Beginner
10 min

Your shield against interference for flawless USB communication based on ISOUSB111 and PIC18F57Q43

Redefining USB to UART connectivity for a smoother data exchange

USB UART ISO Click with Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Published Feb 13, 2024

Click board™

USB UART ISO Click

Dev Board

Curiosity Nano with PIC18F57Q43

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F57Q43

Complete USB-to-UART isolated solution for engineers and developers working on projects that demand secure and reliable data communication.

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

USB UART ISO Click is based on the ISOUSB111, a full/low-speed isolated USB repeater from Texas Instruments. It is a galvanically isolated USB 2.0 repeater that supports automatic speed connection detection, reflection of pull-ups/pull-downs, and link power management. The repeater isolates D+ and D- USB bus lines and supports automatic role reversal. This means that, after disconnection, if a new connection is detected on the upstream-facing port, then the upstream and downstream port definitions are reversed. This device uses a silicon dioxide insulation barrier with a withstand voltage of up to 5000VRMS and a working voltage of 1500VRMS, thus protecting from high voltages and preventing noise currents

from the bus entering the local ground. This USB repeater also comes with a pair of unpopulated headers for testing purposes for both sides of the isolation barrier. Both headers contain a GND (for both sides), a powered-up indicator pin (V1OK or V2OK), and power supply pins for both sides. USB UART ISO Click is equipped with a USB type C connector, which can connect a USB device to a host MCU over the UART bridge and a USB isolated repeater. The FT232R is a well-known UART bridge chip on which the entire USB protocol is handled on the chip. There is driver support for all common operating systems. The UART chip comes with a pair of UART RX and TX LEDs to visually present UART data flow. USB

UART ISO Click uses a standard UART interface to establish communication of the connected USB device with the host MCU over the UART bridge and an isolated USB repeater. In addition, the UART flow control pins RTS and CTS are available. Additionally, there is an SLP pin for Sleep mode control and a PWR pin as a power enable pin. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the VIO 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 for further development.

USB UART ISO 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

Sleep Mode Control
PA0
AN
NC
NC
RST
UART CTS
PD4
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
FTDI Power Enable
PB0
PWM
UART RTS
PA6
INT
UART TX
PC3
TX
UART RX
PC2
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

USB UART ISO 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

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 USB UART ISO Click driver.

Key functions:

  • usbuartiso_generic_write - USB UART ISO data writing function.

  • usbuartiso_generic_read - USB UART ISO data reading function.

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 USB UART ISO Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of USB UART ISO click board by processing
 * the incoming data and displaying them on the USB UART.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and performs the click default configuration.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Any data which the host PC sends via UART Terminal
 * will be sent over USB to the click board and then it will be read and 
 * echoed back by the MCU to the PC where the terminal program will display it.
 * Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.
 *
 * @author Nenad Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "usbuartiso.h"

static usbuartiso_t usbuartiso;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    usbuartiso_cfg_t usbuartiso_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.
    usbuartiso_cfg_setup( &usbuartiso_cfg );
    USBUARTISO_MAP_MIKROBUS( usbuartiso_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( UART_ERROR == usbuartiso_init( &usbuartiso, &usbuartiso_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    usbuartiso_default_cfg ( &usbuartiso );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    char rx_data = 0;
    if ( usbuartiso_generic_read ( &usbuartiso, &rx_data, 1 ) )
    {
        if ( usbuartiso_generic_write ( &usbuartiso, &rx_data, 1 ) )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "%c", rx_data );
        }
    }
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

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

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

Additional Support

Resources

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