The MCP47X6 PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board allows customers to evaluate the capabilities of the MCP4726, MCP4716, and MCP4706 devices. This board can be controlled by the MCU of the Explorer 16 Development Board (P/N: DV164033) or by a PICkit™ Serial Analyzer. The board also provides easy access via test points to desired signals to monitor device operation. A buzzer is supplied that is connected to the output of the MCP4726, which allows generation of an audible sound. The buzzer has a volume control.

The Daughter Board contains the MCP4706 (8-bit DAC), MCP4716 (10-bit DAC), and MCP4726 (12-bit DAC) devices. These DAC devices are communicating with the external Master device (MCU) using I2C serial interface communication. The MCP47X6 PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board does not include the Master device (MCU), but it has two interface connectors that can be used for the external device, which has the Master device (MCU) to communicate with this board. The two interfaces are:

• Connector (J3) for Explorer 16 Starter Kit (DV164033) for 16-bit MCU environment. The firmware for the 16-bit MCU is provided with this board
• 6-pin connector (J1) for PICkit™ Serial Analyzer (DV164122) for reading and writing the DAC registers using the PICkit™ Serial Analyzer PC software.

Note: The user can also control the DAC devices on the MCP47X6 PICtail™ Plus Daughter Board by providing I2C commands through the interface communication terminals on the daughter board, without using the Explorer 16 Development Board or the PICkit Serial Analyzer.

Applications: Set Point or Offset Trimming, Sensor Calibration, Low-Power Portable Instrumentation, PC Peripherals, Data Acquisition Systems, Motor Control