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First release, basic display support!

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@tdicola tdicola released this 08 Feb 10:30
· 37 commits to master since this release

Initial release with basic pixel drawing support for the sino:bit's 12x12 matrix. This MicroPython port is functionally equivalent to the BBC micro:bit port but with the following differences:

  • The microbit module display class is disabled. Do not try to use its drawing functions, they do nothing at the moment.
  • A new sinobit module is added. This will be the base for sino:bit-specific hardware going forward and includes a new display submodule. The sinobit.display submodule supports drawing to the sinobit's 12x12 LED display with basic pixel set and fill commands.
  • The platform and other names are changed from microbit to sinobit.

Attached is a sinobit-micropython-0.0.1.hex file you can drag to your sino:bit's MICROBIT drive to program it with this MicroPython firmware. Be sure your sino:bit is powered well (plug in an external battery just in case) to ensure it successfully flashes the firmware. Once flashed you can access the Python REPL / terminal just like any other MicroPython board through the serial port the sino:bit creates. On Windows you might need to install a serial driver as mentioned here: https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-basics-how-to-load-micropython-on-a-board/bbc-microbit#windows-cdc-serial-driver-install

The attached arc_reactor.py script is a demo of drawing to the display. You can load it using the ampy tool described here: https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-basics-load-files-and-run-code/install-ampy Save the arc_reactor.py as a main.py file on the sinobit and it will run automatically at start. For example if you download arc_reactor.py to a directory and run the following ampy command from within that directory (being careful to change the path or name of the serial port that the sinobit shows up as too):

ampy --port /path/to/sinobit/serial/port put arc_reactor.py main.py