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Some Quick Exercises

The three main elements are: Processor,

memory and I/O
A microcontroller has processor, memory
and I/O on one chip, while microprocessor
needs separate memory and I/O chips to
form a working system
Flash ROM can be electrically re-written
many times, but is non-volatile

State the three main elements in any

microprocessor system
State the difference between a
microprocessor and microcontroller
State the advantages of flash ROM,
compared with other memory types.

Answers

Some Quick Exercises

Microcontroller contains on chip memory,
input/output (I/O) ports and the
processor CPU.
State the main function of I/O ports
Name THREE (3) types of I/O
communication ports.

communication between microcomputer

and the outside world (external system)
such as humans and machine
serial port, parallel port, USB port

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Some Quick Exercises

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128k = 128 x 1024 bytes
128 x 1024 x 8 bits
= 1,048,576 bits

How many bits does the

128k MCU program
memory contain?

Some Quick Exercises

Answers
Common File: Rewriting the hardware definitions
for each and every programs to be used for the
same board can be troublesome. All the
programs using the same hardware/circuit can
just include the common hardware definitions file
into the source code

Why its a good practice to put all

hardware definitions into a common file?
State three PIC chip options, which are
determined by the configuration code.
(#config )

PIC Chip Options: Watchdog timer, High speed

programming, Low voltage programming, Incircuit debugger, code protection, memory write,
brown-out reset, power-up timer
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Serial vs Parallel: The data has to be converted to serial
form in a shift register and transmitted one bit at a time
on a single line, while parallel data is transferred 8 (or
more) bits at a time.

Why serial data communication is

generally slower than parallel?
Why serial data communication can
achieve higher speed compared to parallel
communication by being clocked at a
greater rate?

A number of factors allow serial to be clocked at a

greater rate:
Clock skew between different channels is not an issue
(for unclocked asynchronous serial communication links)
Serial connection requires fewer interconnecting cables,
occupies less space. The extra space allows for better
isolation of the channel from surroundings
Crosstalk is less of an issue compared to parallel,
because fewer conductors in proximity.

Some Quick Exercises

Answers

This function initializes the RS232 The oscillator frequency to be used is 10MHz.
The baud rate required is 9600 bps. Calculate the value of X to obtain the required
baud rate.

Oscillator frequency = 10MHz.

Baud Rate = 9600 bps
X = (Fosc / Baud Rate / 16) 1
= (10MHz / 9600 / 16) - 1
= 65 1
= 64

void init_rs232( )
{
BRGH = 1;
SPBRG = X;
TX9 = 0;
SYNC = 0;
SPEN = 1;
TXEN = 1;
CREN = 1;
SREN = 0;
TXIE = 0;
RCIE = 0;

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/* set baud rate */

/* ninebits?1:0,,,8- or 9-bit transmission */
/* asynchronous */
/* enable serial port pins */
/* enable the transmitter & (automatically)TXIF=1 */
/* enable reception */
/* no effect */
/* disable tx interrupts */
/* disable rx interrupts */

}
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Some Quick Exercises

Answers

What are the advantages of in-circuit

programming and debugging over the
corresponding conventional development
process?

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Some Quick Exercises

The program can be run, single

stepped and paused in the actual target
hardware
allowing hardware and timing faults to be
identified as well a the usual syntax and
logical errors
the chip does not need to be removed
from the application hardware once fitted,
preventing possible damage
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Answers
The conventional process is to build
prototype hardware, download the
program to the microcontroller and test it
in circuit.
Simulation allows the design to be tested
and debugged before building hardware.
The schematic can then be converted into
a netlist and a layout to produce the final
PCB without prototyping.

What are the advantages of using circuit

simulation software such as Proteus over
the corresponding conventional
development process?

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Some Quick Exercises

Answers

What is a compiler (for C programming)

and what does a compiler do?

Compiler is a program that processes

statements written in a programming
language and turns them into machine
language that a computer's processor
uses.
The compiler gets the syntax error in the
written program before turning the C
statements into machine instructions
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Some Quick Exercises

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Answers

PIC is a family of Harvard architecture

microcontrollers. Sketch the block diagram
of a Harvard architecture microcontroller.

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Block diagram of a Harvard Architecture:

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Von Neumann is another type of

microcontroller architecture besides
Harvard architecture. Sketch the block
diagram of a von Neumann architecture
microcontroller.

Block diagram of a von Neumann

architecture :

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Some Quick Exercises

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Answers
In a system using von Neumann architecture,
the CPU can be either reading an instruction or
reading/writing data from/to the memory. Both
cannot occur at the same time since the
instructions and data use the same bus system.
In a system using the Harvard architecture, the
CPU can both read an instruction and perform a
data memory access at the same time, can thus
be faster for a given circuit complexity because
instruction fetches and data access do not
contend for a single memory pathway.

What are the advantages of Harvard

architecture compared to von Neumann
architecture?

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EEPROM is a type of memory widely used in

computers and other electronic devices. State
the type of EEPROM.
EEPROM is realized by using arrays of floating
gate transistors. State one advantage of floating
gate transistors that is useful in EEPROM.
Flash memory is one type of EEPROM which is
able to achieve faster erase/write speed
compared to traditional EEPROM. Why?

Non-volatile memory which can be

electrically re-written many times.
The ability to store an electrical charge for
extended periods of time even without a
connection to a power supply.
Flash memory works much faster than
traditional EEPROMs because it writes
data in chunks/blocks, usually 512 bytes in
size, instead of 1 byte at a time.

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Some Quick Exercises

Answers

#include <htc.h>
#include <pic16f877a.h>
#define _XTAL_FREQ 20000000
// Set the oscillator frequency to 20MHz
void main( )
{
TRISC=0x00; //Port C as outputs
T2CON = 0b01010000;
// Timer 2 control register
PR2 = 0b01111111;
CCP1CON = 0b00111100; //Set to PWM mode
CCPR1L=63;

TMR2ON=1; //Turn on Timer 2

while(1)
{
}
} //End of Program

Calculate the pulse width, duty cycle and

frequency of the pulse generated in the
program below. The circuit uses a 20MHz
oscillator.

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Instruction clock frequency = 20/4 = 5MHz

Instruction clock period = 0.2 us
Timer2 counts from 0 to 127 (0b01111111 )
Pre-scaler set at 1
Time for Timer 2 to reset = 127 x 0.2 us = 25.4 us
Post-scaler = 10, but unused in PWM mode
Pulse period = Time for Timer 2 to reset = 25.4 us
Pulse frequency = 1/(pulse period) = 1/(25.4us) = 39.37kHz
Every time Timer2 counts until 63 (determined by CCPR1L) output
of CCP1 (Pin RC2 or C2) will turn from high to low, the time taken
(Pulse width) is 63 x 0.2 us = 12.6us OR 1.26 x 10e-5 seconds
Duty cycle = 12.6us / 25.4us = 49.6%

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Describe TWO characteristics of an activehigh switch.

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An active high switch pulls up the

logic level to HIGH when being
pressed/pushed.
An active high switch requires a pull
down resistor to pull down the logic
level to LOW when the switch is
released.
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The End
Thats all for this time.
Enjoy your time playing around with
microcontroller and interfacing

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