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Multi-purpose dual power supply (5.0V and 3.3V) regulator board

Posted on June 13, 2012 by R-B 19 comments

All embedded systems require electric power to operate. Most of the electronic components inside them, including the processors, can operate at a wide range of supply voltage. For example, the operating voltage range for the PIC16F1847 microcontroller is 2 to 5.5 V. But there are certain applications where you need a regulated constant voltage to avoid malfunctioning of the circuit or getting erroneous results. For instance, any application that involves analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) requires a fixed reference voltage to provide accurate digital count for input analog signal. If the reference voltage is not stable, the ADC output is meaningless. Here

DIY directional control input pad

Posted on June 11, 2012 by R-B 2 comments

This DIY directional pad will allow you to provide user inputs or to navigate through the LCD menu in your microcotroller based project. It has got five input tact switches that are readable through one ADC channel. The resistor divider network on board provides a unique analog voltage for each key press which can be identified through an ADC channel.

chipKIT Tutorial 4: Interfacing a character LCD

Posted on June 8, 2012 by R-B Leave a comment

Liquid Crystal Displays(LCDs ) are a very popular output device for displaying graphical and alphanumeric data in microcontroller based systems. They can also provide an interactive input interface to the users. The most common type of LCD controller used by hobbyists is the Hitachi 44780, which provides a relatively simple interface between a processor and an LCD. The purpose of this tutorial is to describe how to interface Hitachi 44780–based LCDs with the chipKIT Uno32 board to display alphanumeric information.

chipKIT Tutorial 3: Analog-to-digital conversion

Posted on May 31, 2012 by R-B 2 comments

We live in an analog world where most physical variables are analog signals. However, a microcontroller can only process data that is available in digital format. It is precisely for this reason that the analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) is so important in embedded systems that interact with an analog environment. In this tutorial, we will discuss about the ADC capabilities of chipKIT UNO32 board and illustrate how to read an analog input signal from its ADC channels.

chipKIT Tutorial 2: Serial communication with PC

Posted on May 30, 2012 by R-B Leave a comment

The PIC32 processor on the chipKIT Uno32 board provides two hardware serial ports. One of these is used by the on-board FTDI chip to create an USB-UART interface that allows the MPIDE tool running on the PC to communicate with the Uno32 board through an USB port. In this tutorial, we will use the same USB-UART interface to demonstrate a two-way asynchronous serial communication between the Uno32 and the PC. The Uno32 board receives a serial command through the PC’s USB port to turn an external LED on and off. In return, the Uno32 board acknowledges to the PC by

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