Bolt v.Lite trainer-evaluation development board, open source, based on high performance 48 Mhz 18F2550 microcontroller, with embedded USB port.

Go to download page with complete documentation for Bolt 18F2550 system

Bolt v.Lite easy guide.pdf ***specially prepared for beginners***

Step by step, how to flash a led with Bolt v.Lite ***specially prepared for starters***

Bolt-v-Lite-5-test-programs.zip

OVERVIEW:

The Bolt v.Lite system is a minimum component version of module Bolt 18F2550 (full version).

Bolt v.Lite system was  designed as a trainer or evaluation kit for learning of microcontroller  systems, useful to students and teachers in technical careers or degrees in Electronics, Control, Computers, Mechatronics and Embedded Systems. Design engineers may as well use this module as a development board to implement projects and applications.

The module is based on the powerful high performance 18F2550 Microchip's multifunction microcontroller with a complete USB v.2.0 port and may be programmed in ANSI C language, using Microchip's development tools. The 18F2550 has 28 pins DIP, which allows for a small card design, at a minimum cost. By means of a bootloader program, factory preloaded in its upper code memory, the Bolt 18F2550 system may be powered and programmed via its USB port, without the need for an external power supply.

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.

We provide C18 compiler templates and libraries for fast and easy development of applications. Several test program are available as well for Bolt v.Lite, to test microswitches and leds.

FEATURES:

* Trainer-evaluation board. Low cost system based on the 18F2550 microcontroller, running at 48 Mhz, with 32K FLASH memory, 2K RAM, and 256 bytes EEPROM.
* Integrated USB port v.2.0 speed of 12 Mbps.
* Firmware 18F2550 bootloader preloaded.
* Programming Software of 18F2550, directly from the PC through the USB port, included.
* 8 LEDs and 4 microswitches to emulate inputs and outputs.
* Ideal for applications and projects from simple to very sophisticated or for evaluation of 18F2550 microcontroller.
* Easily scalable to the full Bolt 18F2550 version, with interfaces to LCD, keypad, RS-232 serial port, temperature sensor, relay 127 VAC @ 1 amp., 5 volt regulator, and a power jack to connect an external wall transformer.
* The user chooses which interfaces or functions to add to the PCB.
* 17-bit input-output in headers and connectors.
* Includes Microchip's MPLAB IDE, C18 ANSI C compiler, libraries and functions for all interfaces and dozens of test programs.

HARDWARE:

Microcontroller: 18F2550-I/SP Microchip, multifunction, high-performance, 28-pin DIP, operating with 20 MHz external crystal. Effective speed of 48 MHz, thanks to on-chip PLL multipliers. Harvard architecture, with RISC set of 75 instructions. Word length of 16 bits in code memory.

Memory: 32K bytes (16K words of 16 bits) FLASH, 2K bytes of RAM, 256 bytes of EEPROM.

USB Port: v.2.0 compatible, 12 Mb/s. 18F2550 programming from PC or Laptop via this port.

Power supply: selectable with jumper. Either  5 volts, directly from USB port, or from an external wall transformer.

Firmware bootloader: preloaded, allows self-programming of FLASH memory through Bolt v.1.0.1 software.

Testing devices: 8 leds connected as witnesses and 4 microswitches for emulation of digital inputs and outputs.

Input/Output Ports: A total of 17 bits programmable either as inputs or outputs.

Dimensions: 8 x 9.5 cms. Printed circuit board, fiberglass, Thru Hole.