Your shield against interference for flawless USB communication based on ISOUSB111 and PIC24HJ256GP610
Redefining USB to UART connectivity for a smoother data exchange
Published Nov 15, 2023
Click board™
USB UART ISO Click
Dev Board
UNI Clicker
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC24HJ256GP610
Complete USB-to-UART isolated solution for engineers and developers working on projects that demand secure and reliable data communication.
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
USB UART ISO Click is based on the ISOUSB111, a full/low-speed isolated USB repeater from Texas Instruments. It is a galvanically isolated USB 2.0 repeater that supports automatic speed connection detection, reflection of pull-ups/pull-downs, and link power management. The repeater isolates D+ and D- USB bus lines and supports automatic role reversal. This means that, after disconnection, if a new connection is detected on the upstream-facing port, then the upstream and downstream port definitions are reversed. This device uses a silicon dioxide insulation barrier with a withstand voltage of up to 5000VRMS and a working voltage of 1500VRMS, thus protecting from high voltages and preventing noise currents
from the bus entering the local ground. This USB repeater also comes with a pair of unpopulated headers for testing purposes for both sides of the isolation barrier. Both headers contain a GND (for both sides), a powered-up indicator pin (V1OK or V2OK), and power supply pins for both sides. USB UART ISO Click is equipped with a USB type C connector, which can connect a USB device to a host MCU over the UART bridge and a USB isolated repeater. The FT232R is a well-known UART bridge chip on which the entire USB protocol is handled on the chip. There is driver support for all common operating systems. The UART chip comes with a pair of UART RX and TX LEDs to visually present UART data flow. USB
UART ISO Click uses a standard UART interface to establish communication of the connected USB device with the host MCU over the UART bridge and an isolated USB repeater. In addition, the UART flow control pins RTS and CTS are available. Additionally, there is an SLP pin for Sleep mode control and a PWR pin as a power enable pin. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VIO 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 for further development.
Features overview
Development board
UNI Clicker is a compact development board designed as a complete solution that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM, PIC32, dsPIC, PIC, and AVR from various vendors like Microchip, ST, NXP, and TI (regardless of their number of pins), four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a debugger/programmer connector, and two 26-pin headers for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, it allows you to build
gadgets with unique functionalities and features quickly. Each part of the UNI Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the UNI Clicker programming method, using a third-party programmer or CODEGRIP/mikroProg connected to onboard JTAG/SWD header, the UNI Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. It provides two ways of board-powering; through the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector, where onboard voltage regulators provide the appropriate voltage levels to each component on the board, or using a Li-Po/Li
Ion battery via an onboard battery connector. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board (plus USB HOST/DEVICE), including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and several user-configurable buttons and LED indicators. UNI Clicker is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem, allowing you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping 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
dsPIC
MCU Memory (KB)
256
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
100
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 UNI Clicker as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output
After loading the code example, pressing the "DEBUG" button builds and programs it on the selected setup.
After programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions available in the IDE appears. By clicking the green "PLAY "button, we start reading the results achieved with Click board™.
Upon completion of programming, the Application Output tab is automatically opened, where the achieved result can be read. In case of an inability to perform the Debug function, check if a proper connection between the MCU used by the setup and the CODEGRIP programmer has been established. A detailed explanation of the CODEGRIP-board connection can be found in the CODEGRIP User Manual. Please find it in the RESOURCES section.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for USB UART ISO Click driver.
Key functions:
usbuartiso_generic_write- USB UART ISO data writing function.usbuartiso_generic_read- USB UART ISO data reading 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 USB UART ISO Click Example.
*
* # Description
* This example demonstrates the use of USB UART ISO click board by processing
* the incoming data and displaying them on the USB UART.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
*
* ## Application Task
* Any data which the host PC sends via UART Terminal
* will be sent over USB to the click board and then it will be read and
* echoed back by the MCU to the PC where the terminal program will display it.
* Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
*
* @author Nenad Filipovic
*
*/
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "usbuartiso.h"
static usbuartiso_t usbuartiso;
static log_t logger;
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg; /**< Logger config object. */
usbuartiso_cfg_t usbuartiso_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.
usbuartiso_cfg_setup( &usbuartiso_cfg );
USBUARTISO_MAP_MIKROBUS( usbuartiso_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
if ( UART_ERROR == usbuartiso_init( &usbuartiso, &usbuartiso_cfg ) )
{
log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
for ( ; ; );
}
usbuartiso_default_cfg ( &usbuartiso );
log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
char rx_data = 0;
if ( usbuartiso_generic_read ( &usbuartiso, &rx_data, 1 ) )
{
if ( usbuartiso_generic_write ( &usbuartiso, &rx_data, 1 ) )
{
log_printf( &logger, "%c", rx_data );
}
}
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
