Analog Input

Signal voltages are not always digital, such as zero volts or five volts. Many times they are analog, in that they can vary in voltage level, and that is where an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is used to convert the input signal from an analog voltage level to a digital value that the microcontroller can process. This project monitors a potentiometer-controlled voltage that lights up an LED when the threshold is crossed.

proj3.png

Step by Step Instructions

Using the MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC), this project creates an analog input to read a potentiometer and control an LED from a digital output. When the potentiometer is turned right of the center position the LED will light up. When the potentiometer is turned left of the center position the LED will be off.

proj3bd.png

The project uses:

PICDEM Lab II Connections:

  • Connect 5 V and Gnd to the power bus of the protoboard.
  • Connect 5 V to the Vdd pin of the PIC16F1769
  • Connect Gnd to the Vss pin of the PIC16F1769
  • Connect a wire from the RA2 pin (pin 17) to the breadboard Row 23
  • Connect a wire from the ground bus to breadboard Row 27
  • Connect the LED Anode to breadboard Row 23
  • Connect the LED Cathode to breadboard Row 24
  • Connect a 330 Ω resistor between Row 24 and Row 27
  • Connect a wire from the RA4 pin (pin 3) to the breadboard Row 8
  • Connect the potentiometer's three pins to row 7, 8, and 9
  • Connect a wire between Row 9 and the breadboard ground bus
  • Connect a wire between Row7 and the breadboard power bus

To follow along with these steps, MPLAB X should be open and the Programmer/Debugger connected to both the computer and the Development Board. The setup was described in the Setup and Installation section of this training module. You should see a screen similar to the one below to move on to step 1.

mplabx.png

1

Create a new stand-alone project in MPLAB X for a PIC16F1769. Instructions are below if this is your first project.

2

Open the MCC under the Tools > Embedded menu of MPLAB X IDE.

mcclaunch.png

3

Select the Peripherals for your project.
In this project these peripherals will need to be selected:

  • System Module
  • Interrupt Module
  • Pin Module
  • ADC

The System Module, Interrupt Module, and Pin Module will be automatically included but the ADC must be selected for the project. The list of peripherals will show up under the Device Resources list. Double click on the ADC to have it added to the project.

proj3per.png

4

Open the Pin Manager and then click on the PORTA pin 2 (RA2) blue lock symbol in the Output row to lock it. It will turn green. This adds this RA2 I/O pin to the project to drive the LED. Click on the PORTA pin 4 blue lock in the ANx row to make it green. This adds the RA4/AN3 input to the project. Vref+ and Vref- should be left to their default values. The Reset line should not have any green locks.

proj3io2.png

5

Close the Pin Manager and then click on the Pin Module in the Project Resources to open the center section. It will show RA2 and RA4 listed on the I/O chart.

gpio.png
  1. The RA2 pin will be an output and control the LED. Click on the Output box to make the pin an output and uncheck the WPU and Analog boxes.
  2. The RA4 pin is the potentiometer input, so check the Analog box and uncheck the Output and WPU boxes, if checked.
proj3ioset.png

6

The System needs to be setup next. Click on the System Name in the Project Resources list. It should be highlighted in blue when selected.

system.png

The System section will appear. In this section, the oscillator settings and the configuration settings are selected.

Oscillator

  1. Select the INTOSC from the System Clock Select drop down menu.
  2. Select the 1MHz_HF selection from the Internal Clock drop down menu.

This will enable the internal 1 MHz internal oscillator as the system clock.

oscillator.png

Configuration

Each configuration setting can be changed under the Register tab of the System window. Match the selections shown here.

config1.png
config2.png

7

The ADC needs to be setup. Click on the ADC label in the Project Resources menu to make the ADC setup screen appear.

adc.png
  1. Check the ADC Enable box and select the FOSC/2 clock source from the drop down menu.
  2. Click on the Right selection for Result Alignment. This will produce a 10-bit ADC result.
  3. Leave Vref+ as VDD and Vref- as VSS.

Note: The name of the RA4 pin is called "channel_AN3". We will use this later in the main.c file.

The window should look like the image below after the proper setup.

adcsetup.png

8

Click on the Generate Code button to have the MCC create the software libraries for this project.

generate.png

9

The project will now have both generated Header Files and Source Files. It should also have a generated a main.c file.
Note: MCC may offer to generate a main.c file. Click yes to allow it to complete that task.

projfiles3.png

Double click on the main.c file to open it up in the editor window.

mainfile.png

10

The ADC result will produce a value between 0 and 1023 depending on the position of the potentiometer. A value of 0 is the position all the way counterclockwise. A value of 1023 is all the way clockwise. The halfway point is a value of 512. We shall test the position by comparing the value to 512. If it is larger than 512 then the LED will be lit. If it is smaller than or equal to 512, then the LED will be off.

Add the following code to the end of the main.c file:

while (1)
    {
        // Add your application code

        if (ADC_GetConversion(channel_AN3) > 512)
            {
            IO_RA2_SetHigh();
            }
        else
            {
            IO_RA2_SetLow();
            }

    }
maincode3.png

Note: The IO_RA2_SetHigh() and IO_RA2_SetLow() functions are macros that were generated by the MCC, and their definitions are located in the pin_manager.h file.

#define IO_RA2_SetHigh()    do { LATA2 = 1; } while(0)
#define IO_RA2_SetLow()   do { LATA2 = 0; } while(0)

11

Click on the Build Project icon (the hammer) to compile the code. You should see a "BUILD SUCCESSFUL" message in the output window.

Main_Build_Project.png
BUILD SUCCESSFUL

12

Make sure your project has the programming tool selected (Part of Step 1 above) and connect power to your development board.

The PICkit 3 has limited power capability so we recommended powering the board separately.
The ICD 3 can power a development board, but for simplicity's sake, we recommend powering the board separately.
The Real ICE cannot power the development board so powering the board separately is required.

Click on the Make and Program Device icon. This will build the project again and launch the programmer. In the output window, you should see a series of messages and, if successful, it will end with a "Programming and Verify Successful" message.

Main_Program_Target_Project.png

Output Window:

Connecting to MPLAB PICkit 3...
Firmware Suite Version.....01.34.11
Firmware type..............Enhanced Midrange

Target detected
Device ID Revision = 6

The following memory area(s) will be programmed:
program memory: start address = 0x0, end address = 0x7ff
configuration memory
Device Erased...

Programming...
Programming/Verify complete



The RA2 LED should light up when the RA4 potentiometer is turned clockwise more than the halfway point. The picture below shows the potentiometer beyond the halfway point so the LED is lit.
proj3final.jpg

If it is the first time the programmer is connected to the board, the programming tool may need to download the proper operating firmware for the exact device. You make see a series of processes if this occurs. This should only happen once.

Downloading Firmware…
Downloading bootloader
Bootloader download complete
Programming download…
Downloading RS…
RS download complete
Programming download…
Downloading AP…
AP download complete
Programming download…
Firmware Suite Version…..01.34.11
Firmware type…………..Enhanced Midrange

13

The project can be closed in the MPLAB X IDE. The project is saved automatically when it is built, but any changes to files or configuration may ask to be saved before the project is closed.
The project can be closed under the File Menu > Close Project

closeproject.png

Download

If you have any problems with your project, the completed MPLAB X project file can be downloaded from the link below:

File Download
Installation
Instructions
Windows Linux Mac OSX
Project 3 Files
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