Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By : Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini
Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By: Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini

Overview of this book

This book is a one-stop guide for learning BBC Micro:bit with MicroPython, exploring many hardware components and programming techniques to provide detailed insights into developing practical applications with the Micro:bit. It will also show you how hardware components can be manipulated using a combination of Micro:bit and MicroPython for developing practical projects. BBC Micro:bit in Practice will help you gain a holistic understanding of the BBC Micro:bit platform and MicroPython programming, guiding you through mini projects aimed at developing practical knowledge of circuit design and writing programs. You’ll learn how to write programs for working with built-in LEDs and buttons, interfacing external LEDs, buttons, motors, buzzers, and much more. You’ll also work with built-in radio, speakers, accelerometer, and a compass. You’ll dive into concepts related to the Micro:bit filesystem, interfacing external displays, and working with libraries in detail before exploring sewable circuits and wearable technology. After reading this Micro:bit book, you’ll understand how to apply principles in electronics and MicroPython to create interesting real-life projects from scratch.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with the BBC Micro:bit
6
Part 2: Programming Hardware with MicroPython
10
Part 3: Filesystems and Programming Analog I/O
13
Part 4: Advanced Hardware Interfacing and Applications

Manually upgrading the firmware

A firmware is a program between the hardware and the software; it provides the control of the device-specific hardware. A well-known example is Binary Input Output System (BIOS).

In the Micro:bit drive, the DETAILS.TXT file has the firmware number in the following line:

Interface Version: 0255

Earlier, we updated the Micro:bit firmware before using the Thonny editor. Now, we will learn how to do it manually. First, we have to identify the version of Micro:bit. A detailed article teaches us how to identify the version of Micro:bit and you can find it at https://support.microbit.org/support/solutions/articles/19000119162-how-to-identify-the-version-number-of-your-micro-bit-. The following diagram (Figure 2.25) shows the difference between V1 and V2 markings:

Figure 2.25 – V1 versus V2 markings (courtesy: Micro:bit Educational Foundation/microbit.org)

All of the V1 boards use the same firmware.

There are two versions...