Intermediate
30 min

Verify your connections easily and save valuable time during the debugging phase using PIC18F57Q43

Effortless diagnostics: The ultimate tool for logic level confirmation

Tester Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

Tester Click

Dev. board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

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

A

A

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

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

Analog Output
PA0
AN
Reset
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
PWM Input
PB0
PWM
Interrupt
PA6
INT
UART TX
PC3
TX
UART RX
PC2
RX
I2C Clock
PB2
SCL
I2C Data
PB1
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

Tester 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 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

Love this project?

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