Arduino - Using digital potentiometers part 2 (MCP4251)

This is part two in a series of posts about using digital potentiometers with Arduino boards. Part one covered the AD8403 digital pot. This post will go over the MCP4251 from Microchip. The MCP4251 is a dual pot chip with the capability to individually disconnect the terminals of each wiper through software and a hardware shutdown pin that shuts down both wipers simultaneously. Communication with the chip is done over SPI. The chip is available in DIP and surface mount configurations. I bought the DIP version so I could use them on a breadboard. The specific part number I bought is MCP4251-103E/P which is a 10k ohm model with an 8 bit resistor network. The 8 bit versions have 256 possible positions for the wiper which works out to approximately 39 ohms increase in resistance for each wiper position on a 10k ohm model.

Two MCP4251 chips

I began searching for an Arduino software library for these pots. I found two but neither of them fit my needs. They didn't implement any of the TCON functionality which was the main reason I was interested in these pots. Here are links to those libraries if you are interested in trying them out:
   https://github.com/jmalloc/arduino-mcp4xxx and https://github.com/teabot/McpDigitalPot

Since there wasn't a preexisting library that would work for me I began figuring out how to talk to this chip. I started with the Arduino example in File > Examples > SPI > DigitalPotControl. The AD840x and AD520x series pots work right out of the box with this example but the MCP4xxx pots use different memory addresses so I started tweaking the example.

Understanding how to talk to the MCP4251

So lets start with the very basics of how to talk to these pots. Sending a command over SPI requires four steps:
1. Take the slave select pin LOW. This tells the chip to listen for commands.
2. Send the memory address for the item we want to change using SPI. This is the memory address for a wiper or terminal connections. This tells the chip what we want to change.
3. Send the new value for the item we specified in step 2. Wipers on the MCP4251 have 256 possible positions so this would be a decimal number between 0-255 or binary B00000000 - B11111111.
4. Take the slave select pin HIGH. This tells the chip to execute the changes.

The AD8406 covered in part 1 used decimal numbers 0-5 as memory addresses for each of the wipers which was very easy to understand. The MCP4251 doesn't use sequential values so I had to go digging in the data sheet to find the right values. Here is the memory map table from the data sheet:

Looking at the data sheet you can see the memory address and the data is made up of a total of 16 bits. The sheet says the data is 10 bits and the memory address is 6 bits but in practice you can send the data in two 8 bit chunks which allows you to use the 'B' binary formatter. The maximum possible value for a wiper is 255 which would be B11111111 in binary. So here is the list of memory addresses and tcon values I was able to determine:

wiper0writeAddr = B00000000;
wiper1writeAddr = B00010000;
  tconwriteAddr = B01000000;
  tcon_0off_1on = B11110000;
  tcon_0on_1off = B00001111;
 tcon_0off_1off = B00000000;
   tcon_0on_1on = B11111111;

The Wiring

Now that I had memory addresses figured out I wired up the digital pot on a breadboard with some LED's. I'm using LED's in this example because it's a good way to visualize the pots changing resistance values. I wired the shutdown pin to a 4.7k pull down resistor so the pot would go into shutdown mode if digital pin 7 wasn't HIGH. My example code also uses the software disconnects (TCON) to turn the LED's off and on.

The connections are:
* All A pins of MCP4251 connected to +5V
* All B pins of MCP4251 connected to ground
* An LED and a 220-ohm resistor in series connected from each W pin to ground
* VSS - to GND
* VDD - to +5v
* SHDN - to digital pin 7 and a 4.7k pull down resistor
* CS - to digital pin 10 (SS pin)
* SDI - to digital pin 11 (MOSI pin)
* SDO - to digital pin 12 (MISO pin)
* CLK - to digital pin 13 (SCK pin)

You can download the fritzing file here:
https://github.com/matt448/arduino/raw/master/MCP4251_tcon/MCP4251_tcon.fzz

and you can download the MCP4251 fritzing part I made here:
https://github.com/matt448/arduino/raw/master/MCP4251_tcon/MCP4251.fzpz

The code

Here is a Gist with the example code. The most recent version will be my the github repo here:
https://github.com/matt448/arduino/tree/master/MCP4251_tcon

Up next

Part 3 in my series of digital potentiometer posts will cover reading data from the MCP4251 to determine the wiper positions and the tcon status. Part 4 will cover using multiple SPI digital potentiometers. I will add a links here as I complete those posts.

Adding MOLLE / PALS webbing to a backpack

I really like my North Face Surge backpack but I have never found the vertical daisy chain loops on the back panel to be very useful. I guess you can clip on small items with a carabiner but I never do that. I do have a few items that use the MOLLE or PALS attachment system and I would like to attach those to the back panel of my pack. So I decided to try and modify my backpack.

Here is a how the pack looked before I modified it.


The loops down the center of the flap are what I want to change. These vertical loops are usually referred to as a daisy chain. MOLLE, or more specifically PALS, is method of attaching pouches and equipment to a bag. It is used by the military and law enforcement personnel to attach things like radios, ammo clips, knives, first aid kits, etc to bags and vests. There are quite a few handy generic pouches as well. The PALS system uses one inch webbing spaced in horizontal rows one inch apart and sewn at one and half inch intervals. Most people seem to use the term MOLLE and PALS interchangeably but really MOLLE is a line of military gear that uses the PALS attachment system. Equipment that is attached using PALS webbing uses straps that are woven in and out of the rows and secured with a snap or velcro. Some equipment uses plastic clips that hook into the rows.

Here is a diagram of how to sew PALS / MOLLE.

Before I modified my backpack I first tried sewing some PALS webbing onto scrap fabric.


It went pretty well on the scrap fabric. The ends of the webbing were a little difficult because had melted them a little too much. When cutting the webbing you need to use a flame to melt the ends to keep it from fraying but it only needs to be melted very lightly. If you melt it too much it will cause big lumps which are difficult to sew. I did a test fit of my Leatherman sheath and it fit perfectly so I moved on to modifying my backpack.

The first step was to run a zigzag stitch across the rubbery material to hold it in place and to reinforce the strap before I shortened it. Then I used a seam ripper to remove all the stitching below the zigzag stitch. After that I used some scissors to cut off the strap and rubbery material from the area I want to place rows of PALS webbing.



Next I laid out the rows of webbing. I started out with laying pieces of webbing on the bag and measuring but it was difficult to visualize where the loops would end up. I made a paper diagram which made it easier to see how many full loops I could get. Because the flap tapers up I was only able to get three loops but that would be perfect for attaching my Leatherman and a flash light. Next I used a water soluble marking pencil to lay out the webbing and sewing line locations.



I trimmed the ends of the webbing to the same taper as the flap and lightly melted the ends. Then I pinned the webbing in place.



Next up was the sewing. The top piece of webbing wasn't too bad but the lower piece took some acrobatics to get all the lines sewn. I ran a straight stitch first and then a zigzag stitch over top of it for strength.



Sewing is complete. The stitching is visible on the inside of the flap but it doesn't look too terrible and the flap is usually closed. Quick test fit of my Leatherman and then all that's left is to clean up the white pencil lines with a washcloth and some water.


And here is the finished product. It turned out exactly like wanted. :-)


[UPDATE 2014-07-31]

Just a small update. I sewed my own MOLLE flashlight holder out of some 2" webbing and added that to my pack. My buddy bought me a 'tactical' pen which fits nicely on the center loops.