PIC to PC Communications

General discussion relating to the library modules supplied with the compiler

Moderators: David Barker, Jerry Messina

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Intellisenc
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PIC to PC Communications

Post by Intellisenc » Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:49 pm

I am interested in developing the option of PC communications with either 18F4520 or 18F4620. I have not worked with communications previously so appreciate any suggestion on where to start.

I would like to offer a simple PC software and be able to view data via USB. It would also be nice to send values to the PICs to make changes to the process.

Intellisenc
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EASYHID

Post by Intellisenc » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:47 pm

I'm not finding much in the way of EASYHID and 18F4620. Maybe I'll try USART and a 232 to USB convertor to get started. Any other suggestions?

Jerry Messina
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Post by Jerry Messina » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:12 pm

I'm not finding much in the way of EASYHID and 18F4620
Maybe that's because the 4620 doesn't have a USB peripheral.

The USB chips all have a "5x" in the last digits of the part number, like 18F2450, 18F4550, 18F27J53, etc

Intellisenc
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USART, Ethernet - 18F4620

Post by Intellisenc » Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:35 pm

Jerry,

Thanks for the response. I now see how they identify these as USB microcontrollers.

If I wanted to work up a relatively simple method to communicate with an 18F4620 with a PC, do you have any suggestion? I am now looking at Ethernet and USART. The Swordfish USART only works with Swordfish installed. It would also be nice to be able to configure a basic page on the PC.

The 18F4620 has; "Enhanced Addressable USART module". I don't know what this means yet, but am wondering if I should begin here as this might be the quickest means to an end.

Thanks

Paul

Jerry Messina
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Post by Jerry Messina » Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:56 pm

Paul,

If you're new to this, then I'd definitely suggest starting with a serial usart. Ethernet and USB both have a lot of software and protocols that go along with them, so they have a pretty steep learning curve. The uart is relatively simple, and there's plenty of examples on how to use it.

RS232 is a very common serial interface. It works with the uart, and about all you need is an interface chip (MAX232) to convert the TTL levels from the PIC to +/- signals. If you get a "serial-to-TTL" style serial converter for the PC side, you can even skip the MAX232.
The Swordfish USART only works with Swordfish installed
Maybe you're misinterpreting things, but the USART code will work fine with just about anything. Perhaps you're referring to the Serial Communicator tool in the IDE. If so, there are a lot of other options available (they're called terminal emulators) and there's plenty of free/open-source ones out there. Many versions of Windows include one (Hyperterm).

Intellisenc
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USART

Post by Intellisenc » Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:15 pm

Jerry,

That's exactly what I needed. Thank you very much. USART it is.

Paul

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