Stay ahead in the world of communication technology with MAX485 and PIC18F45K22
Transforming data transmission: The magic of RS485 transceivers
Published Oct 19, 2023
Click board™
RS485 5 Click
Dev Board
EasyPIC v7
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F45K22
The core purpose of this solution is to establish a robust, long-distance network, facilitating efficient data exchange
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
RS485 5 Click is based on the MAX485, low-power, slew-rate-limited transceiver for RS-485 and RS-422 communication from Analog Devices, which draw between 120µA and 500µA of supply current when unloaded or fully loaded with disabled drivers. All parts operate from a single 5V supply. Driver is short-circuit current limited and is protected against excessive power dissipation by thermal shutdown circuitry that places the driver outputs into a high-impedance state. The receiver input has a fail-safe feature that guarantees a logic-high output if the input is open circuit. The MAX485 slew rates are not limited, allowing it to transmit up to 2.5Mbps and half-duplex communication. In general, the maximal transfer
speed is determined by the bus length, longer bus lines will result in less transfer speed. The RS485/422 line should be terminated at both ends in its characteristic impedance and stub lengths off the main line should be kept as short as possible to minimize the reflections. The RS-485/RS-422 standard covers line lengths up to 1220 meters (4000 feet). Excessive output current and power dissipation caused by faults or by bus contention are prevented by two mechanisms. A foldback current limit on the output stage provides immediate protection against short circuits over the whole common-mode voltage range. In addition, a thermal shutdown circuit forces the driver outputs into a high-impedance
state if the temperature rises excessively. There are two 2-pole screw terminals on board (+, B, A, -) for connecting RS422/485 bus twisted pair cable, along with the GND and VCC. The terminal inputs labeled as “A” and “B” are used to connect the bus wires. GND and VCC rails can be used to provide the power supply for another node. Note that the VCC terminal is directly routed to the 5V rail of the mikroBUS™. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 5V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.
Features overview
Development board
EasyPIC v7 is the seventh generation of PIC development boards specially designed to develop embedded applications rapidly. It supports a wide range of 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip and has a broad set of unique functions, such as a powerful onboard mikroProg programmer and In-Circuit debugger over USB-B. 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 v7 allows you to connect accessory boards, sensors, and custom electronics more efficiently than ever. Each part of
the EasyPIC v7 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An integrated mikroProg, a fast USB 2.0 programmer with mikroICD hardware In-Circuit Debugger, offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment. Besides it also includes a clean and regulated power supply block 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-B (USB-B) 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 v7 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)
32
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
40
RAM (Bytes)
1536
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 EasyPIC v7 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 RS485 5 Click driver.
Key functions:
rs4855_generic_write- Generic write function.rs4855_set_de_state- Sets DE pin to high or low state.rs4855_set_re_state- Sets RE pin to high or low state.
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
* \brief Rs4855 Click example
*
* # Description
* This example reads and processes data from RS485 5 clicks.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and enables the selected mode.
*
* ## Application Task
* Depending on the selected mode, it reads all the received data or sends the desired message
* every 2 seconds.
*
* ## Additional Function
* - rs4855_process ( ) - The general process of collecting the received data.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "rs4855.h"
#include "string.h"
#define PROCESS_RX_BUFFER_SIZE 500
#define TEXT_TO_SEND "MikroE\r\n"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
#define DEMO_APP_RECEIVER
// #define DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
static rs4855_t rs4855;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS
static void rs4855_process ( void )
{
int32_t rsp_size;
char uart_rx_buffer[ PROCESS_RX_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
uint8_t check_buf_cnt;
rsp_size = rs4855_generic_read( &rs4855, uart_rx_buffer, PROCESS_RX_BUFFER_SIZE );
if ( rsp_size >= strlen( TEXT_TO_SEND ) )
{
log_printf( &logger, "Received data: " );
for ( check_buf_cnt = 0; check_buf_cnt < rsp_size; check_buf_cnt++ )
{
log_printf( &logger, "%c", uart_rx_buffer[ check_buf_cnt ] );
}
}
Delay_ms( 100 );
}
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
rs4855_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.
rs4855_cfg_setup( &cfg );
RS4855_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
rs4855_init( &rs4855, &cfg );
Delay_ms( 100 );
#ifdef DEMO_APP_RECEIVER
rs4855_set_re_state( &rs4855, RS4855_PIN_STATE_LOW );
rs4855_set_de_state( &rs4855, RS4855_PIN_STATE_LOW );
log_info( &logger, "---- Receiver mode ----" );
#endif
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
rs4855_set_re_state( &rs4855, RS4855_PIN_STATE_HIGH );
rs4855_set_de_state( &rs4855, RS4855_PIN_STATE_HIGH );
log_info( &logger, "---- Transmitter mode ----" );
#endif
}
void application_task ( void )
{
#ifdef DEMO_APP_RECEIVER
rs4855_process( );
#endif
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
rs4855_generic_write( &rs4855, TEXT_TO_SEND, 8 );
log_info( &logger, "---- Data sent ----" );
Delay_ms( 2000 );
#endif
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
