How I use the Arduino Serial Monitor with EmotiBit?

Since the EmotiBit Firmware has been developed using Arduino IDE, you can use Arduino features like the Serial Monitor easily!

Why would I want to use the Serial Monitor?

If you just want to use the EmotiBit to capture data, chances are you may never use the Serial Monitor. However, if you are a slightly advanced user and want to know more about EmotiBit, or want to tweak the firmware to conform to your needs, having a Serial Monitor to display messages can be beneficial!

Also, serial logs can be useful when trying to solve a problem you may be experiencing.

What information can I get from the Serial Monitor?

EmotiBit outputs information on the Serial Monitor during setup. This information can be handy if you are trying to debug a problem.

EmotiBit also prints information about events like connection to an oscilloscope, beginning/end of a record session, change in WiFi power modes etc.

You can also prompt an response from EmotiBit using Serial Monitor (more information below)

How to connect to Serial Monitor?

1. Install Arduino IDE: You will need Arduino IDE to access the Serial Monitor. If you don't already have Arduino IDE installed, you can download it from the official Arduino website.
2. Open Arduino IDE.
3. Connect EmotiBit to computer:
   1. Switch on the EmotiBit (make sure the hibernate switch is not on HIB and press the reset button).
   2. Connect the Feather to the computer using a microUSB cable.
      • Make sure that the microUSB cable supports data. If you ordered an Essentials Kit, you can use the cable provided in the kit.
4. Open Serial Monitor:
   1. In Arduino IDE, under Tools > Port, select the port the Feather is connected to.
      1. Note 1: In the images below, the Feather Port COM7 is just an example. Your Feather may appear on any port.
      2. Note 2: On macOS, the port shows up withusbserialin the name.
         
   2. Open Serial Monitor from Tools > Serial Monitor
   3. Set the baud rate to 2000000 in the Serial Monitor.

Select Port in Arduino IDE

Open Serial Monitor

Connection Messages

Once the Serial Monitor opens, you will be able to see the Serial messages being printed on-screen.

Things to note:

1. The EmotiBit starts sending Serial messages as soon as it starts bootup. If you want to catch all the messages on the monitor, open the serial monitor as soon as you reset EmotiBit.
2. Based on the Arduino IDE version, the Serial monitor may auto detect the Feather if you press the reset button (on the Feather) when it is plugged in. If the Serial Monitor is not printing messages on reset, try closing Serial Monitor and opening it again.
3. If you are on the latest Firmware 1.3.36 (or above), you can prompt a response from EmotiBit. Follow this FAQ for more information.

Troubleshooting

If the EmotiBit is functional but does not show up as a port on Arduino IDE, maybe there is a problem with the USB cable you are using.