UPC EETAC Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications Systems and in Network Engineering EEL

 

  

CSD_PICstick development board

Microchip

We can implement prototypes for simple circuits based on microcontrollers using standard commercial boards such as PICDEM2 or EXPLORER8. However, it is interesting and educational to design a custom training board for solving our introductory lab exercises.

1. Specifications Planning Developing Testing Report

Let us conceive a simple training board containing these features:

- 40 pin and 28 pin sockets.

- Reset push-button.

- Primary and secondary XTAL oscillators.

- ICSP PIC chip program and debug using a commercial PICkit5, ICD5 or MPLAB SNAP device.

- Unregulated DC input VIN from 7 V to 15V.

- Selectable PIC voltage from VCC = +5V or +3.3V.

- 8 LED to represent binary codes (or a 10-LED bar). 

- Active-low push-button at INT0.

- Switch at RA5.

- Analogue input at RA0.

- 20x2 header connector with all microcontroller pinning.

CSD_PICstick

Fig. 1. CSD_PICstick idea. Jumpers will be used to connect or disconnect some circuits. The 40-pin expansion connector allows the insertion of any daughter board.

 

Specifications 2. Planning Developing Testing Report

 

Schematic ideas on the design of the CSD_PICstick

Fig. 2. Ideas on the schematic. We will use 40-pin and also 28-pin mC sockets.

 

Specifications Planning 3. Developing Testing Report

Proteus simulation

Before designing the PCB, we can try that the basic idea works correcty solving a given example in Proteus. For instance, let us solve the same Counter_BCD_1digit as a FSM using plan X proposed in LAB10 targeting a PIC18F46K22. This is the hardware circuit CSD_PICstick.pdsprj, and this the software C source program: CSD_PICstick.c. Basically only the configuration bits are adjusted to the new microcontroller.

 

PCB design

Schematic in KiCad

Fig. 3. The PCB schematic contains many more resourcs, like headers, test points, etc.

The full KiCad project PCB_CSD_PICstick_v1.zip.

3D view of the PCB

Fig. 3. The 3D view of the finished board.

 

Specifications Planning Developing 4. Testing Report

The board soldered and ready for testing an example project.

Prototype board running

Fig. 3. Prototype ready for running an application.

 

 

Specifications Planning Developing Testing 5. Report

Project report: sheets of paper, scanned and annotated figures, file listings, notes or any other resources. In CSD follow this rubric of indications for writing reports.