Digilent Minicon - Manual (Page 2)

Digilent, Inc. Minicon Reference Manual
www.digilentinc.com
www.digilentinc.com page 2 of 8
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Features of the ATmega168 include:
• master/slave serial peripheral
interface (SPI)
• programmable serial USART
interface
• Atmel two wire serial interface (TWI)
• eight channel, 10-bit ADC
• two 8-bit timer/counters
• one 16-bit timer/counter
• 16KB program flash
• 512 byte EEPROM
• 1KB internal SRAM
• analog comparator.
For more information on the ATmega168
microcontroller, refer to the data sheet
available at
www.atmel.com .
Functional Description
The Minicon is designed for embedded
control and robotic applications, as well as
microprocessor experimentation.
Embedded firmware, suitable for many
applications, can be programmed into the
Minicon’s ATmega168 microcontroller.
The Minicon has a number of I/O
connection options, and is specially
designed to work with the Digilent line of
peripheral modules (Pmods), which
provide various input and output functions.
For more information, see
www.digilentinc.com .
Programming the Minicon is accomplished
using the Digilent AVR programmer
(AVRP) application and a Digilent
programming cable (use either the Digilent
parallel JTAG cable or the Digilent USB
JTAG/SPI cable). The programming cable
is attached to the SPI connector, J1.
Jumper JP10 is used to select between
programming mode and user mode. Place
the shorting block on JP10 in the RST
position for in-system-programming and in
the SS position for user mode.
Connector J1 provides access to the
master/slave SPI. SPI is a high-speed
synchronous serial interface used by many
serial peripheral devices, like A/D and D/A
converters. The SPI interface is used both
for in-system-programming the
ATmega168, and for a user accessible SPI
port. The Digilent PmodAD1 and
PmodDA1 modules use the SPI interface.
Connector J1 and the SPI interface are
also used for in-system programming of
the ATmega168 microcontroller.
Connectors J2 and J4 provide access to
the Atmel TWI. The TWI is a medium
speed (200-400 Kbps) serial bus that
allows up to 128 devices to connect.
Connector J4 is the TWI daisy-chain
connector for connecting the Minicon into a
TWI bus.
The ATmega168 microcontroller provides a
USART that can be used for asynchronous or
synchronous serial communications. However,
the MiniCon doesn’t provide for a crystal
oscillator, and the internal RC oscillator isn’t
accurate enough for reliable asynchronous
communications. It is sometimes possible to
tune the oscillator using the calibration register
to allow asynchronous communications to
work.
The Minicon features a flexible power
supply routing system with a number of
options for powering the Minicon and any
peripheral modules connected to it.
Four mode-select input jumpers and four
LEDs are provided for application firmware.