P A G E 24
E a s y P I C P R O v 8 M a n u a l
C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Communication
Communication connectors allow the development board to be connected
with many different devices that use high-layer communication protocols
such as Ethernet, USB, etc. Also, there is a USB-UART converter, offering
simplified communication with the personal computer over the emulated
serial interface. Each of these connectors will be described in more details, in
the following sections of the manual.
USB-UART
UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) interface is one of
the most common interfaces for data exchange between the MCU and
other external devices. EasyPIC PRO v8 development board offers the UART
connectivity over the USB-C connector
(1)
by utilizing the FT230XQ, a popular
USB-UART bridge IC, produced by FTDI Chip. This IC contains the complete
USB stack necessary for the interface bridging between the UART peripheral
of the MCU and the USB interface of the PC. FT230XQ drivers are available
for download from the EasyPIC PRO v8 product web page, as well as from the
official FTDI drivers download web page.
To enable data exchange via the USB-UART connector, the MCU UART
peripheral lines must be connected to the corresponding pins of the FT230XQ
IC. This can be done using the two-pole DIP switch, labeled as USB/UART
(SW2 on the schematic). Only two switch positions are used for the UART
setup:
SW2.1
ON (up):
connects the UART TX pin from the MCU to the FT230XQ IC;
OFF (down):
disconnects the UART TX pin from the FT230XQ IC
SW2.2
ON (up):
connects the UART RX pin from the MCU to the FT230XQ IC;
OFF (down):
disconnects the UART RX pin from the FT230XQ IC
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a very popular industry standard that defines
cables, connectors, and protocols used for communication and power supply
between devices. USB-C connector
(1)
is the latest version of the USB
connector, developed by the USB Implementation Forum (USB-IF). Due to
its many advantages including symmetrical pinout, higher current capacity,
and support for faster data rates, it offers a significant improvement over the
previous versions. This allows MCU devices equipped with the USB peripheral
to connect to an external USB HOST (such as a PC, Laptop, etc.), allowing the
development of USB-based applications. The connection to the USB HOST is
indicated by a yellow LED labeled as VBUS, located in the USB section, near
the USB-C connector.
A number of Microchip MCUs have a USB peripheral on-board. These MCUs
incorporate a fully-featured USB communications module with a built-in
transceiver that is compliant with the USB Specification Revision 2.0. The
module supports both low-speed and full-speed communication for all
supported data transfer types.
Summary of Contents for EasyPIC PRO v8
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