#help-with-makecode

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

timid edge
#

Hey all, I'm using a CPX and makecode to control a micro servo and just simply make it rotate back and forth infinitely for a sculptures/puppets for kids to make. When I do this, a portion of the CPX gets hot, really hot! Like 170F! I am doing these projects with kids, how can I prevent the CPX from heating up so much?

undone matrix
#

That sounds like the onboard voltage regulator is overheating because it's trying to power the motor - try using a seperate 5v power supply for the servo's power, connect the ground of the power supply and the CPX to the servo, and keep the data line connected.

wanton portal
amber lagoon
#

will a circuit playground express bluefruit work with a cricket?

vivid jetty
nocturne dune
#

Are there any eyes that can be controlled by makecode?

nocturne dune
#

Are there any makecode-supporting microcontrollers which can use makecode to control Adafruit eyes, such as the eye mask?

vivid jetty
quasi fossil
#

I have bought my son a CPE as an 11th birthday present (end of month) and was wondering if anyone had any links to some good MakeCode tutorials / videos (other than the ones on the adafruit makecode site), so I can give him a list of them on the day. He is used to using Scratch at school, so he has some idea

vivid jetty
glass narwhal
#

Some require some extra components (like servos)... and some crafting, but that's the fun part 🙂

quasi fossil
#

oh nice

jade drift
#

hi how can i change the sda and slc pins, im using a stm32 blue pill. im trying to with softwire library but it doest compilled fine. has anyone done this or have an idea to solve it. also SOFT FAST doesnt work

timid edge
#

I'm making a tutorial using https://makecode.com/tutorial-tool and I want to use some servo blocks in it. I know I've used extensions before doing this, but I don't have that old thing I wrote and I'm having trouble finding the info in the documentation. Anyone here have any experience creating makecode tutorials?

#

Googling anything with the word "tutorial" just gives me a ton of cool fun projects, but not how to use the tutorial editor lol

peak zinc
#

Hello, I am trying to do an outreach activity for elementary school kids about robotics. I wanted to use a MakeCode compatible microcontroller, a 360 degree servo motor and some sort of sensor to add a conditional component. So far I think I want to use Gemma M0 because they have larger pins and are the most affordable. I tried the adafruit makecode maker and for some reason I'm unable to add the servo extension to the makecode for a Gemma M0 or even the metro. It is available through the microsoft makecode for the microbit but the microbit is prohibitively expensive for this activity. Can anyone guide about this?

glass narwhal
peak zinc
glass narwhal
timid edge
#

To make a makecode tutorial for the microbit I can use github to create a repository and be able to change things and add to the tutorial after. Is there any way to do the same thing with the adafruit makecode editor?

sand whale
#

Hi. i'm having these errors when i try to build my project with ninja using cmake configturation tool

#

Someone can tell me what's wrong ? the file was autogenerated by the Microsoft Embedded tools extension

tight oar
#

does anyone know why VS Code (and other IDEs) can't find my board (RP2040)
I have this issue since... forever, but it never really messed with anything, but maybe THIS is why I have so many unsolvable problems lately

image.png
tight oar
pulsar blade
#

Hey there, kind of a noob one, but how do I print out the adress nicely?

>>> address
b'\xe9\xbe\xe9\xfe\xff\xdb\xb4\x84'
>>> address.decode()
'￩ﾾ￩￾￿ￛﾴﾄ'
>>> type(address)
<class 'bytes'>
broken charm
vestal merlin
#

Anyone else out there having issues with Chromebooks not staying paired with Microbit in Makecode?

#

I have a class of 5th graders who are having issues getting them to pair. They show up as "paired," but when you click on the download button, it downloads the file to the Chromebook and then you have to drag/drop it onto the Microbit from a folder. Just wondering if anyone has a fix for this so we can direct download to the Microbit. It worked last year, so I am guessing it is some sort of Chrome OS glitch.

sterile crow
# broken charm Is this a MAC address?

@pulsar blade I don't think it's a MAC address. Those are 6 bytes, while your address is 8 bytes. Assuming that's python, the following will convert the bytes to hex strings, and then join them together with a separator:

":".join(map(lambda x : "{:02x}".format(x), address))

That would print it in what I consider the standard format for a MAC address, i.e. 2 digit hex values separated by ':'s

#

Knowing exactly how you want the bytes of that address formatted would help a great deal.

broken charm
sterile crow
broken charm
#

So in the context of Python, if it’s using a zigbee compatible device, you would use a 64-bit mac

#

But I’m uncertain of the context they are using in this case

sterile crow
#

TIL! Given that it's not ethernet, taht would make perfect sense. To quote from elsewhere "The IEEE encourages adoption of the more plentiful EUI-64 for non-Ethernet applications."

broken charm
#

More device freedom with 64 bit MAC addresses

#

It’s sort of assumed in our day and age that we will have more wireless devices

sterile crow
#

In any case, if it is a MAC, that code snippet would print it in the format I see most often for Ethernet MACs. If you just want all 8 bytes jammed together, replace the ":" with ""

broken charm
#

Also borrowing that formatting for my back pocket

sterile crow
#

You can also adapt it to print a dotted quad IPV4 address if you have that as 4 bytes:

pulsar blade
pulsar blade
sterile crow
# pulsar blade doesn't really matter, space or : is perfect thanks for the tipp.

Per the discussion with skerr(he/him) above, it actually is a MAC address, devices that are not ethernet are encouraged to use 64 bit MAC addresses, since there's far more space with two extra bytes. As for formatting it, just grab that code snippet I posted upthread and use that as is. Copied and pasted from the Python REPL:

# 
>>> b = b"DeadBeef"
>>> s = ":".join(map(lambda x : "{:02x}".format(x), b))
>>> s
'44:65:61:64:42:65:65:66'
pulsar blade
amber lagoon
#

Im trying to get a circuit playground to go back to make code after i used it for some circuit python. I have it in bootloader mode have dropped in the utf, but it just sits there with green lights and doesnt update.

hollow oracle
amber lagoon
empty peak
#

i'm having a hard time with circuit playground express and the input.setLightThreshold function, it doesnt appear to work except in the simulator

empty peak
#

I got something working by checking the level in a loop rather than relying on the light changed event

timber spear
empty peak
#

is there a compiled list of hexcodes that work with the circuit playground express? mine doesnt seem to work with any value i send it (ie light.setAll(0x999999))

#

this one above just appears white but should be grey

fossil marten
undone matrix
foggy lotus
empty peak
stone stratus
#

hello, I am having trouble adding the cricket uf2 to the board. when I drag the uf2 to the boot folder they device does not do anything. any advice?

vivid jetty
stone stratus
#

PC

vivid jetty
#

I'm not sure then, there's a bug in the latest macOS release, maybe someone else will know

snow island
#

@stone stratus make sure it is the right uf2 for the board. it'll be ignored if it isn't

stone stratus
snow island
#

hrm, I haven't done crickit stuff recently

#

the support forum may be the best place to ask

stone stratus
#

I went on to figure it out. Thank you all

snow island
stone stratus
#

The guide was not super clear on whether you put the Uf2 on the cricket or the CPE. and then not super clear on where you plug in to program

hollow oracle
#

@opaque igloo [moving to appropriate channel]

#

I tried https://makecode.adafruit.com with Google Chrome 108.0.5359.124 (Settings->Help->About Chrome). I made a tiny project and downloaded the UF2 successfully. This is on a Mac Mini M1 running macOS 13.1.

gilded bluff
#

all I need now is to find some teeny-weeny little OLED or LCD display to sit on top of a button.

halcyon warren
#

Hi. I'm a teacher working with the bluefruit circuit playgrounds. I know that makecode is in beta but I don't have the time to learn python from scratch and teach that to kids.
The project we are working on is using the thermometer sensor to display and affect once it reaches a certain temp. The Base code works, but only if I set the temperate to a outrages number.

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? If it's just a beta thing ? Or other programs I could use?

slow rivet
halcyon warren
north storm
slow rivet
# halcyon warren Its a general 7th grade Science class. We are doing a project expanding on our t...

I know you said you don't have time to learn Python, but hear me out. My entire experience with the Circuit Playground Bluefruit has been with CircuitPython. I wrote a library that makes using CircuitPython with the CPB super simple. I also wrote a guide on all the features of the library, including temperature. The example is 6 lines of code. Basically the library does all of the hardware setup in the background, so you can get straight to using the hardware. https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-made-easy-on-circuit-playground-express/temperature

#

I realise there's still a learning curve, but if you understood how to use MakeCode, this should actually already make some sense to you.

halcyon warren
slow rivet
#

e.g. while True: is a MakeCode "forever loop".

slow rivet
#

For your own future reference, once you're onto the CircuitPython track with things, there are plenty of folks here who can help in the #help-with-circuitpython channel.

#

There's always a chance someone has sorted a workaround in MakeCode, and might reply here, but I make no guarantees.

halcyon warren
slow rivet
#

@halcyon warren What operating system are you going to be using for yourself and the kids?

#

I'm trying to grab the "getting started" slides out of a presentation I've done, which summarises the "Welcome to CircuitPython" guide getting-started parts. The Welcome guide is huge, so it can be intimidating, especially when you're time limited.

proper laurel
#

hi im using the adafruit as7341 for liquid colour detection and would like to display the colour channel values in a bar chart is this possible in arduino or is there another tool that i could use to plot this data for post research?

foggy lotus
proper laurel
#

i just thought there might be a lirbary in arduino that maybe im missing out on . but if not then ill try in #help-with-projects . thanks

umbral forge
#

Hi ! I just bought a pca9685 on Amazon and i was wondering if adafruit library can be install on it ?

broken charm
# umbral forge

Not on the servos directly, but can definitely drive them from a microcontroller that can use adafruits libraries

#

I assume you want to use Makecode?

umbral forge
#

im new to coding with circuit python and im trying to move continuous servo with a pca9685 and a raspberry pi pico … im following every tutorial on adafruit that i can find ,but nothing is working or moving … here my code and my lib … can anyone help me pls

gleaming finch
#

move lines 16/17 before line 10 and fix the case

#

you do not need to import SCL/SDA

#

try i2c_bus= busio.I2C(board.GP1,board.GP0)

#

remove line 2 and lines 16/17

#

Also, you should move this discussion to #help-with-circuitpython You will get more help there. This channel is for people using MakeCode.

orchid valley
foggy lotus
orchid valley
pulsar blade
#

hello there,
I am having some issue with mqtt.
It looks like my client object is continuously reconnecting. That way it messages the info most of the time..

pulsar blade
#

this reconnection is happening in every 2 seconds, so it has nothing to do with keepalive

pulsar blade
#

It was because of multiple user with same username i think. Solved now 🙂

true cedar
#

I see a subchannel for Circuit Python and was wondering if that's there is a subchannel planned for those of us using Micropython?

#

I understand that the CP support is due to the Adafruit fork, but due to implementation differences for MP and CP some of us are choosing to still go down the MP route

snow island
true cedar
#

That's where I started. My question/implementation found a wall that doesn't seem to have an answer

#

attempting to build off a tutorial in the process of learning MP, but running into an issue where adding what should be appropriate code is kicking back an error or not initializing hardware

snow island
#

this is the makecode channel

manic crane
#

I need help with microchip studio. i have all the code. I will show you.

broken charm
grand shadow
#

Question: Would the Matrix M4 be compatible with Make code or is it only Circuit playground? Working with a school and wanted to use expressive pixels for some of the art classes, but then have the flexibility to teach coding with makecode for other classes.

vivid jetty
#

No, it doesn' tlook like the M4 supports Make Code. What about using the PyGamer? (though it's currently out of stock)

hollow oracle
grand shadow
#

Thanks @hollow oracle and @vivid jetty

pine pewter
#

I’m having problems connecting Makecode to github so that I can create some extensions. I have a github account and go though the steps to generate a token and keep getting an error from make code that the token format is incorrect. Any suggestions? What am I missing?

slow rivet
#

@pine pewter Hello and welcome! This sounds more like a question for #help-with-git. We discourage cross-posting in general, but in this case, I am suggesting it so you get better help. Not many folks keep an eye on this channel because not so many folks know enough about MakeCode to help out. Please repost your question to the #help-with-git channel. Feel free to mention that I asked you to repost it. Good luck! I hope someone can help you figure it out!

pine pewter
#

Ok I’ll try there although I think its more a problem in makecode

foggy lotus
true sentinel
slow rivet
# pine pewter Ok I’ll try there although I think its more a problem in makecode

I agree, but it's with the backend, not MakeCode usage. I think there are many more folks that can help out with backend things than other things. And those folks likely do not frequent this channel. This channel is, on its face, more suitable. But, I wanted to ensure you received expedient help, so I suggested moving it to a more-watched channel. The channels are not topic-set-in-stone. 🙂

foggy lotus
#

This channel is specific to the Microsoft MakeCode platform. I suggest you ask your question in #help-with-projects instead.

slow yacht
true sentinel
#

I'd like to be able to drive more servos with CPX and would like to use the PCA9685. I would prefer not to have to write all the code to interface to it and would like a driver. I see that one exists for the microbit. I tried importing it on the off chance it might work and was able to make it show up in the block menu but it no luck. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions.

wanton portal
#

If anyone ever finds a guide for converting libraries microbit<~>CPX/CPB, please post here and tag me. That’s been a recurring frustration.

pulsar patrol
vivid jetty
glacial turtle
#

Hey everyone. New here, so apologies if this has been answered or explored before, wanted to check on the difference between the maker.makecode and the adafruit.makecode sites specifically regarding the Circuit Playground Express and Circuit Playground Bluefruit. Any idea when the Bluefruit MakeCode will come out of beta? And will it get its own treatment like the CPX on adafruit.makecode or live in the maker.makecode space? Thanks!

foggy lotus
glacial turtle
# foggy lotus According to <https://learn.adafruit.com/makecode>, the makecode.adafruit.com si...

Thanks. The ones on maker.makecode are listed as Beta. Including the Circuit Playground Express on maker.makecode, which has less functionality than Adafruit.makecode. Any timetable for getting those out of beta? Most specifically the Bluefruit on maker.makecode. I teach AP CSP and we use MakeCode to deliver the course and now after the AP exam I have purchased a class set of Circuit Playground Express, Crickits for Circuit Playground Express and then about ten Bluefruit and TFT Gizmos. Being able to use makecode for the Bluefruit would be fantastic. I have a few students I can move to circuit Python but the drag and drop would open up the Bluefruit to a broader swath of students.

hollow oracle
ashen fox
#

Not sure if I'm right in the makecode channel with my question. NoRiskNoFun!

I've been tinkering with a custom board using an ATSAMD21E17A MCU for quite some time now.
After lots of trial and error and 'trying' to understand how things might work, I finally made some progress. (Especially thanks to https://github.com/candykingdom/uf2-samdx1 which implements the E17 variant).

My current bootloader works when uploading from VSCode (Platoform.IO over SAM-BA iirc) and it also works for reading (current.uf2) and flashing .uf2 files via MSC after the a double-tap of the reset button.
But here's the thing: When reset the MCU with a baud 1200 open&close, it starts the MSC and shows the current.uf2. It is however no more able to boot the program, and the current.uf2 on there seems corrupt as well.

TL;DR: baud 1200 open&close does start the bootloader, but also erases/corrupts/kills the code and produces a non working current.uf2.

foggy lotus
ashen fox
cerulean haven
#

This code is for my dot matrix display I have run this code with dot matrix display. Now I am trying to run this code with P10 LED matrix display with some necessary changes like define pins of P10 display, define pin functions for P10 display etc. I tried but didn't succeed. Please, can anyone tell me how can I add SPIDMD function for P10 display, and how can I change this code according to P10 display. How to change functions according to P10 display. Please guide me.
Thank you.

📎 voice_based_public_notice_board_using_iot_without_speaker.ino
vivid jetty
civic venture
#

Hello, I’m new to coding and all this but I recently purchased a circuit playground. I want to mess around with it on makecode as it seems the most newb friendly. I’m having an issue getting it connected. It will connect to my computer and turn green, it’s folder will pop up, but when I add anything to it (or wait more than 20 secs) it will disconnect and it’s access will disappear. The playground stays green and a little bit after the windows connect noise will play, but the folder won’t show. Please help, I’m really excited to get this working.

civic venture
#

I just tried it on my laptop and it works just fine?

foggy lotus
hollow oracle
tender yew
#

Hello, I tried to compile circuitpython but got an error
CMake Error at esp-idf/tools/cmake/build.cmake:287 (message):
Some Python dependencies must be installed. Check above message for
details.
Call Stack (most recent call first):
esp-idf/tools/cmake/build.cmake:416 (__build_check_python)
esp-idf/tools/cmake/project.cmake:384 (idf_build_process)
CMakeLists.txt:19 (project)
Im using Fedora Linux

vivid jetty
errant wedge
#

What's the code for the Adafruit smallest playable doom?

valid olive
foggy lotus
little thicket
#

on the raspberry pi pico, how do i make it so i can see the file system when its plugged in via USB

#

C++

#

actually, where is the documentation

#

!docs

#

hmm

foggy lotus
little thicket
#

oh

#

my bad

errant wedge
# valid olive 🤔 If you're looking for the smallest Adafruit hardware that could run doom, may...

I mean like this one https://blog.adafruit.com/2022/01/24/is-this-one-of-the-smallest-playable-doom-devices/ I dont know how to get the code but I have all the things I need like the esp32, screen, sd card and sd card reader, etc. I just dont know where or how to use and get the code and for it to work

Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!
Is this one of the smallest playable DOOM devices?

We’ve been working on a super-tiny, super-sharp/readable, DOOM playing device (it does more than DOOM, but … DOOM!). DOOM is often the “hello world” for what’s possibl…

sullen plank
#

Hey there! I wanted to add WiFi networking to a PyGamer with an "#4264 Adafruit AirLift FeatherWing – ESP32 WiFi Co-Processor" but I had a couple of questions:

  • Would a "Lithium Ion Polymer Battery - 3.7V 350mAh" be enough to power both the PyGamer and the FeatherWing? The FeatherWing needs up to 250mA during WiFi usage (no clue of what that means).
  • Can I make HTTP requests using this FeatherWing with Microsoft MakeCode Arcade? It would be a single request every x minutes to an API endpoint that returns JSON or Plain Text. I'm using the Static TypeScript version.
valid olive
#

Hi 😄
sorry, a few things:

  1. Not sure if it's a good idea to share your Adafruit IO key publicly.
  2. I wouldn't upload code as pdf. If it's short you can put it inside codeblocks
    ```ino
    [your code, serial outpur or error message here]
    ```
    or use a site like https://pastebin.com/
  3. This channel is for makecode (a thing from microsoft?). I would ask in #help-with-arduino for example
  4. Chatgpt can work. Sometimes. But it can also write total garbage. Especially because it's not designed to write accurate programming code. It's designed to write natural language and other stuff that looks believable, not code that is correct. If you don't understand the code fixing what chatgpt wrote can be harder than writing it yourself. I would start with something simple (or better, directly an example from a library) and then extend and modify it step by step
cerulean haven
left ocean
#

Hi! I'm trying to make a device for my brother. I was hoping to use Makecode to program it, so he can easily modify it himself later. It's supposed to consist of a Trinket M0, a NeoPixel Jewel 7 and an I2S MEMS Microphone Breakout. Specifically I want it to react using the "on loud sound" block, but as the Trinket M0 doesn't have a built in microphone I'm wondering ... is it possible? Or should I just go with standard arduino code, which he probably won't be able to work with

hollow oracle
#

buttons, etc.

#

good MakeCode support

left ocean
#

Yeah that'd be great. Unfortunately it's a wooden staff he's already carved, so that won't fit - I really tried 🙂

#

I guess I can go with python too though, it'll likely be easier for him to grok than C++

hollow oracle
#

Trinket M0 also does not have audiobusio.PDMIn due to lack of space

left ocean
#

Oh, that's good to know, thanks

hollow oracle
#

no MakeCode support, but very good CircuitPython support

#

could it be Feather-sized? Feather RP2040 PropMaker has lots of stuff on it: accelerometer, audio out, level-shifted NeoPixel output

hollow oracle
#

if your goal is to make it light up on some kind of "strong" action

left ocean
#

When blowing on it is the request - the neopixels will be covered by a large translucent rock crystal

hollow oracle
#

also see Itsy Bitsy RP2040, Itsy Bitsy nRF52840 (Bluetooth).

#

itsy bitsy are quite small

left ocean
#

A cylinder of 30mm width is the max IIRC ... that should fit without issue

hollow oracle
#

you could use an analog mic instead of PDMIn, that would work with the trinket if you already ahve it

#

since you are not concerned with quality sound input, just detecting the blowing on it

#

Feathers would be good because they have battery charging circuitry on board

left ocean
#

Yeah, that'd be nice. Although it would have to come out for charging anyway, it's probably better to not rely on unplugging the lipo connector too many times right?

#

Anyway ... I did still get to play with Makecode and it's really cool. Will definitely be used for future projects where it may be a better fit

hollow oracle
jade crater
#

Hey all so I am super new at coding like way new. I have a tufty 2040 and am trying to make a custom badge for it. I would like it to have my name and Company at the top. that I think i have figured out. the hard part is the lower 1/3. I want a box in the left lower corner that displays GiFs and next to that box I want space for text. My goal is a nametag featuring my name and company as well as rotates through GiFs of icons for various social networks and featuring my user name next to them. I figure 8 seconds or so is enough time for each GiF and username. I am having a hard time getting GiFs to display. If someone could help me out or point me in the right direction that would be amazing!

abstract blaze
#

Using the Adafruit Feather 32u4 RFM95 LoRa Radio- 868 or 915 MHz With the Adafruit Ultimate GPS featherwing.
The GPS code for the test from the web page works and the test for the radios works the parsing of the GPS does not work and I cannot combine any part of the GPS code into the message being transmitted.

I've only gotten one parsing code to work and it would only pull up the entire line by itself could not translate to degrees for Google
and none of the codes that combine any GPS parsing with the radio code the serial remains blank after upload.

vivid jetty
rugged bramble
#

Are the LED's at the bottom of the Pygamer available in MakeCode? I'm looking to use them in a game.

inner ingot
blazing plover
#

Hi @hollow oracle

I'm trying to add a timer in the bootloader uf2-samdx1 which is compatible with SAMD21G18A because our bootloader is getting stuck in the boot mode if exposed with ESD and we want it to jump to the firmware after x amount of time let's say 15 sec (for testing).

NOTE: We can use any bootloader as far as it is compatible with SAMD21.

The repo from adafruit/uf2-samdx1 is not compatible with ATmel/Microcip Studio so how can I use the debugerr J-Link EDU mini or ATMEL ICE to debug the code? Can you suggest alternative ways. Thanks

Right now building it through make which I've installed using chocolatey and I'm using VS Code with python3.

// Define the timeout duration in milliseconds
#define BOOTLOADER_TIMEOUT 15000 // 15 seconds

static volatile uint32_t millis = 0;

// Timer function to get current time in milliseconds
static uint32_t get_current_millis(void) {
    // This should return the number of milliseconds since the system started
    return millis;
}

void SysTick_Handler(void) {
    millis++;
}

void init_systick(void) {
    SysTick_Config(SystemCoreClock / 1000);
}

this is the code I'm using it to add a timer, but it needs to be adjusted in the repo in such a way that some parts will be going into different files and should be commented out from the main.c

Also, I'm initializing the below two lines in the very start of the main(void)

    SystemInit();
    init_systick();

and then initializing the start_time as below just before the while(1) loop

uint32_t start_time = get_current_millis();

and lastly editing in the main while(1) loop like below

// Check if the timeout has been reached
        if (get_current_millis() - start_time > BOOTLOADER_TIMEOUT) {
            //LED_MSC_ON();
            check_start_application(); // Jump to the main application
            break; // Exit the loop after jumping
        }
blazing plover
#

The above all mentioned changes are added and able to compile the code successfully but when flash the bootloader with the new .bin file the board is not behaving as expectedly means if double press or use ESD gun it will go into the bootloader mode and not coming out after 15 seconds. 🥲

I'm not sure how to debug I tried to put the LED_MSC_ON(); for debugging but maybe it's wrong or the code is never going into that if condition because the condition is not getting true.

Can anybody help to identify that or plz direct me in the correct direction.

Much appreciated !

hollow oracle
#

@June010 Hi - this is not the appropriate channel for discussing the bootloader, let's use #help-with-projects, and could you start a thread there? I will answer first in the GitHub issue.

#

GiutHub may be a better place to discuss given the timezone difference

blazing plover
#

Ok Dan

rugged bramble
viral sonnet
#

Ive been trying to use a circuit playground that is attached to a rotating Lazy Susan so that it will light up when it detects that it is in motion and a different color when stops. I have been trying out code based on this example: https://learn.adafruit.com/make-it-shake-rattle-and-roll/more-makecode-2
but since the circuit board is sitting flat and its movement is a somewhat smooth rotation it doesn't seem to detect much motion. Do I just need to find a lower sensitivity range?

Adafruit Learning System
Make It Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Accelerometer Use

Use the accelerometer on your Circuit Playground Express to detect movement

viral sonnet
#

Im using acceleromter range 1g

undone matrix
vale stream
#

if you want to detect rotation using an accelerometer, you’ll have to mount it far enough away from the rotation axis, and even then, it’s tricky

viral sonnet
#

I think I will have space to mount it loosely dangling underneath the surface, that should have it wiggle a bit more

vale stream
#

there will also be a minimum rotation rate that it can detect, which might be faster than is useful for your use case

drowsy lynx
#

I'm making a virtual/digital pet game, which is too big for the meowbit, and I'm wondering what the best board would be? I see in makecode the pinout for the M4, are all of the M4 boards compatible? Which would the best one for a v-pet be?

wheat bison
#

It appears as if the SAMD51 (Cortex M4) is the best processor that is compatible with makecode arcade.

#

Doesn't seem as if an RP2040 or ESP32 based board is compatible or at least one doesn't exist in the list of compatible devices.

#

The majority of the compatible devices are using the SAMD51 including the PyGamer but the PyGamer is using a slightly faster version of the chip and a lot more flash storage. The RAM limit seems to be the same for all the devices though because it's built into the SAMD51 chip.

#

If you're running out of RAM on the Meowbit you'll run out of RAM on any devices in the list. They all have the same amount of RAM.

drowsy lynx
#

Thank you so much! How do I know if I'm using ram or flash?

wheat bison
#

flash is storage, like an onboard sd card. if you run out of storage like a USB thumb drive you should be able to see how much free/used space you have.

#

if you hit a ram limit it will likely throw a ram related error, such as cannot allocate ram

drowsy lynx
#

Ok, thanks

wheat bison
#

Flash is where you'll store game assets like spritesheets, images, sounds, files, code. It's easier to think of it like a USB drive. With the Meowbit you can store 2MB of assets. With the PyGamer you can store 8MB.

drowsy lynx
#

That explanation really helps, thank you!

undone matrix
#

The STM32F4 used by the Meowbit actually only has up to 96 KB of SRAM, the ATSAMD51 used by the PyGamer has 192 KB

#

I believe there is an RP2040 port somewhere that works as well

#

You can also switch to a Raspberry Pi which will have plenty of RAM and storage

drowsy lynx
#

Thank you, I will order a pygamer, and look into the pi more

drowsy lynx
#

If I convert my blocks to JavaScript or python will the file size be smaller (for memory storage?)

undone matrix
#

blocks get compiled to JS anyways

drowsy lynx
#

thanks

full warren
#

anyone know how to replace a single tile instead of covering it with something else?

undone matrix
full warren
#

Is there any way to make comments? Or something to separate the blocks kinda like UE5’s visual scripting type things?

coral cipher
full warren
#

What about for the pygamer?

coral cipher
full warren
undone matrix
#

you can use functions to separate blocks out into...functions

image.png
full warren
undone matrix
#

that is independent and can be moved around and resized

full warren
#

oh shoot, ok cool

drowsy lynx
#

I'm making a virtual pet game.
Using blocks, what is the best way to check if the time = 8pm, so I can pause the game while the pet 'sleeps'?

I tried using the clock extension (https://blobbey2000.github.io/pxt-clock/) but the previous code doesn't work

Perhaps I could get user input time in numbers upon start, and do a fancy equation (which I'd need help with) so that on game update every 24 hours, if "insert fancy equation", then pause for 8hrs, ?

pxt-clock
Makes blocks that create an in-game clock. The clock can run at wha...

Makes blocks that create an in-game clock. The clock can run at whatever speed you want it to.

drowsy lynx
#

Anybody?

hollow oracle
drowsy lynx
#

I'll try that, thanks

rare compass
#

Hello, first time using circuitpython with Mu editor. And I have a Raspberry Pi Pico. I know how to make the LED light up, but I don't know how to make the LED pulse gently and evenly

vivid jetty
weary sail
#

Hello, I just got the neokey trinkey and the kailh big switch. I was able to get the sample code working with Mu to change RGB lights and other simple stuff although I am having issues setting it up as an external key for my Windows PC. I tried Chat gpt but was getting an error message for unrecognized attribute. Does anyone have a sample code for using the Neokey trinkey and big switch as a single external key that I could use? I am a little new to this and apologize if this is a stupid question.

glass narwhal
weary sail
glad sapphire
#

PIC16F877A

hollow oracle
#

pleae do not cross-post. I'm deleting the post because it was duplicated in #general-chat

glad sapphire
glad sapphire
hollow oracle
glad sapphire
velvet ravine
true delta
#

i have no idea about makecode, but i had a little look at the error that happens and your code ..

#

i wonder if there's something about the statusbar value setting that's failing?

velvet ravine
#

i got it! but i dont know how to get them moving...

unkempt chasm
#

Hi, does anyone have any experience with makercode internals? I would like to port it to a board with RP2040 and display with ST7789, but the official support is only for ILI9341 and ST7735. All these drivers are very similar and differ mainly in initialization details. By modifying MADCTL I made the display work with both the official ST7735 driver (part of the image and no colors) and ILI9341 (mirrored, strange colors). I might be able to modify the parameters further, or prepare my own binary patcher, but I would need to know the exact initialization parameters of the official drivers to do so. Unfortunately, I couldn't find their source code anywhere (e.g. ILI9341.h) https://github.com/microsoft/pxt-common-packages/blob/master/libs/screen---st7735/screen.cpp. Do you know where I could find them (maybe I searched wrong).

true delta
#

(.h is in same directory.)

unkempt chasm
#

I researched this way of course, but I found out that another driver is used there, in the code there is for example a function configure(madctl, frmctr1), which is not in the adafruit driver...

calm gazelle
#

id call this lazyweb but ive just been failing to search it by my description. my stero has a volume knob that's a rotary encoder but with a detent for off if turned to the far left. what would that be called?

agile olive
#

I'm starting out on building an OS for the RP2040 board and have an elementary question:
Recommended strategy to separate developer environments using only .NET libraries?

glass narwhal
toxic plover
#

Hi all! I am absolutely brand new to MakeCode (like under an hour new) and I just got it because I decided to get a Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. Trying out some very basic stuff and I wanted to make a sound bar and found really easy tut followed that no issue but now I have it loaded and the CPX is behaving rather odd. So I downloaded MakeCode Desktop App so I could watch sound detection.

#

I am in a quite room. The loudest thing around me is the occasional sound from the fridge kicking on and sometimes noise from husband's game. I don't know what to make of that read out and I am a little afraid something is wrong with my microphone. ... but I am also brand new so I am hoping someone here will be able to point out something ridiculously easy that I am missing

hollow oracle
toxic plover
# hollow oracle those I think are still low values of background noise; it's just scaled to show...

So I tested for that and it didn't seem to pick up much. At this moment I only know how to adjust the upper level for my graph so I played around with it at 255, 100, 150 etc I "know" my range is 0-255 but I don't know what that actually correlates to in reality or if it relative however the CPX would only show minor reactions like maybe setting off an extra light but would then go back to just having a quarter to half the board lit up depending on what I had set upper value too. I would also expect the baseline sound to be low with spikes upward as things made noise not spikes of less noise.
Lastly the only comparison point that I have that is apples to apples is the tutorial I watched in which it was clear when the device was picking up when he was speaking and then would go back to 1 or 0 pixels little up when he wasn't. He also showed his sound graph and it looked the exact opposite of mine though I know that can be affected by your situation and location. If it helps I can post vids and pics or link tut I was using but I wanted to be sure that was ok before I posted more than I already had

hollow oracle
toxic plover
# hollow oracle could you point to the makecode program you are using for sound level?

I am second guessing whether I understand your question or not so please bear with me

If you are asking what program am I using to see the sound level it's some that is part of Microsoft Make Code app for desktop. Using the Desktop version of the app let's me see what the CPX is picking up live.

If you are asking to see the little bit of code I am using to attempt this project I will post that as soon as I get home and have access to it

If you are asking something completely different please explain it to me like I am 5 years old. I work in tech for a living but I also know I know nothing about this and don't feel like letting what I assume was meant derail any help I am receiving .

hollow oracle
toxic plover
toxic plover
hollow oracle
# toxic plover input.onSwitchMoved(SwitchDirection.Left, function () { light.setBrightness(...

I tested this and reproduced the issue. I found a number of similar reports that report the same behavior -- that "quiet" is still going to give you readings around 50-100. I have not seen any fix for this. We don't maintain MakeCode, so I can't say if/when this will be fixed. But it's also true that louder sounds will go above this level, for instance if you blow or talk loudly at the mic. I'm sorry I don't have better news.

toxic plover
hollow oracle
toxic plover
thorn apex
#

Will the pico 2 be added to the make code “beta” any time soon?

hollow oracle
thorn apex
hollow oracle
#

oh sorry I thought I was in #help-with-circuitpython . Adafruit doesn't put things into Makecode. That's up to Microsoft.

thorn apex
spice quiver
#

Can someone help me with JSON?

hollow oracle
spice quiver
#

i didnt knew wht makecode was

nimble gazelle
#

Can someone help me? i have been trying to do an rc car code

which uses a NRF24 module ,a tb6612fng driver and a servomotor to control the direction

and for the controller im just using 2 joystick module one to make it advance forward and backward an the other one to control de servo

glass narwhal
velvet panther
#

Good evening everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew how to make a rubber ducky detect the targets Keyboard language in order to write with different words (in my case I own a laptop with LAA as keyboard language but payload.dd writes as if it was in US)

vale moat
#

Anyone know why the makecode forums are down?

hollow oracle
vale moat
#

smt abt overdue hosting payments

#

I hope the makecode team can sort it out

wintry fox
#

How are the Animations built into MakeCode created? I made my own using a bunch of “Show Rings” in a function but for some reason it’s much slower than the animations built into makecode

hollow oracle
wintry fox
#

Is MakeCode random numbers actually random?

#

I made a program using MakeCode that displays a random color using RGB and it always generates the same colors in the same order whenever I turn it on

#

For me it always starts as Aqua, then it gets lighter, then lighter, then white, then a purple/pink

wintry fox
#

Yeah I guess the random numbers are the same every time it starts up

#

I made it log out the random RGB it generates and it's the same "random" numbers every time

halcyon vale
#

pseudorandom with a fixed seed then

wanton portal
#

If you can read a sensor that has a bit of variation (microphone, accelerometer, light sensor) you might be able to do an empty loop based on that value and get some randomness.

vale horizon
#

Hi. Suggestions for decoding IR button signals with Makecode for micro:bit? I’ve tried a couple of extensions with no success. I can detect changes on P0 so I believe the wiring is correct. I have an IR receiver module that come with an Elegoo starter kit. I’m also open to MicroPython or CircuitPython.

sharp hamlet
#

hello!

#

@stiff hazel

stiff hazel
#

Yay

sharp hamlet
#

okay great

#

so did you see the error I was getting with pyconv?

#

C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\Untitled>pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw
Using target adafruit with build engine codal
target: v1.1.19 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit
pxt-core: v3.15.6 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-core
[run] py
INTERNAL ERROR: Error: spawn py ENOENT
at _errnoException (util.js:1022:11)
at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:190:19)
at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:372:16)
at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:138:11)
at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:180:9)

stiff hazel
#

Ok so I have an update building

#

Which OS are you rubbing? Is “py” a alias of python on your system?

sharp hamlet
#

I'm using windows 10

#

py is nothing on my system

#

so I'm not entirely sure what it's trying to do

#

does your update fix anything related to what we've been doing?

stiff hazel
#

You need python 3

#

It does a best effort to convert circuit python code into TypeScript

#

I can run the tool and push the files in the branch

#

Build should be there in 5

sharp hamlet
#

ok I would like to get it running in case I need to do this in the future

#

so should 'py' be an alias of python3?

#

I have python3 but it looks like 'python' points to python2

stiff hazel
#

Ok it is done

#

So you need to run “pxt update

#

It should be “pxt-Adafruit 1.1.20”

#

Then go thé thé cp_seesaw folder

#

Run

#

“pyconv adafruit_seesaw”

sharp hamlet
#

should it be "pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw"?

#

I've updated pxt-adafruit

#

pyconv isn't recognized and pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw throws the same error

#

I tried aliasing both py and python to python3 and still throwing the error

stiff hazel
#

What is the output?

sharp hamlet
#

C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw>pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw
Using target adafruit with build engine codal
target: v1.1.20 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit
pxt-core: v3.16.3 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-core
[run] py
INTERNAL ERROR: Error: spawn py ENOENT
at _errnoException (util.js:1022:11)
at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:190:19)
at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:372:16)
at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:138:11)
at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:180:9)

#

which OS are you using?

stiff hazel
#

i'm on WIndows 10, using git bash

#

what's the alias to python 3?

#

I have another fix that allows you to specify the location of python3 in an env var

stiff hazel
#

in 10 minutes, you should update to 1.1.21

#

you can se the "PYTHON3" env var to the alias of python 3 cli

#

and cross fingers 😬

stiff hazel
#

ok back tomorrow for another tryout. I was able to convert most of the phython files. neopixel.py uses default values in the init which breaks our converter

#

but we don't need that one since we already have a driver

blazing ermine
#

oh a new channel!

stiff hazel
#

shiny

sharp hamlet
#

hi @stiff hazel thanks I'm back in the office now. After updating it shows the files it's gonna convert and then throws an error:

$ pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw/
Using target adafruit with build engine codal
  target: v1.1.21 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit
  pxt-core: v3.16.5 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit\node_modules\pxt-core
files (8):
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/analoginput.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/crickit.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/digitalio.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/neopixel.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/pwmout.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/samd09.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/seesaw.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/__init__.py
[run] py
INTERNAL ERROR: Error: spawn py ENOENT
    at _errnoException (util.js:1022:11)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:190:19)
    at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:372:16)
    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:138:11)
    at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:180:9)
#

are there any other dependencies for using pxt pyconv (e.g. any visual studio tools, etc. that need to be installed)?

stiff hazel
#

Set PYTHON3 to the python 3 CLI

#

There are no dependencies, we need to run a bit of python to extract the AST of the python code

stiff hazel
#

Any luck?

#

Also there are some python construct that we can’t handle so it is not meant to be complete (like we don’t have types 😃 )

sharp hamlet
#

ok didn't work on cmd line or cygwin

deanm@DEAN10 /cygdrive/c/Users/deanm/Documents/dev_stuff/pxt-seesaw
$ export PYTHON3=python3

deanm@DEAN10 /cygdrive/c/Users/deanm/Documents/dev_stuff/pxt-seesaw
$ PYTHON3
Python 3.6.4 (default, Jan  7 2018, 15:53:53)
[GCC 6.4.0] on cygwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> exit()

deanm@DEAN10 /cygdrive/c/Users/deanm/Documents/dev_stuff/pxt-seesaw
$ pxt pyconv adafruit_seesaw/
Using target adafruit with build engine codal
  target: v1.1.21 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit
  pxt-core: v3.16.5 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit\node_modules\pxt-core
files (8):
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/analoginput.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/crickit.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/digitalio.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/neopixel.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/pwmout.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/samd09.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/seesaw.py
   adafruit_seesaw/adafruit_seesaw/__init__.py
[run] python3
INTERNAL ERROR: Error: spawn python3 ENOENT
    at _errnoException (util.js:1022:11)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:190:19)
    at onErrorNT (internal/child_process.js:372:16)
    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:138:11)
    at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:180:9)
#

but then I tried reinstalling python3

#

and did

C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw>doskey PYTHON3=C:\Users\deanm\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python36\python.exe
#

and it did different stuff but failed somewhere with "assertion failed", etc.

#

yay!

#

thanks!

#

it was definitely some sort of path problem, the path on this computer is super boned

#

ok I'll see if I can get this stuff tested now

stiff hazel
#

The assert is expected.

#

We can’t handle some language constructs.

#

We already have support for neopixels so you can leave that one alone

sharp hamlet
#

right right, neopixel.py was for the neopixel interface on the seesaw chip

#

so that the seesaw handles the neopixels instead of the host micro

#

but that's ok we don't need it right now

stiff hazel
#

You can do ‘light.createStrip(pins.A1, ...)’ to mount a neopixel strip on that pin

#

By the way, I recommend using Visual Studio Code

#

It will help you by type checking and also rename refactoring support

#

I did align the naming conventions to JS: camelized members, capitalized class/enums.

sharp hamlet
#

createStrip will send the commands to the seesaw chip though?

#

or will create a normal neopixel strip on pins.A1?

stiff hazel
#

My understanding is that crickit plugs into A1 directly

#

Right, you’ll need to port that one “manually”

sharp hamlet
#

ok that's fine we don't really need makecode support for it

stiff hazel
#

The bpp Args in init are confusing our converter

sharp hamlet
#

I'll check out VS code

stiff hazel
#

We have a debugger for MakeCode brewing there. I’ll share bits when we have something we can share

sharp hamlet
#

excellent, thanks!

stiff hazel
#

keep me updated!

sharp hamlet
#

hey hey do you know what the correct way to do this would be?

# 
        public digital_write_bulk(pins: number, value: number) {
            let cmd = pins.packBuffer(">I", pins)
stiff hazel
#

what is packBuffer?

sharp hamlet
#

packbuffer is struct.pack in python

#

packs a value into a bytearray

stiff hazel
#

you create a buffer, then you can use the function on that buffer to pack data

sharp hamlet
#

oh wait issue might also be that it's overriding the global pins

#

with a number

#

ok ty I'll do that

#

looks like it's accepting this for now:

public digital_write_bulk(pinSet: number, value: number) {
            let cmd = pins.packBuffer(">I", pinSet)
#

do you know how I can make the seesaw type available to other files?

pxt_modules/seesaw/analoginput.ts(27,18): error TS2304: Cannot find name 'Seesaw'.
stiff hazel
#

actually we do have that thing implemented 😃

#

update pxt.json and include the .ts files in there

#

if you push your changes to a branch, i can also take a peek via github

sharp hamlet
#

ok I'm gonna go get some lunch, here's some in progress edits

#

never done typescript before so I'm not entirely sure just yet how to type things

#

seems like we use mostly just 'number' instead of more specific types

stiff hazel
#

JavaScript only has 1 number type

sharp hamlet
#

cool I'll put in those edits and keep going

sharp hamlet
# 
pxt_modules/seesaw/seesaw.ts(137,35): error TS9235: Unknown or undeclared identifier
pxt_modules/seesaw/seesaw.ts(139,35): error TS9235: Unknown or undeclared identifier
#

er wait I bet it needs to be an instance of the class

#

yea never mind figured it out

stiff hazel
#

getting closer

sharp hamlet
#

ok it compiles and communicates w/ seesaw chip now

stiff hazel
#

YES!

#

Once you have the runtime going, i'll give you some help on the blocks

#

we've gotten a lot of experience around that by now...

sharp hamlet
#

cool cool I'm gonna test some functionality out now (the first version I think had some endianness problems)

#

and then once that's all good we can look at blocks

stiff hazel
#

all changes pushed?

sharp hamlet
#

yea pushed to branch dm-edits

#

do you know off the top of your head how to concat 2 Buffers?

stiff hazel
#

there's no built-in api

#

but you can use "write"

sharp hamlet
#

i'll just make one and use write

#

yea

stiff hazel
#

let's make a list of those and we can back-port them into the runtime

sharp hamlet
#

do you know where the control.fail output goes?

stiff hazel
#

it'll surface in the editor or hardcrash the hardware

# 
    export function fail(message: string) {
        serial.writeString("Fatal failure: ")
        serial.writeString(message)
        serial.writeString("\r\n")
        panic(108)
    }
#

actually send a message over serial, then dies

sharp hamlet
#

is that hardware uart or usb CDC

stiff hazel
#

on CPX, it is HF2

#

very very badly named "serial" for now

#

We'd love to have a usb CDC implementation in CODAL btw.

#

you can do "pxt hidserial" to listen for those messages

#

HF2 goes to our windows app or via WebUSB in the editor

sharp hamlet
#

all good, ok cool I can get some serial output now

#

looks like i2c may be throwing a NACK before the last byte?

stiff hazel
#

regarding blocks, we should split crickit from this repo so that seesaw stays seesaw only

#

i2c, i'm not sure about NACK. I'm a noob in that space

sharp hamlet
#

ok cool thanks, issue is just that it reads one extra byte all the time for some reason

#

so if it's reading one byte it's supposed to do

#

but instead it does

#

I just checked though and it looks like the correct data is returned to the application

#

and that byte is just discarded

#

so im just not gonna worry about it

sharp hamlet
#

ok digital input and output, analog input, PWM output, cap touch input all work

#

that's all I've tested so far

#

although there is a bit of a weird bug

stiff hazel
#

Open bugs on those weird bugs so that I can get more eyes on it

sharp hamlet
#

if I do this:

const dev = new seesaw.Seesaw();

forever(() => {
    let tval = dev.analogRead(2)
    serial.writeValue("signal1", tval)
})
stiff hazel
#

On your repo

sharp hamlet
#

it works until I put 3.3V on the pin

#

then it'll kinda get freezy and start printing the wrong value

#

but if I do:

const dev = new seesaw.Seesaw();

forever(() => {
    let tval = dev.analogRead(2)
    serial.writeValue("signal1", tval - 3000)
})
#

it works fine

#

I'll open an issue

stiff hazel
#

Weird

#

What happens in analogRead? Sounds like a probably in the library

sharp hamlet
# 
public analogRead(pin: number): number {
            let buf = pins.createBuffer(2)
            if (this.pinMapping.analogPins.indexOf(pin) < 0) {
                control.fail("Invalid ADC pin")
            }
            
            this.read(_ADC_BASE, _ADC_CHANNEL_OFFSET + this.pinMapping.analogPins.indexOf(pin), buf)
            let ret = pins.unpackBuffer(">H", buf)[0]
            pause(1)
            return ret
        }
#

never mind I can get it to freeze either way

stiff hazel
#

it should use NumberFormat.UInt16BE from this string

sharp hamlet
#

possibly some i2c issue

#

pwmout.ts, analoginput.ts

#

those were there in cirpy to make things usable via the default cirpy apis

#

they don't add any functionality that's not in seesaw.ts, and if they don't increase compatibility in any way for pxt I think they should be removed

stiff hazel
#

if you don't need them, trash them

#

i think converter does a transivitive exploration of the code and dumps everything.

#

less is better

sharp hamlet
#

ok I'm gonna delete

#

i only ask because I'm not sure what the conversion to blocks is gonna look like yet

stiff hazel
#

delete and compile

#

beauty of having a type checker

sharp hamlet
#

deleted

#

ok we can start on the block conversion in a few days

stiff hazel
#

I'm think that "seesaw" package should stay fairly agnostic

#

and we should have a adafruit/pxt-crickit repo that depends on this one

#

the editor will handle package resolution etc...

#

i can get a headstart on the crikit blocks if you create the repos

#

for example, crickit.ts should move out into the crikit repo

sharp hamlet
#

yea I agree

#

for circuit python they wanted them to be all in one package

#

but for this it's better to have them separate

stiff hazel
#

we have excellent package resolution support 😃

#

npm-ish style

sharp hamlet
#

cause there will likely be more seesaw configs to support

#

and yea they will all use the same core

#

ok cool I'll make some repos

stiff hazel
#

I'm happy to take a first stab at the blocks. This area is somewhat trickier to get right

#

and i've got a crickit to test it

#

i don't expect kids to ever do seesaw from blocks so this repo is pretty much done

sharp hamlet
#

ok yea go for it if you want 😃

stiff hazel
#

for new blocks?

#

yes those steps are accurate

sharp hamlet
#

yea I mean if you want to take a stab at the blocks go for it, but you wanted me to create a separate crickit repo right?

stiff hazel
#

yes, just create new repo in github and give me write access

sharp hamlet
#

ok sorry for clarity though, you just want an empty repo right? you don't need me to follow those linked steps or do anything else in the repo?

stiff hazel
#

one last this you need to do

#

run pxt bump from the seesaw repo to create a new tag in the repo

sharp hamlet
#

looks like I might need to merge this all into master to do that?

# 
C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw>pxt bump
Using target adafruit with build engine codal
  target: v1.1.21 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit
  pxt-core: v3.16.5 C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit\node_modules\pxt-core
[run] git pull
remote: Counting objects: 6, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
remote: Total 6 (delta 4), reused 5 (delta 3), pack-reused 0
Unpacking objects: 100% (6/6), done.
From github.com:adafruit/pxt-seesaw
   34f8f2f..b1d9db8  dm-edits   -> origin/dm-edits
There is no tracking information for the current branch.
Please specify which branch you want to merge with.
See git-pull(1) for details.

    git pull <remote> <branch>

If you wish to set tracking information for this branch you can do so with:

    git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/<branch> dm-edits

INTERNAL ERROR: Error: Exit code: 1 from git pull
    at ChildProcess.<anonymous> (C:\Users\deanm\Documents\dev_stuff\pxt-seesaw\node_modules\pxt-adafruit\node_modules\pxt-core\built\nodeutil.js:65:24)
    at emitTwo (events.js:126:13)
    at ChildProcess.emit (events.js:214:7)
    at maybeClose (internal/child_process.js:925:16)
    at Process.ChildProcess._handle.onexit (internal/child_process.js:209:5)
stiff hazel
#

right, first merge the branch

#

and bump from master

sharp hamlet
#

ok bumped and travis enabled

stiff hazel
#

don't forget to merge seesaw, and bump over there

sharp hamlet
#

I think I just did that right?

stiff hazel
sharp hamlet
#

oh I had merged from the command line

#

ok merged that PR as well

stiff hazel
#

bump again 😃

#

(i had sneakily add some fixes to your PR)

sharp hamlet
#

gotcha, ok bumped

stiff hazel
sharp hamlet
#

yay ok this works:

const dev = new seesaw.Seesaw();
dev.pinMode(2, 1);
forever(() => {
    dev.digitalWrite(2, true);
    pause(500)
    dev.digitalWrite(2, false);
    pause(500)
})
#

blinking Signal 1 on crickit board

stiff hazel
#

simulator really does not like crickit but we'll fix this later 😃

sharp hamlet
#

yeah it's fine for now

#

ok I'm gonna head home, but you have everything you need for now?

stiff hazel
#

yup, got it all

sharp hamlet
#

great, thanks for the help!

stiff hazel
#

corona already opened

#

(it's hacking afternoon here in MakeCode land)

sharp hamlet
#

haha enjoy 😃

stiff hazel
#

is there a definite CP api already?

#

i might try to align

stiff hazel
#

it's freezing for me... anyway

#

I've started working on the motor blocks

stiff hazel
#

@sharp hamlet run “pxt update” - I bumped pxt to support new field editors

floral plank
#

Hmm, I may have to deploy a makecode instance -- just another service to have in the homelab 😃

vital flame
#

@stiff hazel is the colour picker in makecode broken?
I see only three columns / 12 colours, and no black option.
The fieldeditor definition says there should be four columns / 16 colours.
I made a copy under another name and using that as the picker, actually does work properly.

vital flame
#

@stiff hazel moving discussion here - do you know BTW why only A1 and A2 support servos in Makecode?

stiff hazel
#

We ran into locking issues when mixing A1 and, say, A5. We restricted the choice to a subset until we do can allocated engineering resources to address those issues.

vital flame
#

@stiff hazel that's fair enough. Limited and working is better than Fancy and broken.
Where is that low-level code found?

stiff hazel
#

CODAL is an abstraction layer on top of MBed, or potentially other embedded RTOS

vital flame
#

makes sense. Is it loaded into the makecode project at build time?

#

or part of the bootloader?

stiff hazel
#

it is precompiled in the cloud and linked in the browser

vital flame
stiff hazel
#

it involves fixing bugs in mbed

vital flame
#

So you have. Excellent. 😃

#

I made a new "field editor" definition in my custom.ts, and it works fine in prod.

stiff hazel
#

we should really document all our field pickers 😃

vital flame
#

namespace fieldeditors {
/**
* Get the color wheel field editor
* @param color color, eg: #ff0000
*/
//% blockId=cliqNumberPicker block="%value"
//% blockHidden=true
//% shim=TD_ID colorSecondary="#FFFFFF"
//% value.fieldEditor="colornumber" value.fieldOptions.decompileLiterals=true
//% value.defl='#00ff00'
//% value.fieldOptions.colours='["#ff0000","#ff8000","#ffff00","#ff9da5","#00ff00","#b09eff","#00ffff","#007fff","#65471f","#0000ff","#7f00ff","#ff0080","#ff00ff","#ffffff","#999999","#000000"]'
//% value.fieldOptions.columns=4 value.fieldOptions.className='rgbColorPicker'
export function __cliqNumberPicker(value: number) {
return value;
}
}

📎 fixednumberpicker.PNG
stiff hazel
#

yup, they do take quite a few flags typically that's why we predefine them

vital flame
#

and as you can see the inlineInputMode works great. 😃

stiff hazel
# 
    /**
     * Get the color wheel field editor
     * @param color color, eg: #ff0000
     */
    //% blockId=colorNumberPicker block="%value"
    //% blockHidden=true
    //% shim=TD_ID colorSecondary="#FFFFFF"
    //% value.fieldEditor="colornumber" value.fieldOptions.decompileLiterals=true
    //% value.defl='#ff0000'
    //% value.fieldOptions.colours='["#ff0000","#ff8000","#ffff00","#ff9da5","#00ff00","#b09eff","#00ffff","#007fff","#65471f","#0000ff","#7f00ff","#ff0080","#ff00ff","#ffffff","#999999","#000000"]'
    //% value.fieldOptions.columns=4 value.fieldOptions.className='rgbColorPicker'
    export function __colorNumberPicker(value: number) {
        return value;
    }
#

looks about right

#

smile block is intriguing 😃

vital flame
#

I should probably work out when this thing can be published, it is tres cool...

stiff hazel
#

we love très cool stuff

sharp hamlet
#

hey hey @stiff hazel I'm back in the office now.The Crickit was freezing for you when you were trying to use motors? Which motors were you using?

stiff hazel
#

Motor 1 I think

#

The CPX was freezing

sharp hamlet
#

just cause I've seen some crazy noisy motors cause the board to stop working

stiff hazel
#

Can the crickit be powered via USB?

#

I started working on the motor blocks btw

sharp hamlet
#

oh no you'll need to power it from the 5V jack

#

great! I'm pushing one small update right now so the PID is correct on the crickit board

#

so if you just plug into the USB port on the crickit board (the one that says "seesaw only") and double tap the "crickit reset" button

#

and that's so it works with the update I just pushed to the pxt-seesaw repo

#

although I think we'll be removing the "auto-detect by PID" thing from makecode since it's not really necessary and we're going to have a separate pxt-crickit

stiff hazel
#

I can see kids trying to power the crickit via USB. It is logical since they also power the CPX like that.

#

The other issue was figuring out which way to connect a servo 😃 symmetric connectors...

#

We can keep the crickit stuff in PXT-seesaw and split it when it is stable

sharp hamlet
#

yea people will definitely do that

#

but we don't want people powering motors from USB

#

I'm sure it's in the guide somewhere but yea it could be clearer on the silkscreen

#

kids probably will skip over reading as much of the guide as they can (I know that's what I would do)

sharp hamlet
#

ok sorry for the conflicting info, but don't do the update I told you to do earlier

#

I've reverted the changes since apparently the boards have already been bought and shipped to customers

#

so your firmware should be fine as is

stiff hazel
#

No worries I have some microbit stuff to attend to today

#

Kids will NEVER read the guide. If the cable can go in a hole, they will try it.

#

As long it does not fry it’s fine 😃

stiff hazel
#

@sharp hamlet if you have samples of seesaw code to drive crickit, we can work on putting blocks around them.

sharp hamlet
#

@stiff hazel yea you're right, but we'll do the best we can to get people to read ¯_(ツ)_/¯

#

I'm ready whenever you are to start on the blocks

stiff hazel
#

In an hour 😃

#

What hardware do you want to start with?

sharp hamlet
#

we can just start with digital io because that's the most basic

#

and then maybe do analog input

#

then DC motor (PWM)

#

and servo

stiff hazel
sharp hamlet
#

yea I just had a look I'm testing now

#

looks great!

stiff hazel
sharp hamlet
#

love it

stiff hazel
#

ok let's do IO now

#

actually, servo is more interresting from a kids perspective

#

and we should eventually have a nicer angle picker

sharp hamlet
#

ok sorry just trying to figure one thing out with the motors

stiff hazel
#

so i can easily build those blocks if you have seesaw working and tested on hardware 😃

sharp hamlet
#

sorry I was having noise problems with the motors

#

fixed it, can you get the motors to work on your hardware?

stiff hazel
#

i haven't tried it yet

#

need to find a power supply -- forgot to order one

#

can it be powered via the CPX?

sharp hamlet
#

no unfortunately it needs a 5v supply into that barrel jack

#

powering motors off USB would possibly kill the users computer

#

these can get thirsty

stiff hazel
#

i can guarantee you that kids will try it

sharp hamlet
#

it would be kinda hard, they'd need something terrible like this: https://www.cdw.com/product/StarTech.com-3-ft-USB-to-Type-M-Barrel-5V-DC-Power-Cable/2148813?cm_cat=GoogleBase&cm_ite=2148813&cm_pla=NA-NA-STP_US&cm_ven=acquirgy&ef_id=WckWNwAAAVAizmpc:20180529204955:s&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9LPYBRDSARIsAHL7J5nGIRw4nIm_SuxZ8rQbTv3NFPvAu0nIwcYvebh5Bwuk7lVVotJdFnwaAuKmEALw_wcB&s_kwcid=AL!4223!3!198550684941!!!g!57277825727!

CDW.com
StarTech.com 3 ft USB to Type M Barrel 5V DC Power Cable - USB2T...

Buy a StarTech.com 3 ft USB to Type M Barrel 5V DC Power Cable
at CDW.com

#

lemme see... is there any way to tweak these blocks a bit in the editor?

stiff hazel
#

yes for sure

#

it's all in the comments,

#

it's easier to prototype the blocks in the web editor though

#

what are you trying to do?

plush marsh
#

@stiff hazel hey hey

sharp hamlet
#

well for one we need to swap motors 1 and 2

plush marsh
#

the reason we can't power from USB is because USB ports have a 500mA fuse, it will blow instantly and people will think their computer is destroyed

#

standard servos and motors draw 1A each when stalled... its just super risky

#

if you have something like a 2 wheel'd bot, you need AA battery packs

stiff hazel
#

yup got it (i forgot to order a power supply thus asking)

#

does the crickit get power from the CPX?

plush marsh
#

yes

#

there's a diode that will auto-power the CPX

#

so you only need one attery pack

#

we'

#

@stiff hazel sorry BACKWARDS - the CPX is powered from crickit

#

if you plug into the DC jack, it will power the CPX as well as motors, as CPX does not draw that much current

stiff hazel
#

i need to find a power supply with a barel jack

plush marsh
#

2.1mm barrel connectors are fairly common

#

if you have something with a DC jack, it'll be right

stiff hazel
#

no luck for me right now

# 
forever(function () {
    light.showRing(
    `blue blue blue blue blue green green green green green`
    )
    crickit.motor1.run(50)
    pause(500)
    light.showRing(
    `red red red red red yellow yellow yellow yellow yellow`
    )
    crickit.motor2.run(50)
    pause(500)
})
#

this is what i'm running with the bump pxt-crickit, do i need to update?

sharp hamlet
#

that's a 12V power supply

#

it needs a 5V

#

@plush marsh can we overnight peli a power supply?

stiff hazel
#

it fits in the hole!

sharp hamlet
#

haha don't worry it has an efuse to protect against that

#

you're right though

#

ok I've verified the motors work well!

#

run in both directions works

plush marsh
#

@stiff hazel yeah you can see the red 😦 LED is lit

#

that means the power supply is too high or too low - wont break it but will not work

#

please order up a 5V 2A power supply

stiff hazel
#

is that a bad thing? I thought it meant it was correctly powered

plush marsh
#

red 😦 is 😦

#

green 😃 is 😃

#

sorry, red is /!\

#

warning

#

green is 😃

stiff hazel
#

it should blink

plush marsh
#

we could have the seesaw detect it and blink red on the neopixel

sharp hamlet
#

I was a bit confused for a while because I guess the speed change doesn't take unless you hit enter or click out of the speed picker?

plush marsh
#

(there's a voltage-detect)

#

thats a good idea - we'll add to next rev of seesaw firmware

stiff hazel
#

i think i'll have to order a supply.

plush marsh
stiff hazel
#

we have tons of JST connectors

plush marsh
#

pick next day air, it'll go out tomorrow

stiff hazel
#

i forgot to add that to my order last week

sharp hamlet
#

forward, reverse, and invert work, just motors 1 and 2 need to be swapped in that block and then motor is done!

plush marsh
#

np, the crickit packs will come with batteries and/or power supplies - we're working it out as we go along!

stiff hazel
#

let's invert then 😃

#

power supply is definitely a challenge in the classroom

#

often overlooked.

sharp hamlet
#

lemme have a go at prototyping a block based on what you did

#

for digital io

stiff hazel
#

bare LiPo are too dangerous, fire hazard

#

AA, AAA batteries run out of juice because kids don't unplug things

#

wired power -- you run out of power plugs

plush marsh
#

@stiff hazel yeah i thought really hard about power suppy for this because its the biggest challenge

#

its a balance of price/performance. i decided in the end that a DC barrel jack and a 5V 2A power supply was the best tradoff

#

we could support more power supplies with a full buckboost - but it would add $5 to cost, and they dont like driving motors that much

#

so higher risk of xplody

stiff hazel
#

as long as there are accessories available we're good.

#

will you have USB -> Barrel jack cable?

plush marsh
#

we stock in the store

#

but...its not recommended

stiff hazel
#

I've used USB powerbrickets a lot

plush marsh
#

again, because you'll fry the USB power supply

#

even if we say "use for USB power pack" its ineveitable they'll plug it into a computer

stiff hazel
#

for sure

plush marsh
#

the computer fuse isnt permanent, it does 'come back to life'

#

but for about 10 minutes its hysteria because it seems like the motherboard is busted 😃

#

so i was gonna just ship with a 5V2A plug and then a 3xAA battery pack

stiff hazel
#

i see the happy face diode on the silk now 😃

plush marsh
#

yay!

#

what did you do?

#

oh you jus see it

#

i thought u meant it lit up

stiff hazel
#

yeah

#

let me get back to order moe

#

ordering

plush marsh
sharp hamlet
#

@stiff hazel right right I will PR

#

ok I've made this block

namespace crickit {
    let dev: seesaw.Seesaw;

    function saw(): seesaw.Seesaw {
        if (!dev)
            dev = new seesaw.Seesaw();
        return dev;
    }

    //% fixedInstances
    export class Signal {
        private _id: number;
        private _pin: number;

        private _inverted: boolean;

        constructor(id: number, pin: number) {
            this._id = id;
            this._pin = pin;
        }

        /**
         * set the signal
         */
        //% group="Signals"
        //% weight=100
        //% blockId=sawpinwrite block="set %pin to %value=toggleOnOff \\%"
        digitalWrite(value: boolean) {
            const dev2 = saw();
            dev2.pinMode(this._pin, 1);
            dev2.digitalWrite(this._pin, value);
        }
    }

    //% fixedInstance block="signal 1"
    export const signal1 = new Signal(1, 2);
}

forever(function () {
    crickit.signal1.digitalWrite(true);
    pause(100);
    crickit.signal1.digitalWrite(false);
    pause(100);
})
#

the code works but is there a way I can see if it renders the block correctly without PRing to the repo?

#

then I can do a bunch quickly

stiff hazel
#

click on Javascript, then Explorer, then + and add the custom.ts file

#

copy paste your Javascript in there and click back on blocks to preview

#

when you're done copy paste back the changes into your PR

sharp hamlet
#

oh yay

#

ez

stiff hazel
#

make sure to add the pxt-seesaw extension

plush marsh
#

@stiff hazel neat i just tried this and it works great!

#

very exciting 😃

stiff hazel
#

We can also probably do a better angle picker for the servo

#

and we'll need some simulator support as well

#

@sharp hamlet don't forget to run pxt bump when you push a change

#

the cloud will pick up the latest github release tag

plush marsh
#

ok gonna get movin' to my next things - thanks for all your assistance peli, this is epic!

#

thankfully when microbit's ready, it'll 'just work'

stiff hazel
#

yeah, we'll make sure it works on both sides

sharp hamlet
#

sorry I accidentally committed to master instead of PR

#

will PR for the next ones, but can you let me know if it's up to par?

#

I'm out for today but we will pick up tomorrow or next time you're available

stiff hazel
#

The initial version with fixedInstances was better

stiff hazel
#

I pushed an update

#

@sharp hamlet do you have an API set you need to get in for Drives/Servos?

sharp hamlet
#

@stiff hazel ok great!

#

for drives I think we should just have analogWrite(pin)

#

no additional API needed for that

#

and for servos we would just need

void seesaw_Servo::write(int angle)
{
        _ss->setPWMFreq(_pin, 50);
        uint16_t val = map(angle, 0, 180, 3277, 6554);
        val = constrain(val, 3277, 6554);
        _ss->analogWrite(_pin, val);
}
#

that's a fake C++ version obviously

stiff hazel
#

Drives sound easy enough, clone the singles and tweak

#

(I left a TODO in signals btw)

sharp hamlet
#

yea I saw, ok I'll fix

#

do you want to do the drives and signals or I can have a go w/ the fixed instances approach

stiff hazel
#

We’re prinkling the code with magic numbers. Not sure where we could get the constants from tough...

#

Please go ahead

#

I did the signals

#

😃

sharp hamlet
#

great!

#

ok I'll get that all done soon

#

did you say you had an angle picker anywhere?

stiff hazel
#

For servo, we should have a positional api and a continuous api

#

We can use the min max annotation to specify a range on the angle

#

And I guess adjustable frequency could be another function on the instance (defaulted at 50)

#

Also, how do you control the neopixel that’s on board?

sharp hamlet
#

the neopixel defaults to being controlled by the CPX

#

so that can use the default CPX Neopixel API but with a fixedinstance pin I guess?

stiff hazel
#

What that single neopixel on board?

#

Let’s stay away from CPX specific stuff - this library will have to work on microbit as well

sharp hamlet
#

oh sorry the single neopixel is controlled by the seesaw chip

#

the "NeoPixel" connector defaults to being controlled by the host (CPX in this case)

#

for the drives should we have the slider go from 0 to 100 (for duty cycle percentage) or from 0 to 65535 (the actual 16 bit PWM value)?

stiff hazel
#

we use 0..1023 in the pins API in CPX

#

so I think we should stick to that

#

btw, does seesaw support any kind of event model?

sharp hamlet
#

internally it's an event-driven system but the API to the host is just simple i2c commands

#

it has an interrupt pin that can be activated by gpio interrupts, data ready in uart <-> i2c converter, etc.

#

but that all might be outside the scope of this

stiff hazel
#

CODAL has an event bus that would provide a nice abstraction to transfer events from the crickit to the CPX

sharp hamlet
#

hm yea it might

stiff hazel
#

e.g. an pin edge event could be surfaced to the crickit

sharp hamlet
#

an edge interrupt?

#

how do you mean?

stiff hazel
#

for example

#

btw, i'll be in your offices on June 12th, hope to meet F2F then

sharp hamlet
#

yea lets meet then and we can discuss all that if we havent implemented yet 😃

#

maybe after we get the basics implemented

#

that would be great though

plush marsh
#

hiii im here and will do more testin

#

im also going to start the documentation

stiff hazel
#

talking about docs, we do have a more efficient way (and lightweight) of rendering blocks

plush marsh
#

you mean instead of screenshot?

stiff hazel
#

or instead of full simulator which is quite heavy

#

@sharp hamlet you'll want to add value = value | 0 to round it

sharp hamlet
#

oh here you mean?

#

//% blockId=driveanalogwrite block="crickit set %pin value to %value= value | 0"

#

@stiff hazel

stiff hazel
#

no, in the javascript

sharp hamlet
#

ok gotcha

stiff hazel
#

if you open a PR from your branch, i can add comments as you go 😃

sharp hamlet
#

ok cool lemme add the last module and I'll open a PR in a min

stiff hazel
#

we can add min cycle/max cycle, and other knobs to the class as well. We have a magic trick for that too.

#

@plush marsh once the package is ready, we can add it to the "preferred" list of packages in CPX editor

#

then it'll be visible by default when opening the Extensions dialog

plush marsh
#

i think once we beta test and get all the blocks working that will b e good

stiff hazel
#

if you add "- beta" in the github repo description, the editor will flag the extension as beta

📎 unknown.png
sharp hamlet
#

ok added beta and made a PR with new stuff!

plush marsh
#

nice art there

stiff hazel
#

here is a neopixel

stiff hazel
#

merged (also deleted the branch oops)

sharp hamlet
#

thats fine

#

oops I forgot to add the new files to pxt.json

#

I'll commit that to master

#

hmm new blocks still aren't showing up in the editor, something I forgot to do?

stiff hazel
#

need to bump

plush marsh
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@stiff hazel back. that neopixel is true outsider art

stiff hazel
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@sharp hamlet i'm wondering if seesaw could expose an event API like the CODAL bus. This would allow to expose events for button presses or pin edges

plush marsh
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@stiff hazel maybe? we didnt connect an IRQ pin so it would have to poll over I2C constantly :/

stiff hazel
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hummm. let's finish the basics but events are an important aspects of sensors in makecode

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the crickit is more of an output shield so it's ok

sharp hamlet
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yea I think most projects are gonna use the outputs

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but I agree that events are sorta necessary for makecode to work intuitively

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for inputs

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it's definitely within the seesaw structure to have an event bus

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but as limor said on this particular hardware the IRQ pin isn't connected to the host so the bus would need to be polled

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@plush marsh maybe we can put a jumper on the hardware for microbit, feather, etc for the IRQ?

stiff hazel
#

@sharp hamlet do you want to be able to change SERVO_MIN/MAX?

plush marsh
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@sharp hamlet theres a wire for IRQ

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you could solder/clip it to any of the GPIO on the CPX. on feather its a jumper too

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CPX doesnt have a lot of pins so i hesitated to lose one to IRQ

stiff hazel
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is there anything to do with the sound? I assume it amps the A0 output so it should just work.

plush marsh
#

it Just Works

stiff hazel
#

ITW(tm)

plush marsh
#

@stiff hazel do you think we need Invert Motor for Crickit?

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i guess i can document it but most people can just flip wires

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er

stiff hazel
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I'm happy to remove it. Less is better

plush marsh
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hmm, im not sure. we can leave for now

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i can see how it would be useful

stiff hazel
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it's easier to add a block than swap to physical wires 😃

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and one has a 50% change to get them wrong anyway

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@plush marsh do you need to be able to set dc min/max for servos? This is also something we can expose in typescript.

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would you want the "steer" block as well?

plush marsh
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@stiff hazel hey do we still have webusb functionality in maekcode

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if i --enable-webusb

stiff hazel
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?webusb=1

plush marsh
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right!

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ok dano is working on the next crickit project

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will be makecode!

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so 😦 chrome disabled it by default

stiff hazel
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right, we're waiting for them to reopen it (if they every do)

plush marsh
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@stiff hazel wow thanks! we're zipping along on the crickit support - this was so fast

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you're coding faster than i can document

stiff hazel
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looks like we're getting close to done. what's missing?

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going faster than the delivery of power supplies 😃

plush marsh
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for crickit? i mean, one thing we could do is add steppers

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i dont wave around the deets but you can drive 5V steppers from the ULN and also from the DRV8833 port

stiff hazel
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we do have drives already...

plush marsh
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oh yah i havent done any docs

sharp hamlet
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@stiff hazel sry I am dumb and am having trouble getting my block changes to show up in the editor again

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i tried bumping twice but still nothing

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maybe I'm doing in the wrong order?

stiff hazel
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you need to update the dependency

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do you have the server running locally? there's an easier trick

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  • clone pxt-crickit under /projects
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  • open local editor, create new script, go to project settings, edit as text
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use this project settings:

{
    "name": "Untitled",
    "dependencies": {
        "circuit-playground": "*",
        "crickit": "file:../pxt-crickit"
    },
    "description": "",
    "files": [
        "main.blocks",
        "main.ts",
        "README.md"
    ]
}
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important line is "crickit": "file:../pxt-crickit" so that it loads it from your local repo

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then just refresh to see changes

sharp hamlet
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oh much easier

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I'll try that

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this is so it shows up in the live server though

stiff hazel
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for live, you either need to create a new script

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or click on the "update" icon in the file explorer

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but there might be a delay since we cache all this stuff

sharp hamlet
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great! we will test

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hmm I tried doing those but what shows up in my editor is still not the same as what's in the repo

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notably servo.ts setPulse function

stiff hazel
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lemme see

sharp hamlet
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oh wait it might be because travis died

stiff hazel
sharp hamlet
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right but the contents of the file are different

stiff hazel
#

to see what's loaded in the editor, go to JavaScript, then expolrer

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then you can drill down into the files to see if it all got loaded properly.

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we've gotten throttled by Travis 😃

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@sharp hamlet the next step is to pick sensible default for every blocks

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currently, it's 0 everywhere

sharp hamlet
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yup ok just checked back and travis finished and the changes came up

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so @plush marsh you can set the pulse width in microseconds now

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for a servo

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ok @stiff hazel I'll try to set some defaults

stiff hazel
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tomorrow when i get to the office

plush marsh
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there's the drive page

stiff hazel
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ohhhh i see our versioning getting in the way here

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i'm working on a fix

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@plush marsh i'm going to add the "crickit" prefix to the analog write block

plush marsh
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ok

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@stiff hazel can i install crickit on nonbeta tho?

stiff hazel
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yes no problem

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i've also pushed a new block to drive continuous servos

plush marsh
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@stiff hazel oh thats gr8

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ill update

stiff hazel
#

yeah... i'm fixing that

plush marsh
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ooh ok

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I will wait!

stiff hazel
#

so long story short: we do check if you are trying to load an newer script into an older editor

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but we should only be using the major version in sember

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semver

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so for now to unblock you:

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open your script in /beta, grab the javascript and paste it back in a script in non-beta

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... oh snap... the blocks are using new blockly features so it's /beta only

plush marsh
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i do tell people they need to use beta

stiff hazel
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don't use embedded editor for now

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until we push those fixes down to master because our OEmbed is loading your script in / instead of /beta

plush marsh
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ok ill screenshot

stiff hazel
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updated naming is live

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reads a bit funny, i'll take suggesting for better wording...

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note that we can also control the ordering of sub-categories in the blocks (motors, drives, siganls, servos) any preference?

plush marsh
#

ok changed

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i think servos should be first, then motors, then drive, then signal

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i think thats what people will use the most in order

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er, touch then signal

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so far my testing has been successful, very solid combo of hardware, firmware and software

stiff hazel
harsh moss
#

Any updates on CRIKIT stock? @plush marsh

plush marsh
#

usually having two microcontrollres communicate is a nightmare, especially in threads but i think we got it going 😃

#

@harsh moss more being made very soon but i dont have a fixed ETA i want to promise. if you sign up you'll be notified!

stiff hazel
#

nice icon @restive dagger, brings back memories of childhood

harsh moss
#

Cool, thanks @plush marsh

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Ahahaha, Idk why it’s that but it’s kinda cool @stiff hazel

stiff hazel
#

@sharp hamlet we should add a block to control the on-board neopixel. Is there some seesaw code for that?

sharp hamlet
#

it'll be simple though, just 4 commands:

  • set pin to onboard neopix pin
  • set buf length to 3 or 4 (I forget which type of pixel that is)
  • send the pixel data
  • send the show command
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note that any of the "Signal" pins could also be used as a neopixel strip, but there's only one neopixel data buffer on the seesaw currently

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maybe I should make more, there's plenty of ram

stiff hazel
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Right our converter failed on this one

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Having prebuilt animation and a small runtime to run them would go a long way too.

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Can the seesaw play sounds too? (To offload it from the CPX)

sharp hamlet
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nah no sound functionality in there yet

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there's a skeleton for a DAC module but I havent filled it out since we haven't needed it yet

stiff hazel
#

Could the CPX send the buffer to run on the neopixel? Then reference it later on?

sharp hamlet
#

yea it stores the buffer internally

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so you would send whatever pixels you want changed

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and then send "show"

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don't have to do all the setup every time

stiff hazel
#

Interresting.

blazing ermine
#

whoo - setting up my cricket today, v excited to play-along with makecode

sharp hamlet
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@blazing ermine yaaaas please make some things

blazing ermine
#

yeppp I'm gonna share a table at Eastern Long Island Makerfaire with a Criket demo (and some other stuff) so that's def on the list

stiff hazel
#

@sharp hamlet if you remove the init in neopixel.py, thé converter should be able to handle it. I’ll make it more robust to keep going even when a member fails to convert.

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I will try to repurpose our existing neopixel support to be able to talk seesaw as well.

sharp hamlet
#

very cool, thanks!

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I will do the neopixel support by hand for now though?

#

just gotta finish up some unrelated things first

stiff hazel
#

This is what I could salvage:

sharp hamlet
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@stiff hazel ok back on this now. That looks great, I'll fix the errors now

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crickit (or whatever pxt-seesaw-based module) will create and pass in it's own SeesawPinmap

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so that seesaw module doesn't need to know all possible pinmaps

stiff hazel
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Let me handle the neopixel stuff

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I am tweaking our neopixel api to be able to mount it on seesaw

sharp hamlet
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ok I'll just PR the pinmap updates then

stiff hazel
#

I just need the send buffer and show features

sharp hamlet
#

oh no committed to master again

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bad habits

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ok just one sec

#

let me know if you need anything from me for those features

stiff hazel
#

don’t matter until you bump

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Did you remove the files from pxt.json?

sharp hamlet
#

yea they're removed, I had done in an earlier commit before I deleted the files

stiff hazel
#

Cool. I am going to add a few more functions for neopixels

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@plush marsh could we do a slight update on the hero image to include a few blocks of code