Beginner
10 min

Unveil the true potential of digital signals using LTC2601 and PIC18F57Q43

Upgrade data understanding with DAC mastery

DAC 2 Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

DAC 2 Click

Dev Board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

With high accuracy at its core, our solution bridges the gap between digital data and analog interpretation, enhancing your ability to derive meaning and make informed decisions

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

DAC 2 Click is based on the LTC2601, a single 16-bit rail-to-rail voltage output digital-to-analog converter from Analog Devices with built-in high-performance output buffers. The DAC output (VOUT terminal) can directly drive capacitive loads up to 1000pF or current loads up to 15mA and maintains good linearity to within millivolts of both supply rails. The LTC2601's guaranteed monotonic performance is ideal for digital calibration, trim/adjust, and level setting applications in various applications. This Click board™ communicates with MCU through a 3-Wire SPI interface (write-only) with a maximum

frequency of 50MHz. The LTC2601 also provides an asynchronous clear pin routed to the RST pin of the mikroBUS™ socket, which is required in many servo and control applications. A low-level logic at this level-triggered pin clears all registers and causes the DAC voltage outputs to drop to 0V. It also sets all registers to midscale code and causes the DAC voltage outputs to go to midscale. Like any DAC, the MCP3551 uses a reference voltage as the differential voltage range. The reference voltage level selection is performed by positioning the SMD jumper labeled REF SEL to an appropriate position, choosing between 3.3V or 5V

provided by the mikroBUS™ power rails or 4.096V provided by MCP1541. Those voltages may be used as the reference input that results in accuracy and stability. This Click board™ can operate with both 3.3V and 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.

DAC 2 Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano evaluation kit is a cutting-edge hardware platform designed to evaluate microcontrollers within the PIC18-Q43 family. Central to its design is the inclusion of the powerful PIC18F57Q43 microcontroller (MCU), offering advanced functionalities and robust performance. Key features of this evaluation kit include a yellow user LED and a responsive

mechanical user switch, providing seamless interaction and testing. The provision for a 32.768kHz crystal footprint ensures precision timing capabilities. With an onboard debugger boasting a green power and status LED, programming and debugging become intuitive and efficient. Further enhancing its utility is the Virtual serial port (CDC) and a debug GPIO channel (DGI

GPIO), offering extensive connectivity options. Powered via USB, this kit boasts an adjustable target voltage feature facilitated by the MIC5353 LDO regulator, ensuring stable operation with an output voltage ranging from 1.8V to 5.1V, with a maximum output current of 500mA, subject to ambient temperature and voltage constraints.

PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

48

RAM (Bytes)

8196

You complete me!

Accessories

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is a versatile hardware extension platform created to streamline the integration between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards, tailored explicitly for the mikroBUS™-standardized Click boards and Xplained Pro extension boards. This innovative base board (shield) offers seamless connectivity and expansion possibilities, simplifying experimentation and development. Key features include USB power compatibility from the Curiosity Nano kit, alongside an alternative external power input option for enhanced flexibility. The onboard Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit ensure smooth operation for battery-powered applications, simplifying usage and management. Moreover, the base incorporates a fixed 3.3V PSU dedicated to target and mikroBUS™ power rails, alongside a fixed 5.0V boost converter catering to 5V power rails of mikroBUS™ sockets, providing stable power delivery for various connected devices.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Asynchronous Clear
PA7
RST
SPI Chip Select
PD4
CS
SPI Clock
PC6
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PC5
MISO
SPI Data IN
PC4
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
NC
NC
PWM
NC
NC
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

DAC 2 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43 as your development board.

Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F47Q10 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Curiosity Nano with PICXXX Access MB 1 - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity MCU Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for DAC 2 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • dac2_default_cfg - This function executes default configuration for LTC2601

  • dac2_write_output_voltage_procentage - This function required percentage value ( from 0% to 100% ) convert to digital input and transforms it to the output voltage from 0 to Vref [mV]

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 Dac2 Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * DAC 2 click represents a 16-bit digital-to-analog converter.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Application Init performs Logger and Click initialization.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This example of the DAC 2 communicates with MCU through the SPI communication, 
 * send digital input ( form 0 to 100 with step 1 ) and transforms it 
 * to the output voltage, ranging from 0 to Vref [mV].
 * 
 * \author Mihajlo Djordjevic
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "dac2.h"

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

static dac2_t dac2;
static log_t logger;

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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    dac2_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 ----" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );

    //  Click initialization.

    dac2_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    DAC2_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    dac2_init( &dac2, &cfg );
    
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, " ----- DAC 2  Click ----- \r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    dac2_default_cfg( &dac2 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " -- Initialization done --\r\n" );
    log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    uint16_t voltage_out;
    uint8_t value_pct;

    for ( value_pct = 0; value_pct <= 100; value_pct += 10 )
    {
        dac2_write_output_voltage_procentage( &dac2, value_pct );
        voltage_out = value_pct * 50;
        log_printf( &logger, "Voltage Output: %d mV\r\n", voltage_out );
        
        voltage_out = value_pct;
        log_printf( &logger, "Percentage Output: %d %%\r\n", voltage_out );
        
        log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------\r\n" );
        Delay_ms( 5000 );
    }

    log_printf( &logger, "###############################\r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 1000 );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources

Love this project?

'Buy This Kit' button takes you directly to the shopping cart where you can easily add or remove products.