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Bolt 18F2550 microcontroller development board, open source, with integrated USB port, LCD display, hexadecimal keypad, DS18B20 temperature sensor, serial RS232 port and firmware bootloader.

 

 

 

 

OVERVIEW:

Bolt 18F2550 system was designed for use in a wide range of applications: as a trainer kit for learning microcontroller systems, useful to students and teachers in technical careers or degrees in Electronics, Control, Computers and Mechatronics, or as development module in applications such as instrumentation, robotics, industrial control, communications, network monitoring and access control.

The board is based on the powerful 18F2550 Microchip's multifunction microcontroller, with an integrated USB v.2.0 port  and may be programmed in ANSI C language. The 18F2550 has 28 pins DIL, which allows for a small card design, at a minimum cost. By means of a bootloader firmware, factory preloaded in its upper code memory, the 18F2550 microcontroller is programmed via its USB port, without the need for an external programmer.

Projects and applications development tools: through the MPLAB IDE v.8.63 development environment (XP, Vista and Windows 7 compatible), and ANSI C18 compiler developed by Microchip, you can edit, compile or simulate programs in ANSI C. The executable .hex file generated by C18 compiler is compatible with the Bolt programming software.

Programming software: the system includes an special programming software Bolt v.1.0.1 (Windows 7, Vista and XP compatible). You may store your program in 18F2550 FLASH memory directly through the USB port of your PC or Laptop. With this software you'll be able to program the whole 32 Kb. of FLASH memory in less than 5 seconds.

USB embedded port: Bolt 18F2550 system has a built in USB port that may be handled like a serial port from both sides: the microcontroller and the PC. This is done thanks to Microchip's USB stack and libraries provided for the microcontroller, and the windows drivers provided for the PC. We have a complete and well documented project that describes in detail how to send and receive USB data using simple ANSI C serial port likewise functions.

Test programs and templates: we have several projects and dozens of ANSI C test programs for the Bolt 18F2550 system. Available also, you'll be able to use numerous C libraries and functions for all interfaces, ready to use in your programs. We provide a C18 template for fast development of user programs. Also included, are assembler test programs for the basic I/O interfaces: leds, microswitches and relay.

Multifunction system: the system has ports for direct connection, without cables, of a 16x1 LCD display and an hexadecimal 16 button keypad, included in the kit. It contains a serial communications port RS232 interface, through which it is possible to perform remote control applications. It also includes a temperature sensor DS18B20 with its control functions included.

Additional devices built into the module: 13-bit input / output, 8 LEDS, 4 microswitches, 1 relay with 127 VAC, 1 amp. contacts; asynchronous and synchronous serial port USART. Interfaces included in microcontroller 18F2550: SPI, I2C; 7-channel of A/D conversion with 10 bits resolution; 2 PWM generator, 4 timers, and a complete interrupt system.

 

 

 

Bolt 18F2550 module hi-res photos: