For anyone who's interested, here is the solution I arrived at today:
#include <p33fxxxx.h>
_FOSCSEL(FNOSC_PRIPLL);
_FOSC(FCKSM_CSDCMD & OSCIOFNC_OFF & POSCMD_XT);
_FWDT(FWDTEN_OFF);
static int curFreq = 0;
static int nextFreq = 0;
static unsigned int PWM_TABLE[7][2] =
{
{132, 66}, {131, 66}, {130, 65}, {129, 65}, {128, 64}, {127, 64}, {126, 63} // Compare, duty
};
int main(void)
{
int i, ipl;
PLLFBD = 0x009E; // Set processor clock to 32 MHz (16 MIPS)
CLKDIV = 0x0048;
LATCbits.LATC1 = 0; // Make RC1 an output for a debug pin
TRISCbits.TRISC1 = 0;
OC7CONbits.OCM = 0b000; // Turn PWM mode off
OC7RS = PWM_TABLE[curFreq][1]; // Set PWM duty cycle
PR2 = PWM_TABLE[curFreq][0]; // Set PWM period
OC7CONbits.OCM = 0b110; // Turn PWM mode on
T2CONbits.TON = 0; // Disable Timer 2
TMR2 = 0; // Clear Timer 2 register
IPC1bits.T2IP = 1; // Set the Timer 2 interrupt priority level
IFS0bits.T2IF = 0; // Clear the Timer 2 interrupt flag
IEC0bits.T2IE = 1; // Enable the Timer 2 interrupt
T2CONbits.TON = 1; // Enable Timer 2
while (1)
{
for (i = 0; i < 1600; i++) {} // Delay roughly 1 ms
SET_AND_SAVE_CPU_IPL(ipl, 2); // Lock out the Timer 2 interrupt
curFreq = (curFreq + 1) % 7; // Bump to next frequency
nextFreq = 1; // Signal frequency change to ISR
RESTORE_CPU_IPL(ipl); // Allow the Timer 2 interrupt
}
}
void __attribute__((__interrupt__)) _T2Interrupt(void)
{
IFS0bits.T2IF = 0; // Clear the Timer 2 interrupt flag
if (nextFreq)
{
nextFreq = 0; // Clear the frequency hop flag
OC7RS = PWM_TABLE[curFreq][1]; // Set the new PWM duty cycle
PR2 = PWM_TABLE[curFreq][0]; // Set the new PWM period
}
}
I confirmed with the scope and a debug pin my suspicion: the original code was suffering from a race condition. The main loop did not bother to synchronize changes to PR2 with the actual state of the TMR2 counter, and so would occasionally set PR2 to a value LESS THAN (or maybe equal to) the current TMR2 value. This, in turn, would cause TMR2 to count up until it rolled over, then continue counting until it reached PR2 and generated a rising edge. During the time TMR2 was counting up to 65535 to roll over, no PWM output was being generated. At 16 MIPS, the rollover time for a 16-bit timer like TMR2 is roughly 4 ms, explaining my 4 ms PWM dropout. So, the code was doing exactly what I wrote it to do :)
In the second snippet, the code is correctly synchronizing changes to PR2 and the duty cycle register with the TMR2 rollover event, and so the 4 ms dropout had gone away. I mentioned a "weird" waveform associated with that example: it was due to the RD6/OC7 pin being configured as an output and having a low value set in the LATD register. The second snippet actually turns PWM mode off inside the Timer 2 ISR: this lets the GPIO functionality take over and pulls RD6/OC7 down for a few microseconds before reenabling PWM and generating a rising edge, leading to a "hiccup" waveform.
The second snippet also has a problem in that it reconfigures PR2 and the duty cycle register on every Timer 2 rollover, regardless of whether the main loop has commanded a frequency change or not. It seems to me from observation that the timer rolls over and generates a rising edge on the PWM pin and THEN the Timer 2 ISR gets control a few nanoseconds later (owing I'm sure to vector latency, etcetera). Turning PWM off and rejiggering the registers every time through doesn't get you quite the right frequency and duty cycle in the long run because the hardware has already generated a rising edge and started counting up to the next compare value.
What this means is that in the corrected snippet I posted today, the work done in the Timer 2 ISR needs to be minimized! Because I'm running PWM at such a high frequency, and because there is a small latency between the rising edge generated by the PWM hardware and the invocation of the Timer 2 ISR, by the time I get into the ISR TMR2 has already had time to count up to a fair number. My code needs to set PR2 and the duty cycle register immediately and directly (i.e. no function calls, and even the table lookup is pushing it), otherwise it runs the risk of missing the compare and causing the 4 ms rollover bug that was my original problem.
Anyway, I think this is an accurate description of things, and I'm running the code in my "real" application with encouraging results so far. If anything else changes I'll post here, and of course any corrections to the above would be massively appreciated.
Thanks for your help, pingswept.
Best Answer
You could consider using an RC servo. You will want one that will rotate an appropriate number of degrees (maybe 240 or 270). Most only rotate 90 or 120 degrees. One possibility is a Henge MD260, but shop around.
The interface is simple- a 1msec pulse every 20msec causes it to rotate to one extreme, and a 2msec pulse every 20msec causes to rotate to the other extreme, 1.5msec puts it in the center (sometimes these times vary a bit from servo to servo).
You don't have to 'home' it as a stepper (and gearbox, most likely) would require. An RC servo has a built-in feedback potentiometer connected mechanically to the output shaft, so you control absolute position rather than incrementally moving it from wherever it happened to be last (perhaps after the power was interrupted).
If you can live with 180° rotation, there are more choices, and you can get ones with a standard spline which fits shaft couplers to a 1/4" (6.35mm) shaft.