Tips & tricks

With the Dwengo library you can easily read out analog sensors that are connected to channel AN0-AN4 without having to worry about all the technical details. On this page we go into more detail about how you can setup the build-in ADC module (Analog Digital Convertor) yourself and how you can use all the available ADC channels. On the PIC18F4550 there are up to 13 pins that can be used to read out analog sensors. The analog digital conversion has an accuracy of 10 bits.

All equipment working on direct current, also known as DC, require a constant input voltage. Within this category are many electronic components such as Lego™-motors and LEDs. The voltage of these components is typically within a certain range, but in general it can also be lowered. In the case of LEDs a lower voltage results in less light and by adjusting the input voltage of an electrical motor the rotational speed can be altered. The motor will then run slower or faster. The Dwengo library provides for this several useful functions. On this page we look into more detail how you can configure the PWM module of the PIC18F4550 yourself in order to easily adjust the speed of an electrical motor.

An interrupt is an event on which the microcontroller reacts by temporarily interrupt the normal program execution and executes a special piece of code whereafter it resumes normal program execution. Such an event can be the finish of a hardware timer, the change of the voltage an a specific pin of the PIC, ... The specific piece of code is called an Interrupt Service Routine (ISR).

When you want to exchange data between the Dwengo board and a computer or another electrical component such as a compass or bluetooth chip, then the easiest way to do this is using the RS232 protocol. This protocol is also used by your computer when you connect a device to the serial port. The Dwengo library provides the necessary functionality to setup a serial connection. Here we provide more information on how you can setup such a connection yourself.