PIC12F675 to VBasic Interface Page 1 of 4

The Very Basic Serial Interface

A PIC 12F675 Microcontroller to Visual Basic Serial Interface

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One of the more useful PIC microcontroller utilities I have used involves connecting a PIC based circuit to a PC’s serial port. Many of the new chips have UART/serial
capability built in, but not all do. Fortunately, not having the UART functionality in a particular chip is not a deterrent and a simple serial interface can be accomplished
with a few lines of code. I have used this interface program to download data from a PIC based altimeter circuit used in model rocketry and with a PC based electronic
scale circuit to name just two.

Generally speaking there are two methods of programming a PIC to implement a serial interface; by using the real time clock and interrupt functionality or by using
timing loops. I have found that the timing loop method to be adequate for my needs and it has the advantage of being easy to understand and quite simple to work into a
program.

The program I have come to rely on for serial port communications was published in “PIC16Cxx Application Handbook 1.1” (no author was listed). It was published
and distributed by Parallax Inc. with their PIC programmer and “starter” kit. They no longer sell this package and all the utility programs were written in Parallax
assembler, which I don’t think they sell or support anymore either. Since I currently use Microchip’s assembler and development software, MPLAB IDE, which is
available as a free down load at www.microchip.com and Microchip’s new 8 pin Flash PIC microcontroller, 12F675, it was necessary to perform some translation and
modifications to the old utility. Also, because the original interface was written for DOS Basic, I needed to translate the PC side of the interface into Visual Basic,
which I now use as my primary PC programming language.

Please understand that the purpose of this article is not to provide a comprehensive instruction on PIC programming or Visual Basic. There are volumes of books
written on those subjects. However, If you are at the beginning level with PIC chip programming and Visual Basic you should not have any trouble using this
application.

The code that follows was translated from Parallax assembler to Microchip assembler and then modified to be used as a subroutine “call” from the main program. So,
for instance if your PIC circuit is running, doing it’s thing, taking measurements, controlling motors, monitoring switches, etc., and it gets to the point where it needs to
communicate back to the PC, then at this point it would call the serial transmit subroutine or serial receive subroutine and then jump back to whatever it needed to do.

The following code is the entire file (PICrs232.asm) for implementing the serial communication utility (figure 1). There are no other “include files” or anything else
needed that does not come with the MPLAB IDE software and is written into the file. It is written for the 12F675 processor, which has several additional registers that
the earlier or more pin prolific processors don’t have. Because the processor only has 8 pins and has analog to digital, comparator, digital I/O and “Flash” programming
functionality built in, all of the pins have multiple functionality depending on the setup of the different registers. Consequently, it is necessary to have a few lines of
code in the initialization part of the program to “setup” the chip. You can see this code under the “initialize” section of the program listing.

In order to make this a fully functional demonstration program I have included some “test” code under the program listing labeled “Main”. The rest of the program is
the two subroutines for the serial communication transmit and receive. If you were going to use this in your circuit you would replace the code I have listed in the
“Main” section with your code and just call the transmit and receive subroutines as needed. Also, in the program I used pin 3 for transmit and pin 5 for receive. You
can change this to different pins if you like by changing the program (in the “Assign Constants Value” section).

To TRANSMIT serial data move the data into the “xmt_byte” variable then call subroutine “xmit232”. To RECEIVE call the subroutine “receive232” and the
subroutine will return the received byte in the “rcv_byte” variable. The test program is only 5 lines long and is listed under the “Main” section. It simply receives data
from the PC and then transmits it back to the PC. If you get the same byte back at the PC that you sent then you know it is working.

One of the other nice things about the program, which you will notice when you look at the program listing, is that it can be used for direct connection to a PC (+5
volts=high, 0 volts=low) or by using a true RS-232 signaling connection ( +5 to+15 volts=low,-5 to -15 volts= high). You will see this indicated by the comment
statements next to the lines that need to be modified. The schematic shown and the program listing are for a direct connection. If you wanted to use the standard RS-
232 signaling protocol you would need to add a dual RS-232 transmitter/receiver chip like the Maxim 233 integrated circuit chip. In this case the RS-232 chip would
connect directly to the PIC chip and the indicated lines of code changed in the program. I have never had a problem with the simpler direct connection so you will
probably never need to do this unless you anticipate a really long cable between your circuit and the PC. Since this article is about the “very simple serial interface” we
will stay focused on the one PIC chip and one resistor version. Also, you can set the bits per second rate at 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, and 19200 bits/second depending
on the value assigned to “bit_K”. The source code is written with bit_K set to a 2400 bits/sec rate, but you can change it if you need to.

I used MPLAB IDE development environment (assembler) to develop and produce the HEX file. Next I used the PIC Flash Starter programmer and software to
program the chip. If you use another programmer or development environment you may need to modify this procedure. If you are not familiar with MPLAB IDE, I
would recommend you read microchips tutorial entitled “An Introduction to MPLAB Integrated Development Environment” available as a download from
www.microchip.com.

The visual basic side of the program is a bit more problematic than it was with the old DOS basic. For some reason not all Visual Basic packages included the
communications tool (MSComm). If your package includes the communications tool then you are good-to-go, but if it doesn’t you need to purchase one. I understand
that it comes with Visual Basic 6 but not the Visual Basic 6 learning edition. I purchased a version of the control called PDQ from Crescent systems before they went
out of business. It might still be obtainable although I have not been able to find a source. Luckily the creators of the original Microsoft communications control are
still in business selling an updated and much expanded version called “Sax ActiveX Com Object”. You can buy it from Sax.net at http://www.sax.net. There is also, a
Free communications control called XMCommCRC written by Richard Grier and posted on his web site
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/richard_grier/xmcomm.htm. If you use the Sax control you will need to change the “PDQ” to “Sax” everywhere you see it
in the program and if you use the “XMCommCRC” control you will need to change the “PDQComm” to “XMCommCRC.

If you need to install the tool … on the Visual Basic tool bar select Projects/components/controls and search for the communications control and select it with a check
mark.

You will need to open a project in Visual Basic and drop 3 text boxes, two command buttons and the Communications Control (PDQcomm, MSComm, SaxComm or
XMCommCRC) on a Visual Basic form. Add labels as shown in the diagram if you think you need them. (Figure 3)

Enter the following code in “Command 1” (replace “PDQ” with “MS” or “Sax” if using the Microsoft or Sax control or replace PDQComm with XMCommCRC if you
are using the XMComm control) :

Private Sub Command1_Click()

PDQComm1.CommPort = 1
PDQComm1.Settings = "2400,n,8,1"
PDQComm1.PortOpen = True
PDQComm1.InputLen = 1

PDQComm1.Output = Chr$(Text2.Text)

Do While PDQComm1.InBufferCount < 1

Loop

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sHigh = PDQComm1.Input

Text1.Text = Asc(sHigh)
Text3.Text = sHigh

PDQComm1.PortOpen = False

End Sub

____________________________________________________________________

Enter the following code in Command 2:

________________________________________________________________

Private Sub Command3_Click()

End

End Sub

_________________________________________________________________

Notice that the procedure is set for a 2400 bits/sec rate and communications Port #1(com1). This rate needs to match the rate set in the PIC program and the
communications port number needs to be the one you have the cable plugged in to. Also, you will need to change PDQComm to MSComm or SaxComm or
XMCommCRC if you are using the Microsoft communication control, the Sax control or the XMComm control respectively.

Next you will need to program the chip and wire up the circuit using the schematic shown in Figure 2. Note that the PIC doesn’t require an external oscillator circuit in
this application. It uses the internal 4-megahertz oscillator.

That’s it. It‘s that simple and from this very basic program you can build some extraordinarily nice designs and applications.

Hope this helps and saves you some time!

Parts and software:

XMCommCRC control http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/richard_grier/xmcomm.htm

Sax ActiveX Com Objects (Saxcomm) http://www.sax.net

PICkit1 8/14P Flash Starter Kit http://www.Mouser.com

MPLAB IDE http://www.microchip.com
An Introduction to MPLAB Integrated http://www.microchip.com
Development Environment
Microsoft Visual Basic http://www.Ebay.com
PICrs232.asm PICrs232.asm
PIC 12F675 http://www.Mouser.com
¼ watt resister 22K ohm http://www.Mouser.com

Figure 1 PIC 12F675 source code (PICrs232.asm)

;**********************************************************************
;
; Filename: PICrs232.asm
; Date: 1-15-05
; File Version: 1
; Author: j baumeister
; Company: himself
;
;
;**********************************************************************
;
; Files required
; 12F675.lkr
;
;**********************************************************************
;
; Notes: This is the basic RS 232 serial communication program
; It uses two subroutines, one for transmitting and one for
; receiving. The "test" program listed under "Main" echoes back
; the byte that it receives *
; Pin 3 is the output. Pin 5 the input It uses a visual basic
; program (vBasic_simple_Interface) running on a the PC to test the application
;**********************************************************************

list p=12f675 ; list directive to define processor

#include <p12f675.inc> ; processor specific variable definitions

errorlevel -302 ; suppress message 302 from list file

__CONFIG _CP_OFF & _CPD_OFF & _BODEN_OFF & _MCLRE_OFF & _WDT_OFF & _PWRTE_ON & _INTRC_OSC_NOCLKOUT

; '__CONFIG' directive is used to embed configuration word within .asm file.

; The labels following the directive are located in the respective .inc file.
; See data sheet for additional information on configuration word settings.
; Reset Vector
;********************************************************************
ORG 0x000 ; processor reset vector
nop ; Inserted For ICD2 Use
goto Init ; go to beginning of program

;***** Assign Constants Value ***************************************

#define BANK1 banksel 0x80 ;Select Bank1
#define BANK0 banksel 0x00 ;Select Bank0

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#define serial_in GPIO,2 ;serial data in

#define serial_out GPIO,4 ;serial data out
#define bit_K .102 ; .206 = 1200 bits/sec (206)
; .102 = 2400 bits/sec (102)
; .50 = 4800 bits/sec (50)
; .24 = 9600 bits/sec (24)
; .10 =19200 bits/sec (10)
#define half_bit bit_K/2

;****** Reserve Space for Variables (file registers) ********************

org 0x20 ; start at memory location Hex 20
; assign 1, 8 bit byte of memory to each
count res 1 ; used to adjust the delay time
rcv_byte res 1 ; the received byte
delay_cntr res 1 ; counter for serial delay routine
bit_cntr res 1 ; number of transmitted bits
xmt_byte res 1 ; the transmitted byte
Display res 1 ; the variable that carries the byte to be
; transmitted to the RS-232 subroutine for
;**********************************************************************
Init
BANK1 ;Switch to Bank1
call 0x3FF ; retrieve factory calibration value
movwf OSCCAL ; update register with factory cal value
movlw B'11011111' ;set internal clock(bit5=0)
movwf OPTION_REG
clrf VRCON ;Vref Off (power off the comparator voltage, saves power)
clrf ANSEL
movlw B'11001101' ; pin 4,5,7 are inputs and pins 2,3,6 are outputs
movwf TRISIO ;Tri-State pins 4,5,7 .... 2,3,& 6 are outputs
BANK0 ;BANK 0
clrf GPIO ;Clear Port
movlw 0x07
movwf CMCON ;Comparator Off
;*******************************************************************
; this is the "Main" program which in this example is set to receive and re-transmit
; a byte sent from the computers serial port
Main
call Receive232 ; receive the byte sent from the computer
movf rcv_byte,0 ; move the received byte to W register
movwf xmt_byte ; varable used by the xmit subroutine
; contains the byte to be transmitted
call xmit232 ; calls the transmit subroutine
goto Main ; do it again
;********************************subroutines ***********************
;*******************************************************************
xmit232 ; RS-232C serial out. the byte in file register
; xmt_bute will transmit

again
movlw h'08'
movwf bit_cntr

bsf serial_out ;bsf for direct connection

;bcf for standard connection
call bit_delay
xmit
rrf xmt_byte,1
btfsc STATUS,0 ;btfsc STATUS,0 for direct connection
;btfss STATUS,0 for standard connection
bcf serial_out
btfss STATUS,0 ;btfss STATUS,0 for direct connection
;btfsc STATUS,0 for standard connection
bsf serial_out
call bit_delay
decfsz bit_cntr,1
goto xmit
bcf serial_out ;bcf for direct connection
;bsf for standard connection
call bit_delay
return

bit_delay
movlw bit_K
movwf delay_cntr
loop
nop
decfsz delay_cntr,1
goto loop
return

;******************* Receive RS-232 data *******************************

Receive232
nop
start_bit
btfss serial_in ;btfss if connected via 22K resistor
;btfsc if standard connection
goto start_bit
call start_delay
btfss serial_in ;btfss if connect via 22k resistor
; btfsc if standard connection
goto start_bit
movlw h'08'
movwf bit_cntr
clrf rcv_byte
receive
call bit_delay_R
btfsc serial_in ;btfsc if connect via 22k resistor
;btfss if standard connection
bcf STATUS,0
btfss serial_in ;btfss if connect via 22k resistor
;btfsc if standard connection
bsf STATUS,0
rrf rcv_byte,1
decfsz bit_cntr,1
goto receive
call bit_delay_R

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return

bit_delay_R
movlw bit_K
movwf delay_cntr
loop_R
nop
decfsz delay_cntr,1
goto loop_R
return

start_delay
movlw half_bit
movwf delay_cntr
loop_R2
nop
decfsz delay_cntr,1
goto loop_R2
return

END ; directive 'end of program'

Figure 2 Schematic

Figure 3 Visual Basic Form

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E-Mail to:
jerry_baumeister@msn.com

Copyright ©,Jerry Baumeister

4/17/2005

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