Hi,
Please forgive me if this question is answered elsewhere, and direct me to the answer. I am a longtime Arduino user, and I am looking to get my first CircuitPython board. I need a board that can do MIDI over USB (both input and output), simple file reading, support a small number of keys for input, and perhaps support a small display for output. You have a dizzying array of boards available, and I am finding it a challenge to pick the best one (or even one that will work real well). Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mike
CircuitPython First Board Advice
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Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.
- dastels
- Posts: 15655
- Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:22 pm
Re: CircuitPython First Board Advice
Get something with plenty of memory because CircuitPython does like memory. That means at least a SAMD51 board (aka M4)... stay away from "M0" boards.
Feathers are good mainly due to the variety of addon boards (FeatherWings) as well as having a reasonable number of I/O pins. There are several display FeatherWings so that's mostly a matter of choosing what type and size display you want. They also have onboard battery support/charging but if you're using USB MIDI, that won't be a concern.
The Feather M4 Express is IMO the basic CircuitPython board. It has plenty of memory but no onboard wireless capability. If you want bluetooth capabilities, the Feather nRF52840 is a nice CircuitPython board. An ESP32-S2 board is nice as well and gives you WiFi capability without having to add another board.
A lot of boards support the usb_midi module: https://circuitpython.readthedocs.io/en ... r=usb_midi.
Again, the Feather M4 Express is a great CircuitPython board to start with if you don't need any of the feathers of some of the other boards.
Dave
Feathers are good mainly due to the variety of addon boards (FeatherWings) as well as having a reasonable number of I/O pins. There are several display FeatherWings so that's mostly a matter of choosing what type and size display you want. They also have onboard battery support/charging but if you're using USB MIDI, that won't be a concern.
The Feather M4 Express is IMO the basic CircuitPython board. It has plenty of memory but no onboard wireless capability. If you want bluetooth capabilities, the Feather nRF52840 is a nice CircuitPython board. An ESP32-S2 board is nice as well and gives you WiFi capability without having to add another board.
A lot of boards support the usb_midi module: https://circuitpython.readthedocs.io/en ... r=usb_midi.
Again, the Feather M4 Express is a great CircuitPython board to start with if you don't need any of the feathers of some of the other boards.
Dave
- tannewt
- Posts: 3304
- Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2016 8:48 pm
Re: CircuitPython First Board Advice
This guide goes over some options in more detail too: https://learn.adafruit.com/choose-your- ... thon-board
- yocummr
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 3:48 pm
Re: CircuitPython First Board Advice
Thank you, folks! You’ve been most helpful!
Mike
Mike
- kevinjwalters
- Posts: 1025
- Joined: Sun Oct 01, 2017 3:15 pm
Re: CircuitPython First Board Advice
I often forget the PyPortal has a resistive touch screen which makes it useable for input and I think it ticks the other boxes you list and its SAMD51 has a decent amount of memory.
I've not quite finished it yet but I wrote some code over the weekend which shows its touch screen in action: Wordle on Adafruit PyPortal in CircuitPython (YouTube).
I've not quite finished it yet but I wrote some code over the weekend which shows its touch screen in action: Wordle on Adafruit PyPortal in CircuitPython (YouTube).
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.