Introduction: Getting Started With LinkIt One - Blinking an LED

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About: "We were created to create" - Me

Hi there!

  • Are you often confused by the whole world of new boards and tech that keep coming up every few months?
  • Are you often searching on google just to make sense of it all?
  • Are you willing to make really awesome projects but don't know where to begin?
  • Are you a unicorn?

If the answer to any of those questions is a yes, then this instructable is for you!

The LinkIt Once Board by Media Tek is a great alternative to arduino when you are making smart devices ( Internet Of Things - IOT) or Wearables (Projects involving mixing of clothes and electronics). The board also has the functionality of an arduino board which is one of the most popular development boards out there to make electronic projects. So this instructable will walk you through setting up your own working board as well as blink an LED (the hello world of electronics)

This is the first of a series of baby step by baby step guide to getting started with making your own awesome projects using the LinkIt One Board.

Step 1: Getting Your Materials

To get started with using the LinkIt Board you must first ensure that you have these with you:

  1. A LinkIt One Board + USB cable
  2. A working Laptop/Desktop with an active internet connection
  3. A couple of jumper wires (Normal thick wire will do too)
  4. A breadboard
  5. An LED of your favourite colour
  6. A teeny tiny bit of patience

Make sure you sit down with ALL of these. The most distracting thing while learning or making a project is when you don't have all of your supplies with you.

These tools will also help but aren't absolutely necessary:

  • A wire stripper
  • A plier

Step 2: Installing Your Software

To set up the LinkIt One board, you must first download the Arduino IDE i.e. the software required to upload programs to your board. To download the required software just visit this link and download version 1.6.5
(NOTE: Version 1.6.6 of the arduino IDE is NOT supported by LinkIt One right now, hence install version 1.6.5)

Once you have set up the Arduino Environment, you must install the driver and added SDK (Software Development Kit) for using your LinkIt One board.

Click here to install the driver (for Windows) and once done start your Arduino IDE by launching it.

Then follow these steps:

You may need to update your firmware (the software that is installed onto the board by the manufacturer to make it function) so that your board works seamlessly. Follow the steps below to do so:

  • In the Tools menu,select LinkIt One from the list in the boards section
  • Select LinkIt Firmware Updater in the Programmer section
  • On your LinkIt Board, turn the left most black switch from UART to MS (This is the Mass Storage Bootup Mode which causes your computer to access files that are saved onto the board)
  • Connect the Board to your computer and select the Tools>Burn Bootloader option
  • Click on the green Download button and follow the steps as shown on screen

(NOTE: The reboot option means that you must take out the USB and plug it again or press the power button on the board)

Once you're done remember to switch the board back to UART mode by switching the little black switch (shown in the diagram)

Step 3: Hello World!

This is your big moment! Stepping into a world full of endless possibilities.

Copy and paste this simple code to your arduino window and click on the arrow (upload) option. Remember to select LinkIt One as your target board and also make sure that the correct COM port is selected. You will see 2 options both saying LinkIt One to choose the correct one follow this procedure:

  • Go to Device manager in your computer
  • Look under Ports
  • Note which of the 2 ports that says LinkIt One (Modem).

This is the port you must select in your arduino window to ensure that all of your code gets uploaded to the board.

The actual code that you must paste to blink an LED (which is on the board itself):

void setup()
{

pinMode(13, OUTPUT);

}

void loop()

{

DigitalWrite(13,HIGH);

delay(500);

DigitalWrite(13,HIGH);

delay(500);

}

Step 4: Explanation and the Way Ahead

void setup() {

pinMode(13, OUTPUT);

}

void loop() {

DigitalWrite(13,HIGH);

delay(500);

DigitalWrite(13,HIGH);

delay(500);

}

The first part that is void setup() { insert code here } is the part of the code that involves defining the various parts that we are using and setting them up so that we can use them later in the code. This part is only executed once when the board resets or is powered on. Here we use it to set our Digital Pin 13 as OUTPUT, i.e. we are giving it a certain voltage (HIGH being 5 or LOW being 0V)

Although you are setting the mode of the Pin 13 in setup() you are actually commanding the arduino to set that pin to 5V i.e. HIGH only in the loop section. The void loop() { insert code here } section of the code runs till infinity over and over again. Here we are toggling the voltage that pin 13 gets and hence turning the LED connected to pin 13 (on the board itself) ON and OFF. To make sure that our eyes can understand this constant change of state we are also adding a delay(some number); statement which basically introduces a delay of that many milli seconds as the amount mentioned in the brackets. Here we are adding a delay of 500 milli seconds (1 milli second = 1/1000th of a second) which is = 1/2 second.

Feel free to mess around with this code (it is one of the basic examples provided by arduino) and try out by connecting different LEDs to different pins (digital) provided on your board. You must also connect the negative leg of your LEDs to the ground pin (GND pin) given on board if you are using external LEDs