About projects and other things…

Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi Pico — Part 2 of the Pico Series…

Welcome to Part two of my RPi Pico Series. You can buy yours from Cytron Technologies.
In this post, we will look at some more of the features of the board, as well as how to get started using this development board. I will focus on MicroPython in this post, and cover C/C++ in the next post.

But before we do that, lets run over some of the specifications of the board first…
The Python Stuff will be at the end of this post…

Board Specifications

Raspberry Pi Pico is a low-cost, high-performance microcontroller board with flexible digital interfaces. Key features include:

  • RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom
  • Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz
  • 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of on-board Flash memory
  • Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards
  • USB 1.1 with device and host support
  • Low-power sleep and dormant modes
  • Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB
  • 26 × multi-function GPIO pins
  • 2 × SPI, 2 × I2C, 2 × UART, 3 × 12-bit ADC, 16 × controllable PWM channels
  • Accurate clock and timer on-chip
  • Temperature sensor
  • Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip
  • 8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support

Utilities

What is on your Pico?

If you have forgotten what has been programmed into your Raspberry Pi Pico, and the program was built using our Pico C/C++ SDK, it will usually have a name and other useful information embedded into the binary. You can use the Picotool command line utility to find out these details. Full instructions on how to use Picotool to do this are available in the ‘getting started‘ documentation.

Pico Github Repo

Debugging using another Raspberry Pi Pico

It is possible to use one Raspberry Pi Pico to debug another Pico. This is possible via picoprobe, an application that allows a Pico to act as a USB → SWD and UART converter. This makes it easy to use a Pico on non-Raspberry Pi platforms such as Windows, Mac, and Linux computers where you don’t have GPIOs to connect directly to your Pico. Full instructions on how to use Picoprobe to do this are available in the ‘getting started‘ documentation.

PicoProbe Github Repo

Resetting Flash memory

Pico’s BOOTSEL mode lives in read-only memory inside the RP2040 chip, and can’t be overwritten accidentally. No matter what, if you hold down the BOOTSEL button when you plug in your Pico, it will appear as a drive onto which you can drag a new UF2 file. There is no way to brick the board through software. However, there are some circumstances where you might want to make sure your Flash memory is empty. You can do this by dragging and dropping a special UF2 binary onto your Pico when it is in mass storage mode.

The Code for the flash eraser is available below


/**
 * Copyright (c) 2020 Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd.
 *
 * SPDX-License-Iden
/**
 * Copyright (c) 2020 Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd.
 *
 * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 */

// Obliterate the contents of flash. This is a silly thing to do if you are
// trying to run this program from flash, so you should really load and run
// directly from SRAM. You can enable RAM-only builds for all targets by doing:
//
// cmake -DPICO_NO_FLASH=1 ..
//
// in your build directory. We've also forced no-flash builds for this app in
// particular by adding:
//
// pico_set_binary_type(flash_nuke no_flash)
//
// To the CMakeLists.txt app for this file. Just to be sure, we can check the
// define:
#if !PICO_NO_FLASH
#error "This example must be built to run from SRAM!"
#endif

#include "pico/stdlib.h"
#include "hardware/flash.h"
#include "pico/bootrom.h"

int main() {
    flash_range_erase(0, PICO_FLASH_SIZE_BYTES);
    // Leave an eyecatcher pattern in the first page of flash so picotool can
    // more easily check the size:
    static const uint8_t eyecatcher[FLASH_PAGE_SIZE] = "NUKE";
    flash_range_program(0, eyecatcher, FLASH_PAGE_SIZE);

    // Flash LED for success
    gpio_init(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN);
    gpio_set_dir(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, GPIO_OUT);
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
        gpio_put(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, 1);
        sleep_ms(100);
        gpio_put(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, 0);
        sleep_ms(100);
    }

    // Pop back up as an MSD drive
    reset_usb_boot(0, 0);
}tifier: BSD-3-Clause
 */

// Obliterate the contents of flash. This is a silly thing to do if you are
// trying to run this program from flash, so you should really load and run
// directly from SRAM. You can enable RAM-only builds for all targets by doing:
//
// cmake -DPICO_NO_FLASH=1 ..
//
// in your build directory. We've also forced no-flash builds for this app in
// particular by adding:
//
// pico_set_binary_type(flash_nuke no_flash)
//
// To the CMakeLists.txt app for this file. Just to be sure, we can check the
// define:
#if !PICO_NO_FLASH
#error "This example must be built to run from SRAM!"
#endif

#include "pico/stdlib.h"
#include "hardware/flash.h"
#include "pico/bootrom.h"

int main() {
    flash_range_erase(0, PICO_FLASH_SIZE_BYTES);
    // Leave an eyecatcher pattern in the first page of flash so picotool can
    // more easily check the size:
    static const uint8_t eyecatcher[FLASH_PAGE_SIZE] = "NUKE";
    flash_range_program(0, eyecatcher, FLASH_PAGE_SIZE);

    // Flash LED for success
    gpio_init(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN);
    gpio_set_dir(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, GPIO_OUT);
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
        gpio_put(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, 1);
        sleep_ms(100);
        gpio_put(PICO_DEFAULT_LED_PIN, 0);
        sleep_ms(100);
    }

    // Pop back up as an MSD drive
    reset_usb_boot(0, 0);
}

Getting Started with MicroPython on the RPi Pico

Drag and drop MicroPython

You can program your Pico by connecting it to a computer via USB, then dragging and dropping a file onto it, so we’ve put together a downloadable UF2 file to let you install MicroPython more easily. Following the procedure below, you can install MicroPython onto the Pico in a few seconds…

1. Download and unzip the UF2 file below into a folder on your computer.

2. Hold down the Bootsel button on the Pico, and connect it to a USB cable that was already connected to your computer. ( This means, connect ons side of the usb cable to the computer, but dont connect the Pico yet. then hold down BOOTSEL, and connect the cable to the pico)

3. Now, release the BootSEL button

4. After a few Seconds, you will have a new USB storage device on your computer, called RPI-RP2

5. Drag the UF2 file into this USB Storage device. The Pico will reboot… You have now installed MicroPython on your RPi Pico

Accessing the MicroPython REPL

You can now access REPL from a serial terminal, or a MicroPython IDE , like Thonny…
I will show you how to do it from the Linux Terminal below.

The Pico will show up as a USB device called ttyACM0
you can find it by issuing the ls /dev/tty* command

Start minicom or your preferred serial terminal emulator

Press enter a few times, and you should get a REPL prompt

You can now test MicroPython on your Pico, by typing the following commands:

The complete MicroPython SDK for the RPi Pico is available for download at the link below…

In the next part of this series, we will look at using the Thonny IDE, as well as C/C++ to program the Pico

Introducing the Raspberry Pi Pico

It is not often that we get the opportunity to be one of the first people to get our hands onto a new product, So when my friends at Cytron Technologies asked me if I would like to do a review on a new Raspberry Pi product last week, I was definitely interested. Details were few, as the product was still under an NDA, but at last, I got the datasheets and some details on Tuesday, enough to start writing about the new product before the big Launch on Thursday the 21st of January 2021…

So, what am I trying to say? Well, It seems that the Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new product, and from first impressions, it seems to be a game-changer… Lets not get confused. I am not speaking about a full size Raspberry Pi Board, or the compute module… No, The Pi Foundation has released an RP2040 Microprocessor based development board, in the same form factor as an Arduino Nano.

Raspberry Pi Pico Microcontroller Board

This will be an introduction post, and when I receive the device to play with, which will be soon, I will start with a short series on its features and capabilities… For now, lets look at some of the specifications

Front and Back view of the Raspberry Pi Pico

Features:

Raspberry Pi Pico has been designed to be a low cost yet flexible development platform for RP2040, with the following
key features:
• RP2040 microcontroller with 2MByte Flash
• Micro-USB B port for power and data (and for reprogramming the Flash)
• 40 pin 21×51 ‘DIP’ style 1mm thick PCB with 0.1″ through-hole pins also with edge castellations
◦ Exposes 26 multi-function 3.3V General Purpose I/O (GPIO)
◦ 23 GPIO are digital-only and 3 are ADC capable
◦ Can be surface mounted as a module
• 3-pin ARM Serial Wire Debug (SWD) port
• Simple yet highly flexible power supply architecture
◦ Various options for easily powering the unit from micro-USB, external supplies or batteries
• High quality, low cost, high availability
• Comprehensive SDK, software examples and documentation
RP2040 key features: (Datasheet available for download at the bottom of this post)
• Dual-core cortex M0+ at up to 133MHz
◦ On-chip PLL allows variable core frequency
• 264K multi-bank high performance SRAM
• External Quad-SPI Flash with eXecute In Place (XIP)
• High performance full-crosspoint bus architecture
• On-board USB1.1 (device or host)
• 30 multi-function General Purpose IO (4 can be used for ADC)
◦ 1.8-3.3V IO Voltage (NOTE Pico IO voltage is fixed at 3.3V)
• 12-bit 500ksps Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC)
• Various digital peripherals
◦ 2x UART, 2x I2C, 2x SPI, up to 16 PWM channels
◦ 1x Timer with 4 alarms, 1x Real Time Counter
• Dual Programmable IO (PIO) peripherals
◦ Flexible, user-programmable high-speed IO
◦ Can emulate interfaces such as SD Card and VGA

Pico provides minimal (yet flexible) external circuitry to support the RP2040 chip (Flash, crystal, power supplies and
decoupling and USB connector). The majority of the RP2040 microcontroller pins are brought to the user IO pins on the left and right edge of the board. Four RP2040 IO are used for internal functions – driving an LED, on-board Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) power control and sensing the system voltages.
Pico has been designed to use either soldered 0.1″ pin-headers (it is one 0.1″ pitch wider than a standard 40-pin DIP package) or can be used as a surface mountable ‘module’, as the user IO pins are also castellated. There are SMT pads underneath the USB connector and BOOTSEL button, which allow these signals to be accessed if used as a reflow-soldered SMT module.

The Pico uses an on-board buck-boost SMPS which is able to generate the required 3.3 volts (to power RP2040 and external circuitry) from a wide range of input voltages (~1.8 to 5.5V). This allows significant flexibility in powering the unit from various sources such as a single Lithium-Ion cell, or 3 AA cells in series. Battery chargers can also be very easily integrated with the Pico powerchain.
Reprogramming the Pico Flash can be done using USB (simply drag and drop a file onto the Pico which appears as a mass storage device) or via the Serial Wire Debug (SWD) port. The SWD port can also be used to interactively debug code running on the RP2040.

Mechanical Specifications

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a single sided 51x21mm 1mm thick PCB with a micro-USB port overhanging the top edge and dual castellated/through-hole pins around the remaining edges. Pico is designed to be usable as a surface mount module as well as being in Dual Inline Package (DIP) type format, with the 40 main user pins on a 2.54mm (0.1″) pitch grid with 1mm holes and hence compatible with veroboard and breadboard. Pico also has 4x 2.1mm (+/- 0.05mm) drilled mounting holes to provide for mechanical fixing, see Figure 3.

Mechanical specifications for the Raspberry Pi Pico

Conclusion

I hope that this is enough details to get all of you interested and eager for more details…
In the next part of this series, I will focus on getting started with this new board, as well as do the official unboxing…
Please stay tuned for more details…

Multiple LoRa Device Communication

In this part of my LoRa Series ( Part 3 ) I will look at some basic code for the Heltec LoRa 32 V2 Module. This code will in particular be focused on Multiple device communication. It can easily adapted from the stock example (as provided below) to implement a custom addressing scheme.

LoRa Multiple Communications No Interrupt

#include "heltec.h"

#define BAND    433E6  //you can set band here directly,e.g. //868E6,915E6


String outgoing;              // outgoing message

byte localAddress = 0xBB;     // address of this device
byte destination = 0xFD;      // destination to send to

byte msgCount = 0;            // count of outgoing messages
long lastSendTime = 0;        // last send time
int interval = 2000;          // interval between sends

void setup()
{
   //WIFI Kit series V1 not support Vext control
  Heltec.begin(true /*DisplayEnable Enable*/, true /*Heltec.LoRa Enable*/, true /*Serial Enable*/, true /*PABOOST Enable*/, BAND /*long BAND*/);

  Serial.println("Heltec.LoRa Duplex");

 
}

void loop()
{
  if (millis() - lastSendTime > interval)
  {
    String message = "Hello there!";   // send a message
    sendMessage(message);
    Serial.println("Sending " + message);
    lastSendTime = millis();            // timestamp the message
    interval = random(2000) + 1000;    // 2-3 seconds
  }

  // parse for a packet, and call onReceive with the result:
  onReceive(LoRa.parsePacket());
}

void sendMessage(String outgoing)
{
  LoRa.beginPacket();                   // start packet
  LoRa.write(destination);              // add destination address
  LoRa.write(localAddress);             // add sender address
  LoRa.write(msgCount);                 // add message ID
  LoRa.write(outgoing.length());        // add payload length
  LoRa.print(outgoing);                 // add payload
  LoRa.endPacket();                     // finish packet and send it
  msgCount++;                           // increment message ID
}

void onReceive(int packetSize)
{
  if (packetSize == 0) return;          // if there's no packet, return

  // read packet header bytes:
  int recipient = LoRa.read();          // recipient address
  byte sender = LoRa.read();            // sender address
  byte incomingMsgId = LoRa.read();     // incoming msg ID
  byte incomingLength = LoRa.read();    // incoming msg length

  String incoming = "";

  while (LoRa.available())
  {
    incoming += (char)LoRa.read();
  }

  if (incomingLength != incoming.length())
  {   // check length for error
    Serial.println("error: message length does not match length");
    return;                             // skip rest of function
  }

  // if the recipient isn't this device or broadcast,
  if (recipient != localAddress && recipient != 0xFF) {
    Serial.println("This message is not for me.");
    return;                             // skip rest of function
  }

  // if message is for this device, or broadcast, print details:
  Serial.println("Received from: 0x" + String(sender, HEX));
  Serial.println("Sent to: 0x" + String(recipient, HEX));
  Serial.println("Message ID: " + String(incomingMsgId));
  Serial.println("Message length: " + String(incomingLength));
  Serial.println("Message: " + incoming);
  Serial.println("RSSI: " + String(LoRa.packetRssi()));
  Serial.println();
}

LoRa Multiple communication, Interrupt

#include "heltec.h"

#define BAND    433E6  //you can set band here directly,e.g. 868E6,915E6

  
byte localAddress = 0xBB;     // address of this device
byte destination = 0xFF;      // destination to send to

String outgoing;              // outgoing message
byte msgCount = 0;            // count of outgoing messages
long lastSendTime = 0;        // last send time
int interval = 2000;          // interval between sends

void setup()
{
   //WIFI Kit series V1 not support Vext control
  Heltec.begin(true /*DisplayEnable Enable*/, true /*Heltec.LoRa Disable*/, true /*Serial Enable*/, true /*PABOOST Enable*/, BAND /*long BAND*/);

  LoRa.onReceive(onReceive);
  LoRa.receive();
  Serial.println("Heltec.LoRa init succeeded.");
}

void loop()
{
  if (millis() - lastSendTime > interval)
  {
    String message = "Hello World!";   // send a message
    sendMessage(message);
    Serial.println("Sending " + message);
    lastSendTime = millis();            // timestamp the message
    interval = random(2000) + 1000;     // 2-3 seconds
    LoRa.receive();                     // go back into receive mode
  }
}

void sendMessage(String outgoing)
{
  LoRa.beginPacket();                   // start packet
  LoRa.write(destination);              // add destination address
  LoRa.write(localAddress);             // add sender address
  LoRa.write(msgCount);                 // add message ID
  LoRa.write(outgoing.length());        // add payload length
  LoRa.print(outgoing);                 // add payload
  LoRa.endPacket();                     // finish packet and send it
  msgCount++;                           // increment message ID
}

void onReceive(int packetSize)
{
  if (packetSize == 0) return;          // if there's no packet, return

  // read packet header bytes:
  int recipient = LoRa.read();          // recipient address
  byte sender = LoRa.read();            // sender address
  byte incomingMsgId = LoRa.read();     // incoming msg ID
  byte incomingLength = LoRa.read();    // incoming msg length

  String incoming = "";                 // payload of packet

  while (LoRa.available())             // can't use readString() in callback
  {
    incoming += (char)LoRa.read();      // add bytes one by one
  }

  if (incomingLength != incoming.length())   // check length for error
  {
    Serial.println("error: message length does not match length");
    return;                             // skip rest of function
  }

  // if the recipient isn't this device or broadcast,
  if (recipient != localAddress && recipient != 0xFF)
  {
    Serial.println("This message is not for me.");
    return;                             // skip rest of function
  }

  // if message is for this device, or broadcast, print details:
  Serial.println("Received from: 0x" + String(sender, HEX));
  Serial.println("Sent to: 0x" + String(recipient, HEX));
  Serial.println("Message ID: " + String(incomingMsgId));
  Serial.println("Message length: " + String(incomingLength));
  Serial.println("Message: " + incoming);
  Serial.println("RSSI: " + String(LoRa.packetRssi()));
  Serial.println();
}

LoRa – Part 2

So many people asked me which Lora Module I use for my projects. In this part of the series, I will show you, as well as shed some light on another module, that although seemingly cheap, is, unfortunately, according to me, a complete waste of time and money.

Heltec LoRa 32 v 2 – The good stuff ( according to me at least)

Technical Specs
Electrical Specifications
Pinout

Installation in Arduino IDE:

Installation of the libraries into the Arduino IDE is quite easy, just follow the link to heltec…

The Bad ( according to me )

The following module, is, according to me, an absolute waste of time and money. Documentation is impossible to find, and that that you do find, as often incorrect. The pin-outs are wrong, with no definite standard.

I am talking about the TTGO Lora V1 or V2 or what ever ??? can seem to even find that answer reliably. I was initially attracted to this module, as it was allegedly compatible with the heltec version, and did not have the oled screen, which, to be honest, is not always needed in every project. It was also about 25% cheaper, and could be sourced locally, without enriching the greedy shipping companies 😉 (I just have to rant about this, as 25USD to ship 100g worth of stuff is a ripoff. Either that or 60 to 90 days of guess-if-it-will-arrive mail is not on ( and even that is 10 USD!)

So, having high hopes, I ordered one of these boards, hoping to use it together with my heltec boards… It arrived, and that was well the top came of.. I could immediately see that the quality of the PCB was quite bad. Documentation was missing, and even the supplier sent me to a heltec pinout, which, after a quick test were definitely not correct…

Google turned up mixed results, and eventually I found a sort of accurate pinout …

Alleged pinout for TTGO LoRa device

This pinout also turned out to be only about 50% correct, and after manually trying to map out the pins, I was sort of confident enough to test it further…

Further problems arose, LoRa does not work, I2C does not work, SPI does not work shall I continue…? 🙂 It now seems clear that the board that I bought was a clone of a clone, and a very bad one at that …
I will post a picture of the actual board below, in the interest of education, to inform others not to get duped as well. Likewise, If I am the mistaken party, and you have had success with this board, please give me a message/yell and lets share some knowledge

The Front (Top Side) of the Module

Front (Top) of the module
Back (Bottom) of the module

I hope that you found this useful and that I will see you for part 3 of the series, where I will get into the actual coding.

What is LoRa?

Introduction

When designing IoT solutions, we all encounter the problem of connecting our device(s) to each other, either directly, or through the internet. In Urban areas, it is quite easy to use WiFi or even GSM to achieve this, but these solutions often come with additional costs in the form of subscriptions. Although it is possible to run your own WiFi network free of charge, you will soon run into issues with the range…

Enter LoRa (short for Long Range) Radio communication. LoRa is a radio technology derived from chirp spread spectrum technology. It uses an ISM band, meaning it is unregulated in most countries, if you use the correct frequency for your country, that is.

It is also extremely low power, making it ideal for use with battery-powered devices.
The technology is available in Node-to-Node, as well as Node-to -Gateway modes.

In this series, I will show you how to use a few of the existing LoRa Modules available on the market.

Ai-Tinker Ra-02 (Sx1278)

Ra-02 Lora Module, with spring antenna, by Ai-Tinker

This Module is conveniently broken-out onto a breakout board. It is sort of bread-board friendly (depending on the size of your bread-board) and is nicely labelled. It is also extremely cheap ( around $USD5 each, depending on where you buy from).

Caveats

There are quite a few important things that you should know about these modules before you start using them.

Disclaimer: The caveats listed below are by no means complete, or even valid. They are the result of experimentation by myself, with the intent to destroy a few modules, to see how hardy they are. Also take into mind, that living in SE Asia, it is quite common to buy something from a shop, where the seller has no or only a very limited idea of what he or she is selling, and are thus usually quite unable to provide any technical support.

To summarise: USE YOUR HEAD. If I did leave out something, it is quite possible that I forgot, or decided not to include it on purpose. This is a general guide, and you should ideally do your own research as well. That is the best way to learn.



1) Always connect an Antenna. This may seem like a logical one, but it is extremely important. The module is capable of quite a lot of transmission power, and operating it without an antenna will quickly damage the module, permanently.

2) ONLY use 3.3v, even on the control lines (the module uses SPI). This is quite important, as it is not very clearly stated by the suppliers, and will result in very short-lived component operation 😉 If you absolutely have to use 5v, use a level converter. (There are examples available on the internet, where they use this chip directly from an Arduino Uno. I can confirm that that approach does work, BUT, not for very long. I have purposely sacrificed a pair of transceiver modules so that you don’t have to. You can also adjust the SPI frequency, in the event that your level converter is not capable of running at a high SPI frequency.

3)Make sure that you connect ALL the ground pins on the device. This is another area that is not fully explained by the user manual and does “unexplainably” result in damaged modules.

4) Use short, good quality cables, and if possible, keep the module off the breadboard.
While testing the modules, I found that the usual DuPont wires, as everyone should know by now, are quite unreliable. Combine that with a bread-board that has seen its share of use,
and it is a definite recipe for headache 🙂

5) LoRa Antennas are polarised, make sure you have your antennas in the same orientation.
Although this will not prevent it from working over short distances, it makes sense to just do it correctly. Good RF practices never hurt anybody 🙂

Connecting to Arduino

A Note on Power:
It is important to power this module from a decent dedicated 3.3v power-supply.
The Arduino Uno does sometimes have a 3.3v regulator on-board. From my tests, it is however not always up to the task, as the module may spike up to 120mA when transmitting. It is thus also recommended to have a nice fat capacitor across the power lines (decoupling cap) to soak up any spikes.

As mentioned above, a level converter is mandatory for a 5v Arduino. You may do without it if you use a 3.3v Arduino, but once again, your mileage will vary 🙂

Both the transmitter and receiver uses the same connections, which are listed below:

LoRa SX1278 ModuleArduino Board
3.3V
GndGnd
En/NssD10
G0/DIO0D2
SCKD13
MISOD12
MOSID11
RSTD9
Connections to the Arduino from a LoRa RA-02 Module

Remember that you NEED a Level converter between the LoRa Module and the Arduino.

Software Library

The software library that we will use in our example is the excellent library from Sandeep Mistry. We will just include this into the Arduino IDE, and then use a slightly modified version of the examples for our experiment. It is also important to note that we will use Node-to Node communication, NOT LoRaWan. This means that all your communications will essentially be unencrypted, and not addressed. This does however allow you the flexibility to design and implement your own addressing scheme.

LORA code for Transmitting Side

#include <SPI.h>
#include <LoRa.h>

int counter = 0;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  while (!Serial);

  Serial.println("LoRa Sender");

  if (!LoRa.begin(433E6)) { // Set the frequency to that of your  //module. Mine uses 433Mhz, thus I have set it to 433E6
    Serial.println("Starting LoRa failed!");
    while (1);
  }

  LoRa.setTxPower(20);
  
}

void loop() {
  Serial.print("Sending packet: ");
  Serial.println(counter);

  // send packet
  LoRa.beginPacket();
  LoRa.print("hello ");
  LoRa.print(counter);
  LoRa.endPacket();

  counter++;

  delay(5000);
}
LORA code for Receiver Side

#include <SPI.h>
#include <LoRa.h>

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  while (!Serial);

  Serial.println("LoRa Receiver");

  if (!LoRa.begin(433E6)) {
    Serial.println("Starting LoRa failed!");
    while (1);
  }
}

void loop() {
  // try to parse packet
  int packetSize = LoRa.parsePacket();
  if (packetSize) {
    // received a packet
    Serial.print("Received packet '");

    // read packet
    while (LoRa.available()) {
      Serial.print((char)LoRa.read());
    }

    // print RSSI of packet
    Serial.print("' with RSSI ");
    Serial.println(LoRa.packetRssi());
  }
}

Where to from here?

If all went well, you will see packets being received in the serial monitor of the Arduino IDE, connected to the receiver module. You will also see that the data from this example is sent as a string… It is however also possible to send binary data, by using the LoRa.write() function.

In the next part of this series, I will show you how to use LoRa with the ESP32/ESP8266,
as well as a working example with binary data transmission and an addressing scheme in part 3.

Thank you

MCP23017 with Adafruit Library

In a previous post, I have shown you how to use the MCP23017 16 Port I2C I/O Port extender with the standard Wire library, as supplied with the Arduino IDE. In this post,
I will have a quick look at using Adafruit’s library for this IC. I believe that this library brings a lot of ease-of-use to the part, making it possible to obscure some of the complexity of I2C.

I do however prefer to use the native Wire library myself, as it is slightly faster.

You can download the Adafruit MCP23017 Library from here..

Pin Addressing

When using single pin operations such as pinMode(pinId, dir) or digitalRead(pinId) or digitalWrite(pinId, val) then the pins are addressed using the ID’s below. For example, for set the mode of GPB0 then use pinMode(8, …).

Physical Pin #Pin NamePin ID
21GPA00
22GPA11
23GPA22
24GPA33
25GPA44
26GPA55
27GPA66
28GPA77
1GPB08
2GPB19
3GPB210
4GPB311
5GPB412
6GPB513
7GPB614
8GPB715

Some examples, directly from the library, all code belongs to Adafruit, and was not written by me.

1. A Button Example

#include <Wire.h>
#include "Adafruit_MCP23017.h"

// Basic pin reading and pullup test for the MCP23017 I/O expander
// public domain!

// Connect pin #12 of the expander to Analog 5 (i2c clock)
// Connect pin #13 of the expander to Analog 4 (i2c data)
// Connect pins #15, 16 and 17 of the expander to ground (address selection)
// Connect pin #9 of the expander to 5V (power)
// Connect pin #10 of the expander to ground (common ground)
// Connect pin #18 through a ~10kohm resistor to 5V (reset pin, active low)

// Input #0 is on pin 21 so connect a button or switch from there to ground

Adafruit_MCP23017 mcp;
  
void setup() {  
  mcp.begin();      // use default address 0

  mcp.pinMode(0, INPUT);
  mcp.pullUp(0, HIGH);  // turn on a 100K pullup internally

  pinMode(13, OUTPUT);  // use the p13 LED as debugging
}



void loop() {
  // The LED will 'echo' the button
  digitalWrite(13, mcp.digitalRead(0));
}

2. An Interrupt Example

// Install the LowPower library for optional sleeping support.
// See loop() function comments for details on usage.
//#include <LowPower.h>

#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_MCP23017.h>

Adafruit_MCP23017 mcp;

byte ledPin=13;

// Interrupts from the MCP will be handled by this PIN
byte arduinoIntPin=3;

// ... and this interrupt vector
byte arduinoInterrupt=1;

volatile boolean awakenByInterrupt = false;

// Two pins at the MCP (Ports A/B where some buttons have been setup.)
// Buttons connect the pin to grond, and pins are pulled up.
byte mcpPinA=7;
byte mcpPinB=15;

void setup(){

  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println("MCP23007 Interrupt Test");

  pinMode(arduinoIntPin,INPUT);

  mcp.begin();      // use default address 0
  
  // We mirror INTA and INTB, so that only one line is required between MCP and Arduino for int reporting
  // The INTA/B will not be Floating 
  // INTs will be signaled with a LOW
  mcp.setupInterrupts(true,false,LOW);

  // configuration for a button on port A
  // interrupt will triger when the pin is taken to ground by a pushbutton
  mcp.pinMode(mcpPinA, INPUT);
  mcp.pullUp(mcpPinA, HIGH);  // turn on a 100K pullup internally
  mcp.setupInterruptPin(mcpPinA,FALLING); 

  // similar, but on port B.
  mcp.pinMode(mcpPinB, INPUT);
  mcp.pullUp(mcpPinB, HIGH);  // turn on a 100K pullup internall
  mcp.setupInterruptPin(mcpPinB,FALLING);

  // We will setup a pin for flashing from the int routine
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);  // use the p13 LED as debugging
  
}

// The int handler will just signal that the int has happen
// we will do the work from the main loop.
void intCallBack(){
  awakenByInterrupt=true;
}

void handleInterrupt(){
  
  // Get more information from the MCP from the INT
  uint8_t pin=mcp.getLastInterruptPin();
  uint8_t val=mcp.getLastInterruptPinValue();
  
  // We will flash the led 1 or 2 times depending on the PIN that triggered the Interrupt
  // 3 and 4 flases are supposed to be impossible conditions... just for debugging.
  uint8_t flashes=4; 
  if(pin==mcpPinA) flashes=1;
  if(pin==mcpPinB) flashes=2;
  if(val!=LOW) flashes=3;

  // simulate some output associated to this
  for(int i=0;i<flashes;i++){  
    delay(100);
    digitalWrite(ledPin,HIGH);
    delay(100);
    digitalWrite(ledPin,LOW);
  }

  // we have to wait for the interrupt condition to finish
  // otherwise we might go to sleep with an ongoing condition and never wake up again.
  // as, an action is required to clear the INT flag, and allow it to trigger again.
  // see datasheet for datails.
  while( ! (mcp.digitalRead(mcpPinB) && mcp.digitalRead(mcpPinA) ));
  // and clean queued INT signal
  cleanInterrupts();
}

// handy for interrupts triggered by buttons
// normally signal a few due to bouncing issues
void cleanInterrupts(){
  EIFR=0x01;
  awakenByInterrupt=false;
}  

/**
 * main routine: sleep the arduino, and wake up on Interrups.
 * the LowPower library, or similar is required for sleeping, but sleep is simulated here.
 * It is actually posible to get the MCP to draw only 1uA while in standby as the datasheet claims,
 * however there is no stadndby mode. Its all down to seting up each pin in a way that current does not flow.
 * and you can wait for interrupts while waiting.
 */
void loop(){
  
  // enable interrupts before going to sleep/wait
  // And we setup a callback for the arduino INT handler.
  attachInterrupt(arduinoInterrupt,intCallBack,FALLING);
  
  // Simulate a deep sleep
  while(!awakenByInterrupt);
  // Or sleep the arduino, this lib is great, if you have it.
  //LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_1S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);
  
  // disable interrupts while handling them.
  detachInterrupt(arduinoInterrupt);
  
  if(awakenByInterrupt) handleInterrupt();
}


I hope that this shows you another way of using this versatile IC, 
In a future post, I will show you how to do interrupts, using the native Wire library, as well as point out a few things about why interrrupts sometimes does not seem to be working, as well as a workaround for that.

A Business Card with a Purpose

I recently got some inspiration from the JLCPCB User Group on Facebook. Catherine showed off her PCB style business card, and I just had to had one myself. As it is also
time to get some new cards of my own, I decided to do a PCB version, that can be handed out to very special customers, but with a twist… I added a functional Arduino Nano style
circuit to the business card, complete with microUSB port etc.

New Business Card – Front Side

My plan is to have some of these manufactured at Jlcpcb together with my next order, to save on shipping 😉 I am planning to have it done with a black soldermask, as well as real gold surface treatment.

Back of the Business card

I will leave the Gold PCB without components, or maybe have a few assembled, have not decided yet 🙂

You can get access to the entire project, in case you are also inspired to do your own
on GitHub here: https://github.com/makeriot2020/BusinessCard-Nano
or on the EasyEDA Software here: https://easyeda.com/jean.redelinghuys/bussinescard

I hope someone is inspired enough to try their own, or if you are so inclined, order some from me. If I get enough of a response, I will a standard PCB run, but with lead-free HASL 🙂

ESP32/ESP8266 WiFi Config and OTA on Demand

While working on a recent project, using a custom version of the ESP32, I had a particular need to be able to update the firmware of the device, as well as allow the end-user to set various configuration options on the device. This need can best be described as follows below:

1. The device firmware needs to be updated periodically, as new features are needed, or when bugs are discovered by the end-user, that needs fixing. The problem encountered was that the physical device will be quite far away from me, so travelling, or sending the device to and fro via post was not really an option.

Sending uncompiled firmware to the customer is a possibility, but also risky and prone to errors, as everyone is not always inclined to learn how to update firmware via USB port from an IDE, and accidental changes to code can render it unable to compile and upload in the first place.

The device also needs to run on battery power, in remote areas without connectivity. Conserving battery power is thus also a very important issue, one that prevents me from having a permanent OTA server running via WiFi.

2. The second issue was that there are certain setup parameters that needed to be set by the end-user, these include addresses and others. My initial thoughts were to implement a simple UI via UART, but that I also quickly saw that that, although very useable to me, would not appeal very much to an end-user.

These two issues, OTA and Configuration, both done through WiFi, seemed mutually exclusive as far as all the research that I have done online seemed to be concerned. To complicate it even further, the WiFi HAD to stay off when not in use.

I believe that I have developed a very neat, workable solution, that I would like to share with you today, in the hope that it will solve some problems for somebody out there, that maybe having a similar problem.

My solution makes use of a “flag” set in the ESP32/ESP8266 device’s EEPROM.
This “flag” can then be set to a “Normal” Run mode, a Firmware Update Mode, and a Configuration Mode.

Please Note: The code below has been tested, and works perfectly. You will however have to make modifications to use it for your own needs.

The code is also very long, so I will explain the operation here:

When first started, the chip will run your standard code.
When you quickly press the PGM button, 5 times after each other, a flag will be set to 0x0F.
This will then activate the ESP Soft IP.
You can then connect to this AP, and telnet to 192.168.4.1 on port 23

You will be presented with a very brief menu, where you can SET Firmware Mode, Exit or see the menu again.

This can be expanded to suit your needs

On setting Firmware Mode, the Flag 0xFF is written to EEPROM, and the ESP is restarted.
upon startup, you once more connect to the generated SoftIP, and then browse to http://192.168.4.1, log in with username admin, and password admin.

You can now load and upload a .bin firmware file to the ESP.
on successful upload, the flag 0x00 is once more written to EEPROM.

After restarting, the device will once more run your standard code.


Let us look at how I have done this:

The actual code will be commented with details, please read that for more info.

#include "EEPROM.h"
#include <WiFi.h>
#include <WiFiClient.h>
#include <WebServer.h>
#include <ESPmDNS.h>
#include <Update.h>

#define EEPROM_SIZE 64 // This can be smaller or larger, adjust to    //your needs as well as the chip capabilities
int wifi_ap_on = 0; // the address for the "flag"


// Wifi for Firmware Update and Configuration Server(s)
const char* host = "ESP32/8266";
char* ssid = "--- your desired ssid ---";
char* password = "--- your password ---";

// Define two types of Servers, they will however not run at the same // time
WebServer OTAserver(80); // OTA Server Port
WiFiServer ConfigServer(23); // Configuration Server Port

String header; // HTML requests will be stored in here

// HTML Pages for Firmware Updater
/*
 * These are the standard OTA examples that came with Arduino IDE
 * Modify and enhance as see fit, keeping in mind that my application
 * would not have access to the internet
 */

/*
 * Login page
 */
const char* loginIndex = 
 "<form name='loginForm'>"
    "<table width='20%' bgcolor='A09F9F' align='center'>"
        "<tr>"
            "<td colspan=2>"
                "<center><font size=4><b>ESP Firmware Update Page</b></font></center><br>"
                
                "<br>"
            "</td>"
            "<br>"
            "<br>"
        "</tr>"
        "<td>Username:</td>"
        "<td><input type='text' size=25 name='userid'><br></td>"
        "</tr>"
        "<br>"
        "<br>"
        "<tr>"
            "<td>Password:</td>"
            "<td><input type='Password' size=25 name='pwd'><br></td>"
            "<br>"
            "<br>"
        "</tr>"
        "<tr>"
            "<td><input type='submit' onclick='check(this.form)' value='Login'></td>"
        "</tr>"
    "</table>"
"</form>"
"<script>"
    "function check(form)"
    "{"
    "if(form.userid.value=='admin' && form.pwd.value=='admin')"
    "{"
    "window.open('/serverIndex')"
    "}"
    "else"
    "{"
    " alert('Error Password or Username')/*displays error message*/"
    "}"
    "}"
"</script>";

const char* serverIndex = "<form method='POST' action='/update' enctype='multipart/form-data'><input type='file' name='update'><input type='submit' value='Update'></form>";
// End HTML Pages 

// Other variables
int Btn = 0; // The PGM button, Usually connected to GPIO0
int wifi_ap = 0; // The Running MODE
int buttonState;
int buttonValue = 0;
int lastButtonState = LOW;
int buttoncount = 0;

void setup()
{
   Serial.begin(115200);
   EEPROM.begin(EEPROM_SIZE); initiate EEPROM
  /*
   * Upload the sketch via USB the first time, and let chip run for
   * a few seconds. We need to set the EEPROM location to a known
   * initial value. Then comment the following 3 lines, to prevent 
   * the chip from overwriting the EEPROM location on next startup
   */
  pinMode(Btn,INPUT);
  EEPROM.write(wifi_ap_on,0x00); // comment this line after first run
  EEPROM.commit();// comment this line after first run
  delay(50);// comment this line after first run
  wifi_ap = EEPROM.read(wifi_ap_on); // read EEPROM value into "flag"
  
  if (wifi_ap == 0x00) { 
   // This will be executed on normal startup
   // Place all your normal initialisation stuff here
   // For example other pin configurations and 
   // peripheral  initialisations
  } else if (wifi_ap == 0xFF) { // Firmware Update MODE
   // Setup for OTA Webserver.
   // I have used SoftAP mode, as internet would not
   // be available anyway.

    WiFi.softAP(ssid,password);
    IPAddress IP = WiFi.softAPIP();
    Serial.println("");
    Serial.print("Connected to ");
    Serial.println(ssid);
    Serial.print("IP address: ");
    Serial.println(WiFi.localIP()); 
     
    if (!MDNS.begin(host)) { //http://esp32.local
        Serial.println("Error setting up MDNS responder!");
        while (1) {
        delay(1000);
      }
    }

    
    server.on("/", HTTP_GET, []() {
    server.sendHeader("Connection", "close");
    server.send(200, "text/html", loginIndex);
  });
  server.on("/serverIndex", HTTP_GET, []() {
    server.sendHeader("Connection", "close");
    server.send(200, "text/html", serverIndex);
  });
  /*handling uploading firmware file */
  server.on("/update", HTTP_POST, []() {
    server.sendHeader("Connection", "close");
    server.send(200, "text/plain", (Update.hasError()) ? "FAIL" : "OK");
    ESP.restart();
  }, []() {
    HTTPUpload& upload = server.upload();
    if (upload.status == UPLOAD_FILE_START) {
      Serial.printf("Update: %s\n", upload.filename.c_str());
      if (!Update.begin(UPDATE_SIZE_UNKNOWN)) { //start with max available size
        Update.printError(Serial);
      }
    } else if (upload.status == UPLOAD_FILE_WRITE) {
      /* flashing firmware to ESP*/
      if (Update.write(upload.buf, upload.currentSize) != upload.currentSize) {
        Update.printError(Serial);
      }
    } else if (upload.status == UPLOAD_FILE_END) {
      if (Update.end(true)) { //true to set the size to the current progress

/*
 * NOTE : We clear the EEPROM Flag after a sucessful Firmware Update
 * That way, the chip will stay in OTA mode on a failure.
 */
        EEPROM.write(wifi_ap_on,0x00);
        EEPROM.commit();
        delay(5);
        Serial.printf("Update Success: %u\nRebooting...\n", upload.totalSize);
      } else {
        Update.printError(Serial);
      }
    }
  });
    OTAserver.begin();
  } else if (wifi_ap == 0x0F) { // End of Mode 0xFF 

    //This is Configuration Mode
    //This code will normally not be executed,
    //As the device exits Config mode on restart, and
    //We dont write Mode 0x0F to EEPROM

  } // End of Mode 0x0F
} // End of Void Setup

void loop() 
{
  CountButton(); // Count Button Presses
  if (buttoncount == 5) { // Activate Configuration Mode
    buttoncount = 0;
    StartSoftAP(); // Start a SoftAP
  }
  if (wifi_ap == 0x0F) { // Code for the Config Server (TELNET Style)
       WiFiClient client = ConfigServer.available(); // Start Config
       if (client) {
          String currentLine = "";
          client.println();
          client.println("Telnet Server - Welcome");
          client.println();
          client.println("Press <Enter> to Login");
          
    while (client.connected()) {
      if (client.available()) {
       char c = client.read();
       if (c == '\n') {
        if (currentLine.length() == 0) {
           
        } else {
          // Process Commands
       if (currentLine == "Master123abc") {
        telnetLogin == true;
        client.println();
        client.println();
        client.println("****** MENU ******");
          client.println();
          client.println("MENU -  SHOW THIS MENU");
          client.println("RUF  -  Enable Firmware Update Mode");
          client.println("EXIT -  Exit Menu and RESTART");
          client.println();
          client.print("Command> ");
          currentLine = "";
       }
       // Show MENU
       if (currentLine == "MENU") {
        client.println();
        client.println();
        client.println("****** MENU ******");
          client.println();
          client.println("MENU -  SHOW THIS MENU");
          client.println("RUF  -  Enable Firmware Update Mode");
          client.println("EXIT -  Exit Menu and RESTART");
          client.println();
          client.print("Command> ");
          
       }
 
       // EXIT AND RESTART
       if (currentLine == "EXIT") {
        client.println();
        client.println("Restarting in 5 Seconds");
        delay(5000);
        client.stop();
        ESP.restart();
      }
      // Upgrade Frmware Mode
      if (currentLine == "RUF") {
          client.println();
          client.println("Enable Firmware Update Mode");
          client.print("Connect to SoftAP :");
          client.println(ssid);
          client.println("Browse to http://192.168.4.1 ");
          client.println("Login with Username admin, Password admin");
          EEPROM.write(wifi_ap_on,0xFF); // Set Flag in EEPROM
          EEPROM.commit();
          delay(5000);
          client.stop();
          ESP.restart(); // Restart Device
      }
      
       // End Process commands 
           
          currentLine = ""; 
        }
        
       } else if (c != '\r') {
        currentLine += c;
       }  
        
      } // End if client Available
    } // End While Client Connected
    client.stop();
   } // END Client
  } // END MODE 0x0F
  if (wifi_ap == 0xFF) {
    OTAserver.handleClient(); // Handle OTA Server
    delay(1);
  }
  if (wifi_ap == 0x00 )
    // Normal code goes here , to be executed every cycle
  {

} // End of Void Loop

void StartSoftAP() // Start SoftAP, for Configuration Server
{
  WiFi.mode(WIFI_OFF);
  WiFi.softAP(ssid,password);
  IPAddress IP = WiFi.softAPIP();
  ConfigServer.begin();  
  wifi_ap = 0x0F; // Set Flag to Config Mode
                  // Note that we dont write it in EEPROM
}

void CountButton() // Counts Button Presses, to enable Config Mode
{
  //int buttonState;
  //int buttonValue = 0;
  //int lastButtonState = LOW;
  //int buttoncount = 0;
  //unsigned long lastDebounceTime = 0;
  //int debounceDelay = 50;
  buttonValue = digitalRead(Btn);
  if (buttonState != lastButtonState) {
    if (buttonValue == LOW) {
      buttoncount++;
      if (buttoncount > 10) buttoncount = 0;
    }
  }
  delay(50);
  lastButtonState = buttonValue;
  // End Debouncing
  if (buttoncount == 5) digitalWrite(LED,HIGH);
}

This concludes a very long piece of code, question are welcome.
Thank you

Using the MCP23017 to increase your GPIO’s

Today I will show you another useful IO Expander chip, The MCP23017. This chip, although similar to the PCF8475, which I have already covered in a previous article, has many additional features that may make it a very attractive solution when you need some more extra GPIO pins for a big project…

Features

Let us look at some of the features of this chip

  • 16-Bit Remote Bidirectional I/O Port:
  • I/O pins default to input
    • High-Speed I2C Interface (MCP23017):
  • 100 kHz
  • 400 kHz
  • 1.7 MHz
    • High-Speed SPI Interface (MCP23S17):
  • 10 MHz (maximum)
    • Three Hardware Address Pins to Allow Up to
    Eight Devices On the Bus
    • Configurable Interrupt Output Pins:
  • Configurable as active-high, active-low or
    open-drain
    • INTA and INTB Can Be Configured to Operate
    Independently or Together
    • Configurable Interrupt Source:
  • Interrupt-on-change from configured register
    defaults or pin changes
    • Polarity Inversion Register to Configure the
    Polarity of the Input Port Data
    • External Reset Input
    • Low Standby Current: 1 µA (max.)
    • Operating Voltage:
  • 1.8V to 5.5V @ -40°C to +85°C
  • 2.7V to 5.5V @ -40°C to +85°C
  • 4.5V to 5.5V @ -40°C to +125°C
MCP23017 Pinout Diagram

The sixteen I/O ports are separated into two ‘ports’ – A (on the right) and B (on the left. Pin 9 connects to 5V, 10 to GND, 11 isn’t used, 12 is the I2C bus clock line (Arduino Uno/Duemilanove analogue pin 5, Mega pin  21), and 13 is the I2C bus data line (Arduino Uno/Duemailnove analogue pin 4, Mega pin 20).

External pull-up resistors should be used on the I2C bus – in our examples we use 4.7k ohm values. Pin 14 is unused, and we won’t be looking at interrupts, so ignore pins 19 and 20. Pin 18 is the reset pin, which is normally high – therefore you ground it to reset the IC. So connect it to 5V!

Finally we have the three hardware address pins 15~17. These are used to determine the I2C bus address for the chip. If you connect them all to GND, the address is 0x20. If you have other devices with that address or need to use multiple MCP23017s, see figure 1-2 in the datasheet.

You can alter the address by connecting a combination of pins 15~17 to 5V (1) or GND (0). For example, if you connect 15~17 all to 5V, the control byte becomes 0100111 in binary, or 0x27 in hexadecimal.

It is also available on a convenient breakout PCB, for about $USD0.80 from AliExpress

MCP23017 on Breakout PCB – Back
MCP23017 on Breakout PCB – Front

Please Note: THIS BREAKOUT PCB IS NOT SUITED FOR USE ON A BREADBOARD. YOU WILL SHORT OUT VCC AND GROUND AS WELL AS ALL THE IO PINS IF YOU TRY TO USE IT ON A BREADBOARD.

As you can see, the pins are however very clearly labelled, and thus easy to use. I have also purposely soldered my header pins “the wrong way round” to prevent using it on a breadboard, as this will short out Vcc to Ground!

Having interrupt outputs is one of the most important features of the MCP23017, since the microcontroller does not have to continuously poll the device to detect an input change. Instead an interrupt service routine can be used to react quickly to an input change such a key press…

To make life even easier each GPIO input pin can be configured with an internal pullup (~100k) and that means you won’t have to wire up external pull up resistors for keyboard input. You can also mix and match inputs and outputs the same as any standard microcontroller 8 bit port.

Addressing

The 23017 has three input pins to allow you to set a different address for each attached MCP23017.

The above corresponds to a hardware address for the three lines A0, A1, A2 corresponding to the input pin values at the IC. You must set the value of these hardware inputs as 0V or (high) volts and not leave them floating otherwise they will get random values from electrical noise and the chip will do nothing!

The four left most bits are fixed a 0100 (specified by a consortium who doles out address ranges to manufacturers).

So the MCP23017 I2C address range is 32 decimal to 37 decimal or 0x20 to 0x27 for the MCP23017.

Please note: The addresses are the same as those for the PCF8475. You must thus be careful if you use these two devices on the same i2c bus!

MCP23017 Non interrupt registers

IODIR I/O direction register

For controlling I/O direction of each pin, register IODIR (A/B) lets you set the pin to an output when a zero is written and to an input when a ‘1’ is written to the register bit. This is the same scheme for most microcontrollers – the key is to remember that zero (‘0’) equates to the ‘O’ in Output.

GPPU Pullup register

Setting a bit high sets the pullup active for the corresponding I/O pin.

OLAT Output Latch register

This is exactly the same as the I/O port in 18F series PIC chips where you can read back the “desired” output of a port pin whether or not the actual state of that pin is reached. i.e. consider a strong current LED attached to the pin – it is easily possible to pull down the output voltage at the pin to below the logic threshold i.e. you would read back a zero if reading from the pin itself when in fact it should be a one. Reading the OLAT register bit returns a ‘one’ as you would expect from a software engineering point of view.

IPOL pin inversion register

The IPOL(A/B) register allows you to selectively invert any input pin. This reduces the glue logic needed to interface other devices to the MCP23017 since you won’t need to add inverter logic chips to get the correct signal polarity into the MCP23017.

It is also very handy for getting the signals the right way up e.g. it is common to use a pull up resistor for an input so when a user presses an input key the voltage input is zero, so in software you have to remember to test for zero.

Using the MCP23017 you could invert that input and test for a 1 (in my mind a key press is more equivalent to an on state i.e. a ‘1’) however I use pullups all the time (and uCs in general use internal pullups when enabled) so have to put up with a zero as ‘pressed’. Using this device would allow you to correct this easily.Note: The reason that active low signals are used everywhere is a historical one: TTL (Transistor Transistor Logic) devices draw more power in the active low state due to the internal circuitry, and it was important to reduce unnecessary power consumption – therefore signals that are inactive most of the time e.g. a chip select signal – were defined to be high. With CMOS devices either state causes the same power usage so it now does not matter – however active low is used because everyone uses it now and used it in the past.

SEQOP polling mode : register bit : (Within IOCON register)

If you have a design that has critical interrupt code e.g. for performing a timing critical measurement you may not want non critical inputs to generate an interrupt i.e. you reserve the interrupt for the most important input data.

In this case, it may make more sense to allow polling of some of the device inputs. To facilitate this “Byte mode” is provided. In this mode, you can read the same set of GPIOs using clocks but not needling to provide other control information. i.e. it stays on the same set of GPIO bits, and you can continuously read it without the register-address updating itself. In non-byte mode, you either have to set the address you read from (A or B bank) as control input data.

Now to examine how to use the IC in our sketches.

As you should know by now most I2C devices have several registers that can be addressed. Each address holds one byte of data that determines various options. So before using we need to set whether each port is an input or an output. First, we’ll examine setting them as outputs. So to set port A to outputs, we use:

Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x00); // IODIRA register
Wire.write(0x00); // set all of port A to outputs
Wire.endTransmission();

Then to set port B to outputs, we use:

Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x01); // IODIRB register
Wire.write(0x00); // set all of port B to outputs
Wire.endTransmission();

So now we are in void loop()  or a function of your own creation and want to control some output pins. To control port A, we use:

Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x12); // address port A
Wire.write(??);  // value to send
Wire.endTransmission();

To control port B, we use:

Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x13); // address port B
Wire.write(??);  // value to send
Wire.endTransmission();

… replacing ?? with the binary or equivalent hexadecimal or decimal value to send to the register.

To calculate the required number, consider each I/O pin from 7 to 0 matches one bit of a binary number – 1 for on, 0 for off. So you can insert a binary number representing the status of each output pin. Or if binary does your head in, convert it to hexadecimal. Or a decimal number.

So for example, you want pins 7 and 1 on. In binary that would be 10000010, in hexadecimal that is 0x82, or 130 decimal. (Using decimals is convenient if you want to display values from an incrementing value or function result).

For example, we want port A to be 11001100 and port B to be 10001000 – so we send the following (note we converted the binary values to decimal):

Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x12); // address port A
Wire.write(204); // value to send
Wire.endTransmission();
Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
Wire.write(0x13); // address port B 
Wire.write(136);     // value to send
Wire.endTransmission();

A complete Example

// pins 15~17 to GND, I2C bus address is 0x20
#include "Wire.h"
void setup()
{
 Wire.begin(); // wake up I2C bus
// set I/O pins to outputs
 Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
 Wire.write(0x00); // IODIRA register
 Wire.write(0x00); // set all of port A to outputs
 Wire.endTransmission();
Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
 Wire.write(0x01); // IODIRB register
 Wire.write(0x00); // set all of port B to outputs
 Wire.endTransmission();
}
void binaryCount()
{
 for (byte a=0; a<256; a++)
 {
 Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
 Wire.write(0x12); // GPIOA
 Wire.write(a); // port A
 Wire.endTransmission();
Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
 Wire.write(0x13); // GPIOB
 Wire.write(a); // port B
 Wire.endTransmission();
 }
}
void loop()
{
 binaryCount();
 delay(500);
}

Using the pins as inputs

Although that may have seemed like a simple demonstration, it was created show how the outputs can be used. So now you know how to control the I/O pins set as outputs. Note that you can’t source more than 25 mA of current from each pin, so if switching higher current loads use a transistor and an external power supply and so on.

Now let’s turn the tables and work on using the I/O pins as digital inputs. The MCP23017 I/O pins default to input mode, so we just need to initiate the I2C bus. Then in the void loop() or other function all we do is set the address of the register to read and receive one byte of data.

// pins 15~17 to GND, I2C bus address is 0x20
#include "Wire.h"
byte inputs=0;
void setup()
{
 Serial.begin(9600);
 Wire.begin(); // wake up I2C bus
}
void loop()
{
 Wire.beginTransmission(0x20);
 Wire.write(0x13); // set MCP23017 memory pointer to GPIOB address
 Wire.endTransmission();
 Wire.requestFrom(0x20, 1); // request one byte of data from MCP20317
 inputs=Wire.read(); // store the incoming byte into "inputs"
 if (inputs>0) // if a button was pressed
 {
 Serial.println(inputs, BIN); // display the contents of the GPIOB register in binary
 delay(200); // for debounce
 }
}

Other Libraries

You can also download and install the MCP23017 Library from Adafruit for the Arduino IDE.
This library will make using this chip even easier… I will discuss this library in another post

I hope this will be useful to somebody.

Using I2C with a 4×4 Matrix Keypad

Using a matrix keypad is a very easy way to add multiple control buttons to a project, be it to enter a password, or to control different devices. These keypads do unfortunately have some serious flaws (in my view anyway)

1) They are usually of extremely low quality ( especially some of the membrane types from China). This means they dont last very long.
2) A typical 4×4 Matrix keypad will require 8 of your precious IO pins for itself.

These two flaws can however easily be solved, if we use a bit of technology, and are willing to to a bit of simple circuit construction by ourselves.

What does this mean ? Most of us makers will inevitably have a piece of proto-board or strip-board lying around, as well as a few momentary push-button switches. These can easily be used to make out own, much more reliable keypad. Let us look at the circuit

Circuit diagram for a 4×4 Matrix Keypad

As we can see, to build a 4×4 matrix keypad, we will need 16 momentary switches. These are connected together as shown above. You can then interface it with your favourite micro-controller to read the key(s) pressed…

This definitely solves the first of my problems, but we still need 8 pins to control this keypad… or do we? No, we don’t, we need only 2 pins. That is to say if we use one of those PCF8574 I2C IO port expander modules. They are much more reliable, as well as quite cheap as well. all depending on where you buy them from, and how long you are willing to wait for shipping 🙂

Let us see how to connect the keypad to the I2C Module

a 4×4 Membrane Matrix Keypad with PCF8574 I2C port expander module
Connecting the two together, note that we do not connect the INT pin
Connect Power (VCC, GND and I2C lines
Connect to Arduino or your preferred microcontroller. We have used Arduino Uno, Note that you can also connect the I2C to A4 (SDA) and A5(SCL) if you prefer.

Now, we need to install some libraries

The first one is the actual Keypad library, you can download it from the link below

The second library that we will need, is the keypad_i2c library, once again, download it from the link below.

Coding the keypad



#include <Key.h>
#include <Keypad.h>
#include <Keypad_I2C.h>

#define I2CADDR 0x26 // Set the Address of the PCF8574

const byte ROWS = 4; // Set the number of Rows
const byte COLS = 4; // Set the number of Columns

// Set the Key at Use (4x4)
char keys [ROWS] [COLS] = {
  {'1', '2', '3', 'A'},
  {'4', '5', '6', 'B'},
  {'7', '8', '9', 'C'},
  {'*', '0', '#', 'D'}
};

// define active Pin (4x4)
byte rowPins [ROWS] = {0, 1, 2, 3}; // Connect to Keyboard Row Pin
byte colPins [COLS] = {4, 5, 6, 7}; // Connect to Pin column of keypad.

// makeKeymap (keys): Define Keymap
// rowPins:Set Pin to Keyboard Row
// colPins: Set Pin Column of Keypad
// ROWS: Set Number of Rows.
// COLS: Set the number of Columns
// I2CADDR: Set the Address for i2C
// PCF8574: Set the number IC
Keypad_I2C keypad (makeKeymap (keys), rowPins, colPins, ROWS, COLS, I2CADDR, PCF8574);

void setup () {
  Wire .begin (); // Call the connection Wire
  keypad.begin (makeKeymap (keys)); // Call the connection
  Serial.begin (9600);

}
void loop () {
 
  char key = keypad.getKey (); // Create a variable named key of type char to hold the characters pressed
 
  if (key) {// if the key variable contains
    Serial.println (key); // output characters from Serial Monitor
  }
}

Upload this to your Arduino device and enjoy. This sketch can also be adapted for 1×4, and 4×3 keypads, and with a little modification, will also work perfectly on ESP32 or ESP8266 as well…