SparkFun Inventor's Kit For Micro:bit Experiment Guide N - Digi-Key

Introduction to Microsoft MakeCode What is MakeCode? MakeCode is an open programming environment built by Microsoft for the micro:bit, as well as other boards. You can navigate to MakeCode for the micro:bit by clicking on the button below. LAUNCH MAKECODE! Once you have launched MakeCode, you will be greeted by its basic layout with a simulator on the left and a block-based environment on the right, as shown here. Click on the image above for a larger view. Let’s take a quick tour and check out what is available to us! 1. 2. 3. 4. Projects — A cloud storage system connected to your computer with no account setup required. Share — Allows you to share your project code in a number of different ways with your friends! Blocks/JavaScript — Choose your own adventure by programming in blocks (default) or in JavaScript. Program Space — This is where the magic happens and where you build your program where you “make code.” 5. Zoom/Undo-Redo — Sometimes you need to undo things, or zoom out and look around; these are the buttons for that. 6. Name & Save — Name your program and save it (download it) to your computer. 7. Download — Similar to Save, download your program as a .hex file and drag it into your micro:bit. 8. Block Library — All of the options in terms of program building blocks, which are color-coded by function. 9. Simulator Hide/Show — You can hide/show the simulator if you would like. 10. Simulator — You don’t need hardware! MakeCode has a real-time simulator! As you change your program, you can see what it will do on this virtual micro:bit! Phew! Now you have a choice: block- or text-based programming? Blocks or Text For this guide and the majority of the content that you will find on SparkFun for the micro:bit, we will be using block-based programming examples. [

But, if you so choose, there is a JavaScript option to use as well. The choice is yours, and the good news is that you can switch back and forth from one to the other in the same program; one will populate the other, which is really nice if you are new to programming! Simulator MakeCode includes a simulator for the micro:bit, meaning if you don’t have your micro:bit in hand you can still write code for it. Or if you want to try out an idea before you upload it to your micro:bit, you can do that too! The simulator will update as you build your code, and if you want to run it from the beginning you can click the stop and run buttons to start it over again! Speaking of code, let’s write a quick program and get it onto your micro:bit! Experiment 0: Hello, micro:bit! Introduction “Hello World” is the term we use to define that first program you write in a programming language or on a new piece of hardware. Essentially it is a simple piece of code that gives you a quick win (fingers crossed) and a first step in learning. It also gives you a chance to make sure everything is up and running and A-OK. For your first “Hello World” we are going to create a simple animation on the LED array that repeats forever. If you just want the complete program, you can see it here. To see a step-by-step explanation of how we built the program, continue reading! This site uses cookies for analytics, personalized content and ads. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to this Learn more use. Simulator Blocks JavaScript Edit

Download Microsoft MakeCode Terms of Use Privacy Dow Download Note: You may need to disable your ad/pop-up blocker to interact with the MakeCode programming environment and simulated circuit! Building ‘Hello World’ A “Hello World” on the micro:bit is a little different than on a normal run-of-the-mill microcontroller. The micro:bit has no single LED to blink on its own, as you would find on the Arduino or similar boards. What the micro:bit does have is an LED array! So, the “Hello World” for the micro:bit is to draw something using the LED array! When you open MakeCode you are greeted with two blocks: the On Start block and the forever block. The On Start block is all of your code that will execute at the very beginning of your program and only run once. The forever block is code that will loop over and over again forever. We are going to use the forever block for building this “Hello World.” We now need to start adding blocks to forever . First, click on the Basics category. These blocks are, well, the basic building blocks of a BuildCode program. It will expand into a number of options. Click and drag the show leds block over and place it inside of your forever block. Notice that the block is keyed to fit inside of the forever block, and if you have the volume up on your computer you will hear a satisfying ‘click’ noise when you let go of the block.

The show leds block has an array of squares that symbolize the LED array. If you click on a square, it will turn red, which means that it is on. Draw a simple pixel art shape by turning different LEDs on or off; you should be able to see the outcome in your simulator on the lefthand side of your window. To turn this static image into an animation, we need another show leds block to place just under the first block. You can then make a second drawing with this set of rectangles. In your simulator you will see the images switching really, really fast. We need to slow this down! To slow your animation down, you will use the pause block, which is under the basic block set. The pause block is just what it says; it tells the micro:bit to pause and wait for a certain amount of time. Place two pause blocks in the program as shown.

The reason we are using two and placing one at the end is that this program is a loop. Without the block at the end, the image in your animation will change really, really fast. We have built up an example in the next section where you can download the file and try it out on your own micro:bit, or use the simulator. If you want to play around with the code and make some changes, go ahead and click the Edit button in the widget, and it will open a MakeCode editor for you to start hacking “Hello World.” Enjoy! Download Your Program Either copy and paste, or recreate the following code in your own MakeCode editor. You can also just download this example by clicking the download button in the upper righthand corner of the code window. This will download your program file to your standard download location, probably the Downloads folder on your computer, or whatever location you have set in your download preference. You then simply click and drag your program file from its download location to your micro:bit drive, which shows up as an external device. That’s it! Your micro:bit will flash for a few seconds, and then your program will start automatically. Yes! Win!

loading. Note: You may need to disable your ad/pop-up blocker to see the simulated circuit! Experiment 1: Blinking an LED Introduction LEDs are small, powerful lights that are used in many different applications. To start off, we will work on blinking an LED, the basic introduction of microcontrollers and building circuits. You already did a “Hello World” for the micro:bit itself, this is the next step. That’s right — it’s as simple as turning a light on and off. It might not seem like much, but establishing this important baseline will give you a solid foundation as we work toward more complex experiments. Parts Needed You will need the following parts: 1x micro:bit 1x Micro B USB Cable 1x micro:bit Breakout (with Headers) 1x Breadboard 1x Jumper Wire

1x LED 1x 100Ω Resistor Didn’t Get the SIK for micro:bit? If you are conducting this experiment and didn’t get the Inventor’s Kit, we suggest using these parts: micro:bit Board Breadboard - Full-Size (Bare) DEV-14208 PRT-12615 SparkFun micro:bit Breakout (with Headers) Jumper Wires Standard 7" M/M - 30 AWG (30 Pack) BOB-13989 PRT-11026 LED - Basic Red 5mm COM-09590 Resistor 100 Ohm 1/4 Watt PTH - 20 pack (Thick Leads) PRT-14493 Suggested Reading Before continuing with this experiment, we recommend you be familiar with the concepts in the following tutorial:

Light-Emitting Diodes — Learn more about LEDs! How to Use a Breadboard — Learn the basics of using a breadboard! Introducing the micro:bit Breakout To extend the functionality of the micro:bit beyond what is already on the board, we developed a micro:bit breakout. This breakout board makes it much easier to use all of the pins available on the micro:bit edge connector in a more user-friendly way. We also broke out ground and VCC (3.3 volts) for your convenience. The breakout board lines up with the pins of a breadboard. We recommend using a full-sized breadboard with this breakout to give you enough room to prototype circuits on either end of the breadboard. Also, for durability’s sake, insert the breakout pins about halfway into the breadboard so there is support under the board for when you insert a micro:bit and/or pull it out. Introducing the LED A Light-Emitting Diode (LED) will only let current through in one direction. Think of an LED as a one-way street. When current flows through the LED, it lights up!

When you are looking at the LED, you will notice that its legs are different lengths. The long leg, the “anode,” is where current enters the LED. This pin should always be connected to the current source. The shorter leg, the “cathode,” is the current’s exit. The short leg should always be connected to a pathway to ground. LEDs are finicky when it comes to how much current you apply to them. Too much current can lead to a burnt-out LED. To restrict the amount of current that passes through the LED, we use a resistor in line with the power source and the LED’s long leg; this is called a current-limiting resistor. With the micro:bit, you should use a 100Ω resistor. We have included a baggy of them in the kit just for this reason! Hardware Hookup Ready to start hooking everything up? Check out the wiring diagram and hookup table below to see how everything is connected. Polarized Components Pay special attention to the component’s markings indicating how to place it on the breadboard. Polarized components can only be connected to a circuit in one direction. Please note: Pay close attention to the LED. The negative side of the LED is the short leg, marked with a flat edge.

Components like resistors need to have their legs bent into 90 angles in order to correctly fit the breadboard sockets. You can also cut the legs shorter to make them easier to work with on the breadboard. Wiring Diagram for the Experiment

Having a hard time seeing the circuit? Click on the wiring diagram for a closer look. Running Your Script Either copy and paste, or re-create the following code into your own MakeCode editor by clicking the open icon in the upper right-hand corner of the editor. You can also just download this example by clicking the download button in the lower right-hand corner of the code window. This site uses cookies for analytics, personalized content and ads. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to this Learn more use. Simulator Blocks JavaScript Edit

Download Microsoft MakeCode Terms of Use Privacy Dow Download Note: You may need to disable your ad/pop-up blocker to interact with the MakeCode programming environment and simulated circuit! Code to Note Let’s take a look at the code blocks in this experiment. If you are having a hard time viewing this code, click on the image above to get a better look! Forever The forever block is a block that loops any other command blocks inserted into it over and over again forever. It starts from the top and executes your code in order working its way to the bottom and then starts at the top again. Digital Write The DigitalWrite block enables you to turn a pin on or off. There is a dropdown option for which pin you want to control, and it accepts a variable as the pins state. You use 1 as on and 0 as off. If you prefer, you can also use Boolean states of true and false , but we will use 0 and 1 as our standard throughout this guide. Pause If you were to just turn pins on and off with the digital write block without a pause, the LED would blink really, really fast. The pause block enables you to slow the micro:bit down and lets you control the timing of things happening. It accepts a number or variable as the number of milliseconds you want the micro:bit to pause. Think of this block as a stoplight for your code! What You Should See You should see your LED blink on and off at 1-second intervals. If it doesn’t, make sure you have assembled the circuit correctly and verified and uploaded the code to your board, or see the Troubleshooting section.

Troubleshooting LED Not Blinking Make sure you have it wired correctly and the correct pin to ground. Remember, short pin to ground; long pin to signal. Still No Success A broken circuit is no fun. Send us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as we can: techsupport@sparkfun.com . Experiment 2: Reading a Potentiometer Introduction In this circuit you will work with a potentiometer. You will learn how to use a potentiometer to control the brightness of an LED by reading a sensor and storing its 0–1023 value as a variable, then using it as a brightness level for the LED. Parts Needed You will need the following parts: 1x micro:bit 1x Micro B USB Cable 1x micro:bit Breakout (with Headers) 1x Breadboard 8x Jumper Wires 1x 10kΩ Potentiometer 1x LED 1x 100Ω Resistor Didn’t Get the SIK for micro:bit? If you are conducting this experiment and didn’t get the Inventor’s Kit, we suggest using these parts:

micro:bit Board Breadboard - Full-Size (Bare) DEV-14208 PRT-12615 Trimpot 10K with Knob SparkFun micro:bit Breakout (with Headers) COM-09806 BOB-13989 Jumper Wires Standard 7" M/M - 30 AWG (30 Pack) LED - Basic Red 5mm PRT-11026 Resistor 100 Ohm 1/4 Watt PTH - 20 pack (Thick Leads) PRT-14493 Suggested Reading COM-09590

Before continuing with this experiment, we recommend you be familiar with the concepts in the following tutorial: Analog to Digital Conversion Introducing the Potentiometer A potentiometer is a resistance-based analog sensor that changes its internal resistance based on the rotation of its knob. The potentiometer has an internal voltage divider enabling you to read the change in voltage on the center pin with a microcontroller (i.e. micro:bit). To hook up the potentiometer, attach the two outside pins to a supply voltage (3.3V in this circuit) and ground. It doesn’t matter which is connected where, as long as one is connected to power, and the other to ground. The center pin is then connected to an analog input pin so the micro:bit can measure the change in voltage. When you twist the knob, the sensor reading will change! Note: The potentiometer included in the kit has three marks on it that will help you figure out which breadboard rows the pins are plugged into. Hardware Hookup Ready to start hooking everything up? Check out the wiring diagram and hookup table below to see how everything is connected. Polarized Components Pay special attention to the component’s markings indicating how to place it on the breadboard. Polarized components can only be connected to a circuit in one direction. Wiring Diagram for the Experiment

Having a hard time seeing the circuit? Click on the wiring diagram for a closer look. Note: The full sized breadboard power rails have a break down the middle. If you end up using the lower half of the power rail you will need to jump between the upper end and lower end. Running Your Script Either copy and paste, or re-create the following code into your own MakeCode editor by clicking the open icon in the upper right-hand corner of the editor. You can also just download this example by clicking the download button in the lower right-hand corner of the code window. This site uses cookies for analytics, personalized content and ads. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to this Learn more use. Simulator Blocks JavaScript Edit

Download Microsoft MakeCode Terms of Use Privacy Dow Download Note: You may need to disable your ad/pop-up blocker to interact with the MakeCode programming environment and simulated circuit! Code to Note Let’s take a look at the code blocks in this experiment. If you are having a hard time viewing this code, click on the image above to get a better look! A “variable” is a placeholder for values that may change in your code. You can create a variable using th Make Variable option underneath the Variables group. You can then name it, which then creates a block for your given variable. Set To To store a value inside of your newly created variable you use the set to block. The set to block allows you to select from a list of the variables that exist in your program and then add a value that you want to store or set that variables to. Analog Read In this program you are reading the voltage from the potentiometer which is 0 to 3.3 volts. The micro:bit reads that value as a 10 bit number which is a value range from 0 to 1023 using the analog read block. The analog read block is a value based block, meaning that you have to insert it into a block with a matching shape. We insert it into the set to block to store its value as a variable. Analog Write Just like the analog write block the analog write block deals with a range of values, but instead of reading a pin as an input the analog write block outputs an analog value to a pin. We see this as a brightness range with this led, but it could be a tone from a buzzer, a motor speed, etc. We set our analog output to the variable we stored the potentiometer value in. What You Should See

You should twist the potentiometer. You will notice that the LED will get brighter or dimmer based on the position of the potentiometer. If you turn the potentiometer all the way one direction it will be fully on and the other end will be fully off. Troubleshooting Sporadically Working This is most likely due to a slightly dodgy connection with the potentiometer’s pins. This can usually be conquered by holding the potentiometer down or moving the potentiometer circuit somewhere else on your breadboard. Not Working Make sure you haven’t accidentally connected the wiper (center pin), the resistive element in the potentiometer, to a wrong pin! LED Not Lighting Up LEDs will only work in one direction. Double check your connections. Experiment 3: Reading a Photoresistor Introduction In Experiment 2, you got to use a potentiometer, which varies resistance based on the twisting of a knob and, in turn, changes the voltage being read by the analog input pin. In this circuit you’ll be using a photoresistor, which changes resistance based on how much light the sensor receives. You will read the light value of the room and have an LED turn on if it is dark and turn off if it is bright. That’s right; you are going to build a night light! Parts Needed You will need the following parts:

The SparkFun Inventor 's Kit (SIK) for micro:bit includes the following: micro:bit — The brains of the outfit with a bunch of onboard components. . USB Port — Used to upload code to your micro:bit or power from your computer or laptop. 6. Reset Button — A button to reset your micro:bit and start your code over from the beginning. 7 .