Intermediate
30 min

Optimize DC load management for efficiency with G6D-ASI and ATmega328

Say goodbye to clicks and clacks

FLICKER Click with Arduino UNO Rev3

Published Feb 14, 2024

Click board™

FLICKER Click

Dev Board

Arduino UNO Rev3

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

ATmega328

Switch to a world of convenience and reliability with our power PCB relay – the smart choice for your electrical control needs

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Flicker Click is based on the G6D-ASI, a power PCB relay from OMRON. It has a long service life with up to 300.000 operations at maximum rated loads. Its contact resistance is 100mΩ, with 5ms of release time, and it is designed to withstand 500VDC. Its coil is powered by 5V from the mikroBUS™ socket. The load can be connected to the relay over the onboard screw terminal and isolated from the board. Remember not to touch the board while the external power supply is on; the Flicker Click has exposed pins/pads. Thanks to

the onboard NE556, a dual precision timer from Texas Instruments, and two onboard 500K potentiometers, you can easily set the on/off periods. You will need a fine screwdriver to set the desired position of the potentiometers. A stopwatch can measure the ON/OFF periods if you need precise time. This way, you can set different or the same periods for both on and off states. The onboard LED stands for the visual presentation of the status of the relay. The Flicker Click uses a FON pin of the mikroBUS™ socket to communicate

with the host MCU. Over this pin, you can turn the NE556 ON and OFF. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 5V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. Also, it comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

FLICKER Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Arduino UNO is a versatile microcontroller board built around the ATmega328P chip. It offers extensive connectivity options for various projects, featuring 14 digital input/output pins, six of which are PWM-capable, along with six analog inputs. Its core components include a 16MHz ceramic resonator, a USB connection, a power jack, an

ICSP header, and a reset button, providing everything necessary to power and program the board. The Uno is ready to go, whether connected to a computer via USB or powered by an AC-to-DC adapter or battery. As the first USB Arduino board, it serves as the benchmark for the Arduino platform, with "Uno" symbolizing its status as the

first in a series. This name choice, meaning "one" in Italian, commemorates the launch of Arduino Software (IDE) 1.0. Initially introduced alongside version 1.0 of the Arduino Software (IDE), the Uno has since become the foundational model for subsequent Arduino releases, embodying the platform's evolution.

Arduino UNO Rev3 double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

AVR

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

32

RAM (Bytes)

2048

You complete me!

Accessories

Click Shield for Arduino UNO has two proprietary mikroBUS™ sockets, allowing all the Click board™ devices to be interfaced with the Arduino UNO board without effort. The Arduino Uno, a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P, provides an affordable and flexible way for users to try out new concepts and build prototypes with the ATmega328P microcontroller from various combinations of performance, power consumption, and features. The Arduino Uno has 14 digital input/output pins (of which six can be used as PWM outputs), six analog inputs, a 16 MHz ceramic resonator (CSTCE16M0V53-R0), a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and reset button. Most of the ATmega328P microcontroller pins are brought to the IO pins on the left and right edge of the board, which are then connected to two existing mikroBUS™ sockets. This Click Shield also has several switches that perform functions such as selecting the logic levels of analog signals on mikroBUS™ sockets and selecting logic voltage levels of the mikroBUS™ sockets themselves. Besides, the user is offered the possibility of using any Click board™ with the help of existing bidirectional level-shifting voltage translators, regardless of whether the Click board™ operates at a 3.3V or 5V logic voltage level. Once you connect the Arduino UNO board with our Click Shield for Arduino UNO, you can access hundreds of Click boards™, working with 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels.

Click Shield for Arduino UNO accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
NE556 Enable
PD2
RST
NC
NC
CS
NC
NC
SCK
NC
NC
MISO
NC
NC
MOSI
NC
NC
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

Schematic

FLICKER Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Click Shield for Arduino UNO front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Arduino UNO Rev3 as your development board.

Click Shield for Arduino UNO front image hardware assembly
Arduino UNO Rev3 front image hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Charger 27 Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Arduino UNO Rev3 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
Arduino UNO 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 FLICKER Click driver.

Key functions:

  • flicker_engage - Flicker engage function

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * \file 
 * \brief Flicker Click example
 * 
 * # Description
 * This application simple solution if you need to turn a device on and off at specific time intervals.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * Initialization driver enables GPIO and also starts write log.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This example demonstrates capabilities of Flicker Click board.
 * 
 * \author MikroE Team
 *
 */
// ------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDES

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "flicker.h"

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

static flicker_t flicker;
static log_t logger;

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

void application_init ( void )
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;
    flicker_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.

    flicker_cfg_setup( &cfg );
    FLICKER_MAP_MIKROBUS( cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    flicker_init( &flicker, &cfg );
}

void application_task ( void )
{
    //  Task implementation.

    log_printf( &logger, " *Flicker on!* \r\n" );
    Delay_ms( 500 );
    flicker_engage( &flicker );
}

void main ( void )
{
    application_init( );

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


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

Additional Support

Resources

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