Hardware Documentation

Here's a reference for what every programmer needs to know: the hardware interface.

DIP Switches

A five-position DIP switch is used to select the block of DMX channels used by the heads. The switches are pulled high to indicate "off", and pulled low to indicate "on". They're on pins RA0, RA1, RA2, RA3, and RA5. RA0 is the most significant bit, RA5 is the least significant bit.

LEDs

What could be more fun than a bunch of blinking lights? There are a total of six status LEDs connected to the microcontroller. Setting a pin high results in illumination. Their usage is not completely fixed, so if you can think of something better, go for it.

Four pink LEDs are connected to RB0, RB1, RB2, and RB3. These are intended to show the status of the individual heads. Two more LEDs are connected to RB4 and RB5. These are intended to show the status of the DMX input, and possibly a self test.

LED	Port	Pin #
1 (Pink)	RB0	21
2 (Pink)	RB1	22
3 (Pink)	RB2	23
4 (Pink)	RB3	24
5	RB4	25
6	RB5	26

DMX

The RS-485 DMX input and output are connected to the TX and RX serial pins. The hardware is capable of serving as a DMX master, so don't transmit anything unless you know exactly what you're doing. For the light show, don't transmit anything at all.

Function	Port	Pin #
Transmit	TX	17
Receive	RX	18