| danicampora | 109b363 | 2015-10-21 14:58:04 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 1 | Introduction to the WiPy |
| 2 | ======================== |
| 3 | |
| 4 | To get the most out of your WiPy, there are a few basic things to |
| 5 | understand about how it works. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Caring for your WiPy and expansion board |
| 8 | ---------------------------------------- |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Because the WiPy/expansion board does not have a housing it needs a bit of care: |
| 11 | |
| 12 | - Be gentle when plugging/unplugging the USB cable. Whilst the USB connector |
| 13 | is well soldered and is relatively strong, if it breaks off it can be very |
| 14 | difficult to fix. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | - Static electricity can shock the components on the WiPy and destroy them. |
| 17 | If you experience a lot of static electricity in your area (eg dry and cold |
| 18 | climates), take extra care not to shock the WiPy. If your WiPy came |
| 19 | in a ESD bag, then this bag is the best way to store and carry the |
| Mike Causer | ce166e6 | 2016-08-01 09:52:00 +1000 | [diff] [blame] | 20 | WiPy as it will protect it against static discharges. |
| danicampora | 109b363 | 2015-10-21 14:58:04 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 21 | |
| 22 | As long as you take care of the hardware, you should be okay. It's almost |
| 23 | impossible to break the software on the WiPy, so feel free to play around |
| 24 | with writing code as much as you like. If the filesystem gets corrupt, see |
| 25 | below on how to reset it. In the worst case you might need to do a safe boot, |
| 26 | which is explained in detail :ref:`here <wipy_boot_modes>`. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Plugging into the expansion board and powering on |
| 29 | ------------------------------------------------- |
| 30 | |
| 31 | The expansion board can power the WiPy via USB. The WiPy comes with a sticker |
| Martijn Koster | c773053 | 2015-10-25 11:39:50 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 32 | on top of the RF shield that labels all pins, and this should match the label |
| 33 | numbers on the expansion board headers. When plugging it in, the WiPy antenna |
| danicampora | 109b363 | 2015-10-21 14:58:04 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 34 | will end up on top of the SD card connector of the expansion board. A video |
| 35 | showing how to do this can be found `here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47D9MZ9zFQw>`_. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Expansion board hardware guide |
| 38 | ------------------------------ |
| 39 | |
| 40 | The document explaining the hardware details of the expansion board can be found |
| 41 | `here <https://github.com/wipy/wipy/blob/master/docs/User_manual_exp_board.pdf>`_. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Powering by an external power source |
| 44 | ------------------------------------ |
| 45 | |
| 46 | The WiPy can be powered by a battery or other external power source. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | **Be sure to connect the positive lead of the power supply to VIN, and |
| Martijn Koster | a13d22f | 2015-10-26 19:41:14 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 49 | ground to GND. There is no polarity protection on the WiPy so you |
| danicampora | 109b363 | 2015-10-21 14:58:04 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 50 | must be careful when connecting anything to VIN.** |
| 51 | |
| 52 | - When powering via ``VIN``: |
| 53 | |
| 54 | **The input voltage must be between 3.6V and 5.5V.** |
| 55 | |
| 56 | - When powering via ``3V3``: |
| 57 | |
| Martijn Koster | c773053 | 2015-10-25 11:39:50 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 58 | **The input voltage must be exactly 3V3, ripple free and from a supply capable |
| danicampora | 109b363 | 2015-10-21 14:58:04 +0200 | [diff] [blame] | 59 | of sourcing at least 300mA of current** |
| 60 | |
| 61 | Performing firmware upgrades |
| 62 | ---------------------------- |
| 63 | |
| Martijn Koster | c773053 | 2015-10-25 11:39:50 +0000 | [diff] [blame] | 64 | For detailed instructions see :ref:`OTA How-To <wipy_firmware_upgrade>`. |