Broadcast the music via the FM radio band using the Si4713-B30 and PIC18F26K40
Superior performance in FM broadcasting covering a frequency range from 76MHz to 108MHz
Published Nov 01, 2023
Click board™
RadioStation Click
Dev Board
EasyPIC v8
Compiler
NECTO Studio
MCU
PIC18F26K40
Combined with the capability to broadcast both music and informational data, this project is a match for anyone looking to explore the world of FM broadcasting or to develop applications requiring FM signal transmission
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Hardware Overview
How does it work?
RadioStation Click is based on the Si4713-B30, an FM radio transmitter with receive power scan from Silicon Labs. The RadioStation Click broadcasts the audio signal by utilizing the principles of FM radio broadcasting. The audio signal, brought to the low noise analog input terminals of the Si4713-B30 routed to a mini 3.5 female jack on board, is attenuated and converted into an alias-free, digital format. The digitalized audio is then sent to the digital signal processor (DSP) section of the Si4713-B30 IC, which provides modulation adjustment and audio dynamic range control of the signal for the best listening experience. The audio signal is processed to have the optimal dynamic qualities. Also, Si4713 has programmable low audio and high audio-level indicators that enable and
disable the carrier signal based on the presence of audio content. The Si4713-B30 IC can be used to measure the received signal. The antenna which is used to broadcast the signal can also be used to accept the incoming signal sent by the receiving device. Although it can be used both to receive and transmit signals, the antenna can't operate in both modes simultaneously. This feature can be useful when calibrating the transmission power of the Click board™. The Si4713-B30 integrates the complete transmit functions for standards-compliant unlicensed FM broadcast stereo transmission. The user application must comply with the local radio frequency (RF) transmission regulations. RadioStation Click uses a standard 2-Wire I2C interface to communicate with the host
MCU, supporting clock frequency of up to 400KHz. The I2C address can be selected over the SEN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket, depending on the logic state. The radio transmitter can be reset over the RST pin, which will, among others, disable analog and digital circuitry. The device will interrupt the host MCU over the INT pin if a condition occurs, such as the frequency exceeding the deviation level. 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. However, the Click board™ 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)
64
Silicon Vendor
Microchip
Pin count
28
RAM (Bytes)
3728
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 EasyPIC v8 as your development board.
Track your results in real time
Application Output via UART Mode
1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "FLASH" button initiates the build process, and programs it on the created setup.
2. After the programming is completed, click on the Tools icon in the upper-right panel, and select the UART Terminal.
3. After opening the UART Terminal tab, first check the baud rate setting in the Options menu (default is 115200). If this parameter is correct, activate the terminal by clicking the "CONNECT" button.
4. Now terminal status changes from Disconnected to Connected in green, and the data is displayed in the Received data field.
Software Support
Library Description
This library contains API for RadioStation Click driver.
Key functions:
radiostation_get_asq_status- This function returns status information about the audio signal quality and current FM transmit frequencyradiostation_power_up- This function powers up the chip with default settingsradiostation_get_tune_status- This function returns status information which is set by radiostation_get_tune_measure, radiostation_set_tune_frequency or radiostation_set_tune_power
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
* \brief RadioStation Click example
*
* # Description
* RadioStation click can be used to broadcast the music via the FM radio band
* ( which operates in the frequency range of 76MHz to 108MHz ).
*
* The demo application is composed of two sections :
*
* ## Application Init
* Initialization driver enable's - I2C and sets transmit_frequency.
*
* ## Application Task
* In this example Radio Station Click is receiving signal from audio connector and broadcasting
* it on 100.00 MHz frequency.
*
*
* \author MikroE Team
*
*/
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES
#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "radiostation.h"
// ------------------------------------------------------------------ VARIABLES
static radiostation_t radiostation;
static radiostation_cmd_t radiostation_cmd;
static log_t logger;
static uint8_t buff[ 16 ];
// ------------------------------------------------------ APPLICATION FUNCTIONS
void application_init ( void )
{
log_cfg_t log_cfg;
radiostation_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.
radiostation_cfg_setup( &cfg, true );
RADIOSTATION_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
radiostation_init( &radiostation, &cfg );
radiostation.transmit_frequency = 10000;
radiostation.status = 0xFF;
radiostation_default_cfg( &radiostation, &radiostation_cmd );
}
void application_task ( void )
{
radiostation_get_asq_status( &radiostation, &radiostation_cmd, &buff[ 0 ] );
Delay_ms( 50 );
}
void main ( void )
{
application_init( );
for ( ; ; )
{
application_task( );
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END
