3.5 PICkit On-Board 4 (PKOB4) and Debugger/Programmer Selection

The PIC32WM-BW1 Curiosity Board includes an integrated programmer and debugger MPLAB® PICkit™ On-Board 4 (PKOB4). This new generation of In-Circuit Debugger, requires no additional programming/debugging tool to get started.

The following are the features and capabilities of PKOB4:
  • Connects to a computer through high-speed USB 2.0 (480 Mbits/s) cable
  • Programs the device using MPLAB X IDE or MPLAB IPE
  • Supports multiple hardware and software breakpoints, stopwatch and source code file debugging
  • Debugs the application in real time
  • Sets breakpoints based on the internal events
  • Monitors the internal file registers
  • Debugs at full speed
  • Configures the pin drivers
  • Field-upgradeable through an MPLAB X IDE firmware download
  • Indicates debugger status through on-board LEDs, demonstrating the development board’s functionality and features
The PKOB4 on the PIC32WM-BW1 Curiosity Board provides support for programming and debugging of the target device (PIC32WM-BW1002UC Module) through the USB Type-C™ connector (J7) from the Host PC.
Note:
  • As the PIC32WM-BW1002UC Module supports the UART interface, the PIC32WM-BW1 Curiosity Board employs a USB-UART Virtual COM port instead of the standard PKOB4 Virtual COM Port. The on-board MCP2200 USB-to-UART serial converter (U18) acts as a USB to the UART converter with hardware flow control support.
  • The data gateway interface feature of PKOB4 is not used in the PIC32WM-BW1 Curiosity Board.

By default, the on-board debugger (PKOB4) is connected to the programming pins (SWDIO and SWDCLK) of the PIC32WM-BW1002UC Module.

The voltage level translators are provided on signals between the PKOB4 and PIC32WM-BW1002UC Module for supporting target voltage from 3.0–3.6V.

Two PKOB4 LEDs indicate:
  • Green (D9) – ACTIVE indicator
  • Yellow (D10) – STATUS indicator

In addition, the Curiosity Board supports external debuggers, such as MPLAB ICD5 by connecting to the debug connector (J36).

The debug connector (J36) follows the standard ARM® SWD 10 pinout. For more details on the debug header schematics, see Figure 1-21. MPLAB ICD5 can be connected to the Debug (DBG) header using the Debugger Adapter board (AC102015). For more details, refer to www.microchip.com/DevelopmentTools/ProductDetails/AC102015.

Table 3-4. SWD Debug Connector Details
Pin Number of Debug Header (J36)Pin NameDescription

1

VCC

PIC32WM-BW1002UC, also for other instances of PIC32WM-BW1 Module power supply

2

SWDIO

PB9, SWD programming data

3

GND

Ground

4

SWCLK

PB8, SWD programming clock

5

GND

Ground

6

SWO

PB7, optional trace output

7

NC

No connection

8

NC

No connection

9

GND

Ground

10

RESET

PIC32WM-BW1 Module’s Reset NMCLR pin