print out my ADC values

danielz85 · Joined: 22 Sep 2012 Posts: 37

Hi
I am using pickit2 with 16f690.
I am looking for a way to print out the ADC results.
LCD is not a good solution for me.
I prefer not to use an additional hardware.

Whats the best way to connect the pickit2 to a pc, and print the results in terminal ? Does picikit2 has a tool for it ?

Can I somehow print my results in real time on the pc ?

Another idea was to save results to a file and then somehow extract it out from my pic ?

I will be happy to get your opinion.
thanx

PCM programmer · Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 21708

After typing in the reply below, I noticed that Pickit 2 does have a Uart
Tool. But I have never used it. To find out more about it, just do a
Google search for this:

danielz85 · Joined: 22 Sep 2012 Posts: 37

thanx for your answer.
I have something that is not clear to me.
Lets say that I want to put the pickit2 in uart mode.

1. On the picket 2 board I can see that its pins 4-5 are goes to the pic16f690- pins 18-19, which are NOT the rs232 pins on his data sheet.
See page 41 here:
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/Low%20Pin%20Count%20User%20Guide%2051556a.pdf

I can't understand which is the tx and rx, and where is the clock ?
I need all of them to pass the rs232 from my mcu to the pickit2 no ?

2. When in ccs-c, I use the command:

Ttelmah · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 19504

Obvious comment. RS232, does _not_ have a clock pin. It is _async_ serial.
Look at the connections on a PC. No 'clock' involved.

So, "No, you don't":

Mike Walne · Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 1785 Location: Boston Spa UK

Work on the KISS principle.

Do what PCM suggests, use the built in RS232 if you've got PIC16F690.

The data sheet tells you which pins are RX & TX.

Mike

danielz85 · Joined: 22 Sep 2012 Posts: 37

Thanks but its not answering my question.

The pic16f690 data sheet shows that the pins uses the rs232 are b5/b7(rx/tx).
The pickit2 connected to my board (as i added before), and it goes to the pic16f690- pins A0/A1.

So, can I use these pins (A0/A1) to connect with the uart tool and set the rs232 to this pins with:

danielz85 · Joined: 22 Sep 2012 Posts: 37

can anyone explain what am i missing here ?

Ttelmah · Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Posts: 19504

You can implement a _software_ UART on any pin (with obvious exceptions, like you can't implement an output on a pin that only supports input).

However the hardware UART is only available on the pins which the hardware is on.

For simple 'debug' type transmit, the software UART should be OK.
However if you want to _receive_, the software UART is very restricted. You have to be sitting waiting, and scanning the input line, before the data starts to arrive.
Also, with the software UART, you can't be doing anything else while sending/receiving.
(There are some slight exceptions to both of these, but only in very specific circumstances).
The software UART is also _half duplex_ only (can only send _or_ receive at any time).

With the hardware UART (especially if you use the interrupt abilities), you can have simultaneous transmission, reception, and at the same time still be running other code.

For a basic 'debug' output, yes, you can use any pins you want. For anything more complex, make the connections to the hardware.

Best Wishes

gpsmikey · Joined: 16 Nov 2010 Posts: 588 Location: Kirkland, WA

I have used the PicKit2 in "uart mode" before and it works fine as long as you understand the limitations as have been mentioned. Since it is in the software UART mode, anything that changes the timing will cause scrambled data sent/received. In my case, it was not a big deal to disable ints during the printf statement (leaving the ints running resulted in periodic goofy characters in the data stream being sent - I was sending status messages every 2-1/2 seconds). For debug purposes, it works well, requires no changes to your wiring etc - you just have to be aware of the limitations - look at the bright side - it leaves the real UART free :-)

One little tidbit here on the PicKit2 that will not affect most folks, but worth mentioning. It has an issue with how it reports the header to windows (I forget the exact thing) that does not show up for most, HOWEVER, it will cause Sony Vegas (video editor) to fail to load if it is plugged in and you try to open Sony Vegas - strangely enough, it will also cause the directx tests to fail when plugged in. Unplug the PicKit2 and all is well. http://www.ccsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=44471

mikey
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mikey
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