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littleBits Codebit
littleBits Codebit
littleBits Codebit
littleBits Codebit

littleBits Codebit

Regular price
$92.95 Inc GST
Sale price
$92.95 Inc GST
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

The codeBit is a tiny computer that acts like a brain for your littleBits circuits and allows you to send code from your computer to your codeBit so you can program your own circuits.

Just as our brain receives information from our senses, the codeBit receives data from the input Bits, like a button or a light sensor, that are attached to its IN 1, IN 2, and IN 3 bitSnaps. The codeBit uses the data it collected and the code you wrote to calculate things or make decisions. Then, it can respond by sending output signals to output Bits, like an RGB LED or a buzzer, that are attached to the OUT 1, OUT 2, and OUT 3 bitSnaps.

Use the littleBits Fuse App to create code and upload it to your codeBit. The Fuse app is web-based and can be accessed at https://fuse.littlebits.com/

How the codeBit works

The codeBit has 3 bitSnaps that can receive information from the world around you (inputs) and 3 bitSnaps that you can use to send information from the codeBit (outputs).

The OUT 1 BitSnap is the only BitSnap on the codeBit that can send serial data to the LED matrix Bit. Serial communication is made up of a series of ‘on’ and ‘off’ signals and allows you to send complex information, like scrolling text and images, to other devices and Bits like the LED matrix Bit. So, if you are sending images or scrolling text to your LED matrix, make sure you've connected it to OUT 1 on your codeBit.

If you are planning to send tones to your speaker Bit, be sure to connect your speaker to either the OUT 2 or OUT 3 bitSnaps on your codeBit.

Use the littleBits Fuse App to create code and upload it to your codeBit. The Fuse app is web-based and can be accessed at https://fuse.littlebits.com/

Select the CONNECT codeBit button in the app to connect your codeBit to your computer and upload code. 

There is only one button on the codeBit and it is the restart button. You can use this button to do the following things:

  • Make your code start over from the beginning by pressing and releasing the restart button.
  • Hold the restart button down for 10 seconds to restore the codeBit to factory settings, sending it into service mode. To exit service mode, disconnect and reconnect your codeBit to power. Note: this will erase any previously uploaded code.

Geek Speak: the codeBit

Users can upload their own block coding programs to the w26 codeBit. The code will continue to run, even when the codeBit is no longer connected to a computer, thanks to the embedded "runtime environment" that executes the uploaded code.

TIPS: 
  • Weak 9V batteries could cause code not to transfer to the codeBit via BLE. 
  • Windows, make sure the Bluetooth is turned on. If you do not see the "on" switch then your device does not have native bluetooth which means the codeBit will not work.
Before code is sent to the Bit, each block is converted to a language that the codeBit understands. At littleBits we call this language LBScript. This converted language is then received by the codeBit and stored into the codeBit's flash memory. When the codeBit wants to execute an uploaded program, the codeBit will retrieve the stored LBScript piece-by-piece and perform actions based on what it received. In other words, the codeBit is programmed to retrieve and understand LBScript. When the codeBit runs, it always runs the same program that is designed to read in the LBScript values. This is what makes it a "runtime code" as opposed to "compiled" code, in which the program is always replaced to do only the exact instructions given to it.

All input channels can receive and interpret an analog voltage input. Code routines can be executed based on these values.

The output channels of the codeBit allow for some more complex functionality. All three output channels are capable of outputting an analog voltage. In addition, they can also generate a "tone" based on a given frequency. These tones are output as square waves and allow the user to create sounds and music when a speaker is connected to a respective output. Output 1 has additional extended digital functionality. This allows the unit to communicate and display images on the o28 Round LED Matrix Bit.

The main MCU can communicate with a computer in one of two ways. First, it can be connected via USB. Second, it can connect via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). While BLE will allow the user to upload programs at a distance and with a wire connected to the computer, it is also the slower of the two options in terms of upload time.

 

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