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Analog to digital conversion are required in embedded systems because most of their surroundings comprise of analog signals and the embedded processors can process only digital data. This tutorial shows how to use the internal ADC module of a PIC microcontroller to read an external analog signal and convert it to a digital number. The conversion output will be displayed in a character LCD.
Tutorial on Analog to Digital conversion using PIC - [Link]
Embedded-Lab.com recently posted an experimental tutorial on interfacing a character LCD to a PIC microcontroller. The programming for LCD display is little bit complicated as it requires accurate timing and proper sequence of various control signals and commands. But, today’s high-level compilers provide built-in library routines for standard HD44780 based LCDs. The author uses MikroC compiler to demonstrate the built in LCD library routines.
Tutorial on interfacing a LCD display to a PIC microcontroller – [Link]
If your digital multimeter does not have a feature to test diodes and transistors, you can construct one for yourself. This project uses a PIC microcontroller for testing diodes and BJTs. The test results are displayed on a character LCD. The results include if the transistor or diode is good or bad, the type of the transistor (PNP or NPN), and the status of the individual PN junctions.
PIC based Diode and Transistor Tester - [Link]
Embedded systems designing has become much easier to learn with the availability of free high-level compilers. If you are new with microcontrollers and want to learn PIC programming, you should visit these learning-by-doing PIC experiments. These are designed to teach you the underlying electronics of PIC microcontrollers and how to interface LEDs, switches, LCDs, and various other sensors to them. The author writes program in C and compile with the mikroC compiler.
Experimenting with PIC Micro – [Link]
This project describes how to make a digital voltmeter using a PIC microcontroller. A HD44780 based character LCD is used to display the measured voltage. The PIC microconotroller used in this project is PIC16F688 that has 12 I/O pins out of which 8 can serve as analog input channels for the in-built 10-bit ADC. The voltage to be measured is fed to one of the 8 analog channels. The reference voltage for AD conversion is chosen to be the supply voltage Vdd (+5 V). A resistor divider network is used at the input end to map the range of input voltage to the ADC input voltage range (0-5 V). The technique is demonstrated for input voltage ranging from 0-20 V, but it can be extended further with proper selection of resistors and doing the math described below.
PIC16F688 Digital Voltmeter - [Link]
This project is a PIC metal detector based on PIC12F683 and uses only 5 components. Source code is available and written in mikroC PRO compiler. Check this project details on the link below.
picoDetector: PIC metal detector – [Link]
PIC Voltmeter Amperemeter can measure voltage 0-70V or 0-500V with 100mV resolution and current consumption 0-10A or more with 10mA resolution. The meter is a perfect addition to any power supply, battery chargers and other electronic projects where voltage and current must be monitored. The meter uses PIC16F876A microcontroller with built-in ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) and 16×2 green backlighted LCD display. With slight modification it is possible to measure higher voltage and current.
PIC Volt Ampere Meter – [Link]
This tutorial shows how to use the Timer1 module inside PIC12F683 as an asynchronous counter to compute the frequency of an external clock source. The external clock is connected to the GP5/T1CKI port of PIC12F683 and the measured frequency value is sent to a PC through serial port to display on an hyperterminal window. A 555 Timer IC operating as an astable multivibrator is used as the external clock source. The Timer1 module is 16-bit so it can count up to 65535. If the Timer1 is turned ON for 1 sec, the maximum frequency it can measure is 65535 Hz. Any frequency higher than this will create Timer1 overflow. An interrupt service routine is also written to demonstrate how to detect the overflow and take appropriate action. This concept can be extended to measure higher range frequencies.
How to measure frequency of an external clock source using PIC - [Link]
This project is a tiny, lightweight LiPo battery voltage monitor/alarm system based on PIC microcontroller. [via]
This simple PIC project includes a simple A-to-D application that measures the voltage of a battery pack via a resistor divider network, compares it to a reference voltage (5v regulator) and then displays the battery voltage on 2 LEDs (indicating battery voltage strength).
Simple-Volt: LiPo Monitor System – [Link]
This project shows how to program a PIC microcontroller for timer application. The author uses PIC16F628A for demonstrating the timer application that allows you to set any time between 0 to 99 min (in step of 1 min). You can turn on any device for the set time interval. An LCD display with three tact switches provide easy interface for the user to set the time, and perform Start/Stop operation of the timer.
0 to 99 Min Timer using PIC Microchip - [Link]
