PIC32 MCU Family

Thread Starter

RoboticFan87

Joined Sep 12, 2009
38
Hey guys,

Got a question about PIC32 family.
Can you use the general purpose I/O ports and the USB module at the same time? According to the data sheet those ports are shared with the USB ports.
Does that mean i cant use the USB capability in the development board if i want to use the GPIOs?

Thanks
 

Thread Starter

RoboticFan87

Joined Sep 12, 2009
38
No i havent, im doing this for my 4th year project. I already made my mind on which PIC to use which is PIC32 but there are two development boards that i dont know the difference between them DM320003 and DM320001.
My project is about file searching system. but i need the board to be connected to the PC that will act as a hub by USB and at the same time connect a control chip to the board. Can you help me out?

Thanks
 

BMorse

Joined Sep 26, 2009
2,675
the DM320003 would be the way to go for you, it has the USB on the go capabilities as where that should work as your PC connection, but you will not be able to connect anything to any of the I/O's unless you get the expansion board also, the starter kit only has a Hirose connector on the bottom, very hard to connect anything to it unless you have a custom board made with the mating Hirose connector.

I would look at using the UBW32 from Sparkfun (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8971), it already has all the USB stuff on it and easier to connect to each individual I/O than trying to find a mate for the Hirose connector on the bottom of the pic32 starter kit, the UBW32 still can be programmed under MPLAB, plus it has a USB boot loader for upgrading your firmware via USB (costs a lot less than Pic32 Starter Kit + Pic32 Expansion Board + Pictail daughter cards you might need such as SD card + LCD, etc)

Especially if you are just starting out on using the Pic32, (trust me on this one) try playing with the UBW32 first before you invest a lot of $$ in all the development boards from Microchip, also visit mypi32.com for a lot of sample code and schematics for a lot of the functions of the Pic32MX family.


 

BMorse

Joined Sep 26, 2009
2,675
Just so people know, that if you decide to use the pic32 starter kit and the expansion board (http://search.digikey.com/scripts/D...button&KeyWords=pic32+expansion+board&x=0&y=0) that you will need to modify the starter kit to accommodate 2 sources of power, especially if you plan on powering the expansion board from a wallwart adapter and the 5 volt USB bus.

Since most USB buses don't support more than 500ma of current draw, you will most likely be connecting the expansion board to another source of power for your project, and you will be connecting the USB also for debugging and programming....

you will have to add a switch to isolate Q1 on the starter kit as shown below


you will have to cut some traces on the board and add a switch in between the point where they were cut...



just thought this might help you guys save some money, since some people I know had their boards catch on fire.... but if you do not make the mod, and you power it up, check Q1 for heat and if it gets to the point where you cant stand the heat with a touch, you better disconnect power... ;)~

 
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Thread Starter

RoboticFan87

Joined Sep 12, 2009
38
Hi thanks for helping me out i really appreciate it.
So all i need for my project Microprocessor wise is the UBW32 right?
and i can program that on MPLAB using C language right?
Do u know a website that has some sort of Microprocessor programming or sample codes anything that can help me out with my project?

Thanks in advance ;)
 

BMorse

Joined Sep 26, 2009
2,675
You can go to Microchips site to download sample C code for the Pic32MX family (which is what the UBW32 is based on), and also at http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW/ < home of UBW32, and at http://www.MyPic32.com < there are tons of projects on there just go to the contestants list page and you will be able to access all the projects submitted to the competition, look at the top 128 and top 32 contestants, they have more uploaded and especially the top five, have completed projects.

My .02
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
I have been planing a couple projects and was planning on using the PIC32. I bought the USB starter kit and it was fun but very limited without the expansion board. Then I started looking around and decided to get the Explorer 16 board and just buy a PIC32 pim since I'm just starting out and wanted to see how it all worked. This has been really great. PIC32 was a really nice chip but I realized for my needs a cheaper $2 pic24 would be a better fit. So I just changed PIM's. Rather then spend $50-$100 on PIC32 dev system, look into spending $200-$250 on an explorer 16 setup so you can have many more options and use PIC24's DSPIC's and PIC32's.. Many 3rd party companies make stuff for it too. I ended up selling off the pic32SK on ebay for like $25.
 

BMorse

Joined Sep 26, 2009
2,675
That would be a great option, since most sample codes and app notes have to do with the Explorer 16 dev board. (That's if you want to spend more on development kits than what your developing ;) ). but the pim's also work great for a finished product, you can just create your own board and plug in a pim, makes it easier to do thru hole design with surface mount uc's....
 
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