Beginner
10 min

Upgrade current measurements to unprecedented levels of accuracy with MCS1806 and dsPIC33EP512MU810

Hall effect innovation for seamless AC/DC current detection

Hall Current 18 Click with Explorer 16/32 development board

Published 11月 15, 2023

Click board™

Hall Current 18 Click

Dev Board

Explorer 16/32 development board

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

dsPIC33EP512MU810

Step into a new era of current measurement reliability with our Hall effect sensors, designed to meet the demands of modern industries by providing non-intrusive, high-precision monitoring for both AC and DC currents.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Hall Current 18 Click is based on the MCS1806, an isolated Hall-effect current sensor from MPS. Its primary conductor has low resistance and allows current to flow close to the high-accuracy Hall-effect sensors. The current generates a magnetic field that is sensed at two different points by the integrated Hall-effect transducers. The difference in the magnetic field between those two points is converted into a voltage proportional to the applied current. As a low stable offset, a spinning current technique is used. The MCS1806 outputs an analog signal, which on this board™ can be read in a digital form. For that purpose, Hall Current 18 Click features the MCP3221, a successive

approximation A/D converter with a 12-bit resolution from Microchip. The onboard OUT SEL jumper allows you to choose between the analog and digital output of the sensor. The MCP3221 is selected by default. This Click board™ should be connected in series with the load. Two onboard terminal connectors measure the current, one terminal block for the positive and the other for the negative current input. Hall Current 18 Click can use an analog output to allow the host MCU to read the data as analog values. In addition, over the MCP3221 and standard 2-Wire I2C interface, it can allow the host MCU to read data in a digital form and 12-bit resolution. Data can be transferred at

rates of up to 100kbit/s in the Standard and 400kbit/s in the Fast Mode. Also, maximum sample rates of 22.3kSPS with the MCP3221 are possible in a Continuous-Conversion Mode with a clock rate of 400kHz. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VCC 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.

Hall Current 18 Click hardware overview image
Hall Current 18 Click Current Warning image

Features overview

Development board

Explorer 16/32 development board is a flexible and convenient development, demonstration, and testing platform for 16-bit PIC24 MCUs, dsPIC® DSCs, and 32-bit PIC32 MCUs from Microchip Technology. It features all the necessary hardware to develop and debug a complete embedded application. The board accepts Processor Plug-In Modules (PIMs) designed for the Explorer 16 or Explorer 16/32 development board for easy device swapping. In addition to the hardware features provided by the board, hardware expansion is possible through the use of PICtail™ Plus

daughter cards and mikroBUS™ accessory boards. Coupled with the integrated PICkit™-On-Board (PKOB), MPLAB ICD In-Circuit Debugger real-time debug facilities enable faster evaluation and prototyping of applications. This development board supports all the Explorer PIMs. However, not all PIMs are supported by the PKOB. To check the list of supported and unsupported PIMs, refer to the PICkit™ On-Board 3 (PKOB3) Support List. For PIMs not on the PKOB3 support list, use the JP1 or J14 connectors to program the device with a newer generation programming tool. Explorer 16/32

development board offers only the main board, allowing customization of the other necessary components. Choose your PIM based on MCUs and DSCs under consideration from a wide range of Processor Plug-In Modules. This board is optimal for customers migrating from Classic Explorer 16 to the new Explorer 16/32 platform, while all the necessary additional components like Processor Plug-In Modules and PICtail™ Plus Daughter Boards are already available.

Explorer 16/32 double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

dsPIC

MCU Memory (KB)

512

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

100

RAM (Bytes)

53248

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output
PB0
AN
NC
NC
RST
ID COMM
PG9
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
I2C Clock
PG2
SCL
I2C Data
PG3
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

Hall Current 18 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Explorer 16/32 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Explorer 16/32 development board as your development board.

Explorer 16/32 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
PIM for PIC32MZ2048EFH100 front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Explorer 16/32 MB 1 Access - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Explorer 16/32 MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

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.

Application Output Step 1

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™.

Application Output Step 3

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.

Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Hall Current 18 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • hallcurrent18_read_current - Hall Current 18 read current function.

  • hallcurrent18_read_voltage - Hall Current 18 read voltage level function.

  • allcurrent18_read_raw_adc - Hall Current 18 read raw ADC value 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 Hall Current 18 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Hall Current 18 click board™ 
 * by reading and displaying the current measurements.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * The initialization of SPI module and log UART.
 * After driver initialization, the app sets the default configuration
 * and set the zero voltage reference.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * The demo application reads the current measurements [A] and displays the results.
 * Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "hallcurrent18.h"

static hallcurrent18_t hallcurrent18;   /**< Hall Current 18 Click driver object. */
static log_t logger;    /**< Logger object. */

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    hallcurrent18_cfg_t hallcurrent18_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.
    hallcurrent18_cfg_setup( &hallcurrent18_cfg );
    HALLCURRENT18_MAP_MIKROBUS( hallcurrent18_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag = hallcurrent18_init( &hallcurrent18, &hallcurrent18_cfg );
    if ( ( ADC_ERROR == init_flag ) || ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( HALLCURRENT18_ERROR == hallcurrent18_default_cfg ( &hallcurrent18 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    Delay_ms( 100 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " Turn off the load current in the following 5 sec.\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 5000 );
    if ( HALLCURRENT18_OK == hallcurrent18_set_zero_ref( &hallcurrent18 ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Process complete!\r\n");
    }
    else
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Zero reference." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
    Delay_ms( 100 );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    float current = 0;
    if ( HALLCURRENT18_OK == hallcurrent18_read_current ( &hallcurrent18, &current ) ) 
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Current : %.2f [A]\r\n", current );
        Delay_ms( 1000 );
    }
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources