Unleash the power of lightning-fast AC/DC current measurements with LTS 6-NP and PIC18F46K80
Empower your electrical insights
Published Nov 01, 2023
Click board™
LEM Click
Dev. board
EasyPIC v7a
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F46K80
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
LEM Click is based on the LTS 6-NP, a current transducer from Lem. It acts as a transformer with 2000 turns as a secondary coil and a load resistance of 2kΩ and above. The primary coil is a wire of the load itself, threaded through the middle of the current transducer while fully isolated and galvanic separated from the secondary coil. The LTS 6-NP uses the Hall effect to output the values regarding the current that passes through. The sensor output passes to the MCP607, a micropower CMOS operational amplifier from Microchip. It is a unity-gain stable, low offset voltage OpAmp that includes rail-to-rail
output, swing capability, and low input bias current. The output values from the operational amplifier pass to the MCP3201, a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter with an SPI serial interface from Microchip. The MCP3201 provides a single pseudo-differential input features on-chip, sample and hold, a maximum sampling rate of up to 100ksps, and more. The MCP3201 gets the 2.048V reference voltage from the MAX6106, a low-cost, micropower, low-dropout, high-output-current voltage reference from Analog Devices. The LEM Click uses the 3-Wire SPI serial interface of the MCP3201 to communicate with the host MCU supporting SPI 0
and SPI 3 modes with a frequency of up to 1.6MHz. The voltage amplified through the MCP607 can be directly monitored through the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket, which is useful if the host MCU has a higher ADC resolution. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR 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
EasyPIC v7a is the seventh generation of PIC development boards specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip and has a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over USB-C. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements in one place, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others. With four different connectors for each port, EasyPIC v7a allows you to connect accessory boards, sensors, and custom electronics more efficiently than ever. Each part of the EasyPIC v7a 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 various external power sources, including an external 12V power supply, 7-23V AC or 9-32V DC via DC connector/screw terminals, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector. Communication options such as USB-UART and RS-232 are also included, alongside the well-
established mikroBUS™ standard, three display options (7-segment, graphical, and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from PIC10F, PIC12F, PIC16F, PIC16Enh, PIC18F, PIC18FJ, and PIC18FK families. EasyPIC v7a 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
Architecture
PIC
MCU Memory (KB)
64
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
40
RAM (Bytes)
3648
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 EasyPIC v7a 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
This library contains API for LEM Click driver.
Key functions:
lem_get_current- Function is used to read current in amperes or milliamperes
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 Lem Click example
*
* # Description
* Demo app measures and displays current by using LEM click board.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initalizes SPI, LOG and click drivers.
*
* ## Application Task
* This is an example that shows the capabilities of the LEM click by measuring
* current passing through the conductor placed through the hole on the sensor.
*
* \author Jovan Stajkovic
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "lem.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static lem_t lem;
static log_t logger;
static float current;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
lem_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.
lem_cfg_setup( &cfg );
LEM_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
lem_init( &lem, &cfg );
log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
log_printf( &logger, " LEM Click \r\n" );
log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
current = lem_get_current( &lem, LEM_MILIAMP_COEF );
log_printf( &logger, " Current : %.2f mA \r\n", current );
log_printf( &logger, "---------------------\r\n" );
Delay_ms( 1000 );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
Additional Support
Resources
Category:Measurements
