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9. Embedded programming

This week I worked on programing the Micro Controller that I have build in Electronics Design Week

Assignment

Individual assignment: - Read a microcontroller data sheet - Program your board to do something, with as many different programming languages and programming environments as possible.

Group assignment: - Compare the performance and development workflows for other architecture. in the Group Page you can find more details.

Requirements:

In order to complete this assignment you need the following:

  • Custom made board with micro controller
  • Arduino IDE software
  • Jumper wires
  • USB cable
  • FTDI Cable
  • Arduino UNO

Datasheet

In order to use any electronics component you need to read and understand the datasheet.

ATmega328P Datasheet

From the datasheet here are some of main features of ATmega328P

  • 32K bytes of in-system self-programmable flash program memory
  • 1Kbytes EEPROM
  • Six PWM channels
  • 8-channel 10-bit ADC
  • Programmable serial USART
  • Master/slave SPI serial interface
  • Byte-oriented 2-wire serial interface (Phillips I2C compatible)
  • Interrupt and wake-up on pin change
  • Six sleep modes: Idle, ADC noise reduction, power-save, power-down, standby, and extended standby
  • 23 programmable I/O lines
  • Operating voltage: 2.7V to 5.5V

  • Temperature range: –40°C to +125°C

  • It’s very important to know each pin and the functions of it.

Arduino IDE

  • Download and install Arduino IDE from Arduino IDE

  • Start Arduino IDE

Bootloader

In order to program ATMEGA328P we need to burn the Bootloader to the ATMEGA328P. I follow this documentation Arduino as ISP and Arduino Bootloaders in order to burn the bootloader in ATMEGA328P.

  • In Arduino IDE Select “ArduinoISP” from File >> Examples >> ArduinoISP

  • Select “Arduino UNO” from Tools >> Board

  • Select Arduino COM# Port from Tools >> Port
    To check the Port Number Connect the USB cable to Arduino UNO and Go to Device Manager of the PC

  • Select “Arduino as ISP” from Tools >> Programmer
  • Upload ArduinoISP Sketch to Arduino UNO
  • Wire Arduino UNO board with ISP header of the New board
Arduino UNO Pin # New Board ISP Port
12 1-MISO
5V 2-VCC
13 3-SCK
11 4-MOSI
10 5-RST
GND 6-GND

- Go to Tools >> Burn Bootloader and wait until “Done burning bootloader”

  • Now you ready to program the new ATMEGA328P board

Programming

There are two ways to program ATMEGA328P. Either by ISP programmer or by FTDI cable.

ISP Programmer

For ISP programing I follow this Arduino as ISP Tutorial
- Create new programing sketch in in Arduino IDE and wire the following code.

   int pinLED = 3;
// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {
  // initialize digital pin  as an output.
  pinMode(pinLED, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
  digitalWrite(pinLED, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
  digitalWrite(pinLED, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  delay(1000);                       // wait for a second
}

- Go to Sketch and clink on Upload Using Programmer - Wait for Done Uploading message and check the board

FTDI Cable

  • I have tried uploading the sketch with FTDI Cable but I got the following Error

  • After long research about this error I found that “Uploading sketch via the programmer will wipe the bootloader”. https://forum.arduino.cc

  • I have burned the Bootloader again and I have successfully able to upload the sketch with FTDI cable

C programming

One of the most common Embedded programming language is C and it’s very powerful programming language.

First of all I started with watching this tutorial Learning AVR-C Episode 2: Setup and BlinkLED which is very useful for beginner in embedded C programming.

After reading this diagram will use PORT PIN instead of ARDUINO PIN

  • C programming can be done by using Arduino IDE

  • Here is the C code for LED Blink

  • Upload the code with FTDI cable and check the board after you got Done uploading message

This is my first code in C and I’m so happy to see it working.

Final Result

Here is the video for the final result

It was very exciting moment when I sea the LED start blinking.

Source code

Last update: October 14, 2021