Feather M0 RFM9x: From box to circuitpython? Moderators: adafruit_support_bill, adafruit

[swint144]

I'm completely stumped on how, exactly, to go from box-to-download-a-Python-script for a Feather M0 RFM9x LoRa device on a Windows 10 PC. I purchased the board in the last couple of weeks, so the as-shipped firmware is very likely to be pretty new.

I _see_ the instructions on the product page, but I'm having a hard time following the different jumps to get to my goal! This post is part plea for help, part log of the steps I've taken, so I will edit this top post as I work through the issue and incorporate any feedback along the way.

What, precisely, are the steps that I should follow to get to the point of being able to run CircuitPython scripts?

Where I'm at:

* LoRa Feather LED flashes fast (~2Hz) when first plugged in to USB
* LoRa Feather LED pulses slow (~1Hz) when double-pressing the Reset button
* This is counter to these bootloader mode instructions that indicate that the LED should go green
* No USB storage device appears in either blink mode

Downloaded/installed:

* bossa command-line utility for installing bin
* Arduino

* Adafruit SAMD board support
* Sees the board on COM3

* mu Python editor
* CircuitPython
* Bootloader files on PC:

* adafruit-circuitpython-feather_m0_rfm9x-en_US-7.2.5.bin
* adafruit-circuitpython-feather_m0_rfm9x-en_US-7.2.5.uf2
* update-bootloader-feather_m0-v3.14.0.ino (for Arduino update of bootloader?)

[swint144]

OK - seems that path following the Arduino bootloader has worked, I can now see the Feather M0 RFM9x LoRa board as a mass storage device!

The section "Upload UF2 with Arduino" from https://learn.adafruit.com/installing-circuitpython-on-samd21-boards/installing-the-uf2-bootloader

Downloaded Arduino
Added Adafruit SAMD board definitions
Downloaded ino
Arduino compile & upload ino file
Board rebooted and appeared as a mass storage device (new drive letter under "My PC")
Copied "adafruit-circuitpython-feather_m0_rfm9x-en_US-7.2.5.uf2" to the storage location.
Board rebooted and appeared as a drive called "CIRCUITPY"
Instead of pip3 on a Linux, I ran the follwing from Anaconda Powershell Prompt:

pip install adafruit-circuitpython-rfm9x
pip install adafruit-circuitpython-lis3dh
pip install adafruit-circuitpython-rfm9x

At this point, it's not clear to me if I need to install these dependencies on my PC, or to have certain files available on the Feather M0 RFM9x itself

[TI545]

Good progress on getting circuitpython on the Feather RFM9x.

I assume you want to run the LoRa radio on your Feather M0 RFM9x. If so, you “only” need to load the LoRa libraries on the Feather. You can load the LoRa libraries on your Linux computer but you’d need a whole radio setup on your Linux computer to use it.

To use the Feather LoRa, use the tutorial at adafruit.
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-fea ... dio-module

You can use LoRa on (say) a Raspberry Pi with a LoRa hat, it works well:
https://learn.adafruit.com/multi-device ... re-network

[swint144]

Thanks, @TI545. I've gotten python up and running on the LoRa Feather! I'm going to have to remember what the last couple of key steps were. Once I got it working, I just kept plinking away and forgot to post back here with the update. :}