SiPy

Want to connect via Wi-Fi?

Follow our WiPy tutorial here.

Components

Pycom SiPy
Sigfox antenna

Setup Your Development Environment

We'll be using Atom as our development environment. You can download the latest version from here. Once you've got it setup, install the Pymakr plugin. Follow the steps in this tutorial to get it setup.

Connect to the Board

There are two ways to connect your board to your computer. You can do so either via the USB port on the Expansion Board or Pysense/Pytrack boards (more on that here).

Alternatively you can communicate with the board via a USB to TTL cable. Connect the following pins:

SiPy	USB TTL
GND	GND
TX0	RX
RX0	TX
3.3V	VCC

Warning

Ensure your external antenna is connected before attempting to send Sigfox messages. If you do not do this, you can risk damaging your dev board

The connection is the small gold circle on the bottom left of the SiPy board. Simply snap the antenna in place.

Preparing the USB serial port

Once you've got it connected to your computer, you'll need to make sure the correct serial port is available.

Linux and Mac OS X

Download and install the FTDI drivers from here. Select the appropriate version for your operating system and architecture.

Warning

For Linux, you may need to run the two commands below. Once you've completed that, reboot your computer. This will add permissions that will allow you to upload a sketch to the board.

sudo usermod -a -G tty ${USER} sudo usermod -a -G dialout ${USER}

Windows

Download and install the FTDI drivers from here. Select the appropriate version for your operating system and architecture.
Open the Windows start menu and search for Device Manager
The COM port for the Pycom device will be listed as USB Serial Device or something similar
Keep note of the COM port (e.g. COM4)

Setup Your Project

Important

Make sure you have the latest version of the Pymakr plugin!

Create a new folder for your project
In Atom, go to File > New Window to open a new window
Add your newly created folder by clicking File > Add Project Folder and navigating to it
If the Pymakr plugin is not open at the bottom of your Atom window, click on the arrow on the right hand side to open it
In the Pymakr console at the bottom, click 'More' in the top right menu, then click 'Get serial ports'. This will copy the name of the correct serial port to your clipboard.
Select Settings > Project Settings. In the address field replace the value with the contents of your clipboard e.g. /dev/tty.usbmodemPy343431 (/Mac OS X), /dev/ttyACM0 (LInux), COM3 (Windows) then save the file.

Retrieve your Device ID and PAC number

To ensure the Device is provisioned with Device ID and PAC number, please update to the latest firmware. This should be completed if your Device has not been used before. You can find the latest firmware update tool and steps here

Info

Remember to save the Device Id and PAC number. When you have updated the firmware as you'll need them to register the Device with Sigfox.

Registering with Sigfox

In order to send a Sigfox message, the device needs to register with the Sigfox Backend. Navigate here to complete the registration process.

First choose your country from the Search bar as shown below.
Click Next

Enter the Device Id and PAC number obtained earlier
Add a description of the project you attend on using the Sigfox Device for

Add the Device ID and PAC number obtained from the code earlier and place them into the corresponding fields below
Click next to register your device
If you haven't already, sign up with Sigfox then you will be taking back

Sending Your First Sigfox Message

Create a new file, name it boot.py
Copy and paste the code below

from machine import UART import machine import os uart = UART(0, baudrate=115200) os.dupterm(uart) machine.main('main.py')

In Atom, right click on your project and click New File. Enter main.py as the filename
Copy and paste the code below into the file

from network import Sigfox import socket # init Sigfox for RCZ1 (Europe) sigfox = Sigfox(mode=Sigfox.SIGFOX, rcz=Sigfox.RCZ1) # create a Sigfox socket s = socket.socket(socket.AF_SIGFOX, socket.SOCK_RAW) # make the socket blocking s.setblocking(True) # configure it as uplink only s.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SIGFOX, socket.SO_RX, False) # send some bytes s.send(bytes([0x01, 0x02, 0x03]))

Warning

Ensure your external antenna is connected before attempting to run the code. If you do not do this, you can risk damaging your device!

Go to Packages > Pymakr > Toggle Pycom Console
Click Upload in the Pymakr plugin at the bottom of your window in Atom and send the code to your Pycom board

View your message in the Sigfox dashboard

Go to the Sigfox dashboard, found here
On your Sigfox account, click on the Device tab, click on your Device ID and click Messages

Connecting Sigfox with Wia

First, Sigfox must be integrated with Wia to see your Sigfox messages in Wia. The tutorial can be accessed here

Receiving the message on Wia

If the callback has been properly setup between Sigfox and Wia, when you send a message to Sigfox. it should also be displayed in Wia

Go to your Space that has your Sigfox integration
Click on Device that matches the Sigfox device on the Sigfox website
Click on the events tab and the Sigfox messages should be displayed

Troubleshooting

If your board gets stuck with the message "Uploading project (main folder)...", try updating the firmware. For the development board click here. For additional firmware for the Pysense/Pytrack board click here.

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