GPIO Announcer

4 hours ago

Gpiozero is a Python library for Raspberry Pi that simplifies GPIO programming by focusing on devices like buttons and LEDs instead of low-level electrical details.
The library supports three programming paradigms: procedural (looping), event-based (callbacks), and declarative (linking device states via source/values).
Gpiozero uses standard value ranges for devices (e.g., 0–1 for LEDs, -1–1 for motors), enabling direct value stream connections and manipulations.

The author built a physical 17x17 matrix of switches with integrated LEDs to simulate Conway's Game of Life, using a microcontroller (AVR128DA64) to control rows and columns.
The LED display uses a multiplexing scheme where each row is active for 1/17th of the time, requiring higher current (150 mA per LED) to maintain brightness, with MOSFETs for row and column switching.
User input is detected by reusing row select lines to ground and sensing switch closures via GPIO pins, with pull-up resistors integrated on the MCU.

<antirez>8 days ago

The Raspberry Pico is a well-made, durable chip with a ton of features, including state machines for GPIOs, and its lack of connectivity is resolved by the W variant.
The chip is well supported by MicroPython and the C SDK, though the build system is overcomplicated for small programs.
To generate sound without a DAC, PWM can be used with a high frequency and varying duty cycles to approximate different voltage levels.

Gpiozero is a Python library for Raspberry Pi that simplifies GPIO programming by focusing on devices like buttons and LEDs instead of low-level electrical details.
The library supports three programming paradigms: procedural (looping), event-based (callbacks), and declarative (linking device states via source/values).
Gpiozero uses standard value ranges for devices (e.g., 0–1 for LEDs, -1–1 for motors), enabling direct value stream connections and manipulations.

The author built a physical 17x17 matrix of switches with integrated LEDs to simulate Conway's Game of Life, using a microcontroller (AVR128DA64) to control rows and columns.
The LED display uses a multiplexing scheme where each row is active for 1/17th of the time, requiring higher current (150 mA per LED) to maintain brightness, with MOSFETs for row and column switching.
User input is detected by reusing row select lines to ground and sensing switch closures via GPIO pins, with pull-up resistors integrated on the MCU.

<antirez>8 days ago

The Raspberry Pico is a well-made, durable chip with a ton of features, including state machines for GPIOs, and its lack of connectivity is resolved by the W variant.
The chip is well supported by MicroPython and the C SDK, though the build system is overcomplicated for small programs.
To generate sound without a DAC, PWM can be used with a high frequency and varying duty cycles to approximate different voltage levels.

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