VCP Monitor 6 Click

VCP Monitor 6 Click is a compact add-on board designed for precise digital power monitoring applications. This board features the INA780A, a 16-bit I2C-output digital power monitor with EZShunt™ technology from Texas Instruments. Capable of measuring currents up to 20A and supporting voltages up to 85V, it accurately monitors current, voltage, and temperature, calculating power, energy, and charge. Programmable registers allow for fine-tuning measurement precision, supporting continuous and triggered operation modes.

Click Product page

Click library

• Author : Nenad Filipovic
• Date : Feb 2024.
• Type : I2C type

Software Support

We provide a library for the VCP Monitor 6 Click as well as a demo application (example), developed using MikroElektronika compilers. The demo can run on all the main MikroElektronika development boards.

Package can be downloaded/installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended way), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Library Description

This library contains API for VCP Monitor 6 Click driver.

Standard key functions :

• vcpmonitor6_cfg_setup Config Object Initialization function.

  void vcpmonitor6_cfg_setup ( vcpmonitor6_cfg_t *cfg );

• vcpmonitor6_init Initialization function.

  err_t vcpmonitor6_init ( vcpmonitor6_t *ctx, vcpmonitor6_cfg_t *cfg );

• vcpmonitor6_default_cfg Click Default Configuration function.

  err_t vcpmonitor6_default_cfg ( vcpmonitor6_t *ctx );

Example key functions :

• vcpmonitor6_get_bus_voltage This function reads the BUS voltage output measurement in volts [V] by using the I2C serial interface.

  err_t vcpmonitor6_get_bus_voltage ( vcpmonitor6_t *ctx, float *voltage );

• vcpmonitor6_get_current This function reads the current measurement result in milliamperes [mA] by using the I2C serial interface.

  err_t vcpmonitor6_get_current ( vcpmonitor6_t *ctx, float *current );

• vcpmonitor6_get_power This function reads the power measurement result in watts [W] by using the I2C serial interface.

  err_t vcpmonitor6_get_power ( vcpmonitor6_t *ctx, float *power );

Example Description

This library contains API for the VCP Monitor 6 Click driver for measurements of the voltage, current, power, energy, charge, and die temperature.

The demo application is composed of two sections :

Application Init

The initialization of the I2C module and log UART. After driver initialization, the app sets the default configuration.

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    vcpmonitor6_cfg_t vcpmonitor6_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    vcpmonitor6_cfg_setup( &vcpmonitor6_cfg );
    VCPMONITOR6_MAP_MIKROBUS( vcpmonitor6_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( I2C_MASTER_ERROR == vcpmonitor6_init( &vcpmonitor6, &vcpmonitor6_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_ERROR == vcpmonitor6_default_cfg ( &vcpmonitor6 ) )
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Default configuration." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

Application Task

The demo application reads and displays the results of the input bus voltage, current, power, energy, charge accumulation measurements, and die temperature. Results are being sent to the UART Terminal, where you can track their changes.

void application_task ( void ) 
{
    float app_buf = 0;
    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_bus_voltage( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Voltage: %.2f [V]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_current( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Current: %.2f [mA]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_power( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Power: %.2f [W]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_energy( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Energy: %.2f [kJ]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_charge( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Charge: %.2f [C]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }

    if ( VCPMONITOR6_OK == vcpmonitor6_get_temperature( &vcpmonitor6, &app_buf ) )
    {
        log_printf( &logger, " Temperature: %.2f [degC]\r\n", app_buf );
        Delay_ms ( 50 );
    }
    log_printf( &logger, " ----------------------------\r\n" );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
    Delay_ms ( 1000 );
}

The full application code, and ready to use projects can be installed directly from NECTO Studio Package Manager(recommended way), downloaded from our LibStock™ or found on Mikroe github account.

Other Mikroe Libraries used in the example:

• MikroSDK.Board
• MikroSDK.Log
• Click.VCPMonitor6

Additional notes and informations

Depending on the development board you are using, you may need USB UART Click, USB UART 2 Click or RS232 Click to connect to your PC, for development systems with no UART to USB interface available on the board. UART terminal is available in all MikroElektronika compilers.