Micro:bit Binary Communicator

I made a micro:bit communicator that allows people to communicate in the code binary. Micro:bit 1 works as the transmitter and Micro:bit 2 works as the receiver. This means that Micro:bit 1 can send messages to Micro:bit 2 in binary. The buttons A+B must be pressed simultaneously to activate Micro:bit 1, then Button A can be pressed to send 0 and Button B can be pressed to send 1. Hence, the Micro:bit's work as a coded communication network.

This project was entirely constructed in TinkerCad for circuits.

• Go to the TinkerCad website at; https://www.tinkercad.com
• Log in or create account
• Go to the circuits section
• Press create new circuit

• Drag and drop two Micro:bits into the workspace
• Name the Micro:bits 1 & 2 so that they don't get confused
• Enter the code section
• Change the code from blocks to text
• Check it says ''# Python code'' at the top

Micro:bit 1 is exclusively a transmitter which can be used to send messages to Micro:bit 2 which is a receiver. It can be adapted to be both my adding the receiver code from Micro:bit 2 to Micro:bit 1.

• Select Micro:bit 1 and enter the code section
• Here we are going to write the lines of code that start the program.
• The first line starts a forever loop
• The next ensures that it keeps going so long as the variable remains true(which can't be changed, so it will stay true).
• After this the Micro:bit shows a smiley face (basic.show_icon(IconNames.Happy)) to prove its on and the program is working.
• After a couple seconds, the micro:bit provides the instructions; PRESS AB TO START. (basic.show_string("PRESS AB TO START"))
• Lastly, it sets the radio group to 14 (radio.set_group(14)) so that the two micro:bits are on the same radio group.

• On a new line, with no hashtag, type;

def on_forever():

 if True:

  basic.show_icon(IconNames.Happy)

  basic.pause (1000)

  basic.show_string("PRESS AB TO START")

radio.set_group(14)

#(If It doesn't work check the indentation)

This section of code displays the remainder of the instructions

• The if statement, says that if the buttons A & B are pressed simultaneously the program begins
• It then displays the letter A (basic.show_string("A")) and number 0 (basic.show_number(0)), This shows that the button A will send the number 0 to micro:bit 2
• The micro:bit then shows the letter B (basic.show_string("B")) and number 1(basic.show_number(1)), This shows that the button B will send the number 1 to micro:bit 2
• basic.pause(1000), means that the program will wait for 1 second.
• After the previous line of code type;

if input.button_is_pressed(Button.AB):

   basic.show_string("A")

   basic.pause(1000)

   basic.show_number(0)

   basic.pause(1000)

   basic.show_string("B")

   basic.pause(1000)

   basic.show_number(1)

basic.pause(2000)

#(If It doesn't work check the indentation)

The following section of code programs button A to send 0 when pressed then display a tick to show it was sent

• if input.button_is_pressed(Button.A): - Checks that button A was pressed and starts this section of code
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears what is currently on the micro:bit's screen
• basic.show_string("0") - Displays the 0 which will be sent to micro:bit 2
• basic.pause(2000) - Waits for 2 seconds to make sure you see what will be sent
• radio.send_string("text") - Sends the message to micro:bit 2
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears the screen
• basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes) - Shows a tick to confirm the message has sent.
• Type;

   if input.button_is_pressed(Button.A):

    basic.clear_screen()

    basic.show_string("0")

    basic.pause(2000)

    radio.send_string("text")

    basic.clear_screen()

    basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes)

The following section of code programs button B to send 1 when pressed then display a tick to show it was sent

• if input.button_is_pressed(Button.B): - Checks that button B was pressed and starts this section of code
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears what is currently on the micro:bit's screen
• basic.show_number(1) - Displays the 1 which will be sent to micro:bit 2
• basic.pause(2000) - Waits for 2 seconds to make sure you see what will be sent
• radio.send_number(1) - Sends the message to micro:bit 2
• The reason that button A sends a string and button B sends a number is because if they are the same micro:bit can occasionally confuse the signals, doing it this way prevents any chance of this happening.
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears the screen
• basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes) - Shows a tick to confirm the message has sent.
• 
  
• Type;

   if input.button_is_pressed(Button.B):

    basic.clear_screen()

    basic.show_number(1)

    basic.pause(2000)

    radio.send_number(1)

    basic.clear_screen()

    basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes)

This last bit of code shows if the program has failed and activates the code

• else: - This means that the line of indented code after will only occur if the initial if statement if not True
• basic.show_icon(IconNames.Sad) - This displays a sad face so that the user can visually see that the program has failed.
• basic.forever(on_forever) - This calls/activates the forever loop that was defined earlier. All of the code is within this loop, without this call line nothing will work.
• Type;

 else:

  basic.show_icon(IconNames.Sad)

basic.forever(on_forever)

This section of code is used to define variables and the forever loop

In this section the forever loop is exclusively for the radio group as this micro:bit is a receiver not a transmitter. It can be adapted to be both by adding the transmitter code from Micro:bit 1 to Micro:bit 2.

• Change the Micro:bit being coded from Micro:bit 1 to Micro:bit 2 using the drop down in the right hand corner.
• Change the code style from blocks to text
• value = 1 - This defines the value variable as 1, this is what Micro:bit 1 will be sending via radio when it wants the number 1 displayed
• text = "text" - This defines the text variable as text, this is what Micro:bit 1 will be sending via radio when it wants the number 0 displayed
• def on_forever(): - Creates a forever loop for the radio signal to be in so that it never changes
• radio.set_group(14) - Sets the radio group to 14 so that Micro:bit 1 & 2 are on the same radio group.
• basic.forever(on_forever) - Calls/activates the forever loop
• Type;

value = 1

text = "text"

def on_forever():

 radio.set_group(14)

basic.forever(on_forever)

This section of code is used to define what will happen when the button A signal is received

• def on_radio_received_number(arg0): - This starts the definition of what will happen when button A's signal is recieved
• global value, value = arg0 - This defines value as 'global' or the same across the whole program and states that value is equal to arg0
• basic.show_number(1) - displays the number that button A sent, which is number 1 on Micro:bit 2
• basic.pause(2000) - Pauses the program for 2 seconds so that the user can see the display
• basic.clear_screen() -Clears the screen
• basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes) - Displays a Tick to show that the message was received
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears the screen
• radio.on_received_number(on_radio_received_number) - Calls/activates the code block
• Type;

def on_radio_received_number(arg0):

 global value

 value = arg0

 basic.show_number(1)

 basic.pause(2000)

 basic.clear_screen()

 basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes)

 basic.pause(2000)

 basic.clear_screen()

radio.on_received_number(on_radio_received_number)

This section of code is used to define what will happen when the button B signal is received

• def on_radio_received_string(arg0): - This starts the definition of what will happen when button B's signal is recieved
• global text, text = arg0 - This defines value as 'global' or the same across the whole program and states that text is equal to arg0
• basic.show_number(0) - displays the number that button A sent, which is number 0 on Micro:bit 2
• basic.pause(2000) - Pauses the program for 2 seconds so that the user can see the display
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears the screen
• basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes) -
• basic.pause(2000) - Pauses the program for 2 seconds so that the user can see the display
• basic.clear_screen() - Clears the screen
• radio.on_received_string(on_radio_received_string) - Calls/activates the code block just defined
• Type;

def on_radio_received_string(arg0):

 global text

 text = arg0

 basic.show_number(0)

 basic.pause(2000)

 basic.clear_screen()

 basic.show_icon(IconNames.Yes)

 basic.pause(2000)

 basic.clear_screen()

radio.on_received_string(on_radio_received_string)