Intermediate
30 min

Fine-tune resistance or any other parameter in a circuit with PTA3043-2015CPB103 and PIC18F57Q43

Precision in your hands: Redefine control with our mechanical slider

Slider Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

Slider Click

Dev. board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Our mechanical slide potentiometer, equipped with built-in LEDs to visualize its position, is designed to revolutionize control and provide a smooth and accurate way to adjust various parameters while offering real-time visual feedback

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Slider Click is based on two sections: the first section is the slider section itself, with the sliding potentiometer end terminals connected between GND and the VCC, and the wiper connected to the MCP3551 IC, which is a low-power, single-channel 22-bit delta-sigma ADC from Microchip. The slider acts as a voltage divider so that the voltage between the GND and the wiper position is determined by the slider position. This voltage is then applied to the input pin of the 22bit ADC converter and converted to a digital value. The MCP3551 has its SPI lines routed to the mikroBUS™ so that the values can be read easily

by the MCU. The second section of this Click board™ consists of the MAX6969, a well know 16-port, constant-current LED driver from Maxim Integrated, used to control the SMD LEDs. The MAX6969 IC uses the same SPI lines as the ADC, but to avoid data collision, different chip select (CS) line is used. While the ADC uses the CS line routed to the CS pin of the mikroBUS™, the LED driver uses the RST line of the mikroBUS™ as the chip select input. This allows to work with both ICs independently. MAX6969 output enable (OE) pin is routed to the AN pin of the mikroBUS™, making it easy to completely turn off the output stage

of the MAX6969, by setting this pin to a HIGH logic state. If left floating, this pin will be pulled down to the GND by the 10K resistor. The output LED current is constant and it is set to around 20mA by the resistor on the SET pin of the MAX6969. 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.

Slider Click top side image
Slider Click bottom side 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

LED Driver Output Enable
PA0
AN
LED Driver SPI Chip Select
PA7
RST
ADC 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

Slider 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
Board mapper by product8 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

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for Slider Click driver.

Key functions:

  • slider_read_adc_and_ready - Function calls slider_readADC function, but first checks is ADC conversion finished

  • slider_enable_led_output - Function enables LED output to shows output laches when state is low, and disables LED output when state is high

  • slider_enable_output_laches - Function enables output laches to monitor converted ADC value, when state is high

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 Slider Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This example detect even the smallest move, faithfully capturing the smoothness of 
 * the slider movement, while digitizing its position.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initializes Click driver
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * Converts analog input voltage (VCC), witch value depends on the slider position,
 * to digital output value, shows result of conversion on LED and logs result on USB UART.
 * 
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "slider.h"

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

static slider_t slider;
static log_t logger;

static float adc_value;

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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    slider_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.

    slider_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    SLIDER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    slider_init( &slider, &cfg );
    Delay_ms ( 200 );

}

void application_task ( void )
{
    adc_value = slider_write_output( &slider );
    log_printf( &logger, "%.2f\r\n", adc_value );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
}

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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