Write your first program in mikroc

MikroC is a powerful, feature rich development tool for PICmicros. PIC andC fit well together: PIC is the most popular 8-bit chip in the world, used in a wide variety of applications, and C, prized for its efficiency, is a natural choice for developing microcontroller applications. MikroC provides a successful match featuring highly advanced IDE, ANSI compliant compiler, broad set of hardware libraries, comprehensive documentation, and plenty of ready to run example programs.

· Familiar with interface

· Create new project

· Write codes

· Compile

Familiar with mikroc interface

Write your C source code using the built-in Code Editor (Code and Parameter

Assistants, Syntax Highlighting, Auto Correct, Code Templates, and more…)

Below is the complete list of keyboard shortcuts available in mikroC IDE. You can

also view keyboard shortcuts in Code Explorer window, tab Keyboard.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

IDE Shortcuts

F1 Help

CTRL+N New Unit

CTRL+O Open

CTRL+F9 Compile

CTRL+F11 Code Explorer on/off

CTRL+SHIFT+F5 View breakpoints

Basic Editor shortcuts

F3 Find, Find Next

CTRL+A Select All

CTRL+C Copy

CTRL+F Find

CTRL+P Print

CTRL+R Replace

CTRL+S Save unit

CTRL+SHIFT+S Save As

CTRL+V Paste

CTRL+X Cut

CTRL+Y Redo

CTRL+Z Undo

Advanced Editor shortcuts

CTRL+SPACE Code Assistant

CTRL+SHIFT+SPACE Parameters Assistant

CTRL+D Find declaration

CTRL+G Goto line

CTRL+J Insert Code Template

CTRL+<number> Goto bookmark

CTRL+SHIFT+<number> Set bookmark

CTRL+SHIFT+I Indent selection

CTRL+SHIFT+U Unindent selection

CTRL+ALT+SELECT Select columns

Debugger Shortcuts

F4 Run to Cursor

F5 Toggle breakpoint

F6 Run/Pause Debugger

F7 Step into

F8 Step over

F9 Debug

CTRL+F2 Reset

First program

Your first program is that make a LED blinking program. LED ON after 500ms and OFF after 500ms. You can simulate this program using real circuit or using simulation software. (Download simulate software Proteus 7.1 full)

Shall we start our first program

This is the our circuit

Create new project

The easiest way to create project is by means of New Project Wizard, drop-down

menu

Project > New Project.

Just fill the dialog with desired values (project name and description, location, device, clock, config word) and mikroC will create the appropriate project file. Tick cp_off, xt_osi, wdt_off.

cp_off – you not going to protect your code.

xt_osi – you use external oscillator

wdt_off – don’t think now

Write codes

Write following codes in code widow

void main()

{

PORTB = 0;

TRISB = 0;

While(1)

{

PORTB = ~PORTC;

Delay_ms(1000);

}

}

Compile codeings

Press compile button

If your code successfully compiled Error window show as below

IF error occurs Error widow show as below

If error occurs, copy given code carefully in to code window and again compile

Output Files

Upon successful compilation, mikroC will generate output files in the project folder

(folder which contains the project file .ppc). Output files are summarized

below:

Intel HEX file (.hex)

Intel style hex records. Use this file to program PIC MCU.

How write hex file in to pic? Read

Microcontroller Programming in Assembly Language PART 3

In the previous two articles we discuss about how to create a MPLAB project and understood some basic features and instruction available in a PIC16F84A microcontroller. In this article I basically focus on how to write ‘if-then’ logic in assembly.  Below a sample program code is provided which uses simple ‘if-then’ logic. This will give you some idea about how to use it in microcontroller Programming.

#include<p16f84a.inc> ; This is the header file

org                00h ; Reset vector

main

bsf                STATUS,RP0 ; configure status bits to move into bank 1

movlw           b’00000001′ ; move a binary value into the working register

movwf          TRISB ; move the content of the working register into trisb

; above two instructions set RB0 as an input other PORTB pins output

bcf                STATUS,RP0 ; moves into bank 0

clrf                PORTB ; clears PORTB initially

loop_off ; a lable

btfss               PORTB,0 ; check the status of RB0 and wait untill it is set

goto               loop_off

bsf                  PORTB,1 ; make RB1 high when RB0 goes high

loop_on

btfsc               PORTB,0 ; check the status of RB0 and wait untill it is cleared

goto               loop_on

bcf                  PORTB,1 ; make RB1 low when RB0 goes low

goto               loop_off

end ; end of the program

The main function of this program is to test the input condition on RB0 and if RB0 is high it makes RB1 high otherwise if RB0 is low it makes RB1 low.

Most of the codes include in this program I have already discussed in my previous article. So therefore I will mainly concentrate on new commands come across in this program we will start from the very beginning one by one.

#include<p16f84a.inc> - refer my previous article

org     00h - refer my previous article

main - refer my previous article

bsf      STATUS,RP0 - refer my previous article

movlw     b’00000001′ - this command is somewhat new but it is very easy to understand. This means that, it assigns a binary value 00000001 to working register. This working register is temporary register and if we want to assign some value to a SFR, firstly the value is assigned to the working register and then that value is moved in to the particular SFR using ‘movwf’ command.

movwf          TRISB - now you know what is going to be happened in this command. The value in the working register will be moved in to the TRISB register. After that RB0 pin of the PORTB will be act as an input.

bcf     STATUS,RP0 - if you refer my previous article you know what is the purpose of this command. By using this command we jump in to Bank0 of the PIC.

clrf     PORTB - clears what ever in the PORTB initially.

loop_off - It is just a loop. refer my previous article

btfss    PORTB,0 - this is something new. This checks the value of the pin mentioned in the particular register and if the value is 0 then the next instruction is executed and if the value is 1 then the next instruction is discarded instead instruction after that will be executed. This might be confusing for you. Therefore we will take a look at the program and try to understand what happens in it.

In here it checks the status of the 0^th pin. If the pin is in low stage ‘goto      loop_off’ command will be executed and if not instead of executing ‘goto             loop_off’ command it will be discarded and ‘bsf     PORTB,1′ will be executed.

goto     loop_off - refer my previous article

bsf       PORTB,1 - refer my previous article

loop_on - it is another label.

btfsc     PORTB,0 - this is the opposite of ‘btfss’ command and it will operate in the same way which ‘btfss’ command does if the particular pin is in the reset stage(0).

Rest is pretty obvious for anyone who went through these two articles.

<<Go to previous article Go to next article>>

Other related Articles

Microcontroller Programming in assembly language PART 1

Microcontroller Programming for beginners with PIC16F84A

Beginner guide to Microcontroller Programming

Parallel Port Programming in Visual Basic

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Micro controllers in practice by Loan Susnea and Marian Mitescu

PIC in practice by David W. Smith

The PIC Microcontroller; Your Personal Introductory Course by John Morton

Programming and Customising the PIC Microcontroller by Myke Predko

Pick’n up the Pace - Microcontroller Application Guide by Walter G. Jung

Introduction to Microprocessors and Microcontrollers by John Crisp

PIC Microcontrollers Second Edition - An Introduction to Microelectronics by  Martin P. Bates

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Microcontroller Programming

There are lot of things have to be considered when devices are made using microcontrollers. In here such several issues will be discussed on Microcontroller Programming.

Steps of Microcontroller Programming

• Get an idea about what is going to be done using Microcontroller
• Dividing the problem in to smaller parts for the ease of solving
• Programming using assembly
• Converting the program in to a hex code which can be understood by the Microcontroller
• Programming Microcontroller using hardware

Explaining the problem

This thing will be somewhat strange for us for some distance. Since lot of high level languages like Visual Basic are used very commonly and they can be easily understandable and easily changeable according to our need. Explaining the problem is not very much necessary. But when a language like ‘assembler’ or ‘C’ is used, situation is totally different. Problem definition is very much needed since they are more hardware related and understanding is somewhat hard comparing high level. It will be very much handy if a prototype of the problem is built in solving it.

Then the amount of inputs, outputs and processing steps needed for the system which is going to be built can be identified easily. This is necessary if assembly language is used to program. Because in assembly sets of instructions are used in controlling all the things which is different from all other languages.

Dividing the problem in to several parts

Dividing the problem which has to be solved in to several smaller parts is very much useful in solving it because it will enable us to figure out it easily. An algorithm has to be built. When the programming is being done, it can be divided in to,

• Main processing steps
• Identifying main variables
• Preparing mainline logic

By understanding the above mentioned steps and by going according to them, the main advantage that can be get out of it will be the optimizing the memory of the microcontroller. That will be very much important in a microcontroller like PIC16F84A since it only has 1kB of limited memory to deal with.

Programming using Assembly

This is the final step after doing all the above mentioned steps. We discuss assembly language for this purpose.



Firstly Assembly program is written and with the help of an assembler it can be converted in to a hex file which can be identified by a microcontroller. Then that hex code is fed in to the memory of the microcontroller using a programmer. Normally microcontroller is connected with a PC using a programmer and this programmer normally uses serial or parallel port in a PC to connect.

Microcontroller Programming in Assembly language PART 2

In the previous article, ‘Microcontroller Programming in assembly language PART 1‘, I showed you the way to create a project using MPLAB. In this article I will show you the way to understand basic instructions used in writing assembly language for a PIC16F84A microcontroller using a sample program written in assembly. Though it is not a complicated program by any means, it will help you to understand the basics. Here is the sample program.

#include<p16f84a.inc> ; this is the header file

org                  00h ; Reset vector

main

bsf                  STATUS,RP0 ; configure status bits to move into bank 1

clrf                  TRISB ; clear trisb register to make portb pins as outputs

bcf                  STATUS,RP0 ; moves into bank 0

loop ; a  label

bsf                  PORTB,0 ; set RB0 pin high

goto               loop ; make the program stay in a loop

end ; end of the program



This program is written to give a output from a RB0 pin of the PIC.

This is the program and we will try to understand what is the meaning of each code written in the program. To understand the program you have to have some idea about the DATA SHEET of the PIC16F84A microcontroller.

In the program you can see that in each line there some text written after a ‘ ; ‘ mark. That is the way to write a comment. In the first line ‘this is the header file’ text is a comment.

#include<p16f84a.inc> - this ‘.inc’ must include in the beginning of each program. This differs from PIC to PIC. In this context since we are using a PIC16F84A microcontroller ‘p16f84a.inc’ file has to be included and for a PIC16F877A microcontroller ‘p16f877a.inc’ file has to be inserted in the program. Likewise this ‘.inc’ will be different for different PICs.

org      00h - This command is called as the reset vector. There are memory spaces in a PIC and each memory location is given a unique address. These addresses are given hexadecimals. In this command you can see the term ‘00h’. ‘00′ implies the address of the memory location in hexadecimals and ‘h’ shows that the value is in hexadecimals. As it indicates, it is the zeroth location in the memory. You may know that the written program will be stored in the memory and this command instructs the program to go to the first location of the memory and to start executing the program from that location.

Main - this is only label. It is not a command. The use of a label will be discussed later.

bsf      STATUS,RP0 - To understand this command you need to study the data sheet of the PIC. Every memory location has a certain number of bits. PIC16F84A has 8 bits in a single memory location. So it is a 8 bit memory.  A single memory location in a memory is called as a ‘Register’. In every PIC there are certain registers called as ‘Special Function Registers’. As name implies these registers are to perform some special tasks. These registers are manufacture designed ones. If you refer the data sheet you can see what these registers are, what are the purpose of each register and how they are located in the memory etc. So ‘STATUS’ mentioned in the above command is also a SFR (Special Function Registers).

In the PIC16F84A, the whole memory is divided in to two sections and each section is called as a ‘bank’. The two banks are called as ‘bank0′ and ‘bank1′. From PIC to PIC, the number of banks available changes. As an example, in PIC16F877A there are 4 banks available. By referring the data sheet, the available registers in each bank can be found out. So, if someone wants to do a particular task on a certain register it must be accessed through the relevant bank which the register is located.

Selecting the bank is done by the above mentioned command. Bank will be selected by means of setting or clearing the RP0 bit of the STATUS register. To jump to bank0, RP0 has to be cleared and to jump to bank1, RP0 has to be set. If you consider the command ‘bsf   STATUS,RP0′ , ‘bsf’ means set the bit and the rest of the command tells which bit to set. In this context, it sets the RP0 bit of the STATUS register. You can set any bit in any register by this command and only thing you have to change the name of the register and the bit. After the executing the command, it will be jumped to bank1. As usual more information about the instruction set and the registers can be found out from the data sheet.

clrf      TRISB - In PIC16F84A, there are 13 pins available for input and output purposes. They are called as PORTA and PORTB. In PORTA, 8 pins are available and in PORTB, 5 are available. According to the need, we can either use those ports as inputs or outputs. This will be defined in the program.



For each port there is a separate register assigned in the memory. In here TRISA for PORTA and TRISB for PORTB. We can define which bits of the port to be output and which are to be input by simply setting and resetting the relevant bits in the corresponding register. Setting means ‘1′ and resetting means ‘0′. As an example think that we want to set the 1 pin of the PORTA to be an input and 2 pin of the PORTB to be an output. To do that you have to set the 1 bit of the TRISA register and reset the 2 bit of the TRISB register. Likewise you can define input and outputs.

In the above command, ‘clrf’ means clearing (setting to 0) all the bits of the mentioned register. In here the register is TRISB. So I hope you can understand the meaning of the command now. It will define all the pins of PORTB as outputs.

bcf     STATUS,RP0 - in here ‘bcf’ means clearing/resetting the bit of the mentioned register. Here it will clear the RP0 bit of the STATUS register. Now you know by doing this what we are trying to do. After the execution of this command it will be jumped in to bank0.

You wonder why we need to jump in to bank0. As in the next step we want to set the RB0 pin. If you refer the data sheet you will see that PORTB is in the bank0. To set the RB0 pin of the PORTB it must be needed to be in the bank0.

Loop - like the ‘main’ label, this is also a label and the use of this label will be explained in the next step.

bsf   PORTB,0 - understanding this command will not be anymore difficult to you if you have read upper part of the article well. This will set the 1 pin of the PORTB.

goto   loop - this will show you why we use the ‘loop’ label. From this command program will jump to the location where ‘loop’ label stands. After the jump it will again execute the ‘bsf     PORTB,0′ command and this will continue. It is no need to mention what will be the result after the execution of these two commands.

End - simply this is the end of the program as it implies.

So I hope that you may now have some rough idea about assembly programming.

<<Go to previous article Go to next article>>

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Microcontroller Programming in assembly language PART 1

Microcontroller Programming for beginners with PIC16F84A

Beginner guide to Microcontroller Programming

Parallel Port Programming in Visual Basic

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The PIC Microcontroller; Your Personal Introductory Course by John Morton

Programming and Customising the PIC Microcontroller by Myke Predko

Pick’n up the Pace - Microcontroller Application Guide by Walter G. Jung

Introduction to Microprocessors and Microcontrollers by John Crisp

PIC Microcontrollers Second Edition - An Introduction to Microelectronics by  Martin P. Bates

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Download more e-books and software>>

]]> http://promeganet.com/?feed=rss2&p=897 http://promeganet.com/?p=761 http://promeganet.com/?p=761#comments Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:48:33 +0000 http://www.promeganet.com/?p=761 Microcontroller Programming in Assembly language PART 1

In this ‘Microcontroller Programming in Assembly language’ series of articles, I would like to show you the way to write an assembly program for a PIC, known as microcontroller commonly, using mpasm assembly in MPLAB. I used PIC16F84A for this purpose. By referring this series of articles one can get an idea on how to begin programming in assembly language for PICs. To give an idea about ‘Microcontroller Programming in Assembly language’ I will take small assembly programs and describe their functionality one by one.

First of all, a project has to be built using MPLAB. So in this first part of the article I will show you to how to create a project using MPLAB.

To start using MPLAB, it has to be installed in the computer.

Download MPLAB >>

Step 1

Open MPLAB. You will see a screen like below.

Step 2

After you have to go to Project-> Project wizard. Screen will appear as below.

Click next.

Step 3

After clicking next, the following screen will appear and in here the PIC which is going to be used has to be selected. Select PIC16F84A and click next.

Step 4

Then the following screen will appear on the screen.

In here you have to do several things.

• Check whether the ‘Active Toolsuite’ is selected as ‘Microchip MPASM toolsuite’
• If the toolsuite is properly selected screen must as above. Otherwise ‘a cross mark’ will appear in front of each ‘Toolsuite contents’ which are listed below.
  • MPASM Assembler (mpasmwin.exe)
  • MPLINK Object linker (mplink.exe)
  • MPLIB Librarian (mplib.exe)

So if a ‘cross mark’ appears in each toolsuite contents browse the folder which they include using ‘Browse’ button appears below. Assume that the MPLAB is installed to the ‘C drive’ of your machine, then the location of the toolsuite contents will be “C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPASM Suite”.

Step 5

After completing the step 4 below screen will appear and give a proper name to your project and select the location in which the project will be saved and simply click next.

Step 6

If you already have any previously written assembly program and if you want to add it to your project you can add it here. Simply select the location where it exists and press ‘Add’ and after adding click next. But if you do not have anything to add simply click next.

Step 7

Creating a project is almost finished now. In this screen you will see a summary of Device (type of PIC used), Toolsuite and the location of the project saved. If anything needs to be changed go back otherwise click Finish.

So, this is the way you have to create a project usiing MPLAB and after creating the project you can add source files to it and it will be discussed in the next article.

Continue to PART 2>>

Other related Articles

PIC Programming for beginners with PIC16F84A

Beginner guide to PIC Programming

Parallel Port Programming in Visual Basic

Related E-Books downloads

Micro controllers in practice by Loan Susnea and Marian Mitescu

PIC in practice by David W. Smith

The PIC Microcontroller; Your Personal Introductory Course by John Morton

Programming and Customising the PIC Microcontroller by Myke Predko

Pick’n up the Pace - Microcontroller Application Guide by Walter G. Jung

Introduction to Microprocessors and Microcontrollers by John Crisp

PIC Microcontrollers Second Edition - An Introduction to Microelectronics by  Martin P. Bates

Download more e-books and software>>

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The following link is a tutorial series on the 14-bit core PIC family made by Microchip. It covers common PICs like 16F84, 16F628, 16F87x etc…It tells you nearly everything about its architectures like program code bus and data bus and many other aspects like Reset, Oscillators etc. It is much easier to learn while someone is talking to you via diagram and animated drawings. At this moment, the following areas are covered: Architecture, Instruction Set, Development Tools Overview, Device Configuration, Resets and Oscillator Each downloadable module is an animated movie with audio. You can get them at the following link and save them to your hard drive for later viewing. PICmicro x14 Basic Training Modules I also strongly recommend reading PICmicro Mid-Range MCU Family Reference Manual as it contains important information of all 16F PIC features. Example topics covered includes Device Structure and Varieties, explaining the Oscillator, Memory Organizations and EEPROM, Interrupts, Ports, Timers, A/D, LCD, CCP, Watchdog, the Instruction Set, and so on… But most important thing is you should familiar electronics and programing to do pic project… Download Teach_yourself_Electicity and electronics

2. Which PIC to choose?

Download 16f84a Data sheet…. For hobbyist, usually we would like those PICs that allow us to program it many many times. So this rules out PIC that has a “C” in its part number which usually is of the type one-time programmable. The “F” in its part number generally means “Flash technology” and this type of PIC are what we often used for experimenting. Many examples and projects we found on the Internet built around 16F84, but please keep in mind that this PIC is old, more expensive, less powerful and now obsoleted, so don’t use it for any new design, unless you don’t have the source code for your project but stuck with just the HEX object code. If you are new to PICs, you’d probably buy the 16F628A or 16F88. There are many tutorials and schematics that use them. It is not difficult to adapt 16F84 source codes for use on newer PICs. For experienced users, it is even possible to disassemble the object code for 16F84 and use it with newer PICs. 16F628A-18Pin, Flash based,Internal Oscillator, PWM module, ICSP, USART 16F88-18Pin, as 16F628A but with added A/D converter If you are looking for bigger PICs to have more I/O pins, try 16F876-28 pin and 16F877-40pin or their newer A version. Also small PIN count PIC: 12F675-8pin or 10F206-6pin! Later you may want to advance to 18F PIC series, which are called “High End”, because they are more powerful and have better support for higher level languages (mostly C optimized). Just for information, there is also a DsPIC series from Microchip, which offer 16-bit core and DSP capabilities and with clock frequency up to 160Mhz brings you absolute top power solution… These CPU’s are really powerful.

3.Refer Datasheets first

4. What is involved in using a PIC

A PIC is piece of plastic with pins sticking out. It will do nothing. Internally it has memory which can store binary instructions that it understands. So we need to translate what we wanted it to do into binary instructions stored inside the PIC. The whole process involve two steps. Human instructions can be in the form of computer languages like C or JAL or assembly. (Download mplab to write assembly pic programs) We write the instructions in a text file and a software translate/compile/assembly it into another text file containing HEX codes representing binary instructions that the PIC understands. This is called the object file. Then a piece of hardware(called Hardware device programmer) which sits between the Personal Computer and the PIC whose job is to read the object file and transfer it into the PIC, more often with other functions like reading codes back out from the PIC or verify the codes with the object file. Another piece of software(programming software) is required to control this piece of hardware to perform these functions. Don’t confuse this software with that for compiling the human instructions into object form. Free assembly coding tutorials Download When the HEX file is ready, there are two ways to download it into the flash memory of the PIC. One can either use a hardware device programmer mentioned above or a bootloader via serial port of the PC. A bootloader is some codes inside the PIC which read data from its serial RX/TX pin and program the data into the flash memory. This allow very easy operation when one wants to develop codes without the need of a hardware programmer. However, there are some catches.( We commonly use ICPROG to write hex file in to pic. Download ICPROG) a. Not all PICs can support bootloader operation as only those that can program their own flash memory will work b. The bootloader code must be loaded into the PIC first by a hardware programmer c. Bootloader takes up some code memory spaces d. The PIC will have to be running at the time of programming e. A serial port on the PC is required (Serial port programing books) Parallel port programming in Visual Basic 4b. What hardware device programmer to use Programmer circuits: We recommend the parallel programmer P16Pro40 as many had been built and works perfectly. A warning: Serial programmer designs like JDM or RCD relies heavily on the current and voltage capability of the serial port on your PC/laptop. If it works, congratulation. If it doesn’t, bad luck. There is nothing you can do to make it work.

5. PIC Programming softwares:

There are many choices and are listed below in no particular oder. There is no limit on how many you can use as different software features different PIC types support. Check the software to see if it actually supports the PIC that you use. IC-Prog PicAllW 18F PIC Programming Software WinPic WinPic800 WinPicProg


6. Some of my PIC output PINs are not working!

This is a common problem. Usually people try to output logic 1(HIGH) to PINs which are only inputs (aka PORTA,5 or PORTE,3 are usually Input only), or you are trying to get 5V from a PIN which can only pull down to 0V GND. Such PIN is called “Open drain Output”, similar to open-collector in TTL logic. Such PIN is “missing” a MOSFET transistor from VDD to PIN, therefore PIN can’t go HIGH. And of course the MOSFET transistor which is there connecting PIN to VSS can’t output high but only 0V. If you want to use it as a general TTL compatible output, just add a Pull-up resistor from that PIN to +5V (4K7 is good). But keep in mind this logic 1(HIGH) wont be “strong” enough to drive a LED! (If you want to drive LED with it, connect anode of LED to +5V via a current limiting resistor and its Cathode to PIN, this will allow you to turn on the LED by putting logic 0 on the PIN. Beginners usually don’t like Open Drain/Collector PINs, but they will find it useful latter, when they advance into “self-designing” level. Make sure that any internal PERIPHERAL is NOT taking over desired PIN, For example if you activates TIMER1 oscillator or ICD support, you can’t use PORTB6,7 for ANY other purpose! This applies to both Input and Output problems. List of peripherals (and features) that may cause problems: MCLR - may prevent PINs PORTA,5 OR PORTE,3 to be used as general purpose input, disable it by clearing Master Clear Enable bit in configuration register. Comparator Module - pins PORTA 0-3 are defaulted to Analog mode with comparators enabled. Writing a correct value to CMCON register (read Datasheet) will disable them. (Affected devices: 16F628, 16F628A, 16F876A, 16F877A, 16F88, 12F629, 12F675, 12F683… and more) LVP - this is a special way of programming PIC with only +5V on MCLR and LVP pin PORTB3 or PORTB4 will control if PIC is on normal or in program mode. because this “feature” will takeover/block one PIN in the middle of an eight bit port, I highly recommend to DISABLE it by clearing LVP bit in config register. ICD support will allow you to debug the PIC, but if you don’t use ICD, under no circumstances enable DUBUG bit in config register, this would reserve PORTB6 & PORTB7 pins and your program won’t be able to use them.

7. Some of my input PINs are not working!

First check the datasheet if the default state of the PIN is Digital Input, if it says that the Reset state is analog (comparator or ADC), you need to disable analog feature at the beginning of your program. This is a common problem, when you switch from 16F84 to 16F628 without rewriting the program (16F628 has Comparators turned on by default, whereas 16F84 doesn’t have them at all). Also if you plan to use PORTA,5 or PORTE,3 as general inputs, you have to disable MCLR function first because they share the same PIN.

8. What are Watchdog, CCP, Timer etc …

Watchdog timer (WDT) is an Independent oscillator+timer, that will reset (or wake-up) the PIC if you don’t clear the timer value periodically. This clearing has to be done regularly in your PIC software by calling CLRWDT instruction. Watchdog prevents your program to be locked in infinite loop, because if it get stuck, the CLRWDT instruction wouldn’t get executed and the PIC will reset and get out from the loop. Or you can use Watchdog to periodically wake the PIC up from sleep, and thus saves one precious Timer (that can be used elsewhere). The WDT is a crude RC oscillator, it’s accuracy is very poor, and highly dependent on external factors such as temperature. However, this doesn’t matter for it’s designed purpose as a watchdog. CCP is a unit that has three functions: a. In Capture mode, CCPR register captures the 16-bit value of the TMR1 register (Timer1) when an event occurs on pin RB3/CCP1. b. In Compare mode, the 16-bit CCPR register value is constantly compared against the TMR1 register pair value. When a match occurs, the RB3/CCP1 pin is altered (see datasheet) c. In Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) mode, the CCP1 pin produces up to a 10-bit resolution PWM output. Since the CCP1 pin is multiplexed with the PORTB data latch, the TRISB<3> bit must be cleared to make the CCP1 pin an output. Timer unit has to modes of operation: d. Counter mode, is counting impulses from a dedicated input pin. This can serve also as a debounced input (Timer overflow will indicate that a button was pressed) e. Timer mode, is counting oscillator pulses (Primary or Secondary), this will allow your program to know how much real time has passed (to construct delays, software serial buses etc) Sample coding for Timers

9. Simulate Pic program before make hardware

Using proteus you can simulate your dream circuit. You can test your project before make it.The Proteus Design Suite is wholly unique in offering the ability to co-simulate both high and low-level micro-controller code in the context of a mixed-mode SPICE circuit simulation. With this Virtual System Modelling facility, you can transform your product design cycle, reaping huge rewards in terms of reduced time to market and lower costs of development.(Download proteus7.1 with crack)

Read more about proteus…….

The most exciting and important feature of Proteus VSM is its ability to simulate the interaction between software running on a microcontroller and any analog or digital electronics connected to it.

10.What is next

Summery of the article….

That’s all you need to begin pic programing. Enjoy it……..

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Then this is the way.

It is very easy, less cost and more importantly it can be made in your home…..

Only u need few things in order to build your own PCB,

• a copper board
• printout of the circuit diagram going to be build
• Ferric Chloride
• permanent marker pen

Copper board

This is a simply a plastic board in which one side is got a copper layer. That is it. Anyone can buy it from market…

Printout of the circuit diagram

Circuit diagram of the circuit going to be built can be designed using a software like EAGLE or etc. After creating the circuit diagram of the circuit, it has to be printed either directly on a transparent sheet or a normal plain paper. If it is printed on a plain paper it has to be photocopied on a transparent sheet. One can choose either method. But printing directly on the transparent sheet is the better way.

Way of making a PCB

Step 1

Scratch the Copper board using a sand paper (Silicon Carbide paper). But make sure that you do not scrarch it too hard or too much and also ensure that SiC paper is not too harder one. After scratching clean the surface of the copper board well.

Step 2

Take the printout of the PCB design layout(circuit diagram)  in transparent paper, keep it on the copper board (on the copper layer) and iron it using iron (you can use a normal iron for this). Iron it well. Make sure keep printed side on the copper board.

Step 3

After ironing it can be seen that the circuit diagram will be printed in the copper board. But it may not be printed well on the copper board specially if photocopied one is used. So therefore with the help of the permanent marker pen draw the parts of the circuit diagram which are not printed properly. Keep in mind to choose a marker with a small point, otherwise it will be difficult draw.

Step 4

Now you got a circuit diagram printed on the copper board. Take ferric chloride and mix it with water (hot water is better, it will react with copper better). Put the copper board into the mixture and wash it well using the mixture. Copper will react with the ferric chloride and finally you will get your PCB. You will see the  circuit diagram on the board in black colour.

Step 5

Now your work is almost finished. Wash the board using thinner and clean it. Now you will see your PCB.

This is the way you have to do it…..

Enjoy it……..

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Structure of a parallel port

In here I basically focused on using the parallel port to output data. For that I used Data outputs in the port. We can output a maximum of 8 bit data using a 25 pin parallel port.

In a 25 pin parallel port connector there are three types of ports to receive or send data.

• Data ports - From D0 to D7
• Status ports - From S0 to S7 (Though there are 8 status ports only 5 are visible)
• Control ports - From C0 to C7 (Though there are 8 control ports only 4 are visible)

Also there are 8 Ground pins to complete the circuit.

Normally Data pins are at Low state (0 V) and Status pins are at High state (+5V). Therefore for reading purposes using status ports it must be grounded first. (refer the picture shown in below)

Also note that S7 is inverted. Therefore it is in Low State.

Port address



Every port in a computer has an address. So if someone is going to access any port in a computer, its address has to be known. Address is a Hexadecimal number. Typical values are shown below.

These are only typical values. But it may change from computer to computer. Then, before doing anything port’s address has to be found out.

Right click on My Computer icon on the desktop go to Manage-> Device Manager-> Ports (COM & LPT) -> Printer/Parallel port and go to Properties-> Resources. In there address can be found out.

How to program using Visual Basic

In Visual Basic, it is not possible to access hardware directly. But there is a method. To control the parallel port using a VB program, a file called ‘Inpout32.dll’ is needed. It can be simply downloaded from the internet and has to be copied to system directory (c: \Windows \System32).

In any VB program a module has to be included and the following code must be written on it.

Public Declare Function Inp Lib “inpout32.dll” _

Alias “Inp32″ (ByVal     PortAddress As Integer) As Integer

Public Declare Sub Out Lib “inpout32.dll” _

Alias “Out32″ (ByVal PortAddress As Integer, ByVal Value As Integer)

How to Output data

We can output an 8 bit number using data port. There is a function called ‘out’ to output data. This function takes two parameters, Port address and Data. Out Address, data

E.g.:- Consider that we want output 15 using the data port. For that it can be written the function like below

Out 888, 15

Or the address can be written as a hexadecimal number

Out &h378, 15

The data on the data port will be 00001111 from binary. From D0 to D3 pins will be on high state and from D4 to D7 will be on low state.

How to Read data

We can read data in the data in any port by ‘Inp’ function and it takes only one parameter.

Variable = Inp (address)

This variable gives the integer value of the corresponding address.

e.g.:- Suppose that the data on the data port is 15.

X = Inp (&h378) Then variable x will be equal to 15.

How to light a LED using a parallel port

To light a LED using a parallel port, only a LED and a resistor are needed. Just 270 or 330 ohms resistor is sufficient. Connect the resistor and the LED in series and connect the plus terminal of the LED to any of the data port from D0 to D7 and the minus terminal to any of the ground pins.

Let’s think that the LED is connected to the D0.

Out &h378, 1 - LED will be ON

Out &h378, 0 - LED will be OFF


That’s all you need to begin programming parallel port in Visual Basic. Enjoy it……..

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Microcontroller programming for beginners with 16f84a

Anyone interest in electronics they would like to know about MCU s. These days new technology goes long distance away from PIC. But major thing is MCUs still use for many electronic components. With basic knowledge of programming and about electronics anyone make big projects with MCU s. Using PIC ICs can make small LED circuit and also can make complex robots.

We will consider about the major requirements. First thing is we have to choose suitable PIC ic . If we have enough knowledge to use PIC IC s then we should select suitable IC for our project or circuit. For an example we will think we are going to make DC motor control circuit then we should choose PIC IC s with have PWM facility. If you can’t understand about this PWM or what ever the things I finally mentioned don’t worry about that because I will give brief introduction from my continuous posts.

Select suitable microcontroller

I choose to write about PIC programming using 16f84a because it is not complex to learn. Now we have a PIC IC. After that we will decide what is the our first circuit. I think everyone knows about blinking LED circuit but I explain it here for beginners. One LED on and off continuously. It is simple and attractive circuit.

Code writing software

We need hardware and software to continue our lesson and project. First we consider about programming software. Much free software can downloads from internet. Some of are MICROC, PICC, MP LAB. PICC and MICROC use kind of c language but writing programs in MP LAB we need knowledge about assembly language it not too easy therefore I choose MICROC to write our program.

But here I mention only basic knowledge only for beginners. If you want to know about how to program in MICROC visit our PIC programming page. After write and compile program we can make hex file.

Programming Device and burning software

Then we have to program the IC. HEX file is the one you need to program the microcontroller. The programming device (programmer) with accessory software installed on PC is in charge of writing the physical contents of HEX file into the internal memory of a microcontroller.

Then we will get knowledge about programmer and burning software. Programmer is a circuit and you have to make it. Look at circuit schematic diagram and try to make that circuit. Note that the programming software should be used only for the communication with the programming device — it is not suitable for code writing. When I burn the IC, I use IC PROG because it is easy and fast. Programmer device connect with computer via serial port and open burning software and write hex file on microcontroller. After that we have programmed PIC IC.

Circuit and output

Finally we want a new circuit to see how works our programmed IC. It is simple and you need only oscillator, LED s and few resistors. Make circuit properly and enjoy it.

Was this article useful for you?

If so, please be kind enough to spend 2,3 minutes for leaving a comment. . . .

Other related Articles

Microcontroller Programming in assembly language PART 1

Microcontroller Programming in assembly language PART 2

Beginner guide to Microcontroller Programming

Parallel Port Programming in Visual Basic

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The PIC Microcontroller; Your Personal Introductory Course by John Morton

Programming and Customising the PIC Microcontroller by Myke Predko

Pick’n up the Pace - Microcontroller Application Guide by Walter G. Jung

Introduction to Microprocessors and Microcontrollers by John Crisp

PIC Microcontrollers Second Edition - An Introduction to Microelectronics by  Martin P. Bates

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