HavenTechnik

Document Information

DocuDocument Title Cy
Document Number & Revision 502 - 00005 - 1.0
Release Date May 11, 2021
Document Status Rev 1: Original Document

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Synopsis

The Sliver family of Development Boards are designed to leverage the advantages of the 20 PIN PIC family of devices. The PCB has been designed to be compact and easy to use powered by USB.

Note
This topic is introductory, and should be read in conjunction with other topics in this series of training documents.
 

20 PIN PIC Microcontrollers

Microchip provides a number of small pin devices in 8, 14 and 18 PIN packages which enables the application developer to produce a wide variety of systems and applications. The 20 PIN device package was chosen as it offers a better balance between PIN count and peripherals. However, PIN vs Peripherals are not the only consideration when scoping a project. The devices individual characteristics in relation to the project requirements must be considered.

Note
8 and 14 PIN devices can be used on the Sliver XX, however the Sliver V3 will support the 18 PIN devices.

Sliver XX Features

Currently there are two members in the Sliver family, namely the Sliver XX and the Sliver XX – MQ Tester. The dev boards share a common architecture and feature set, with the exception that the MQ-Tester hosts a 6 PIN socket and additional circuitry which enables the PIC to read the analogue output voltage of the sensor.

The Sliver Family Offer the following in summary
  • USB Powered Interfacing
  • USB to UART communications, USB 2.0
  • Push Button
  • Addditional PSU
  • Power LED
  • Resonator 8 MHZ

In the table below, the individual specifications of the two Sliver XX variants are laid out.

Sliver XX Specifications Sliver XX Sliver XX - MQ Tester.
DC 2 PIN Header YES YES
USB Powered Capable YES YES
Bootloader Capable YES* YES*
Input Power 5V0 | USB V 5V0 | USB V
Package 8, 14, 20 PIN DIP 8, 14, 20 PIN DIP
LED | Reset Button YES YES
Headers Ported A, B, C A, B, C
USB UART YES YES
MQ Sensors NO YES

* While the PCB will support a bootloading capable device, device selection and subsequent frimware is not provided by HavenTechnik at this time.

Sliver Features

The Slivers are designed to be portable and used with minimal equipment. All that is needed to power the board is a USB connection, using a standard USB Type B or Printer cable. While a USB powered connection is the primary means to power and use the PCB, the PCB does have an alternate power supply enabling the PCB to function independently of a PC. Power is supplied to the PCB via a 2 PIN 2.54 MM pitch header. The USB connector can be used as both the means to deliver power to the PCB and facilitate USB to RS232 compatible communications.
Once the PCB is powered up, and the LED illuminated you can then flash your hex file to the device loaded into the PCB socket. While all the I/O are tracked to headers along the edge of the PCB, there is no buffer or driver circuitry. This will allow the PIC’s I/O to drive an led or to tolerate a 5V input signal. However, where a greater output drive is required, then appropriate circuitry would need to be placed between the PIC and the target device to protect it from being overdriven and potentially damaged or destroyed.

NOTE : Although PICs share common port based pinout and compatiability in the architecture, to ensure PIN compatibility it would be the responsibility of the application developer to ensure that a PIN compatiable PIC is chosen from the same family or family of devices.