Show information in a clear and easy-to-read way with LTP-3862 and PIC18F87J11
Dual-digit 16-segment alphanumeric green display
Published Dec 14, 2023
Click board™
AlphaNum G 2 Click
Dev Board
UNI-DS v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F87J11
Use a vibrant 16-segment alphanumeric display to illuminate your projects with clear numerical and textual information – perfect for applications that demand visibility and a touch of modern display sophistication
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
AlphaNum G 2 Click is based on the LTP-3862, a dual-digit 16-segment alphanumeric green display from Lite-ON. It has a 75mW of power disipation per segment. The TLC5947, a 24-channel 12-bit PWM LED driver from Texas Instruments, drives all these LED segments. It is a constant current sink LED driver with adjustable 4096 pulse width modulation (PWM) on each channel individually. The PWM control is repeated automatically with the programmed grayscale data. An external resistor sets the constant current to around 10mA.
The LED driver features thermal shutdown, auto display repeat, noise reduction, and more. AlphaNum G 2 Click uses a standard 4-Wire SPI serial interface to communicate with the host MCU, supporting a clock frequency of up to 30MHz. A Blank BLK pin can turn all constant current outputs OFF while initializing the grayscale PWM timing. This can be achieved by writing the High logic state on the Blank pin. You can also turn off every display separately, no matter the LED driver IC, over the CA1 and CA2
pins. These pins control the common anode pins of the displays. 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
UNI-DS v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different STM32, Kinetis, TIVA, CEC, MSP, PIC, dsPIC, PIC32, and AVR MCUs 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, UNI-DS v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any
circumstances at any time. Each part of the UNI-DS v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module offers many valuable programming/debugging options, including support for JTAG, SWD, and SWO Trace (Single Wire Output)), and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides, it 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
HOST/DEVICE, CAN (on the MCU card, if supported), and Ethernet is also included. In addition, it also has the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and two display options for the TFT board line of products and character-based LCD. UNI-DS 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.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Type
8th Generation
Architecture
PIC
MCU Memory (KB)
128
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
80
RAM (Bytes)
3904
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 UNI-DS v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
After pressing the "FLASH" button on the left-side panel, it is necessary to open the UART terminal to display the achieved results. By clicking on the Tools icon in the right-hand panel, multiple different functions are displayed, among which is the UART Terminal. Click on the offered "UART Terminal" icon.
Once the UART terminal is opened, the window takes on a new form. At the top of the tab are two buttons, one for adjusting the parameters of the UART terminal and the other for connecting the UART terminal. The tab's lower part is reserved for displaying the achieved results. Before connecting, the terminal has a Disconnected status, indicating that the terminal is not yet active. Before connecting, it is necessary to check the set parameters of the UART terminal. Click on the "OPTIONS" button.
In the newly opened UART Terminal Options field, we check if the terminal settings are correct, such as the set port and the Baud rate of UART communication. If the data is not displayed properly, it is possible that the Baud rate value is not set correctly and needs to be adjusted to 115200. If all the parameters are set correctly, click on "CONFIGURE".
The next step is to click on the "CONNECT" button, after which the terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for AlphaNum G 2 Click driver.
Key functions:
alphanumg2_display_character- AlphaNum G 2 display character function.alphanumg2_set_led_output- AlphaNum G 2 set LED output function.
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 AlphaNum G 2 Click example
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of the AlphaNum G 2 Click board™
* by writing and displaying the desired alphanumeric characters.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initialization of SPI module and log UART.
* After driver initialization, the app executes a default configuration.
*
* ## Application Task
* The demo application displays digits from '0' to '9',
* symbols: colon, semicolon, less-than, equals-to, greater-than, question mark, at sign
* and capital alphabet letters, on both alphanumeric segments of the click.
* Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
*
* @author Nenad Filipovic
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "alphanumg2.h"
#define ASCII_CHARACTER_DIGIT_0 '0'
#define ASCII_CHARACTER_UPPERCASE_Z 'Z'
static alphanumg2_t alphanumg2;
static log_t logger;
static uint8_t character = ASCII_CHARACTER_DIGIT_0;
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
alphanumg2_cfg_t alphanumg2_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.
alphanumg2_cfg_setup( &alphanumg2_cfg );
ALPHANUMG2_MAP_MIKROBUS( alphanumg2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == alphanumg2_init( &alphanumg2, &alphanumg2_cfg ) )
{
log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
for ( ; ; );
}
if ( ALPHANUMG2_ERROR == alphanumg2_default_cfg ( &alphanumg2 ) )
{
log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
for ( ; ; );
}
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
log_printf( &logger, "------------------------\r\n" );
Delay_ms( 100 );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
log_printf( &logger, " %c %c\r\n", character, character + 1 );
if ( ALPHANUMG2_OK == alphanumg2_display_character( &alphanumg2,
character, ALPHANUMG2_BRIGHTNESS_MAX,
character + 1, ALPHANUMG2_BRIGHTNESS_MAX ) )
{
character++;
if ( ASCII_CHARACTER_UPPERCASE_Z <= character )
{
character = ASCII_CHARACTER_DIGIT_0;
log_printf( &logger, "------------------------\r\n" );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
}
}
}
int main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
return 0;
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
