Unidirectional Texts

Time to choose your hardware setup!

• Complete one of these:
  • Option 1: Connect each micro:bit to a different computer.
    • Use USB cables to connect a micro:bit to each computer.
    • In each computer, open the python.microbit.org editor, click the Connect button, and set up the connection.
  • Option 2: Connect the micro:bit modules to different USB ports on the same computer.
    • Use USB cables to connect two micro:bits to two USB ports on your computer.
    • Open two separate chrome browsers, and take each one to python.microbit.org.
    • Click the Connect button in one browser, choose one micro:bit from the list, and confirm by clicking Connect in the dialog.
    • Click the Connect button in the other browser, choose the other micro:bit from the list, and confirm by clicking Connect in the dialog.

If you accidentally connect both browsers to the same micro:bit, you might need to unplug/replug their UB cables and repeat the browser connecting steps.

It is time to decide which micro:bit you want to be the sender and which one you want to be the receiver. You will start with the browser connected to the receiver micro:bit

• Open the receive_radio_test_message in the receiver micro:bit.
• Update the script to your assigned channel if you are working in a classroom setting. (Each pair of students should share a channel.  Channels should be evenly spaced in the 0…83 range.)
• Flash the script.
• Click the Open Serial button, and make sure the terminal displays the micro:bit radio receiver message.  

Now, you will use the browser connected to the sender micro:bit.

• Enter, save, and flash the text_terminal_to_radio script to the sender micro:bit.

# text_terminal_to_radio

from microbit import *
import radio

radio.on()
radio.config(channel = 7)

sleep(1000)

print("micro:bit radio sender")

while True:
    message = input("Send: ")
    radio.send(message)

• Click the Open Serial button.
• Verify that the “micro:bit radio sender” messages is printed.
• Click in the transmitter terminal next to the Send: prompt and type a message like  Hello! And press Enter.
• Verify that the receiver micro:bit’s terminal displays Receive:  Hello!
• Try typing some more messages and verify that the receiver micro:bit is receiving them.
• Try sending longer messages. Do all the characters make it through? How many can go through in one message?

Sender terminal

Receiver terminal