Beginner
10 min

Provide clear, audible alerts in various settings with EPT-14A4005P and PIC18LF25K42

Buzz to the future: Piezo speakers in next-gen audio signaling

BUZZ Click with EasyPIC v7a

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

BUZZ Click

Dev Board

EasyPIC v7a

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18LF25K42

Versatile and compact solution for adding audio signalization features to various electronic applications, catering to the needs of developers and engineers in different fields

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Buzz Click is based on the EPT-14A4005P, a piezoelectric transducer from Sanco Electronics. It uses a DC voltage to produce an audio signal while drawing a maximum current of 2mA from a wide operating voltage, in this case, 3.3V or 5V. As its name suggests, a piezo buzzer’s core comprises the piezoelectric ceramic element and a metal plate held together by an adhesive. When a DC is passed through, the piezoceramic element contracts and expands, which causes a vibration that produces sound waves. The buzzer has a resonant frequency of 4000Hz, at which the

buzzer vibrates, thus making a sound. The buzzer is 13.8x6.8mm in dimensions, and besides this Click board™, it can be bought separately from MIKROE. The onboard buzzer driver can be controlled by either a digital GPI pin or a PWM line of a mikroBUS™ socket. Users can create a sound using the Sound library supported in MIKROE compilers or utilize the microcontroller’s internal PWM module to generate the signal for the buzzer. Signal frequency determines the sound pitch, and the duty cycle determines the amplitude (sound volume). Both GPI and PWM lines are connected to

the buzzer by default. The user can separate one of the lines by removing the corresponding jumper (J2 or J3). This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR 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.

BUZZ Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

EasyPIC v7a is the seventh generation of PIC development boards specially designed for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. It supports a wide range of 8-bit PIC microcontrollers from Microchip and has a broad set of unique functions, such as the first-ever embedded debugger/programmer over USB-C. The development board is well organized and designed so that the end-user has all the necessary elements in one place, such as switches, buttons, indicators, connectors, and others. With four different connectors for each port, EasyPIC v7a allows you to connect accessory boards, sensors, and custom electronics more efficiently than ever. Each part of the EasyPIC v7a 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 various external power sources, including an external 12V power supply, 7-23V AC or 9-32V DC via DC connector/screw terminals, and a power source via the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector. Communication options such as USB-UART and RS-232 are also included, alongside the well-

established mikroBUS™ standard, three display options (7-segment, graphical, and character-based LCD), and several different DIP sockets. These sockets cover a wide range of 8-bit PIC MCUs, from PIC10F, PIC12F, PIC16F, PIC16Enh, PIC18F, PIC18FJ, and PIC18FK families. EasyPIC v7a 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 v7a double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

28

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NC
NC
RST
Digital Control Signal
RA5
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
PWM Control Signal
RC1
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
2

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

BUZZ Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

EasyPIC v7a front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the EasyPIC v7a as your development board.

EasyPIC v7a front image hardware assembly
Rotary B 2 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 28 hardware assembly
EasyPIC v7a MB 2 - 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
EasyPIC PRO v7a Display Selection Necto Step 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

This Click board can be interfaced and monitored in two ways:

  • Application Output - Use the "Application Output" window in Debug mode for real-time data monitoring. Set it up properly by following this tutorial.

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for BUZZ Click driver.

Key functions:

  • buzz_set_duty_cycle - This function sets the PWM duty cycle in percentages ( Range[ 0..1 ])

  • buzz_pwm_stop - This function stops the PWM moudle output

  • buzz_pwm_start - This function starts the PWM moudle output

  • buzz_play_sound - This function plays sound on buzzer

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 BUZZ Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of Buzz click boards.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initializes the driver and logger.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Plays the Imperial March melody. Also logs an appropriate message on the USB UART.
 * 
 * ## Additional Functions
 * imperial_march( void ) - this function plays the Imperial March melody.
 * 
 * @note
 * The minimal PWM Clock frequency required for this example is the frequency of tone C6 - 1047 Hz. 
 * So, in order to run this example and play all tones correctly, the user will need to decrease 
 * the MCU's main clock frequency in MCU Settings for the certain architectures
 * in order to get the required PWM clock frequency.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "buzz.h"

#define W 4*Q // Whole 4/4 - 4 Beats
#define H 2*Q // Half 2/4 - 2 Beats 
#define Q 250 // Quarter 1/4 - 1 Beat
#define E Q/2 // Eighth 1/8 - 1/2 Beat
#define S Q/4 // Sixteenth 1/16 - 1/4 Beat

#define VOLUME 100 // goes up to 1000

static buzz_t buzz;
static log_t logger;

static void imperial_march( ) {
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, H );
    Delay_ms( 1 + H );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F7, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, H );
    Delay_ms( 1 + H );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab7, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_G7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Gb7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F7, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Bb6, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Eb7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_D7, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Db7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_B6, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, H );
    Delay_ms( 1 + H );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab7, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_G7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Gb7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_E7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F7, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Bb6, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Eb7, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_D7, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Db7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_B6, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_A6, VOLUME, Q );
    Delay_ms( 1 + Q );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_F6, VOLUME, E + S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + E + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_C7, VOLUME, S );
    Delay_ms( 1 + S );
    buzz_play_sound( &buzz, BUZZ_NOTE_Ab6, VOLUME, H );
    Delay_ms( 1 + H );
}


void application_init ( void ) {
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    buzz_cfg_t buzz_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.

    buzz_cfg_setup( &buzz_cfg );
    BUZZ_MAP_MIKROBUS( buzz_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag  = buzz_init( &buzz, &buzz_cfg );
    if ( init_flag == PWM_ERROR ) {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    buzz_set_duty_cycle ( &buzz, 0.0 );
    buzz_pwm_start( &buzz );

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) {
    log_printf( &logger, "Playing the Imperial March melody ...\r\n" );
    imperial_march( ); 
    Delay_ms( 10000 );
}

void main ( void )  {
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources

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