Guide

3/7/2018 SparkFun Inventor's Kit for micro:bit Experiment Guide - learn.sparkfun.com
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sparkfun-inventors-kit-for-microbit-experiment-guide/all#introduction-to-microsoft-makecode 16/63
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simulated circuit!
Code to Note
Let’s take a look at the code blocks in this experiment.
If you are having a hard time viewing this code, click on the image above to get a better look!
A “variable” is a placeholder for values that may change in your code. You can create a variable using th Make Variable option
underneath the Variables group. You can then name it, which then creates a block for your given variable.
Set To
To store a value inside of your newly created variable you use the set to block. The set to block allows you to select from a
list of the variables that exist in your program and then add a value that you want to store or set that variables to.
Analog Read
In this program you are reading the voltage from the potentiometer which is 0 to 3.3 volts. The micro:bit reads that value as a 10
bit number which is a value range from 0 to 1023 using the analog read block. The analog read block is a value based block,
meaning that you have to insert it into a block with a matching shape. We insert it into the set to block to store its value as a
variable.
Analog Write
Just like the analog write block the analog write block deals with a range of values, but instead of reading a pin as an input
the analog write block outputs an analog value to a pin. We see this as a brightness range with this led, but it could be a tone
from a buzzer, a motor speed, etc. We set our analog output to the variable we stored the potentiometer value in.
What You Should See
You should twist the potentiometer. You will notice that the LED will get brighter or dimmer based on the position of the
potentiometer. If you turn the potentiometer all the way one direction it will be fully on and the other end will be fully off.