capture Board front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the CLICKER 4 for STM32F302VCT6 as your development board.

Thermo 21 Click front image hardware assembly

Thermo 21 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly

Board mapper by product6 hardware assembly

PIC32MZ MXS Data Capture Board NECTO MCU Selection Step hardware assembly

Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly

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

This library contains API for Current Click driver.

Key functions:

current_get_current_data - This function calculates the current in mA

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 
 * \brief Current Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This is an example that shows the capabilities of the Current Click board 
 * by measuring current in miliampers. Current Click board can be used to safely
 * measure DC current in the range of 2-2048mA depending on shunt resistor.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initalizes SPI, LOG and Click drivers.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Measures DC current and displays the results on USB UART each second.
 * 
 * @note
 * Shunt resistor used in the example covers 4 default values (0.05 Ohm, 0.2 Ohm, 1 Ohm, 10 Ohm).
 * To operate in linear range of INA196 check table bellow for shunt selection.
 * |------------------------------------|
 * | Rshunt  | Imin [mA]  | Imax  [mA]  |
 * |------------------------------------|
 * |   0.05  |    400     |   2048      |
 * |   0.2   |    100     |    512      |
 * |   1     |     20     |    102      |
 * |  10     |      2     |     10      |
 * --------------------------------------
 * 
 * \author Jovan Stajkovic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "current.h"

// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES

static current_t current;
static log_t logger;
static float curr;

// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    current_cfg_t cfg;

    /** 
     * 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.

    current_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    CURRENT_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    current_init( &current, &cfg );
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "    Current  Click     \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    curr = current_get_current_data( &current, CURRENT_RSHUNT_0_05 );
    
    if ( curr == CURRENT_OUT_OF_RANGE )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "Out of range!\r\n" );
    }
    else
    {
       log_printf( &logger, " Current: %.2f mA\r\n", curr );
    }
    
    log_printf( &logger, "-----------------------\r\n" );
    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