Open the door to a world of IoT opportunities with DTCR-76DA and PIC18F45K40

Transcend limits, transmit brilliance

Published Nov 02, 2023

Click board™

IQRF click

Dev. board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F45K40

Experience the next level of wireless excellence with our RF transceiver designed for the 868/916 MHz ISM band, ensuring unparalleled reliability and range for your applications.

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

iqRF Click is based on the DCTR-76DA, an RF transceiver from iqRF, operating in the 868/916 MHz frequency. The click is designed to run on a 3.3V power supply. It communicates with the target microcontroller over SPI or UART interface, with additional functionality provided by the following pins on the mikroBUS™ line: AN, RST, PWM, INT. DTCR-76DA is an RF transceiver operating in the 868/916 MHz license-free ISM (Industry, Scientific, and Medical) frequency band.

Its highly integrated ready-to-use design containing MCU, RF circuitry, serial EEPROM, and optional onboard antenna requires no external components. RF transceiver modules DCTR-72DA fit in the SIM connector. They are fully programmable under the IQRF OS operating system and allow the utilization of hardware profiles under the DPA framework. To upload application codes in DCTRs and configure DCTR parameters, a CK-USB-04A kit is intended. When

the application is uploaded to the IQRF, it can be put in the mikroBUS™ socket and communicate with it with MCU. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V 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 v8 is a development board specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports many high pin count 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip, regardless of their number of pins, and a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others, in one place. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, EasyPIC v8 provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access anywhere and under any

circumstances at any time. Each part of the EasyPIC v8 development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the advanced integrated CODEGRIP programmer/debugger module, which offers many valuable programming/debugging options and seamless integration with the Mikroe software environment, the board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development board. It can use a wide range of external power sources, including a battery, an external 12V power supply, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector.

Communication options such as USB-UART, USB DEVICE, and CAN are also included, including the well-established mikroBUS™ standard, two display options (graphical and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from the smallest PIC MCU devices with only eight up to forty pins. EasyPIC v8 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)

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output

RA2

General-Purpose I/O

RE1

RST

SPI Chip Select

RE0

SPI Clock

RC3

SCK

SPI Data OUT

RC4

MISO

SPI Data IN

RC5

MOSI

Power Supply

3.3V

Ground

GND

General-Purpose I/O

RC0

PWM

Interrupt

RB0

INT

UART TX

RC6

UART RX

RC7

SCL

SDA

Ground

GND

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.

NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly

In the advanced settings, pay special attention to the Redirect standard output field. By default, it is set to Application output as the method of displaying final results. To show results via a UART terminal, select the “UART” option in that field and click the “SAVE” button. You will be returned to the Compiler field, and now you can move on to the next step by pressing the “NEXT” button.

Buck 22 Click front image hardware assembly

EasyPIC v8 DIP MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly

NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly

Necto DIP image step 7 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 IQRF Click driver.

Key functions:

iqrf_generic_single_read - This function read one byte data.
iqrf_generic_multi_write - This function writes data.

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 iqRF Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * IQRF Click carries the RF transceiver, operating in the 868/916 MHz frequency.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Application Init performs Logger and Click initialization.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Checks if new data byte has received in RX buffer ( ready for reading ),
 * and if ready than reads one byte from RX buffer. In the second case, 
 * the application task writes message data via UART. Results are being sent 
 * to the Usart Terminal where you can track their changes.
 * 
 * \author Mihajlo Djordjevic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "iqrf.h"

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

//#define DEMO_APP_RECEIVER
 #define DEMO_APP_TRANSCEIVER


static iqrf_t iqrf;
static log_t logger;

static const char demo_message[ 9 ] = { 'M', 'i', 'k', 'r', 'o', 'E', 13, 10, 0 };
static char rx_message[ 10 ];
static uint8_t idx;

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


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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    iqrf_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 ----" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    //  Click initialization.

    iqrf_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    IQRF_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    iqrf_init( &iqrf, &cfg );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------ iqRF  Click -----------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    iqrf_default_cfg ( &iqrf );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "---------- Initialization ----------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "------------------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    char tmp;
    
#ifdef DEMO_APP_RECEIVER

    // RECEIVER - UART polling

    tmp =  iqrf_generic_single_read( &iqrf );
    log_printf( &logger, " %c ", tmp );
        
#endif
        
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSCEIVER

    // TRANSMITER - TX each 2 sec
        
    uint8_t cnt;
        
    for ( cnt = 0; cnt < 9; cnt ++ )
    {
        iqrf_generic_single_write( &iqrf, demo_message[ cnt ] );
        Delay_ms( 100 );
    }
    
    Delay_ms( 2000 );
       
#endif
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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

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