The Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards™ evaluation kit is a hardware extension platform to ease the
connection between Curiosity Nano kits and extension boards like the
Xplained Pro extension boards.
Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards has an on-board Li-Ion/LiPo charger and management circuit for
battery powered operation of the board.
– Option to power from, and charge, 4.20V Li-Ion/LiPo batteries
– Fixed 3.3V PSU for target and mikroBUS sockets
– Fixed 5.0V Boost converter for 5V mikroBUS sockets
Curiosity Nano Base for Click board...
Introduction
1.2 Kit Overview
Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards allows easy connection of Mikro Elektronika mikroBUS™ Click
boards and Xplained Pro extensions to Curiosity Nano evaluation kits.
The kit is powered through USB on a mounted Curiosity Nano kit by default. The kit can also be powered
from a Li-Ion/LiPo battery or an external source.
Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is shipped with pin-headers and pin-sockets to connect Curiosity
Nano evaluation kits.
Figure 1-1. Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Evaluation Kit Overview
Steps to start exploring the Curiosity Nano platform:
1.Download Atmel Studio/Microchip MPLAB® X IDE.
2.Launch Atmel START or MPLAB® Code Configurator.
3.Find the code examples for the Curiosity Nano kit attached to the Curiosity Nano Base for Click
boards.
Use the code examples as a base for your own firmware development.
2.2 Design Documentation and Relevant Links
The following list contains links to the most relevant documents and software for the Curiosity Nano Base
for Click boards.
• MPLAB® X IDE - MPLAB® X IDE is a software program that runs on a PC (Windows®, Mac OS®,
Linux®) to develop applications for Microchip microcontrollers and digital signal controllers. It is called
an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) because it provides a single integrated "environment"
to develop code for embedded microcontrollers.
• Atmel Studio - Free IDE for the development of C/C++ and assembler code for microcontrollers.
• IAR Embedded Workbench® for AVR® - This is a commercial C/C++ compiler that is available for 8-
bit AVR. There is a 30-day evaluation version as well as a 4 KB code-size-limited kick-start version
available from their website.
• Atmel START - Atmel START is an online tool that helps the user to select and configure software
components and tailor your embedded application in a usable and optimized manner.
• Microchip Sample Store - Microchip sample store where you can order samples of devices.
• Data Visualizer - Data Visualizer is a program used for processing and visualizing data. The Data
Visualizer can receive data from various sources such as the EDBG Data Gateway Interface found
on Curiosity Nano and Xplained Pro boards and COM Ports.
• Xplained Pro Extension Kits - Xplained Pro Extensions for peripheral functions.
• Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards website - Kit information, latest user guide and design
documentation.
• Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards on Microchip Purchasing & Client Services - Purchase
this kit on Microchip Purchasing & Client Services.
The figure below shows how a Curiosity Nano microcontroller board connects to each of the mikroBUS
sockets and Xplained Pro extension.
Check the appendix of the user guide for your microcontroller board to easily figure out how the
microcontroller I/Os are routed on the Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards.
Figure 3-1. Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Pin-out
SPI and I2C are shared between all connected hardware. The SPI bus has three unique chip
select signals routed to each mikroBUS socket.
UART1 (TX1 and RX1) is shared between mikroBUS socket 1 and 3, while UART2 (TX2 and
RX2) is shared between mikroBUS socket 2 and the Xplained Pro extension header.
The Xplained Pro extension header is shared with mikroBUS socket 2 and 3. Make sure to
check for any conflicting signals if several add-on boards are in use at the same time.
User Guide
DS50002839B-page 5
Page 6
Figure 3-2. Pin Map Example
Curiosity Nano Base for Click board...
Hardware User Guide
The figure above shows how to identify which microcontroller pins on a ATmega4809 Curiosity Nano are
connected to mikroBUS socket 1.
1.Identify which pins you want on the click module
2.Find the pin name inside the mikroBUS socket on the Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards
3.Locate the same pin names next to the Curiosity Nano footprint
4.Read the pin names on the ATmega4809 Curiosity Nano board
SDA is connected to pin PA2 and SCL is connected to pin PA3 of the ATmega4809.
3.1.1 Xplained Pro Extensions
Xplained Pro Extensions are small extension boards with extra peripheral functions like the mikroBUS
Click modules. The extension boards, originally intended for the Xplained Pro series of evaluation kits,
are mostly not device specific and can be used with any microcontroller.
Note: The QTx Xplained Pro Extension kits are not ensured compatibility due to the device specific
requirement of the Peripheral Touch Controller (PTC) and pinout.
3.2 Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Power Supply
The Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is powered from the USB port on a connected Curiosity Nano
microcontroller board. The USB voltage is used to supply the MCP73871 battery charger, to generate
3.3V and 5.0V for the mikroBUS sockets, and to supply the Xplained Pro extension header and the
microcontroller on the Curiosity Nano microcontroller board. The power LED at the bottom edge of the
board is lit whenever there is a voltage on the 3.3V net.
Figure 3-3. Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Power Supply
Info: The VOFF pin connected to the Curiosity Nano microcontroller board is pulled low on
Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards. When VOFF is low, the power supply on the Curiosity
Nano microcontroller board is disabled and 3.3V is supplied from Curiosity Nano Base for Click
boards to the microcontroller.
Hardware User Guide
There are several ways to modify how the different parts of the board are powered. 5.0V can be removed
from any of the mikroBUS sockets by removing R16, R17, and R18.
To power the board from an external power supply, cut J11 and supply an external voltage from 4.5V to
6V through J16.
To use the variable voltage power supply on a Curiosity Nano microcontroller board remove R11 andR15. The base board will no longer be powered through the MCP73871 or from an external voltage
connected to J16.
Table 3-1. Default Component Values
DesignatorDefaultComment
J11ClosedUSB Voltage from Curiosity Nano
J16Not Mounted1x2 2.54mm pitch pin header, MCP73871 input voltage and GND
3.3 Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Battery Charger
The board has a MCP73871-2CC battery charger for 4.20V Li-Ion/LiPo batteries with 2-pin JST B2B-PH
connectors.
When a battery is connected together with an external power source, the MCP73871 will charge the
battery at a maximum current of 500mA. When external power is removed, the MCP73871 will source
power from the battery to power the board. The battery charge current can be customized by replacing
resistor R7, the charge current follows the formula I = 1000V / R7.
Only use Li-Ion/LiPo batteries with a nominal voltage of 4.20V, and batteries that can handle a
charge current of 500mA or more.
Info: The battery can be connected/disconnected with the slider switch at the upper right
corner of the board.
Input current to the MCP73871 is limited to 500mA with the default board settings. With a battery
connected, the MCP73781 will power the board with whatever current it requires and use the remaining
current to charge the battery.
Hardware User Guide
The input current limit can be changed by adjusting the configuration of J9, J10, J12, and J13 according
to the table below.
Table 3-2. MCP73871 Input Current Limit Settings
J9J10J12J13MCP73871 Current Limit [mA]
OpenClosedClosedOpen80 to 100
OpenClosedOpenClosed80 to 100
ClosedOpenClosedOpen1500 to 1800
ClosedOpenOpenClosed400 to 500 (default)
All combinations not listed in the table are invalid and will cause a short-circuit between the
input voltage and ground.
If the battery is attached to the back of the board in the designated area, a thermistor can be mounted in
footprint TH1 to enable the thermal protection feature in the MCP73871. Remove R21 when the
thermistor is attached. As an example, using a 10kΩ NTC with β parameter of 3590 will allow charging
between approximately 4°C and 43°C.
Three status signals from the MCP73871 are connected to LEDs located at the upper edge of the board.
The table below shows the different LED combinations.
R20Not MountedBattery switch bypass, solder 0 ohm to permanently
connect the battery to the MCP73871
R7Mounted, 2kΩSets the battery charge current
R21Mounted, 10kΩBattery thermal protection feature of the MCP73871
TH1Not Mounted
3.4 Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards Mounting
Connecting a Curiosity Nano microcontroller kit to Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards can be done in
several ways. The most practical way is to solder sockets to the base board, and headers to the Curiosity
Nano microcontroller kit. It is also possible to skip the header and socket, and solder the Curiosity Nano
microcontroller kit directly to the base board.
Align the USB connector on the Curiosity Nano kit with the upper edge of the base board as shown in the
image below to connect the board correctly.
Figure 3-4. How to Mount Curiosity Nano Kit
The images below shows examples of ATmega4809 Curiosity Nano and PIC16F18446 Curiosity Nano
mounted through pin-headers and pin-sockets.
This user guide provides the latest available revision of the kit. This chapter contains information about
known issues, a revision history of older revisions, and how older revisions differ from the latest revision.
4.1 Identifying Product ID and Revision
The revision and product identifier of the Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards can be found in two ways;
either through Atmel Studio/Microchip MPLAB® X IDE or by looking at the sticker on the bottom side of
the PCB.
By connecting a Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards to a computer with Atmel Studio/Microchip
MPLAB® X IDE running, an information window will pop up. The first six digits of the serial number, which
is listed under kit details, contain the product identifier and revision.
The same information can be found on the sticker on the bottom side of the PCB. Most kits will print the
identifier and revision in plain text as A09-nnnn\rr, where “nnnn” is the identifier and “rr” is the revision.
The boards with limited space have a sticker with only a QR-code, containing the product identifier,
revision and the serial number.
Hardware Revision History
The serial number string has the following format:
"nnnnrrssssssssss"
n = product identifier
r = revision
s = serial number
The product identifier for Curiosity Nano Base for Click boards is A09-3206.
Microchip provides online support via our web site at http://www.microchip.com/. This web site is used as
a means to make files and information easily available to customers. Accessible by using your favorite
Internet browser, the web site contains the following information:
• Product Support – Data sheets and errata, application notes and sample programs, design
resources, user’s guides and hardware support documents, latest software releases and archived
software
• General Technical Support – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), technical support requests, online
discussion groups, Microchip consultant program member listing
• Business of Microchip – Product selector and ordering guides, latest Microchip press releases,
listing of seminars and events, listings of Microchip sales offices, distributors and factory
representatives
Customer Change Notification Service
Microchip’s customer notification service helps keep customers current on Microchip products.
Subscribers will receive e-mail notification whenever there are changes, updates, revisions or errata
related to a specified product family or development tool of interest.
To register, access the Microchip web site at http://www.microchip.com/. Under “Support”, click on
“Customer Change Notification” and follow the registration instructions.
Customer Support
Users of Microchip products can receive assistance through several channels:
• Distributor or Representative
• Local Sales Office
• Field Application Engineer (FAE)
• Technical Support
Customers should contact their distributor, representative or Field Application Engineer (FAE) for support.
Local sales offices are also available to help customers. A listing of sales offices and locations is included
in the back of this document.
Technical support is available through the web site at: http://www.microchip.com/support
To order or obtain information, e.g., on pricing or delivery, refer to the factory or the listed sales office.
Microchip Devices Code Protection Feature
Note the following details of the code protection feature on Microchip devices:
• Microchip products meet the specification contained in their particular Microchip Data Sheet.
• Microchip believes that its family of products is one of the most secure families of its kind on the
market today, when used in the intended manner and under normal conditions.
• There are dishonest and possibly illegal methods used to breach the code protection feature. All of
these methods, to our knowledge, require using the Microchip products in a manner outside the
operating specifications contained in Microchip’s Data Sheets. Most likely, the person doing so is
engaged in theft of intellectual property.
• Microchip is willing to work with the customer who is concerned about the integrity of their code.
• Neither Microchip nor any other semiconductor manufacturer can guarantee the security of their
code. Code protection does not mean that we are guaranteeing the product as “unbreakable.”
Code protection is constantly evolving. We at Microchip are committed to continuously improving the
code protection features of our products. Attempts to break Microchip’s code protection feature may be a
violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If such acts allow unauthorized access to your software
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