Intermediate
30 min

Verify your connections easily and save valuable time during the debugging phase using ATmega1284

Effortless diagnostics: The ultimate tool for logic level confirmation

Tester Click with EasyAVR v7

Published Oct 14, 2023

Click board™

Tester Click

Dev. board

EasyAVR v7

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega1284

Our mission is to empower developers with a convenient and user-friendly diagnostic tool that simplifies the hardware testing process, ensuring a smoother development journey

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Tester Click is a Click board™ used as a diagnostic tool on the mikroBUS™ socket. It contains an array of 2x6 LEDs, which signalize the presence of the HIGH/LOW logic level on each pin, providing a visual feedback to the developer. Two additional LEDs indicate the presence of +3.3V and +5V on the mikroBUS™ power rails. This simple diagnostic tool can save hours of troubleshooting, saving the

application developer from having to connect various complicated measurement instruments, only to test logic states on the specific mikroBUS™ pins. Each pin of the mikroBUS™ is routed to a red colored LED, which is protected by 1K resistor. This allows voltages up to VCC to be handled with no issues, providing a simple and clean solution for pin state testing. Once placed on the mikroBUS™

socket, no additional settings are required. There are no ICs or other active elements besides the LEDs. Its simplicity makes it very simple to use: as soon as it is connected, red and green power indication LEDs will signalize the presence of +3.3V and +5V on both the mikroBUS™ power rails. The rest of the LED array will be lit according to the state on the respective pin.

Tester Click top side image
Tester Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

EasyAVR v7 is the seventh generation of AVR development boards specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of 16-bit AVR microcontrollers from Microchip and has a broad set of unique functions, such as a powerful onboard mikroProg programmer and In-Circuit debugger over USB. 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, EasyAVR v7 allows you to connect accessory boards, sensors, and custom electronics more

efficiently than ever. Each part of the EasyAVR 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 a wide range of external power sources, including an external 12V power supply, 7-12V AC or 9-15V 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 which cover a wide range of 16-bit AVR MCUs. EasyAVR 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.

EasyAVR v7 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

ATmega1284

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

16384

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output
PA7
AN
Reset
PA6
RST
SPI Chip Select
PA5
CS
SPI Clock
PB7
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PB6
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Input
PD4
PWM
Interrupt
PD2
INT
UART TX
PD1
TX
UART RX
PD0
RX
I2C Clock
PC0
SCL
I2C Data
PC1
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Tester Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyAVR v7 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyAVR v7 as your development board.

EasyAVR v7 front image hardware assembly
Buck 22 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
EasyAVR v7 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 DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
EasyPIC PRO v7a Display Selection Necto Step 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 Tester Click driver.

Key functions:

  • tester_set_pin_high - This function sets the output voltage on the specified pin to high

  • tester_set_pin_low - This function sets the output voltage on the specified pin to low

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 Tester Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This example showcases how to initialize, configure and use the Tester Click. It is a simple
 * GPIO Click which is used to test if all the pins on a MikroBUS are working correctly.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * This function initializes and configures the Click and logger modules.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This function sets the output on all the pins (one by one) on the left side to high, going
 * from top to bottom and then does the same with the ones on the right side, after which it 
 * sets all pins to high and after one second sets them back to low. 
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "tester.h"

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

static tester_t tester;
static log_t logger;

static digital_out_t *pin_addr[ 12 ] =
{
    &tester.mosi,    // 0 MOSI
    &tester.miso,    // 1 MISO
    &tester.sck,     // 2 SCK
    &tester.cs,      // 3 CS
    &tester.rst,     // 4 RST
    &tester.an,      // 5 AN
    &tester.pwm,     // 6 PWM
    &tester.int_pin, // 7 INT
    &tester.tx_pin,  // 8 TX
    &tester.rx_pin,  // 9 RX
    &tester.scl,     // 10 SCL
    &tester.sda      // 11 SDA
};

// ------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS

static void blink ( digital_out_t *pin ) 
{
    tester_set_pin_high( pin );
    Delay_100ms( );
    tester_set_pin_low( pin );
}

static void all_on ( )
{
   int i;

   for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
   {
        tester_set_pin_high( pin_addr[ i ] );
   }
}

static void all_off ( )
{
   int i;

   for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
   {
        tester_set_pin_low( pin_addr[ i ] );
   }
}

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

void application_init ( )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    tester_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.

    tester_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    TESTER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    tester_init( &tester, &cfg );
}

void application_task ( )
{
    int i;

    for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
    {
        blink( pin_addr[ i ] );
    }

    all_on( );
    Delay_1sec( );
    all_off( );
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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