Intermediate
30 min

Verify your connections easily and save valuable time during the debugging phase using PIC18F2458

Effortless diagnostics: The ultimate tool for logic level confirmation

Tester Click with EasyPIC v8

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

Tester Click

Dev. board

EasyPIC v8

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F2458

Our mission is to empower developers with a convenient and user-friendly diagnostic tool that simplifies the hardware testing process, ensuring a smoother development journey

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Tester Click is a Click board™ used as a diagnostic tool on the mikroBUS™ socket. It contains an array of 2x6 LEDs, which signalize the presence of the HIGH/LOW logic level on each pin, providing a visual feedback to the developer. Two additional LEDs indicate the presence of +3.3V and +5V on the mikroBUS™ power rails. This simple diagnostic tool can save hours of troubleshooting, saving the

application developer from having to connect various complicated measurement instruments, only to test logic states on the specific mikroBUS™ pins. Each pin of the mikroBUS™ is routed to a red colored LED, which is protected by 1K resistor. This allows voltages up to VCC to be handled with no issues, providing a simple and clean solution for pin state testing. Once placed on the mikroBUS™

socket, no additional settings are required. There are no ICs or other active elements besides the LEDs. Its simplicity makes it very simple to use: as soon as it is connected, red and green power indication LEDs will signalize the presence of +3.3V and +5V on both the mikroBUS™ power rails. The rest of the LED array will be lit according to the state on the respective pin.

Tester Click top side image
Tester Click bottom side 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

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

24

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

28

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

Analog Output
RA3
AN
Reset
RA0
RST
SPI Chip Select
RA5
CS
SPI Clock
RC3
SCK
SPI Data OUT
RC4
MISO
SPI Data IN
RC5
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Input
RC1
PWM
Interrupt
RB1
INT
UART TX
RC6
TX
UART RX
RC7
RX
I2C Clock
RC3
SCL
I2C Data
RC4
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
2

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Tester 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
Rotary B 2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 28 hardware assembly
EasyPIC v8 28pin-DIP - 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

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 Tester Click driver.

Key functions:

  • tester_set_pin_high - This function sets the output voltage on the specified pin to high

  • tester_set_pin_low - This function sets the output voltage on the specified pin to low

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 Tester Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This example showcases how to initialize, configure and use the Tester Click. It is a simple
 * GPIO Click which is used to test if all the pins on a MikroBUS are working correctly.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * This function initializes and configures the Click and logger modules.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This function sets the output on all the pins (one by one) on the left side to high, going
 * from top to bottom and then does the same with the ones on the right side, after which it 
 * sets all pins to high and after one second sets them back to low. 
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "tester.h"

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

static tester_t tester;
static log_t logger;

static digital_out_t *pin_addr[ 12 ] =
{
    &tester.mosi,    // 0 MOSI
    &tester.miso,    // 1 MISO
    &tester.sck,     // 2 SCK
    &tester.cs,      // 3 CS
    &tester.rst,     // 4 RST
    &tester.an,      // 5 AN
    &tester.pwm,     // 6 PWM
    &tester.int_pin, // 7 INT
    &tester.tx_pin,  // 8 TX
    &tester.rx_pin,  // 9 RX
    &tester.scl,     // 10 SCL
    &tester.sda      // 11 SDA
};

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

static void blink ( digital_out_t *pin ) 
{
    tester_set_pin_high( pin );
    Delay_100ms( );
    tester_set_pin_low( pin );
}

static void all_on ( )
{
   int i;

   for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
   {
        tester_set_pin_high( pin_addr[ i ] );
   }
}

static void all_off ( )
{
   int i;

   for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
   {
        tester_set_pin_low( pin_addr[ i ] );
   }
}

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

void application_init ( )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    tester_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.

    tester_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    TESTER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    tester_init( &tester, &cfg );
}

void application_task ( )
{
    int i;

    for( i = 0; i < 12; i++ )
    {
        blink( pin_addr[ i ] );
    }

    all_on( );
    Delay_1sec( );
    all_off( );
}

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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