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Project Based Engineering Instrumentation High Level Coding and Microcontrollers

Carlos Montalvo, Marine Feron Leabeater, Lisa Schibelius

Section 4.1 CircuitPython Kit

Here is a list of all the components in the kit Note that every semester is different and every instructor is different. Some instructors may choose to add or remove components from the kit. The list below is just a recommendation and is based on the components used in the labs in this book. Given a standard 16 week semester, I have personally found it impossible to do more than 12 or 13 labs which means we don’t use everything in this list. Be sure to check with your instructor before buying everything on this list.
  1. Circuit Playground Bluefruit or Express + Included USB Cable
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  2. Micro Servo
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  3. Potentiometer
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  4. Photocell
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  5. Two Resistors (330 Ohm and 1K Ohm)
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  6. Alligator Clips x3
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  7. External Battery Pack (optional)
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  8. AAA Batteries x3 (optional)
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  9. Breadboard
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  10. Push Button
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  11. LEDs x2
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  12. LSM6DS33 + LIS3MDL - 9 DoF IMU (Chapter 22)
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  13. Pitot Probe (not pictured below)(Chapter 14)
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  14. LPS22 Pressure Sensor (not pictured below)(Chapter 23)
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  15. GPS Sensor (not pictured below)(Chapter 24)
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Below is also a photo of all the components listed above. When you get your kit familiarize yourself with all of the components. The hardware kit is a collection of multiple items. At the time of this writing the entire kit cannot be purchased however the CircuitPlayground Express (CPX) can be purchased on Adafruit [34]. A photo of the kit is shown in the figure below. The photo shows the CPX on the left inside it’s protective zip lock bag.
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Figure 4.1.1.
Photo of CircuitPython Kit Components
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The CPX is a relatively new development board that operates in the same style as Arduino[35]. That is, the student can create a relatively simple script and then flash the software to the CPX via USB. The Arduino operates in the same way. The benefit of the CPX vs the Arduino is that the software is CircuitPython which is indistinguishable from Python. As mentioned earlier, Python is in the top 3 programming languages as stated by the Tiobe Index of Programming[28]. Other benefits include the components built in to the CPX. The CPX itself contains a built in microphone, accelerometer, light sensor, speaker, three push buttons, slide switch and infrared sensor. The CircuitPlayground Express (CPX) also contains 10 smart NeoPixel LEDs and a ring of copper plated pads that can be attached to the included alligator clips and breadboard. Students can also elect to purchase the CircuitPlayground Bluefruit (CPB) which does not have an infrared sensor but does contain bluetooth functionality to send data wirelessly to the Adafruit Connect App which runs on Apple/Android [36].
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