2014-09-25 17:21:59 +01:00
|
|
|
Introduction to the pyboard
|
|
|
|
|
===========================
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
To get the most out of your pyboard, there are a few basic things to
|
|
|
|
|
understand about how it works.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Caring for your pyboard
|
|
|
|
|
-----------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Because the pyboard does not have a housing it needs a bit of care:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Be gentle when plugging/unplugging the USB cable. Whilst the USB connector
|
|
|
|
|
is soldered through the board and is relatively strong, if it breaks off
|
|
|
|
|
it can be very difficult to fix.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Static electricity can shock the components on the pyboard and destroy them.
|
|
|
|
|
If you experience a lot of static electricity in your area (eg dry and cold
|
|
|
|
|
climates), take extra care not to shock the pyboard. If your pyboard came
|
|
|
|
|
in a black plastic box, then this box is the best way to store and carry the
|
|
|
|
|
pyboard as it is an anti-static box (it is made of a conductive plastic, with
|
|
|
|
|
conductive foam inside).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As long as you take care of the hardware, you should be okay. It's almost
|
|
|
|
|
impossible to break the software on the pyboard, so feel free to play around
|
|
|
|
|
with writing code as much as you like. If the filesystem gets corrupt, see
|
|
|
|
|
below on how to reset it. In the worst case you might need to reflash the
|
2015-06-04 23:53:26 +01:00
|
|
|
MicroPython software, but that can be done over USB.
|
2014-09-25 17:21:59 +01:00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Layout of the pyboard
|
|
|
|
|
---------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The micro USB connector is on the top right, the micro SD card slot on
|
|
|
|
|
the top left of the board. There are 4 LEDs between the SD slot and
|
|
|
|
|
USB connector. The colours are: red on the bottom, then green, orange,
|
|
|
|
|
and blue on the top. There are 2 switches: the right one is the reset
|
|
|
|
|
switch, the left is the user switch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plugging in and powering on
|
|
|
|
|
---------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The pyboard can be powered via USB. Connect it to your PC via a micro USB
|
|
|
|
|
cable. There is only one way that the cable will fit. Once connected,
|
|
|
|
|
the green LED on the board should flash quickly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Powering by an external power source
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The pyboard can be powered by a battery or other external power source.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
**Be sure to connect the positive lead of the power supply to VIN, and
|
|
|
|
|
ground to GND. There is no polarity protection on the pyboard so you
|
|
|
|
|
must be careful when connecting anything to VIN.**
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
**The input voltage must be between 3.6V and 10V.**
|
