MicroCore - An optimized and efficient Arduino core for ATtiny13

Using Arduino Microcontrollers
1

Hi everybody!
Remember Smeezekitty's core13, which was an add-on to get support for ATtiny13 within the Arduino IDE? Well, it got some major flaws, such as no accurate timing, interrupts every 256th clock cycle, non-optimized core and poor documentation. When it was released in 2012 I played a lot with it, to figure out its pros and cons, and I concluded that the core just wasn't mature enough.

A lot have happened since. The development on core13 seems to be abandoned, and a lot of poorly documented, not well optimized forks have popped up since. I've also become much better in Arduino and AVR programming! My idea is to leave everything behind and make the ATtiny13 great again! :smiley: :stuck_out_tongue:

Why bother to use a microcontroller as small as the ATtiny13?

  • It's dirt cheap (we're talking cents here!)
  • They come in both SOIC and the breadboard friendly DIP package
  • They're pin compatible with the ATtiny25/45/85
  • You'd be forced to learn how to write code more efficiently

So what's so great about the promising MicroCore?

  • It got accurate timing implemented (delay, delayMicroseconds)
  • The millis() interrupt is now caused by the WDT, which frees up the one and only Timer0
  • Possible to disable core functions through a separate core file, to save space. The core even got a "safe mode" that's possible to disable to save even more space!
  • Like my other cores it got AVR keywords highlighting. Try writing DDRB or PORTB in the IDE, and you'll understand :slight_smile:
  • Selectable Brown-out options from the Tools menu
  • Multiple clock speed options, both internal and external
  • External interrupts using attachInterrupt() is supported
  • Well documented and 100% up to date - It supports the latest version of Arduino IDE
  • Boards manager URL
  • Link time optimization (LTO) for further code optimization

This sounds awesome, how to I install this core?
You can either install it the manual way, or using the boards manager URL.

  • For instructions on how to install the manual way, click here! This is the recommended way to install if you want to do changes to the core settings.
    *For instructions on how to install using the boards manager URL, click here!

The core and more information is available at my Github repository:
https://github.com/MCUdude/MicroCore

Please let me know if you have any questions! And don't forget to star the repository on Github :slight_smile:

2

The boards manager URL is now up and running! Thanks to pert for the hard work!
Simply paste this URL into the IDE, and you're done :slight_smile:

https://mcudude.github.io/MicroCore/package_MCUdude_MicroCore_index.json

3

Hello i just tried your core on a few of my running projects and almost all seems to work as it should.

The only problem are memcpy i use it on a transmitter to convert a struct to a array to send. On smeezekitty's core its working but when i try it on your core the array gets filled with seemingly random numbers.
if i copy in a memcpy function directly in the sketch all is well but that takes some extra space....

Are memcpy supposed to work or are the core to minimal to have it supported?

4

That's weird.. the memcpy function is not something I've ported, it's included in the avr-libc library. Please post your code, so I can help you debug it.

Overall, this core is much more lightweight and brings you more functionality than Core13

5

Well done, I luv T13's !!

6

OK here is the main part of the code, i added the complete code and the receiver code below

This is a minimal sensor transmitter with attiny13 and nrf24l01 that can last 1 year+ on a single 2032 battery, it takes adc readings on a thermistor and a voltage divider.

#include "API.H"

#include <avr/sleep.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

ISR(WDT_vect) {NOP;}

#define SPI_PORT PORTB
#define CE 2
#define CSN 5
#define SPI_SCK 1
#define SPI_MOSI 0

#define cbi(x,y)    x&= ~(1<<y)
#define sbi(x,y)    x|= (1<<y)


#define SPI_DDR (*((&SPI_PORT) -1))
#define SPI_PIN (*((&SPI_PORT) -2))


#define adc_int 2
#define adc_stand 3
byte adc_internalRead=0;

struct dataStruct{
  int adc_therm;
  int adc_volt;
  unsigned long counter;
  byte id; 
}myData;

//***************************************************
#define TX_ADR_WIDTH    3   // 5 unsigned chars TX(RX) address width
#define TX_PLOAD_WIDTH     sizeof(myData)   // 32 unsigned chars TX payload

byte TX_ADDRESS[TX_ADR_WIDTH]  = 
{
  0xb1,0x43,0x20
}; // Define a static TX address


unsigned char tx_buf[TX_PLOAD_WIDTH] = {0};


int main(void){
init();
{
myData.id='U';
delay(1000);
   WDTCR |= (1<<WDP3);

   WDTCR |= (1<<WDTIE);

   sei(); // Enable global interrupts 

   // Use the Power Down sleep mode
   set_sleep_mode(SLEEP_MODE_PWR_DOWN);

SPI_DDR |= ((1<<SPI_SCK) | (1<<SPI_MOSI)| (1<<CE)| (1<<CSN));

  sbi (SPI_PORT, CSN);                          // Initialize IO port

   TX_Mode();                      // set TX mode

}




while(1) {

 ADCSRA |= (1<<ADEN);
SPI_RW_Reg(WRITE_REG + CONFIG, 0x0e); //pwr upp
delayMicroseconds(2000);
SPI_RW_Reg(FLUSH_TX,0);
delayMicroseconds(100);

  sbi (SPI_PORT, CE); 
      
  if(adc_internalRead==1)
  {
  myData.adc_volt = analogRead(adc_int);
  analogReference(DEFAULT);
  adc_internalRead=0;
  
  }
  else
  {
  myData.adc_therm = analogRead(adc_stand);
  analogReference(INTERNAL);
  adc_internalRead=1;
  
  }

  cbi (SPI_PORT, CE); 
  
  memcpy(tx_buf, &myData, sizeof(myData));
    
  SPI_Write_Buf(WR_TX_PLOAD,tx_buf,TX_PLOAD_WIDTH);
  SPI_RW_Reg(WRITE_REG+STATUS,0xff); 
 
sbi (SPI_PORT, CE);
delayMicroseconds(30);
cbi (SPI_PORT, CE);
delayMicroseconds(650);


SPI_RW_Reg(WRITE_REG + CONFIG, 0x00);   //pwr down
ADCSRA &= ~(1<<ADEN);
myData.counter++;
sleep_mode();
   
}
}

Here is a print screen of the memcpy problem, the first readings are with microcore the other with Smeezekitty's core13

1024×398 121 KB

Any tips abut what might cause this are welcome.

Really nice work on the core!!!!!!!!

Attiny13_nrf_microcore.zip (7.07 KB)

7

oops that print screen are way too small try this instead.

Nrf_attiny13.jpg

8

I'm not at my computer right now, so I can't test this right now. I see you use the WDT, which is used to increase the millis counter. Try commenting out #define ENABLE_MILLIS in the core_settings.h file

9

Tried that already sorry.
I also tried to remove the sleep altogether and replace it with a long delay, same problem still.

10

Tried that already sorry.
I also tried to remove the sleep altogether and replace it with a long delay, same problem still.

I don't have the correct hardware to test your code properly, and IMO it's kinda messy.

I've created a super simple program to test the memcpy function. PB2 will blink six times, and the number is copied from src to dest:

#include <string.h>

int main(void)
{
   const char src[1] = {6};
   char dest[1] = {0};

   DDRB |= _BV(PB2);


   memcpy(dest, src, 1);

   for(uint8_t i = 0; i < dest[0]; i++)
   {
    PORTB |= _BV(PB2);
    delay(1000);
    PORTB &= ~_BV(PB2);
    delay(1000);
   }
   
   return(0);
}
11

I agree my code are a bit messy... i plan to work on it, but there is so much new things to try so i never get around to fixing working code up...sorry

Anyway i tried your blinking led way to debug it and it worked kinda.

Somewhere between delayMicroseconds(100); and delayMicroseconds(200); the code stops working.

So if i use delayMicroseconds(100); and shorter, and delay(); for the rest all is working perfect.

Here is a minimal test code that show the problem:

#include <string.h>

struct dataStruct{
  int16_t adcc_int;
  int16_t adcc_stand; 
  uint32_t counter;
  byte id; 
}myData;

#define TX_PLOAD_WIDTH     sizeof(myData)  
unsigned char tx_buf[TX_PLOAD_WIDTH] = {0};

int main(void){

myData.id=7;
                 // set TX mode
DDRB |= _BV(PB3);


while(1) {

 
   delayMicroseconds(100); //this works

   //delayMicroseconds(200); //this do not work
   
   memcpy(tx_buf, &myData, sizeof(myData));

   for(uint8_t i = 0; i < tx_buf[8]; i++)
   {
    PORTB |= _BV(PB3);
    delay(200);
    PORTB &= ~_BV(PB3);
    delay(200);
   }

delay(3000);
  
}
}

Either this is a really strange problem or I'm doing something wrong?

12

I found the problem, but I need to do some more research before I can figure out exactly what's wrong. Have a look at this code line [MicroCore Github wiring.h]. If you use a number less than 199, it works just fine. The problem is the uS_new() function which is a few leftovers from the old core13. I'm no assembler guy, so this function is like black magic to me :stuck_out_tongue: What version of core13 where you using? (og er du faktisk svensk? :stuck_out_tongue: )

13

I decided to replace the delay() and delayMicroseconds() functions with two macro wrappers that's based on _delay_ms() and _delay_us(). Doing this saves ~60b, which is a lot on an ATtiny13. Now everything should work just fine

It seems like _delay_ms() and _delay_us() are inline functions, so by using the macros many times in the code, a lot of flash space is getting occupied. I'm working on a new solution, and will be ready soon :slight_smile:

Thanks for reporting issues like these. It forces me to create even better code :slight_smile:

14

I was using core13_19 that was the version what always worked best for me, But think this one will replace that as my go to core for attiny13.
For now i just removed uS_new and live with the inaccuracy of the old delayMicroseconds.

I really like your boards file i added options for enabling PB5 as i/o pin and added 2 versions of your core one minimal and one with all core_settings enabled and the old core13_19 too, that makes switching between cores so much easier. (and yupp swe here...)

Good luck with the coding.

15

Thanks! I believe I've found the best solution when it comes to handling the different delay functions.

To prevent an inaccurate delayMicroseconds() function, I'll keep the wrapper macro. The only issue is that the _delay_ms() function is an inline function, so calling delayMicroseconds() multiple times will eat up your flash memory, but timing is really accurate!

The delay() function will now look like this

void delay(uint16_t ms)
{
  while(--ms)
    _delay_ms(1);
}

To prevent it from "growing" when called multiple times. Running a while loop like this only causes an overhead of ~1 us per ms, so it's really not a problem. The old core13 had horrible timing, and delay(1) was actually 1.3ms because of the rapid interrupts, caused by the millis() timer.

16

Hello again
One problem with

// Wrapper to deal with _delay_ms(), which is an inline function
void delay(uint16_t ms)
{
  while(--ms)
    _delay_ms(1);
}

delay(1); will have no delay at all, and all bigger delays will be 1 ms too fast.

I did a crude fix to make it work for me, but you might have a better idea abut how to solve it.

void delay(uint16_t ms)
{
ms++;
  while(--ms)
    _delay_ms(1);
}
17

I don't have my Attiny here at the moment, but does this function work better?

void delay(uint16_t ms)
{
  do
  {
     _delay_ms(1);
  }  
  while(--ms);
}
18

Yes that works too, and looks better. Thanks

19

The "new" delay function is actually two bytes smaller than the old one. Seems like the compiler like the do while structure better :wink: if I'm writing ms-- instead of --ms without LTO enabled, the code actually gets 4 bytes larger!

20

Hi,

i burned the bootloader to an ATtiny 13A, now i want to upload a sketch.

I used USB TinyISP for burning the bootloader. Can i also use the USB Tiny ISP for uploading the sketch?

When i want to upload there came up this message:

"Build-Optionen wurden verändert, alles wird neu gebaut
sorry - this program has been built without plugin support
Fehler beim Kompilieren." (german)

Greetz Chris