I don’t think so.
For a start Core seem to be using a PC, not another RPi.
They do not have an external LED supply although there is nothing wrong with doing so. BUT do not connect this supply (which IS connected via the red wire from Glowbit to Pico in all your pics) to Pico as it should be getting its operating supply via USB.
If you DID set up EXACTLY as Core instruct and it did not work my advice would be to get this working first. It obviously does work as per video. With all this swapping around of power sources and connections it is quite possible that something has been damaged. Would have to eyeball the set up to sort that one.
By EXACT I mean EXACT. Use a PC and get rid of the RPi 3b until you get the glow bit working and a known thing. Then introduce it when you are satisfied the Glowbit part is doing its thing.
Also I would suggest an external LED supply so as to not stress the USB supply. BUT disconnect that red wire from the Pico. Put it back to VSYS when you have everything sorted if you are not going to use the USB connection. I think you are going to use the USB from the RPi3b to Pico in the long term so provided the USB supply is OK to the Pico leave this red wire out altogether and use an external LED supply as you are doing.
Have you tried the LED/resistor trick to check traffic on the Data line. I don’t know if this will work or not. When I get some time i will try it on my XMAS lights and see if I can get a result. Of course an oscilloscope would be the go here but not every one has one of these handy devices.
Cheers Bob
I am not sure what the difference of Thonny on Windows vs Thonny on Raspbian. I will see if i can get some time to set up a Windows device with Thonny.
But, Thonny on the Raspberry pi 3b+ is working fine with that pico. I can upload the glowbit library, i can upload a main.py to the pico, i can initiate python code on the pico and make it flash the onboard led, and i can upload the main.py to make the pico flash the led on the pico when it is powered and away from the pi 3b+.
It is just the glowbit that is not working. I just cannot think of anything that thonny on MS would provide scecifically for the glowbit that the pi 3b+ cannot. If the libraries were not uploaded, then yes there woukd be an issue.
Me neither.
But. The video shows a system working. With the troubles you have you need to start eliminating things. You will have to go to the bottom of the tree. It is difficult to start half way up.
You could well be correct and the Glowbit is faulty but you will have to go back to the bare basic set up that Core used to confirm that. Also you will need to establish that data is actually arriving at the Glowbit input. That is going to be the difficult bit without an oscilloscope or something that will let you see it. The LED/resistor I mentioned above might work but I don’t know about 3.3V logic as the LED itself will drop about 2V. 3,3V does not leave much “wriggle room” which is probably why I personally like to stay clear of it.
Have you any other sketch/libraries to drive an addressable LED strip that you could use to check the data availability at the GPIO pin. That would prove your Pico set up.
Or you might pick up logic probe fairly easily. Or even make a simple one. They are not very complicated. Just a high impedance input and something to drive one or more LEDs. Google “logic probe”.
Cheers Bob
Don’t know how well they work with 3.3V logic. You would have to research that.
Add on. Google "Logic probe for 3.3V logic. Jaycar have a kit for $17.95.
Thonny on the Pi will 100% work (and since you have connected we know it’s working)
A double check you can do, is setting up a breadboard with an external LED as the pin may be fried.
I’m super busy at the moment, but nothing looks too off.
It would be good if you could send through photos of all the combinations of ways you connected it so Core can debug. (for each of these if you leave power disconnected that would be ideal)
I will try to set up the led on pin 18 today, good idea. In a way i attempted to prove that by shifting to two other pins. This picow is from Core Electronics, purchased quite a while ago, but I never used it for anything but this Glowbit. Maybe the glowbit fried each pin, worth proving either way.
I will see if i can get pictures of my setup and post today.
Hi David
Are the pin assignments the same for Pico and PicoW. I seem to remember others having a problem with that.
Worth checking. This is the first time PicoW has been mentioned. When trying to diagnose remotely accuracy is paramount. Time wasting and useless if supplied information is wrong.
Cheers Bob
I am learning this Pico and Glowbit stuff with this project. I have not used pico or picow previously. I only discovered it was Pico W when I first mentioned that here. And only then did I learn that there was some level of change between them. My understanding at this stage is that the pins for the Glowbit are the same. They are very clearly labelled, so I i doubt there is any misunderstanding here.
Certainly I learned that pico vs picow uses different pins for the onboard LED during my testing to prove that the board itself works, takes the main.py and will execute it with anything other than the Glowbit. When specifying the LED correctly, it works fine. This is definitely not my area of expertise, it is a project of learning, with a hopefully desired outcome.
Maybe the Glowbit library does not support Pico W, and is specifically for Pico only? I have not seen any indication that they are that different. But maybe?
I am sorry I got the pico vs picow wrong, it was not intentional. I am an old guy trying to learn new tricks.
Why not. Agreed it shouldn’t be but if you read between the lines in posts over time there does not seem to be much compatibility in some of this stuff. So yes, I personally think this is distinctly possible.
Cheers Bob
Been busy at work, and did not get a chance to play with this project over tge last couole days.
I wish there was a super simple way to test the Glowbit itself. If there are possibilities that the Glowbit 8x8 and Glowbit library are incompatible with pico w then maybe i am wasting time on that.
I will see if i can get time to connext a simple led to the pico w pin tomorrow.
