Beginner
10 min

Display status information in a clear and intuitive manner with HLMP-2685 and PIC18F57Q43

Red LED bargraph display for clear and effective visual data representation

BarGraph 5 Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Oct 30, 2024

Click board™

BarGraph 5 Click

Dev. board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Visually indicate network status, signal strength, or show messages or alerts using a bargraph format

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

BarGraph 5 Click is based on three HLMP-2685 red LED bargraph displays from Broadcom Limited controlled by the TLC5947, a 12-bit PWM LED driver with an internal oscillator from Texas Instruments. These rectangular red light bars are housed in single-in-line packages, making them perfect for various industrial and commercial applications. Each lighting segment delivers a typical luminous intensity of 83.4mcd, with a peak wavelength of 626nm, ensuring high visibility. This Click board™ is ideal for applications requiring a large, bright, uniform light source, such as typical bargraph displays, front panel process status

indicators, telecommunications equipment, machine message annunciators, and many other scenarios where clear and reliable visual feedback is needed. The TLC5947 that controls these bars communicates with the host MCU through an SPI serial interface with a maximum clock frequency of up to 30MHz. In addition to the SPI communication signals, the board uses the BLK pin from the mikroBUS™ socket, functioning as a blanking control. When the BLK pin is set to a HIGH logic level, all bargraphs are turned OFF, and when it's LOW, the bargraphs are activated. The board also includes a 2kΩ IREF resistor that sets the current

for the TLC5947's LED driver channels. This resistor ensures that the current for the bargraph LEDs is regulated at approximately 20mA, providing consistent brightness across the displays. 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.

BarGraph 5 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
ID SEL
PA7
RST
SPI Select / ID COMM
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
Bars ON/OFF Control
PB0
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

BarGraph 5 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
Barometer 13 Click front image hardware assembly
PIC18F57Q43 Curiosity Nano front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Curiosity Nano with PICXXX 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

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 BarGraph 5 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • bargraph5_set_bar_level - This function sets the level of a selected BarGraph channel at the selected brightness.

  • bargraph5_output_enable - This function enables the BarGraph LEDs output by setting the BLANK pin to low logic state.

  • bargraph5_output_disable - This function disables the BarGraph LEDs output by setting the BLANK pin to high logic state.

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 BarGraph 5 Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of BarGraph 5 click board by changing
 * the level of all BarGraph output channels.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Changes the level of all BarGraph channels once per second.
 * The channels level is displayed on the USB UART.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "bargraph5.h"

static bargraph5_t bargraph5;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    bargraph5_cfg_t bargraph5_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.
    bargraph5_cfg_setup( &bargraph5_cfg );
    BARGRAPH5_MAP_MIKROBUS( bargraph5_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == bargraph5_init( &bargraph5, &bargraph5_cfg ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    if ( BARGRAPH5_ERROR == bargraph5_default_cfg ( &bargraph5 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    for ( bargraph5_level_t cnt = BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_0; cnt <= BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_4; cnt++ )
    {
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_0, cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_1, BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_4 - cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_2, cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_3, BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_4 - cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_4, cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        bargraph5_set_bar_level ( &bargraph5, BARGRAPH5_BAR_5, BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_4 - cnt, BARGRAPH5_BRIGHTNESS_DEFAULT );
        log_printf( &logger, " Bars 0-2-4 level: %u\r\n", ( uint16_t ) cnt );
        log_printf( &logger, " Bars 1-3-5 level: %u\r\n\n", ( uint16_t ) ( BARGRAPH5_LEVEL_4 - cnt ) );
        Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    }
}

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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