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