MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18F MCUs

Editor's Notes

• #2: Welcome to the training module on MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18F MCUs.
• #3: This training module will discuss the hardware features of the PIC18F Starter Kit including the features available on the PIC18F46J50 family devices as well as the demos that come with the kit.
• #4: The starter kit consists of a software installation disk, the starter kit board, a USB mini-B cable to connect the starter kit to a PC and a MicroSD Memory Card with pre-compiled demo applications. Before connecting the starter kit to the PC, install the starter kit software by inserting the CD into your PC and following the instructions. The installer program will install the MPLAB® IDE, a student version of the MPLAB C18 C compiler, the bootloader, the demo applications, and the starter kit documentation.
• #5: Let’s take a look at the starter kit board. Note the white rectangle on the bottom of the board. The circuitry inside of this rectangle is an in-circuit debugger. This circuitry allows you to debug an application on the starter kit without the need for an external debugger. The circuitry outside of the white rectangle is the demonstration application. At the heart of the application is a PIC18F46J50. This is a 44-pin member of the PIC18F J-series Flash microcontroller family with USB Capability. The microcontroller features 64 Kbytes of Flash program memory and 3776 bytes of RAM. The 4-element keypad is an integral part of the board’s top layer. The application responds to capacitive changes induced by direct contact with the user by monitoring each of the touch pad’s elements with the microcontroller’s integrated CTMU module. A 128 x 64 pixel, monochrome organic LED array provides a wide range of graphics and alphanumeric display options. A 3 axes acceleration sensor measures the acceleration on all the three axes and can be used in different applications to determine the tilt of the board which can be used for example to control the movement of the cursor in a USB Mouse demo. A switch can be used an any time within the demo applications to load the bootloader menu. MicroSD memory card provides storage space for precompiled application files. The Bootloader can load applications from the MicroSD card and program them to the microprocessor’s Flash memory. The potentiometer provides an analog input to the microcontroller for certain demo applications. The mini-B USB Receptacle provides system power and bidirectional communication between the host PC and the starter kit.
• #6: The PIC18F microcontrollers have many features and peripherals that make them powerful, versatile platforms for embedded projects. Let’s discuss the features that are available in the PIC18F46J50 family devices. The Parallel Master Port, or PMP, is a parallel 8-bit I/O module specifically designed to communicate with a wide variety of parallel devices, such as communications peripherals, LCDs, external memory devices, and microcontrollers. The Real-Time Clock and Calendar module is a 100-year clock and calendar with automatic leap year detection. It runs off a 32.768 kHz input from the secondary oscillator, and is optimized for low-power usage in battery powered applications. The Universal Serial Bus module contains the analog and digital components to provide a USB 2.0 full-speed and low-speed device implementation with a minimum of external components. The Charge Time Measurement Unit is a flexible analog module that provides accurate differential time measurement between pulse sources, as well as asynchronous pulse generation. The CTMU allows an application like the starter kit to utilize capacitive touch sensors for user input. Two MSSP modules can be configured for either I2C or SPI communication with other peripheral or microcontroller devices. Two Enhanced Capture/Compare/PWM (ECCP) modules contain a 16-bit register, which can operate as a 16-bit Capture register, a 16-bit Compare register or a PWM Master/Slave Duty Cycle register. The 10-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converter allows conversion of an analog input signal to a corresponding 10-bit digital number with auto-acquisition capability and self-calibration. Two Enhanced USART modules with Auto-Wake-up on Start bit that supports RS-485, RS-232 and LIN/J2602. A major challenge in general purpose devices is providing the largest possible set of peripheral features while minimizing the conflict of features on I/O pins. Peripheral Pin Select also allows peripherals to overlay each other. In addition, Peripheral Pin Select allows multiple pins to be used for a single output function, increasing the drive strength. In this demo the Peripheral Pin Select is used to multiplex the SPI communication lines with the PMP communication lines allowing for flexible usage of the I/O pins available on the part.
• #7: Let’s discuss how to use the PIC18F Starter Kit. Once the starter kit software is installed, connect the provided USB cable (A to mini-B) to any available USB port on the PC or powered hub, then to the starter kit at the mini-B receptacle, on the application side of the board. The PC USB connection provides communication and power to the board. A MicroSD memory card used to story the demo applications may be connected to the starter kit at any time. If the cable is connected correctly, the green Power (D3) is lit. The OLED will display “Microchip PIC18F Starter Kit” startup menu and the application processor will wait for the ‘Menu’ button to be pressed in order to load the MicroSD Bootloader.
• #8: The PIC18F Starter Kit is built around an MicroSD card bootloader. This bootloader allows multiple demos to be loaded into the SD-card and loaded into the microcontroller when they are selected from the bootloader menu. The Flash program memory of Microchip’s PIC18F46J50 device is readable, writable and erasable during normal operation over the entire VDD range. This feature gives the user the ability to perform bootloading operations. To demonstrate this feature, the MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18 comes with a preprogrammed MicroSD card Bootloader that gives the ability to load, program, and run PIC18 applications from a MicroSD card. The MicroSD Bootloader accepts user inputs from the Capacitive Touch Buttons and Scroll Bar and uses the OLED display for user outputs. The MicroSD Bootloader uses substantial parts of the Microchip Memory Disk Drive File System to read files and folders from a MicroSD memory card.
• #9: When the board is powered, an welcome screen is displayed and the board waits for the ‘Menu’ button to be pressed in order to load the bootloader. If the counter reach 0, the last programmed application will be loaded. A MicroSD memory card can be inserted at any time. When it will be detected by the MicroSD Bootloader, the MDD File System will be initialized, and the file structure will be displayed on the OLED. Please note, that only folders and HEX files will be displayed.
• #10: The user can press the ‘Up’ and ‘Down’ buttons to select a specific file or folder. If the ‘Accept’ button is pressed when a folder is selected, the MicroSD Bootloader will display on the OLED the content of that specific folder. To return one level up, the user can either press the ‘Cancel’ button, or can use the ‘Accept’ button when the folder is selected. If the ‘Accept’ button is pressed when a HEX file is selected, the MicroSD Bootloader will prompt the user for a confirmation to load the file from the MicroSD memory card and to program it to the microcontroller’s Flash memory. After this operation is finished, the user may choose to execute that application or to remain in the bootloader. If the ‘Cancel’ button is pressed in the root directory, the MicroSD Bootloader will exit, and the last programmed application will be executed.
• #11: There are several precompiled demos that come loaded on the MicroSD card ready for testing on the PIC18F Starter Kit. These include a mouse demo using the accelerometer, a joystick demo again using the accelerometer, a custom Human Interface Device (HID) application that allows custom application data to be sent over the bus, a CDC demo that allows the board to appear like a serial port to the computer, and a mass storage demo that allows the board to appear like a drive on the computer.
• #12: In this demo, the board will act like a USB mouse using the accelerometer as a tilt sensor. Hold the board flat relative to the ground for no movement. If you have difficulty finding the mouse cursor on the screen or if you keep losing it, please make sure that the board is flat relative to the ground. Tilt the board to move the cursor. Press the ‘L’ button to left click and the ‘R’ button to right click. Hold the menu button to return to the demo menu and to load a different application.
• #13: In this demo, the board will act like a USB joystick. Tilt the board to move the joystick on the X or Y axes; use the scroll bar to move it on the Z axes. Use the potentiometer to rotate around the Z axes, touch the ‘L’ and ‘R’ capacitive pads to control the first and second buttons. A test program is included in the application folder for the joystick demo that allows testing of the joystick features. The “Game Controllers” option from the Microsoft Windows® “Control Panel” can also be used to show the joystick behavior. Hold the menu button to return to the demo menu and to load a different application.
• #14: In this demo, the board will act like a USB custom HID device. Connect the board to the host computer and run the ‘HID PnP Demo.exe’ provided on the CD-ROM disk.
• #15: The PC application is reading the raw data from the capacitive pads, acceleration sensor and potentiometer. To demonstrate the bidirectional communication, the ‘mTouchCalibrate’ button on the user interface is triggering the calibration routine of the mTouch library on the PIC18 Starter Kit. Hold the menu button to return to the demo menu and to load a different application.
• #16: In this demo, the board will act like a USB Communication Device. When this demo application is connected for the first time to a host computer, it will ask for an INF file. In this case, point to the INF file provided on the CD-ROM disk in the CDC demo folder. After the complete enumeration, the board will appear like a serial port (COM) on the host computer and will start to send the raw data from the acceleration sensor. Use your preferred HyperTerminal software and connect to the COM port created by the board to see the data. Hold the menu button to return to the demo menu and to load a different application.
• #17: In this demo, the board will act like a USB Mass Storage Device.
• #18: Insert a MicroSD memory card and connect the board to the host computer. Files can be read, deleted and manipulated like any other drive on the computer. Hold the menu button to return to the demo menu and to load a different application.
• #19: Thank you for taking the time to view this presentation on “ MPLAB Starter Kit for PIC18F MCUs” . If you would like to learn more or go on to purchase some of these devices, you may either click on the part list link, or simply call our sales hotline. For more technical information you may either visit the MICROCHIP site, or if you would prefer to speak to someone live, please call our hotline number, or even use our ‘live chat’ online facility. You may visit Element 14 e-community to post your questions.