POT CLICK
PID: MIKROE-3402 Weight: 24 g
POT Click is a Click board™ with the accurate selectable reference voltage output. By
employing a high-quality 10mm carbon potentiometer, this Click board™ can provide
very accurate voltage output. POT 2 click is also equipped with the SMD jumper, which
allows the maximum reference voltage to be selected between two typically used
values: 2.048V or 3.3V. The output is buffered with a rail-to-rail buffering operational
amplifier, provides constant input and output impedance. The output current is limited
by the protection circuit at the output, preventing damage if the output is shorted to
GND.
POT click is supported by a mikroSDK compliant library, which includes functions that
simplify software development. This Click board™ comes as a fully tested product,
ready to be used on a system equipped with the mikroBUS™ socket.
With the ability to adjust the voltage on the AN pin very accurately, this Click board™
can be used for development of applications that require voltage reference other than
what is commonly available as an output from a dedicated IC. This includes HMI
applications where the potentiometer can be used to provide fine control the movement
of a step motor, or intensity of a LED segment, backlight amount of a TFT screen, and
similar applications that require fine control of the voltage reference.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
This Click board™ uses a very simple design: the MCP1501, a precision voltage
reference IC from Microchip is used to provide the voltage of 2.048V. This voltage is
routed to the small SMD jumper labeled as OUT SEL. By moving the jumper to the REF
position, 2.048V will be applied to one end of the potentiometer. Otherwise, the
potentiometer will be connected to the 3.3V rail of the mikroBUS™. The other end of the
potentiometer is tied to GND, allowing to select voltage either from 0 to 2.048V range
(VREF) or from 0 to 3.3V range. The adjustable voltage is available on both AN pin of
the mikroBUS™ and 1x2-pin header on the upper edge of the Click board™, which is
labeled as VOUT.
The potentiometer itself is labeled as PT10MV11-103A2020-S. It is a high-quality
potentiometer from Piher Sensing Systems. This company is otherwise known for their
high-quality potentiometers, used in many industries. The potentiometer has a carbonbased resistive surface with the resistance of 10 kΩ. It is a single-turn linear
potentiometer, with 50% of resistance achieved when in the middle position. It has
10mm in diameter. Its turning knob is not fixed: the potentiometer has a hole with flat
surfaces instead (hexagonal shape), and a small pole with the matching shape can be
inserted. This makes possible using both fingers and some other precision tool
(screwdriver, hex keys, etc.)
The output of the potentiometer is fed to the non-inverting input of the OPA344, a rail-torail single supply operational amplifier, from Texas Instruments. This operational
amplifier is a perfect choice for this design, as it allows rail-to-rail operation, uses a
single power supply of 5V, and has a stable unity gain. The OPA344 is used as a buffer,
providing a constant input and output impedance. Without buffer, variable impedance
would affect the reference voltage. The reference voltage IC can provide less than 10
mA, with the significant voltage drop for output currents exceeding 2 mA. Therefore, the
OPA344 ensures good stability of the circuit.
The current output of this Click board™ is limited by the circuit at the output, which
consists of two BJT transistors. When the output load is too large, a voltage drop will
appear across the base-emitter resistor on the Q2 transistor, which in turn starts to
conduct, reducing the voltage across the feedback loop, limiting the max current this
way. Q1 transistor is otherwise used to provide enough current to the output load,
preventing the damage to the buffer and the rest of the circuit. Therefore, in the case of
short circuit, this transistor will start dissipating heat. It is dimensioned so that it can
withstand short circuit on the output. The connected load can draw up to 100mA of
current.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type
Measurements
Applications
It can be used for development of different types of HMI applications where
the potentiometer can be used to provide fine control the movement or to
change the intensity of a LED segment in fine steps, backlight amount of a
TFT screen, etc.
On-board
modules
MCP1501, a precision voltage reference IC from Microchip; OPA344, a
single-supply, rail-to-rail operational amplifier from Texas Instruments.
Key Features
Precise and buffered reference voltage output with current limiting, selectable
maximum value for the adjustable voltage reference, high-quality linear
potentiometer from Piher.
Interface
Analog
Input Voltage
3.3V,5V
Click board
size
M (42.9 x 25.4 mm)
PINOUT DIAGRAM
This table shows how the pinout on POT Click corresponds to the pinout on the
mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).
Notes
Pin
Pin
AN
1
AN
PWM
16
NC
NC
2
RST
INT
15
NC
NC
3
CS
RX
14
NC
NC
4
SCK
TX
13
NC
NC
5
MISO
SCL
12
NC
NC
6
MOSI
SDA
11
NC
Power Supply
3V3
7
3.3V
5V
10
5V
Ground
GND
8
GND
GND
9
GND
Ref. Voltage OUT
Notes
Power Supply
Ground
ONBOARD SETTINGS AND INDICATORS
Label
Name
Default
Description
PWR
PWR
-
Power LED Indicator
JP1
OUT SEL
-
Voltage reference level selection: left position
2.048V, right position 3.3V
J1
VOUT
-
Reference voltage output
SOFTWARE SUPPORT
We provide a library for the POT Click on our LibStock page, as well as a demo
application (example), developed using MikroElektronika compilers. The demo can run
on all the main MikroElektronika development boards.
Library Description
The library initializes GPIO interface for the desired mikrobus selection. For more details
check documentation.
Key functions:
void pot_gpioDriverInit( T_POT_P gpioObj ) - Function initializes GPIO driver for the desired
mikrobus.
Examples description
The application is composed of the three sections :
System Initialization - Initializes peripherals and pins.
Application Initialization - Initializes GPIO interface and ADC.
Application Task - (code snippet) - Makes the averaged results by using the desired number of
samples of AD conversion. The averaged results will be calculated to millivolts [mV] and sent to the
uart terminal. Note : The AD conversion will be performed on the analog (AN) pin on the mikrobus 1.
void applicationTask()
{
for (nSamples = 0; nSamples adcMax)
{
adcMax = adcRead;
}
else if (adcRead