Optimize DC load management for efficiency with G6D-ASI and PIC18F4515
Say goodbye to clicks and clacks
Published Nov 01, 2023
Click board™
FLICKER Click
Dev. board
EasyPIC v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F4515
Switch to a world of convenience and reliability with our power PCB relay – the smart choice for your electrical control needs
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
Flicker Click is based on the G6D-ASI, a power PCB relay from OMRON. It has a long service life with up to 300.000 operations at maximum rated loads. Its contact resistance is 100mΩ, with 5ms of release time, and it is designed to withstand 500VDC. Its coil is powered by 5V from the mikroBUS™ socket. The load can be connected to the relay over the onboard screw terminal and isolated from the board. Remember not to touch the board while the external power supply is on; the Flicker Click has exposed pins/pads. Thanks to
the onboard NE556, a dual precision timer from Texas Instruments, and two onboard 500K potentiometers, you can easily set the on/off periods. You will need a fine screwdriver to set the desired position of the potentiometers. A stopwatch can measure the ON/OFF periods if you need precise time. This way, you can set different or the same periods for both on and off states. The onboard LED stands for the visual presentation of the status of the relay. The Flicker Click uses a FON pin of the mikroBUS™ socket to communicate
with the host MCU. Over this pin, you can turn the NE556 ON and OFF. 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
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)
48
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
40
RAM (Bytes)
3968
Used MCU Pins
mikroBUS™ mapper
Take a closer look
Click board™ Schematic
Step by step
Project assembly
Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v8 as your development board.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for FLICKER Click driver.
Key functions:
flicker_engage- Flicker engage function
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 Flicker Click example
*
* # Description
* This application simple solution if you need to turn a device on and off at specific time intervals.
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initialization driver enables GPIO and also starts write log.
*
* ## Application Task
* This example demonstrates capabilities of Flicker Click board.
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "flicker.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static flicker_t flicker;
static log_t logger;
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
flicker_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.
flicker_cfg_setup( &cfg );
FLICKER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
flicker_init( &flicker, &cfg );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
// Task implementation.
log_printf( &logger, " *Flicker on!* \r\n" );
Delay_ms ( 500 );
flicker_engage( &flicker );
}
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
