Adding TCP/IP Ethernet to PIC - how?

**gtvmarty** · - 11th November 2010, 12:16

thanx mackracket for the link/help....

However, please note your informative post was posted much later than my initial postings/responses.....

I'm sure as time went on, more and more people kept badgering away to find answers....

Don't get me entirely wrong, the companies themselves have documentation that isn't exactly informative, and HIGHLY assumptious.....

As i pointed out above, microchip's datasheet simply said "just sue the stack....." with no mention about HOW to use it, or what commands you need from your pic to their interface........lack of REAL documents is what kills products overnight...

amen!

**dhouston** · - 11th November 2010, 13:20

@gtvmarty,

Maybe you are asking too much.

Back near the beginning of the thread, I recommended ConnectOne's nano LANReach. As far as interfacing with it via serial, it is identical to the ConnectOne wireless module mackrackit used. And, while they don't offer any PIC code, the ConnectOne documentation is excellent. Anyone with a modicum of experience should be able to create something similar to mackrackit's code (not to disparage his skills).

I also recommended the WIZ110SR which is equally simple to work with. Their documentation should be more than adequate although, again, there are no PIC code examples. It will, however, require you to make the TCP or UDP connections in your PIC code but there was a recent example of SNTP (using a different adapter) on this forum from Charles Linquis.

None of the manufacturers of simple ethernet/serial adapters are likely to offer any microcontroller example code - it would take too much time and effort (and handholding) to provide examples for even the 4-5 most popular microcontrollers.

I spent most of the past 10 months hospitalized and/or recovering from major surgery so I haven't been active on the forum. In my absence there have been some developments.

Tibbo has finally released a replacement for their discontinued modules. Their USA distributor has been stocking it for a few months now. The EM500 is programmable in Tibbo's Basic dialect and they have several examples for SMTP (email), SNTP (time), HTTP (web server) on Tibbo's web site. You can also purchase direct from Tibbo for under $40. One caveat - It has 22 pins in a 2x11x0.050inch spacing and it needs an RJ45+magnetics (available from Tibbo and dealers) so you cannot breadboard it. Also, it's a 3.3V device but all the pins you need are 5V tolerant. You will need pull-ups on outputs if using a 5V PIC. Their online documentation is complete but requires a lot of hipping and hopping - old geezers like me prefer more linear arrangements. They do have an $85 evaluation board which includes everything you need and also illustrates an ingenious method of designing a PCB that allows plugging in the EM500 instead of soldering the closely spaced pins. It has a lot of flash memory available (320KB IIRC) for user programs. On the PIC end, code would be quite similar (but simpler) to mackrackit's example.

Also, Mouser still has a "may need an export license" disclaimer on all of the ConnectOne devices. I don't know whether that means they won't ship overseas or whether it means they are selective about where they will ship.

**gtvmarty** · - 11th November 2010, 13:38

Thanx Dave for the comments,

Yes, i went thru the connect one/mouser/export issues, at the end connect one stated to mouser "there are NO restrictions" worldwide, which is good to know.

While i didnt expect the manufacturers/distributors to provide "pic code" i did expect theyd at least show "what codes" are needed to initialise the ethernet adapter, and then how/what is expected to be sent to the adapter to get it to do "whatever"....

A year has passed, and at least something is starting to surface (more than likely from end-users hassling them), both from manufacturers/distributors and forums.....

I'm not the bad guy here, MANY people are sharing my ethernet frustrations, the absolute LACK of info (at least a year ago) was the hot topic for everyone interested in using those ethernet modules.....

More frustrating (as said in my earlier comments above) was the mere fact that some forum users DID get their modules to work, without any form of sharing, or at least anything worthy of helping the rest of us to get up'n'running too.....

I'm sorry, but users who insist on stating "i got mine going easy" just doesn't cut it with me, and many others.....
The point of a forum is to learn and share, but i cant help but seeing "show offs" in many forums....and this isnt limited to pic forums either....

As soon as i get my own adaptors working, i'll happily share my step-by-step info to help other newbies "get connected".....thats what we're all here for...

Marty.

**dhouston** · - 11th November 2010, 15:28

@gtvmarty

The Mouser issue is really with the USA's Homeland Security Department created after 9/11 which is staffed with bureaucrats who are all trying overly hard to be sure they won't be the one to miss the next terrorist. It's more than a bit ironic that they want to prevent the export of a device that was imported to begin with.

I'm not trying to make you the bad guy, merely trying to point out the reality. I used to run an international operation (US subsidiary of a European company) so I have different point of view. The manufacturers, besides not wanting to get bogged down in minutia, probably see a potential liability if they provide too much help and detail especially for another company's product. Like Homeland Security they err on the side of caution although it's those other terrorists (trial lawyers) who worry them.

I realize that there's a fine line on these (and other) forums between a beginner asking for help and asking that someone do all the work for them but, maybe you should have responded earlier that you had read the docs (citing them with some specifics) for a particular device but still needed help getting started. That may have elicited some help from myself, mackrackit, Charles Linquis, ioannis or ????. Maybe I didn't read your earlier posts as carefully as I should but I don't recall getting the feeling that you were a complete beginner. Plus, the ConnectOne and WIZNet docs do

at least show "what codes" are needed to initialise the ethernet adapter, and then how/what is expected to be sent to the adapter to get it to do "whatever"....

After all, that's where mackrackit got the info he used to get his device working. And it's why I recommend those specific devices - because I know they have provided all the needed detail. I think you either did not look hard enough or did not understand the manuals.

Section 4.1 of the WIZ110SR User Manual (Version 2) available as a PDF on their website shows step-by-step how to configure the device over the serial link. You can experiment from a PC and then connect to your PIC serial port and send the serial commands that way. If you are asking how to establish a UDP or TCP link or do SNTP, SMTP, etc. that is not part of their instructions but you can read the Internet RFCs - most of the protocols use plain text commands or you can look at Tibbo's examples which, while written for their device in their Basic dialect are easily converted for use elsewhere.

ConnectOne has a Programmer's Manual that details all of their ATi+ serial commands for configuring and communicating via the serial link. IIRC you need the manual for the specific chip used in the device you use. The docs are at...http://www.connectone.com/support.asp?did=42

**flotulopex** · - 11th November 2010, 16:00

Originally Posted by mackrackit

Here is a test thingy I have running part of the time. http://mackrackit.com/mac/ichip/ichip.html

Hi mackrackit,

Thanks a lot for this example; sure, it'll help a lot for a start

I'd like to ask a few questions here and hope some of you can give a neophyte-style answers. And please, forgive-me if my questions sound stupid, I just have no clue what the answers are!

1.- Assuming I connect a well-configured ConnectOne NANO LANReach module to a network (office or so), is it going to be "pingable" just like if I ping another PC?

2.- What is different between the possible protocols the module supports? Is it only the way the data is organized in the packet?

3.- Is there a difference if the module is directly connected to a PC or the module is connected to a network (i.e. via a switch)?

4.- What makes a module's address unique? The IP address and the port? Or is it the MAC address?

That's enough for now

**dhouston** · - 11th November 2010, 16:16