Beginner
10 min

Record and play back audio messages using the ISD1616B and PIC18F87J11

Single-message voice record and playback solution

Rec&Play 2 Click with EasyPIC PRO v8

Published Oct 14, 2024

Click board™

Rec&Play 2 Click

Dev. board

EasyPIC PRO v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F87J11

Record and play high-quality audio with ease, perfect for alarms, voice prompts, and automated announcements

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Rec&Play 2 Click is based on the ISD1616B, a single-message voice record and playback IC from Nuvoton designed for voice recording and playback applications. This highly integrated solution includes all the necessary components to deliver superior audio recording and playback functionality. It features an on-chip oscillator, a microphone preamplifier with Automatic Gain Control (AGC), and an omnidirectional electret microphone (CMC-2242PBL-A) for optimal audio capture. The built-in anti-aliasing filter ensures smooth, high-quality recording, while the Multi-Level Storage (MLS) array provides efficient data handling. Voice and audio data are stored directly in the onboard Flash memory without digital compression, ensuring high-quality playback. A smoothing filter and Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Class D speaker driver control the integrated speaker (AS01508AO-SC-R), delivering clear and precise audio output. With zero-power message storage, recordings remain intact even without a power supply. Rec&Play 2 Click is ideal for various audio playback

applications, including alarms, voice prompts, and automated announcements, where clear and reliable audio is essential. The ISD1616B can be managed both manually and digitally. Manual control is available through dedicated buttons: REC, E, and L. The REC button enables voice recording, which continues as long as the button remains pressed. The E and L buttons handle playback, offering two distinct modes: the E button is used for edge-trigger playback, while the L button is for level-trigger playback. In edge-trigger playback mode, pressing the E button for longer than the specified debounce time initiates playback from the beginning of the memory, continuing until an End-Of-Message (EOM) marker is reached, after which the device automatically enters standby mode. In level-trigger playback mode, pressing the L button starts playback from the beginning of the memory, and it runs until an EOM marker is reached, then powers down automatically. These same functions can also be controlled digitally via the REC, PE, and PL pins on the mikroBUS™

socket. The message duration is user-selectable, ranging from 10 to 24 seconds, depending on the configuration of the onboard REC/Play Duration switches. In addition to these switches, the board features a visual guide to indicate the switch positions and corresponding recording/playback durations of 10, 16, 20, or 24 seconds. It also includes an orange status LED indicator, which stays illuminated during recording and blinks several times per second during playback, providing visual feedback on the operation status. 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. It also supports battery power, enabling standalone applications without needing an external power supply. Additionally, 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.

Rec&Play 2 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

EasyPIC PRO v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports many high pin count 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over WiFi. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, EasyPIC PRO v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under

any circumstances at any time. Each part of the EasyPIC PRO v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module, which offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment, the board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB DEVICE, and Ethernet are also included, including the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options (graphical and character-based LCD). EasyPIC PRO v8 is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem for rapid development. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping and development thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

EasyPIC PRO v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

80

RAM (Bytes)

3904

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Record Control
PJ4
RST
ID COMM
PJ0
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Edge-Trigger Playback Control
PE0
PWM
Level-Trigger Playback Control
PB0
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Rec&Play 2 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC PRO v8 as your development board.

Fusion for PIC v8 front image hardware assembly
Buck 22 Click front image hardware assembly
SiBRAIN for PIC32MZ1024EFK144 front image hardware assembly
v8 SiBRAIN MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image 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 Rec&Play 2 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • recnplay2_set_pl_pin - This function sets the PL pin on the selected level of Rec&Play 2 Click.

  • recnplay2_record_sound - This function is used to record sound with Rec&Play 2 Click.

  • recnplay2_play_sound - This function is used to play recorded sounds with Rec&Play 2 Click.

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 Rec N Play 2 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Rec N Play 2 Click board by 
 * recording and then playing recorded sound.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver, performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Recording sound for 5 seconds, then playing it back.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "recnplay2.h"

static recnplay2_t recnplay2;   /**< Rec N Play 2 Click driver object. */
static log_t logger;    /**< Logger object. */

#define RECORDING_LEN       5000

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    recnplay2_cfg_t recnplay2_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.
    recnplay2_cfg_setup( &recnplay2_cfg );
    RECNPLAY2_MAP_MIKROBUS( recnplay2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN == recnplay2_init( &recnplay2, &recnplay2_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    recnplay2_default_cfg ( &recnplay2 );
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    log_printf( &logger, " Recording... \r\n" );
    recnplay2_record_sound( &recnplay2, RECORDING_LEN );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );

    log_printf( &logger, " Playing... \r\n" );
    recnplay2_play_sound( &recnplay2, RECORDING_LEN );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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