Beginner
10 min

Detect the transition points in sinusoidal waveforms with PIC18F46K22

Sense the ebb and flow of sinusoidal signals

Zero-Cross Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Nov 12, 2023

Click board™

Zero-Cross Click

Dev. board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F46K22

Designed for engineers and innovators, our sinusoidal change detection solution ensures that you capture every shift in your signal, empowering you to respond effectively to dynamic changes in your applications.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Zero-Cross Click is based on the circuitry that provides Zero Crossing Detection (ZCD). The alternate current can be connected over two block terminals. As it is intended for this Click board™ to work with high voltages, the critical components are placed on the bottom side, but still, take all precautions when working with this Click board™. On the top side is an AC ON LED to present the AC presence visually. All the magic is happening in

the circuitry at the bottom side of this Click board™. The current passes through the Graetz bridge circuitry, consisting of four DLGL5980. The alternate current converts to a direct current, which is necessary for driving an LED in an EL357N-G, a phototransistor photocoupler from Everlight. When activated, the optocoupler sends a LOW logic state to a ZC pin, the pin with which the Zero-Cross Click communicates with the

host MCU. 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.

Zero-Cross Click hardware overview image

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.

EasyPIC v8 horizontal image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

PIC18F46K22

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

64

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

3896

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
Zero Crossing Detection
RB0
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
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Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Zero-Cross Click Schematic 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.

EasyPIC v8 front image hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
GNSS2 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 Access DIPMB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
NECTO Compiler Selection Step Image hardware assembly
NECTO Output Selection Step Image hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Necto PreFlash Image hardware assembly

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Zero-Cross Click driver.

Key functions:

  • zerocross_pin_read - Zero-Cross pin reading function.

  • zerocross_get_freq - Zero-Cross frequency reading 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 main.c
 * @brief Zero-Cross Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of the Zero-Cross Click board.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initialization of the log UART and basic Click initialisation.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Reading frequency value approximately once every second.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "zerocross.h"

static zerocross_t zerocross;   /**< Zero-Cross Click driver object. */
static log_t logger;    /**< Logger object. */

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    zerocross_cfg_t zerocross_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.
    zerocross_cfg_setup( &zerocross_cfg );
    ZEROCROSS_MAP_MIKROBUS( zerocross_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( DIGITAL_OUT_UNSUPPORTED_PIN == zerocross_init( &zerocross, &zerocross_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    float freq_val = 0;
    zerocross_get_freq( &zerocross, &freq_val );
    log_printf( &logger, " Freq %.2f Hz \n\r", freq_val );
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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