{"id":20240,"date":"2020-05-20T20:05:05","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T19:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240"},"modified":"2020-05-20T20:14:05","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T19:14:05","slug":"4tronix-bitcommander-for-the-microbit-a-quick-review-this-evening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240","title":{"rendered":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit &#8211; a quick review this evening!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20238\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=560%2C523&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=300%2C280&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=768%2C717&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=560%2C523&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=260%2C243&amp;ssl=1 260w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?resize=160%2C149&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fresh from the post comes a great controller for the micro:bit from <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.4tronix.co.uk\/products\/bitcommander\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">4tronix<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.4tronix.co.uk\/products\/bitcommander\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Bit:Commander<\/a>. <em>It&#8217;s baking hot up in the office, so I&#8217;m just going to do a quick review and my thoughts on it.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The micro:bit plugs into the back and then, powered by 3 AA batteries, you have access to the following features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>4 square tactile buttons (digital inputs).<\/li>\n<li>a dial potentiometer with MIN and MAX labels.<\/li>\n<li>a 2-axis analog joystick with centre push switch.<\/li>\n<li>6 RGB LEDs (Neopixel-style).<\/li>\n<li>powered miniature buzzer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It comes in a nice, protective box so you can put it away when not needed:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20239\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=560%2C436&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=300%2C234&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=768%2C598&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=560%2C436&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=260%2C202&amp;ssl=1 260w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_packaging_sm.jpg?resize=160%2C125&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It, of course, does not come with the micro:bit itself, so you&#8217;ll want to <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.4tronix.co.uk\/collections\/bbc-micro-bit\/products\/bbc-micro-bit-in-gift-box-microbit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make sure you&#8217;ve got one<\/a> in order to play about with the Bit:Commander.<\/p>\n<p>Once programmed, you slot the micro:bit into the usual connector at the top of the controller. You insert your batteries, flick the On\/Off switch and a little blue LED comes on to tell you the board has power.<\/p>\n<p>Gareth over at 4tronix has provided <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/4tronix\/BitCommander\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a MakeCode extension<\/a> which you install using the Advanced package adder in the MakeCode interface. Once revealed, the extension gives you access to all the inputs and outputs and you can get on with coding. You can also control the board using MicroPython and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.multiwingspan.co.uk\/micro.php?page=bcintro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a link to an external website is provided<\/a> to help you get started. There&#8217;s no specific library for the Bit:Commander, but it&#8217;s pretty easy to get to grips with it once you know which pin is connected to what.<\/p>\n<p>The controller feels good in the hands &#8211; it&#8217;s\u00a0<em>just <\/em>large enough for an adult and would be perfect for smaller hands (which, of course, the micro:bit is aimed at). Most importantly, it&#8217;s colourful and bright; just the kind of thing to appeal to younger programmers.<\/p>\n<h2>Demo<\/h2>\n<p>I had a little play around with the various functions (except the buzzer because I don&#8217;t like that kind of noise in the quiet of the evening! \ud83d\ude09 ) Here&#8217;s a quick video in which I use one of the tactile buttons to turn the LEDs on. I then control their brightness with the dial potentiometer and control the speed of the cycling rainbow LEDs using the X-axis of the analog joystick. It&#8217;s a simple program (because I&#8217;m not that good with MakeCode!) but I hope it shows you a little what it can do. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/BitCommander-demo.zip\">The Hex file that I created can be downloaded inside a .zip file here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"4tronix Bit:Commander\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wYkRVJMwm5Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Of course, just using the Bit:Commander by itself is relatively easy &#8211; there&#8217;s even <a href=\"http:\/\/www.multiwingspan.co.uk\/micro.php?page=bcpxtsimon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a Simple Simon game<\/a> that someone&#8217;s written that you can upload to it. What I&#8217;d like to see it used for is as a robotics controller &#8211; that 2-axis analog joystick is great for speed control and direction, for example. Or alternatively, you could use the dial to set the speed and just use the joystick for direction. The other buttons could be used to trigger sound and light effects and the buzzer&#8217;s great for giving you an indicator of state.<\/p>\n<p>I was really impressed with it &#8211; it&#8217;s solid, just the right size, very well-designed and has great potential as either a games controller, robotics controller or standalone plaything. Another big thumbs-up from me!<\/p>\n<h2>Buying the Bit:Commander<\/h2>\n<p>You can <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.4tronix.co.uk\/products\/bitcommander\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">buy the Bit:Commander for just under \u00a320 from 4tronix<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fresh from the post comes a great controller for the micro:bit from 4tronix &#8211; the Bit:Commander. It&#8217;s baking hot up in the office, so I&#8217;m just going to do a quick review and my thoughts on it. The micro:bit plugs&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review of an evening","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[54,21,96,45],"tags":[227,903,498],"class_list":["post-20240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessories","category-games","category-microbit","category-robotics","tag-4tronix","tag-bitcommander","tag-microbit"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fresh from the post comes a great controller for the micro:bit from 4tronix &#8211; the Bit:Commander. It&#8217;s baking hot up in the office, so I&#8217;m just going to do a quick review and my thoughts on it. The micro:bit plugs&hellip;Read more &rarr;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raspberry Pi Pod\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/recantha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"747\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Horne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@recantha\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@recantha\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Horne\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Horne\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c27c4ef2ee1c18b130f1fcd5dcdbb263\"},\"headline\":\"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit &#8211; a quick review this evening!\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\"},\"wordCount\":600,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"4tronix\",\"bit:commander\",\"micro:bit\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Accessories\",\"Games\",\"micro:bit\",\"Robotics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\",\"name\":\"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":747},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit &#8211; a quick review this evening!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Raspberry Pi Pod\",\"description\":\"Experiences with the Raspberry Pi micro computer and microcontroller\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Raspberry Pi Pod\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cropped-PiPod-Logo-v3.png?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cropped-PiPod-Logo-v3.png?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":337,\"caption\":\"Raspberry Pi Pod\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/recantha\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/recantha\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/recantha\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCK4F9blabxzmk8Inzhs8tpg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c27c4ef2ee1c18b130f1fcd5dcdbb263\",\"name\":\"Michael Horne\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/479778b0677caadde0ceb54c4129804ef674914607e3ed0998808148357d10d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/479778b0677caadde0ceb54c4129804ef674914607e3ed0998808148357d10d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Horne\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod","og_description":"Fresh from the post comes a great controller for the micro:bit from 4tronix &#8211; the Bit:Commander. It&#8217;s baking hot up in the office, so I&#8217;m just going to do a quick review and my thoughts on it. The micro:bit plugs&hellip;Read more &rarr;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240","og_site_name":"Raspberry Pi Pod","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/recantha\/","article_published_time":"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":747,"url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Horne","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@recantha","twitter_site":"@recantha","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Horne","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240"},"author":{"name":"Michael Horne","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c27c4ef2ee1c18b130f1fcd5dcdbb263"},"headline":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit &#8211; a quick review this evening!","datePublished":"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240"},"wordCount":600,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","keywords":["4tronix","bit:commander","micro:bit"],"articleSection":["Accessories","Games","micro:bit","Robotics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240","url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240","name":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit - a quick review this evening! - Raspberry Pi Pod","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","datePublished":"2020-05-20T19:05:05+00:00","dateModified":"2020-05-20T19:14:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","width":800,"height":747},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20240#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"4tronix Bit:Commander for the micro:bit &#8211; a quick review this evening!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Raspberry Pi Pod","description":"Experiences with the Raspberry Pi micro computer and microcontroller","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#organization","name":"Raspberry Pi Pod","url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cropped-PiPod-Logo-v3.png?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/cropped-PiPod-Logo-v3.png?fit=800%2C337&ssl=1","width":800,"height":337,"caption":"Raspberry Pi Pod"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/recantha\/","https:\/\/x.com\/recantha","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/recantha\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCK4F9blabxzmk8Inzhs8tpg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c27c4ef2ee1c18b130f1fcd5dcdbb263","name":"Michael Horne","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/479778b0677caadde0ceb54c4129804ef674914607e3ed0998808148357d10d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/479778b0677caadde0ceb54c4129804ef674914607e3ed0998808148357d10d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Horne"},"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/bitcommander_sm.jpg?fit=800%2C747&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2RsaV-5gs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14715,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=14715","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":0},"title":"Two motor controller boards for the Raspberry Pi from 4tronix &#8211; review","author":"Michael Horne","date":"9 May 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This weekend has given me time to work my way through my 'review pile'. I'm almost to the bottom of the pile now - just one book to go. In the meantime, however, I tried out two motor controller boards from 4tronix. Introduction At the moment, there is a certain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;GPIO boards&quot;","block_context":{"text":"GPIO boards","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/piconzeroinaction.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/piconzeroinaction.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/piconzeroinaction.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/piconzeroinaction.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20181,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20181","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":1},"title":"The 4tronix Really Useless Box for micro:bit &#8211; a quick review","author":"Michael Horne","date":"16 May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone. I've just returned from my shed where I've been putting together the 4tronix Really Useless Box. This is a kit for the micro:bit made out of 7 PCBs, a nice switch and has a servo which tells you \"No, you may not open this box!\" in no uncertain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"4tronix\"","block_context":{"text":"4tronix","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?tag=4tronix"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/really_useless_box.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/really_useless_box.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/really_useless_box.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/really_useless_box.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7541,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=7541","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":2},"title":"4tronix publishes a grand tour of their #RaspberryPi motor board the PiRoCon","author":"Michael Horne","date":"23 January 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Online retailer and innovator 4tronix have published an extensive guide to their motor controller board, the PiRoCon, detailing all the different connections and options available on the board. Well worth a look if you're after something a bit more substantial for your motor control. You can currently pick one up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?cat=54"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/4tronix.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/prc19-300x188.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19652,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=19652","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":3},"title":"Review of the 4tronix Pi2Go Mk 2 &#8211; an exquisite Raspberry Pi robot packed with features and fun","author":"Michael Horne","date":"31 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in 2014, robotics specialist 4tronix released the Pi2Go and the Pi2Go Lite, great robotics kits using PCBs as the robot chassis, surrounding a Raspberry Pi. Now, 5 years (and many products, including this year's Pi Wars badge!) later, Gareth has designed the follow-up to the Pi2Go, conveniently called the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Opinion&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Opinion","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?cat=34"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_3199-Edited.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_3199-Edited.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_3199-Edited.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_3199-Edited.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/IMG_3199-Edited.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16437,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=16437","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":4},"title":"4tronix seeks to save your Raspberry Pi GPIO pins with this intercept board","author":"Michael Horne","date":"21 February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"4tronix have just announced the availability of a board that will allow you to use\u00a0your Raspberry Pi's spare GPIO pins when using a HAT. For a while, several boards, such as the SenseHAT, have hogged the entire GPIO when they're just using a few pins. Now, you can get access\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?cat=54"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gpio-intercept.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gpio-intercept.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gpio-intercept.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/gpio-intercept.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15327,"url":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=15327","url_meta":{"origin":20240,"position":5},"title":"4tronix release new ZeroPoint Analog board &#8211; use for Raspberry Pi gauges!","author":"Michael Horne","date":"22 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Featuring a small stepper motor and an orange pointer, the new ZeroPoint board from 4tronix allows you to add a gauge to the Raspberry Pi. It has a Zero-sized form-factor and the motor is driven by an H-bridge motor controller. There are numerous pins broken out and there's a small\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;GPIO boards&quot;","block_context":{"text":"GPIO boards","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/zeropoint.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/zeropoint.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/zeropoint.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/zeropoint.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20240"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20244,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20240\/revisions\/20244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}