@activities 1

Inputs & Outputs with Microbit

basic.forever(function () {
	
})

Introduction

Introduction step @unplugged

You will learn how to use certain input sensors and outputs with your micro:bit

To get started we will connect and test your micro:bit

Activity 1 - Connect & Test Microbit

Step 1 Connecting the microbit

Plug in your microbit and connect! ———————————- Need to know how to connect your microbit to your computer? Watch this video

Step 2 @fullscreen

Test your microbit without Grove ———————————— Place the ||basic:show leds|| block in the ||basic:forever|| block and draw a pattern.

basic.forever(function () {
    basic.showLeds(`
        # . # . #
        . # # # .
        # # # # #
        . # # # .
        # . # . #
        `)
})

Step 3 - Upload the code

|Download| your code ————————- Need help connecting?

Activity 2 - Control a light

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Control a light ============= In this activity you will learn how to turn an LED on and off

Collect the parts you will need;

Parts Needed: 1x Grove LED, 1x Grove Shield, 1x micro:bit

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the LED into Pin 0

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Turning the light On ——————————— Place an ||input:on Button A Pressed|| then add a ||pins:digital Write Pin|| block (Under Advanced)

Change the 0 to a 1 (This will make the light turn on)

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    pins.digitalWritePin(DigitalPin.P0, 1)
})

1 = On

0 = Off

Step 4 - Program Continued

Coding: Turning the light Off ——————————— Place another ||input:on Button A Pressed|| and change it to when ‘B’ is onButtonPressed

Add another ||pins:digital write pin||

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    pins.digitalWritePin(DigitalPin.P0, 1)
})
input.onButtonPressed(Button.B, function () {
    pins.digitalWritePin(DigitalPin.P0, 0)
})

1 = On

0 = Off

Step 5 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code and press button A and B to see if the works

Activity 3 - Sense the light level

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Sense the light level ============= In this activity you will learn how to sense the amount of light or brightness

Collect the parts you will need;

Parts Needed:1x Grove Light Sensor, 1x Grove Shield, 1x micro:bit

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the Light Sensor into Pin 0

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Clean Up —————– For each new activity you will need to remove all previous blocks.
Delete all previous blocks from the workspace

Step 4 - Program

Coding: Preparing the micro:bit graph —————— Place a ||basic:forever|| block and insert a ||led:plot bar graph of ... up to|| block

Change the ||led:up to|| number from ‘0’ to ‘1023’

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    0,
    1023
    )
})

‘1023’ is the range of the sensor

Step 5 - Program Continued

Coding: Read & graph the light level ——————————- Place a ||pins:analog read|| into the ||led:plot bar graph of|| field

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    pins.analogReadPin(AnalogPin.P0),
    1023
    )
})

Step 6 - Program Continued

Coding: Give the micro:bit some time to do its thing —————————————————– To give the sensor enough time to work, place a ||basic:pause|| after the ||led:plot bar graph of... up to..||

Change the value of the pause to 10ms (_Hint_: you can type)

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    pins.analogReadPin(AnalogPin.P0),
    1023
    )
    basic.pause(10)
})

The pause gives just enough time for the sensor to work correctly

Step 7 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code

As you cover the light sensor the microbit graph should go up/down

Activity 4 - Rotary Encoder

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Turn to Change ============= In this activity you will learn how to use the rotary angle sensor

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed 1 Rotary, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the Rotary Angle Sensor into Pin 0

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Clean Up —————–
Remove all previous coding blocks from the workspace

Step 4 - Program

Coding: Preparing the micro:bit graph again —————— Place a ||basic:forever|| block and insert a ||led:plot bar graph of ... up to|| block

Change the ||led:up to|| number from ‘0’ to ‘1023’

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    0,
    1023
    )
})

‘1023’ is the range of the sensor

Step 5 - Program Continued

Coding: Connect the potentiometer to the microbit ——————————- Place a ||pins:analog read|| into the ||led:plot bar graph of|| field

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    pins.analogReadPin(AnalogPin.P0),
    1023
    )
})

Step 6 - Program Continued

Change the value of the pause to 100ms (_Hint_: you can type)

basic.forever(function () {
    led.plotBarGraph(
    pins.analogReadPin(AnalogPin.P0),
    1023
    )
    basic.pause(100)
})

The pause gives just enough time for the sensor to work correctly

Step 7 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code

As you turn the rotary angle sensor, the microbit graph should go up/down

Activity 5 - Speaker

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Music Time ============= In this activity you will learn how to use the external speaker

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed: 1 Speaker, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the Speaker into Pin 0

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Clean Up —————–
Last reminder: On a new activity
Remove all previous coding blocks from the workspace

Step 4 - Program

Coding: Playing Tones —————— Place a ||input:on button A pressed|| block and insert a ||music:play tone 'middle C' for '1 beat'|| block

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    music.playTone(262, music.beat(BeatFraction.Whole))
})

Try some other notes

Step 5 - Program

Coding: Playing Melodys —————— Place a ||input:on button A pressed|| block and change ‘A’ to ‘B’

Insert a ||music:play melody|| block. Create a melody

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    music.playTone(262, music.beat(BeatFraction.Whole))
})
input.onButtonPressed(Button.B, function () {
    music.playMelody("- - - - - - - - ", 120)
})

Experiment with different notes and bpm

Step 6 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code

When you press A the tone will play, when you press B the melody will play

Activity 6 - Gestures

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Left or Right Gestures ============= In this activity you will learn how to use the external speaker

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed: 1 Gesture, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the Gesture Sensor into the I2C Pin

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Gesture Input —————— Place a ||grove:on gesture|| block and change the gesture to ||grove:Right||

grove.onGesture(GroveGesture.Right, function () {
})

Step 4 - Program

Coding: Action from Gesture Input —————— Place a ||basic:show string|| block inside the ||grove:on gesture|| and change the word from “Hello” to “R”

grove.onGesture(GroveGesture.Right, function () {
    basic.showString("R")
})

Step 5 - Program

Coding: Other Gestures —————— Place a new ||grove:on gesture|| block and change the gesture to ||grove:Left|| Insert a ||basic:show string|| and change the word to “L”

grove.onGesture(GroveGesture.Right, function () {
    basic.showString("R")
})
grove.onGesture(GroveGesture.Left, function () {
    basic.showString("L")
})

This will now sense both directions

Step 6 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code

When you move your hand Right, the screen will say “R”, when you move your hand Left, the screen will say “L”

Activity 7 - Counter

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

Counting Counter ============= In this activity you will learn how to use 4-digit display

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed: 1 4-digitDisplay, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the 4Digit Display into the P0 pin

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Setup the display —————— Place a ||grove:Set 4Digit to Display|| block inside a ||basic:On Start||

Set the pins to ||grove:P0|| and ||grove:P14||

let _4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)

This tells the microbit how to work with the display

Step 4 - Initial Setup

Coding: First Display —————— Insert a ||grove:4Digit show number|| after the ||grove:Set 4Digit to Display||

This will show a 0 on the display when it is ready.

let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)
_4Digit.show(0)

The 0 will appear on the display once you download the code.

Step 5 - Display Change

Coding: Change the Display Preparation —————— Place a ||input:On Button A Pressed|| and insert a ||grove:4Digit show number||

This prepares the display for a random number generator in the next step

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    _4Digit.show(0)
})
let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)

Step 6 - Random Number

Coding: Random Numbers —————— Inside the ||math:Math|| tab, you will find the ||math: pick random '0' to '10'||

Replace the “0” in the ||grove:4Digit show number|| with the ||math: pick random '0' to '10'|| block

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    _4Digit.show(randint(0, 10))
})
let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)

Step 7 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code When you press the ‘A’ button, the number will randomly change on the 4 Digit Display

Activity 8 - Ultrasonic Sensor

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

How far away? ============= In this activity you will learn how to use an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor with a 4-digit display

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed: 1 ultrasonic sensor, 1 4-digitDisplay, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the Ultrasonic Sensor into the P0 pin
Plug the 4-digitDisplay into the P1 pin

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Setup the display —————— Place a ||grove:Set 4Digit to Display|| block inside a ||basic:On Start||

Set the pins to ||grove:P1|| and ||grove:P15||

let _4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P1, DigitalPin.P15)

This tells the microbit how to work with the display

Step 4 - Initial Setup

Coding: First Display —————— Just like before, insert a ||grove:4Digit show number|| after the ||grove:Set 4Digit to Display||

This will show a 0 on the display and show it is connected correctly.

let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P1, DigitalPin.P15)
_4Digit.show(0)

The 0 will appear on the display once you download the code.

Step 5 - Display Change

Coding: Change the Display Preparation —————— Place a ||basic:Forever|| block and insert a ||grove:4Digit show number||

This prepares the display for the ultrasonic distance in the next step

let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)
_4Digit.show(0)
basic.forever(function () {
    _4Digit.show(0)
})

Step 6 - Ultrasonic Distance

Coding: Ultrasonic Distance —————— Replace the “0” in the ||grove:4Digit show number|| with a ||grove:(V2)Ultrasonic Sensor in (cm) at 'PO'|| block

Change the “P0” to be “P1” to match

let _4Digit: grove.TM1637 = null
_4Digit = grove.createDisplay(DigitalPin.P0, DigitalPin.P14)
_4Digit.show(0)
basic.forever(function () {
    _4Digit.show(grove.measureInCentimetersV2(DigitalPin.P0))
})

Step 7 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code The 4Digit Display will show how far away something is from the ultrasonic sensor

===================================================================================================

Activity 9 - Servo Motor

Step 1 - Collect Parts @unplugged

How far away? ============= In this activity you will learn how to make a servo motor move

Collect the parts you will need; Parts Needed: 1 Servo Motor, 1 microbit, 1 sheild

Step 2 - Connect Wires

Physical Connection ——————-

Plug the microbit into the Shield
Plug the 180 Degree Servo Motor into the P0 pin

Step 3 - Program

Coding: Setup the first position —————— Place a ||pins:servo write pin|| block inside a ||input:On Button A Pressed|| Set the number “180” to “0”

input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    pins.servoWritePin(AnalogPin.P0, 20)
})

Step 4 - Program

Coding: Setup the Second position —————— Place another ||pins:servo write pin|| block inside another ||input:On Button A Pressed|| Change the Button A to Button B Pressed Set the number to “180”

input.onButtonPressed(Button.B, function () {
    pins.servoWritePin(AnalogPin.P0, 180)
})
input.onButtonPressed(Button.A, function () {
    pins.servoWritePin(AnalogPin.P0, 0)
})

Step 5 - Test in the simulator

Testing: Does the simulator microbit and servo move —————— In the simulator on the left, press the Button A and Button B on the microbit Does the servo on the screen move?

Step 7 - Download Program

Download & Test ——————– Click |Download| to transfer your code If it doesn’t move correctly try reducing the range the servo is moving, so instead of 0 to 180, try 20 to 160.

===================================================================================================

Activity Challenge

Challenge Time @unplugged

Challenge Time =========== Now that you have completed the tutorials here are few challenges you can try Markup :

The light gets brighter the darker it is
An alarm sounds if something gets too close

Final Warning

Step END @unplugged

We have added the Grove Extension for you in this tutorial.

You will need to add it yourself by…

Grove=github:seeed-studio/pxt-grove