Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
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.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Overview ........................................................................................................ 9 1.2 Board Setup ................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2. Hardware 2.1 Functional Overview ..................................................................................... 15 2.2 Hardware Components ..
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide NOTES: DS75019A-page 4 © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Preface NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS All documentation becomes dated, and this manual is no exception. Microchip tools and documentation are constantly evolving to meet customer needs, so some actual dialogs and/or tool descriptions may differ from those in this document. Please refer to our web site (www.microchip.com) to obtain the latest documentation available. Documents are identified with a “DS” number.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS GUIDE This manual uses the following documentation conventions: DOCUMENTATION CONVENTIONS Description Represents Examples Arial font: Italic characters Initial caps Referenced books MPLAB® IDE User’s Guide Emphasized text ...is the only compiler...
Preface RECOMMENDED READING This user’s guide describes how to use the Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board. The following Microchip documents are available from the Microchip web site (www.microchip.com), and are recommended as supplemental reference resources.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS 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.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Chapter 1. Introduction Thank you for purchasing Microchip Technology’s Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board. This daughter board provides a low-cost solution for implementing a Power Line Modem (PLM) using the Microchip Explorer 16 Development Board.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide The Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board is shown in Figure 1-1. Refer to 2.2 “Hardware Components” for detailed information on the board components. FIGURE 1-1: 1.2 UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD BOARD SETUP Figure 1-2 illustrates the setup of the daughter board with the Explorer 16 Development Board.
Introduction FIGURE 1-2: BOARD SETUP HV Adapter Cable Explorer 16 Development Board Daughter Board dsPIC33F PIM Power Supply To summarize, following are the items that will be required to evaluate the two daughter boards included in the box: • Two Explorer 16 Development boards (DM240001) • Two 9V Power Supplies (AC002014) • One REAL ICE (DV244005)/ICD3 (DV164035)/PICkit 3 (PG164130) It is important to understand that some countries have multi-phase power supplies within buildings.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide FIGURE 1-3: SIGNAL COUPLER DEVICE Signal Coupler To power line Phase 1(2) 18 μH(1) 0.33 μF To power line Phase 2(2) Note 1: 2: Optional. Phases can be interchanged. For domestic applications a signal coupler, such as Smarthome™ SignaLinc Model-4816B2, can be plugged into the nearest 220V outlet (typically used for heaters and dryers) as illustrated by Example 1 in Figure 1-4.
© 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide NOTES: DS75019A-page 14 © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Chapter 2. Hardware This chapter provides a functional overview of the daughter board and identifies its major hardware components. Topics covered include: • Functional Overview • Hardware Components 2.1 FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW A block diagram illustrating the functional operation of the daughter board is shown in Figure 2-1. FIGURE 2-1: UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide 2.1.1 Transmit Path The daughter board utilizes four PWM channels to generate an approximated sine wave. The PWM channels are shifted in phase such that a sum of their instantaneous amplitude resembles a stepped sine wave. By filtering this stepped sine wave using a band-pass filter, a relatively clean sine wave is obtained, as shown in Figure 2-2. The amount of filtering required is dependent on the number of PWM channels.
Hardware 2.2 HARDWARE COMPONENTS Figure 2-3 identifies the key hardware components of the daughter board. Table 2-1 lists the descriptions for each hardware component. FIGURE 2-3: UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD HARDWARE COMPONENTS 3 2 8 7 3 1 4 6 5 9 10 TABLE 2-1: UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD HARDWARE COMPONENTS Item No. Description Item No.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide 2.2.2 Transmit Amplifier (U1A) The transmit amplifier is used to implement flow control on the transmit path. 2.2.3 Output Transistors (T5, T6) Output transistors are implemented in the push-pull configuration to amplify the transmit signal before coupling the signal into the HV adapter cable. Note: 2.2.4 The output transistors should have good thermal contact with a large copper plane on the PCB to dissipate heat.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Chapter 3. Demonstration This chapter describes simple applications that demonstrate the capabilities of the Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board. Topics covered include: • Software and Tools • Demonstration Applications 3.1 SOFTWARE AND TOOLS For free demonstration source code and more information, please visit the related web page at www.microchip.com/powerline.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide 3.1.2 Configuration Files Modem and application configuration has been split into several header files, each responsible for a logically separated portion of the code. Each demonstration application defines a config.h file that serves as a master configuration file and should include, directly or indirectly, all other configuration files. The modem and framework modules have their own main configuration files (modem.h and framework.
Demonstration PLM_FRAMING This setting enables the low-level framing and is disabled by default. If enabled, the demodulator will seek frames with following: • • • • Preamble (length depends on the PLM_PRE_SIZE configuration setting) Start Of Frame (as set in the PLM_SOF configuration setting) Length (1 to 253, length, SOF and data inclusive) Data bytes PLM_SOF The Start of Frame (SOF) character. This setting is used only if low-level framing is enabled.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide PLM_FC This setting sets the carrier frequency and must not be changed while using the daughter board. PLM_BAUD This setting sets the modem baud rate. Available options are: 1200, 2400, 4800, and 6000 (default). PLM_MOD_IMP This setting selects the number of OC channels dedicated for PWM-based signal generation. Available options are: • MOD_DDS: Directly calculates sine samples.
Demonstration plm_demod_start() This function starts the demodulator and configures the selected ADC channel, starts the timer that triggers ADC conversions and optionally enables a DMA channel to service the selected ADC input. Either DMA or ADC and timer interrupts get enabled. It is mandatory to call this function before any calls to plm_recv() are made.
Utility-band BPSK 6.
Demonstration 3.2 DEMONSTRATION APPLICATIONS The five demonstration applications developed for the daughter board are described in this section. Peripherals on the Explorer 16 Development Board, such as the LCD screen, push buttons and LEDs, are used by the demonstration applications to interact with the user. In general, LED D3 indicates the transmission status, LED D5 indicates the receiver bit synchronization status, and LED D4 indicates the receiver byte synchronization status.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide Each frame (of 128 byte length) is composed of 16 bytes of preamble, 110 bytes of data and 2 bytes of CRC. The demonstration application has two LCD views, which can be toggled using switch S3 on the Explorer 16 Development Board: • Frame statistics • Application configuration (carrier frequency, modulation and baud rate) 3.2.
Demonstration The transmitter starts sending when there is at least one byte to send. A frame is terminated when there is no more data in the input buffer or when the 64th payload byte has been transmitted. As long as the application keeps providing data to send, the transmitter will transmit 64 byte frames. If a frame checksum is invalid, the receiver will try to resynchronize, but the frame contents will be transferred to the UART interface.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide On reset, the receiver sends the application configuration summary over the UART. Then, every 5 seconds, it prints all packet statistics in a human-readable form. By increasing the debug level upon compilation, it is also possible to send detailed reports about each frame. This option is disabled by default.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Appendix A. Board Layout and Schematics A.1 HV ADAPTER BOARD LAYOUT AND SCHEMATIC WARNING SHOCK HAZARD – Do not open the HV adapter cable enclosure. Failure to heed this warning could result in bodily harm. FIGURE A-1: HV ADAPTER BOARD LAYOUT FIGURE A-2: HV ADAPTER BOARD SCHEMATIC © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide A.2 DAUGHTER BOARD LAYOUT AND SCHEMATICS FIGURE A-3: DS75019A-page 30 DAUGHTER BOARD LAYOUT © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
DAUGHTER BOARD SCHEMATIC SHEET 1 OF 2 © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS75019A-page 32 © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc. Utility-band BPSK 6.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Appendix B. Bill of Materials (BOM) TABLE B-1: Quantity DAUGHTER BOARD BILL OF MATERIALS (BOM) Reference Description Manufacturer Manufacturer Part Number 1 D7 12V Bidirectional Transil Littelfuse Inc. P6SMB12CA 1 U2 Dual Op amp Microchip Technology Inc. MCP6282-E/SN 1 U1 Op amp with CS Microchip Technology Inc.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide TABLE B-1: Quantity DAUGHTER BOARD BILL OF MATERIALS (BOM) (CONTINUED) Reference Description Manufacturer Manufacturer Part Number 1 R32 Resistor 620R 0603 Susumu RR0816P-621-D 2 R14, R15 Resistor 430R 0603 Susumu RR0816P-431-D 2 R12, R25 Resistor 100R 0603 Susumu RR0816P-101-D 1 R24 Resistor 1R 0603 Stackpole Electronics. Inc.
UTILITY-BAND BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ PLUS DAUGHTER BOARD USER’S GUIDE Appendix C. Troubleshooting Guide C.1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS This appendix discusses common operational issues and methods to resolve them. C.1.1 The daughter boards are not able to communicate on the power line. What can I do to fix the problem? Possible reasons for the daughter boards to lose the communication link are: C.1.1.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide C.1.1.6 DAUGHTER BOARDS PLUGGED INTO A POWER STRIP WITH EMI FILTERING / SURGE PROTECT FEATURE Some power strips have Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) filtering or surge protection devices. These devices filter out the power line noises at frequencies much higher than the power line frequency (which is 50 Hz or 60 Hz).
Troubleshooting Guide C.1.3 What are the important points to keep in mind while designing a custom hardware solution using the schematics provided by Microchip? Following are the important points to keep in mind while designing a custom hardware solution: C.1.3.1 POWER SUPPLY RATING It is important to have a power supply with sufficient rating to power the daughter board. The daughter board can draw up to 600 mA from the power supply.
Utility-band BPSK 6.0 kbps PLM PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board User’s Guide NOTES: DS75019A-page 38 © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
NOTES: © 2011 Microchip Technology Inc.
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