Elevate your audio experience with MCP6H012 and ATmega1284
The audiophile's dream: Analog active crossovers redefining sound purity
Published Oct 22, 2023
Click board™
Audio Xover Click
Dev Board
EasyAVR v7
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
ATmega1284
Delve into the realm of high-fidelity audio with our analog active crossover solution, designed to enhance clarity and precision in two-way loudspeakers
A
A
Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Audio Xover Click is based on the MCP6H012, an operational amplifier with rail-to-rail output operation from Microchip. It uses three Butterworth filters (one for each speaker) with possibility of changing cutoff frequency between 120Hz, 90Hz and 70Hz. Butterworth filters are called maximally flat filters because, for a given order, they have the sharpest roll-off possible without inducing peaking in the Bode plot. The two-pole filter with a damping ratio of 0.707 is the second-order Butterworth filter. Audio crossovers are a type of electronic filter circuitry used in a range of audio applications, to split up an audio signal into two or more frequency ranges, so that
the signals can be sent to drivers that are designed for different frequency ranges. Active crossovers are distinguished from passive crossovers in that whereas passive crossovers split up an amplified signal coming from one power amplifier so that it can be sent to two or more drivers (e.g., a woofer and a very low frequency subwoofer, or a woofer and a tweeter), an active crossover splits up audio signal prior to amplification, so that it can be sent to two or more power amplifiers, each of which is connected to a separate driver type. Active crossovers as Audio Xover Click don’t care how powerful your amplifiers are because they process the signal
before it enters the amplifier. Active crossovers are also not very sensitive to temperature variations, so they can be very accurate, all the time. If one of the amplifiers channels in an active crossover system clips, the distortion only affects that single channel. 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
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.
Microcontroller Overview
MCU Card / MCU
Architecture
AVR
MCU Memory (KB)
128
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
40
RAM (Bytes)
16384
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 EasyAVR 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 Audio Xover Click driver.
Key functions:
audioxover_power_on- Device power on function.audioxover_shut_down- Device shut down 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
* \brief Audio Xover Click example
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of the Audio Xover click board.
* The click is an analog active crossover solution for two-way loudspeakers.
* The primary purpose of the crossover circuit in a loudspeaker is to split
* an incoming audio signal into frequency bands that are passed to
* the speaker best suited.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* This function initializes the driver and makes an initial log.
*
* ## Application Task
* This function enables and disables the click board every 10 seconds,
* and logs an appropriate message on the USB UART.
*
* @note
* The hardware revision v100 of the click board works only with MCUs that operates
* at 5V operating voltage level.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "audioxover.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static audioxover_t audioxover;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
audioxover_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.
audioxover_cfg_setup( &cfg );
AUDIOXOVER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
audioxover_init( &audioxover, &cfg );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
log_printf( &logger, " * Switch: ON *\r\n" );
audioxover_power_on ( &audioxover );
Delay_ms( 10000 );
log_printf( &logger, " * Switch: OFF *\r\n" );
audioxover_shut_down ( &audioxover );
Delay_ms( 10000 );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
