Beginner
10 min

Integrate USB connectivity into your projects with FT2232 and STM32F407VGT6

Highly capable USB to serial interface converter

FTDI Click with Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU

Published Mar 08, 2024

Click board™

FTDI Click

Dev Board

Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

STM32F407VGT6

Achieve high-speed USB 2.0 connectivity to serial interfaces such as UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter), I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit), and SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface)

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

FTDI Click is based on the FT2232H, a 5th-generation high-speed USB to a serial interface converter from FTDI, capable of configuration in various industry standard serial or parallel interfaces. The entire USB protocol is handled on the chip, with no USB-specific firmware programming requirements. Still, it requires USB device drivers for operation, which are free from the official FTDI page. It can work at high speed (480Mbps) and full speed (12Mbps), depending on the usage, alongside a dual Multi-Protocol Synchronous Serial Engine (MPSSE) used to simplify synchronous serial protocol between USB and available interfaces. The FT2232H can communicate with the host MCU over the mikroBUS™ socket using one of the available interfaces (UART, I2C, SPI). The SPI interface can be used as is, while one of the other two has to be selected by the I2C UART jumper, with UART

chosen as a default. Each interface is compatible with an LED indicator marked as TX/RX that signals data transmission. In addition to the communication pins, this board has some additional routed to the RST, PWM, and INT pins of the mikroBUS™ socket and marked as BC0, BC1, and BC2 used for configuration purposes for the MPSSE, or FIFO interface. For additional information on these pins, consult the attached FT2232H datasheet. This Click board™ also features the CAT93C46, a 1K-bit serial EEPROM from Catalyst Semiconductor that can be accessed directly from the FT2232H. The FT2232H uses external EEPROM to configure operational configuration mode and USB description strings. The EEPROM also allows each FTDI channel to be independently configured. It customizes various values and parameters, including remoted Wake Up, power descriptor value, and more. In addition,

FTDI Click features the MCP4921, a 12-bit DAC from Microchip, that communicates with the host MCU over an SPI serial interface of the mikroBUS™ socket. Activated using an FTDI signal over a BD4, it can be used as a reference for external peripherals with a value from the VO pin routed to the AN pin of the mikroBUS™ socket. This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. Considering that the board can be powered via USB and used as a standalone device, using an additional LDO, the AP7331, in this way, the existence of the voltage of both mikroBUS™ power lines is ensured. The board must complete the proper logic voltage level conversion before use with MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library from FTDI, containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

FTDI Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU, powered by the STM32F407 microcontroller, simplifies audio application development. It offers a robust platform with features like the ST-LINK/V2-A debugger, STMEMS digital accelerometer, digital microphone, and integrated audio DAC with a class D speaker driver. It has LEDs, push buttons, and a USB OTG

Micro-AB connector for versatile connectivity. The STM32F407VGT6 MCU boasts a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M4 with FPU, 1MB Flash memory, and 192KB RAM, housed in an LQFP100 package. Equipped with USB OTG FS, MEMS accelerometer, omnidirectional digital microphone, and user-friendly buttons, it ensures seamless operation.

The board accommodates various add-ons via extension headers while offering flexible power supply options, including ST-LINK, USB VBUS, or external sources. Supported by comprehensive free software and a range of IDEs, it empowers developers with flexibility and ease of use, making it an ideal choice for audio-centric projects.

Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

10

Silicon Vendor

STMicroelectronics

Pin count

100

RAM (Bytes)

100

You complete me!

Accessories

STM32F4 Discovery Shield is the perfect extension for your STM32F4 Discovery Board from STMicroelectronics. This versatile shield features four mikroBUS™ host sockets, a USB-UART module, and a CAN transceiver, expanding the capabilities of your Discovery board. Acting as a docking station, the STM32F4 Discovery Shield enables you to effortlessly transform your board into various applications, whether it's an RFID lock, SMS-triggered control switch, GPS tracking device, full-blown weather station, or any other idea you have in mind. With its seamless integration and enhanced functionality, this shield empowers you to explore endless possibilities and quickly bring your projects to life.

STM32F4 Discovery Shield accessories 1 image

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

DAC Output
PC1
AN
User-Configurable BCBUS pin
PE10
RST
SPI Chip Select
PB12
CS
SPI Clock
PB13
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PB14
MISO
SPI Data IN
PB15
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
User-Configurable BCBUS pin
PA1
PWM
User-Configurable BCBUS pin
PE7
INT
UART TX
PB10
TX
UART RX
PB11
RX
I2C Clock
PB8
SCL
I2C Data
PB7
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Click board™ Schematic

FTDI Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

STM32F4 Discovery Shield front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU as your development board.

STM32F4 Discovery Shield front image hardware assembly
Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU front image hardware assembly
BATT Boost Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
BATT Boost Click complete accessories setup image hardware assembly
Discovery kit with STM32F407VG MCU 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
Clicker 4 for STM32F4 HA 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 FTDI Click driver.

Key functions:

  • ftdi_generic_write - This function writes a desired number of data bytes by using UART serial interface

  • ftdi_generic_read - This function reads a desired number of data bytes by using UART serial interface

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 FTDI Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of FTDI click by echoing back all the received messages.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and logger.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Any data which the host PC sends to the Virtual COM Port (for example, typed into the terminal 
 * window in 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. The data will also
 * be displayed on the USB UART.
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "ftdi.h"

static ftdi_t ftdi;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    ftdi_cfg_t ftdi_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.
    ftdi_cfg_setup( &ftdi_cfg );
    FTDI_MAP_MIKROBUS( ftdi_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( UART_ERROR == ftdi_init( &ftdi, &ftdi_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    uint8_t rx_data = 0;
    if ( ftdi_generic_read ( &ftdi, &rx_data, 1 ) > 0 )
    {
        ftdi_generic_write ( &ftdi, &rx_data, 1 );
        log_printf( &logger, "%c", rx_data );
    }
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources

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