January 8, 2024. Seeed Xiao RP2040

 The Internet can be and Often is Wrong! Buoyed by new emerging technologies and the need to have some diversions from the very soul sapping condition of the XYL, I manage to steal 10  to 15 minutes  each day to think about projects. Yesterday was a 15 minute session where I had a chance to program the Xiao RP2040.

Several of the You Tube videos that lead you to the Board Manager are simply wrong as is the their example of how to make the Seeed Xiao RP2040 BLINK.

 

Finally I found the website that set straight the link for the Board Manager (which is the same one K7TFC sent me) and a revised BLINK program that actually works.

 

Unsatisfied with the Mr. Miyagi  Blink On Blink Off, I took a stab at CQ. I thought I did all of the dot, dash, and  spacing correctly.  But the visual pattern looks like a newly minted BTE who having his extra license for one day without any prior on the air experience is sending CQ for the 1st time. But hey better than just an On Off.

 

 

When I first turned on the Xiao RP2040 there is a huge LED located between the Reset and Burn Buttons that is blinking RGB colors and is almost like a Laser -- you can't look at it straight on. 

 

When I first programmed the unit using the Simple ON and OFF that light was not on AND I used the process in the initial You Tube video for the Blink Program contained in the IDE. Perhaps it was because I was using IDE 1.8.5 that the Example code was not updated for the Seeed. The website I finally found had different code and when that was loaded out of the corner of my eye I spotted this Microscopic led going On/Off . 

 

Two important pieces of info: 1) the processor worked and 2) I now had a process for loading code. Next I set about writing a few lines of code to send CQ. On paper it looks OK but visually not there.

 

The 15 Minutes were over and back to caregiver duties. 

 

73's
Pete