M5GO IOT Starter Kit Part 1

M5Stack M5GO IOT Starter Kit Part 1 Introduction to the M5GO IOT Starter Kit.

In this series I will introduce you to the M5GO IOT Starter Kit produced by M5Stack.

The M5GO IOT starter kit can be purchased direct from M5Stack here: https://shop.m5stack.com/products/m5go-iot-starter-kit-v2-7?ref=pfpqkvphmgr

Two versions of the M5Go IOT Starter kit has been produced over the years, the first came in a yellow sleeve with seven units while the blue sleeve version came with six units and the recharging base (see Image Below).

The good thing about the M5Stack range is that no matter which version you have or can find, both are fully compatible with UIFLow/UIFlow2.

Sensors

Both versions of the kit come with the M5GO Core and M5GO base (attached) and the following Units:

• PIR Unit,
• ENV Unit*,
• RGB LED Unit,
• IR Remote Unit,
• Angle Unit,
• Grove Hub Unit.

* The yellow sliver version came with the ENV unit which uses the DHT12+BMP280 sensors whereas the blue sleeve comes with the ENV III which uses the SHT30+QMP6988 sensors.

The next biggest change was that the yellow sleeve version came with an additional TOF sensor or a Light Sensor whereas the blue sleeve (as mentioned) comes with the charging base.

Cables

In both kits you will find a selection of cables consisting of the following:

• 2X Short Grove Cables,
• 2X Long Grove Cables,
• USBA to USB C power and data cable,
• Magnetic USBA to pogo pin power/data cable.

Miscellaneous Parts

Both kits come with a pair of 5U and 9U lego compatible lift arms and a selection of black 2U friction connectors.

Programming

Programming the range of M5Stack devices requires the visual blocky UIFlow/UIFlow2 IDE.

UIFlow is built upon Micropython and uses a customised version of Micropython 1.22. UIFlow/UIFlow2 produce python files which are uploaded to the M5GO and run by the Micropython firmware.

Burning the Micropython Firmware.

To burn the UIFlow/UIFlow2 compatible version of Micropython the the M5GO you need to download and install M5Burner from this address: https://docs.m5stack.com/en/download

Download the M5Burner for your operating system and place in a suitable location. If you encounter any issues with trying to run M5Burner, you may need to install the ESP-IDF from here: https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/esp32/get-started/index.html

When you open M5Burner the program will look like this:

By default, M5Burner will open and display the firmware available for the Core range of controllers. Unless you have the Fire controller (red version) we can ignore this firmware and click on the download button next to the UIFlow 2.0 firmware for the Core/Basic/M5GO/Gray to the computer.

Once the firmware has downloaded, the download button will turn into three buttons Remove, Configure and Burn.

To burn the downloaded UIFLow2 firmware version you first need to erase the existing firmware. if you don't you can corrupt the memory resulting in the firmware breaking and the controller "Softbricking". If you manage to soft brick the M5Go all is not lost as it can be recovered using M5Burner and it is exceptionally difficult to hard brick an ESP32 based controller found at the heart of the M5Go.

UIFlow2

Once the firmware has been burned/updated on the M5GO you need to close M5Burner and open up UIFlow2 website at https://uiflow2.m5stack.com/

When you visit the site you will be presented with a list of project created in you account. immediately hit the "Cancel" button to get out of this and return to the main IDE.

If everything has connected (which doesn't always happen due to internet issues) you should see the M5GO at the bottom of the screen Highlighted in green, If not click on the device next to the " > Run" button to display the device selector window.

And select the M5GO/Core that should now be shown in green. Click on the "Confirm" button to close this window and now you are ready to start programming in UIFLow2.

Contact Me.

If you find this useful then there is more crossover guides coming. You can drop a Message in Hackster.io message box below of find me via the following links:

https://github.com/Ajb2k3

https://twitter.com/Cpt_J_Purcell

https://bsky.app/profile/jamespurcell.bsky.social

On Discord (if I ever work out how to share the profile!)https://mastodonapp.uk/@AdamBryant

And on the M5Stack Facebook group and community forum.

If you have some spare change you can now buy me a tea @ https://bmc.link/ajb2k35