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heading: Join the micro:bit developer conversation
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description: Sign up to and view the developer news
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permalink: /community/news/
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ref: news
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lang: en
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---
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## The DAL, Editors and Devices newsletter
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In addition to our regular [Micro:bit Educational Foundation newsletter](https://mailchi.mp/microbit/newsletter), our [DAL, Editors and Devices](https://microbit.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e1c30f24b90ff3d70275cfff2&id=25403c7650) newsletter is a low volume digest on the technical aspects of micro:bit. The details you provide are processed in accordance with The Foundation's [privacy policy](https://microbit.org/privacy/).
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<divstyle="text-align: center;">
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<ahref="https://microbit.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e1c30f24b90ff3d70275cfff2&id=25403c7650"class="btn sm-btn"role="button"style="margin-bottom: 2rem;">Subscribe to DAL, Editors and Devices</a>
Copy file name to clipboardexpand all lines: index.md
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The Micro:bit Educational Foundation aims to be a 'responsible downstream' to the many open source [software](https://tech.microbit.org/software/) projects that are used to build the micro:bit: much like a good Linux distribution collates, tests, stabilises and releases combinations of many diverse open source packages, the micro:bit Educational Foundation and the micro:bit community present micro:bit users with a stable, tested release of all the things you need to make the magical 'end-to-end' micro:bit experience.
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## Latest news
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For the latest news and community updates, join our mailing list and Slack group.
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{% include community.html %}
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## Help us build it
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If you'd like to help us make the micro:bit better, then there are a number of ways that you can get involved.
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To support all revisions of the micro:bit, you will need to ensure you use the latest release of the MicroPython binary with your editor. The simplest way to do this is to flash a program created in the latest Python Editor which will contain the latest MicroPython build.
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We have developed a [Universal Hex Creator](../../software/universal-hex-creator) tool, to easily create a .hex file that will support all micro:bit variants.
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This tool is based on a [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex), written to implement the format and associated detailed [specification of the Universal Hex format](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/universal-hex/). Please [get in contact](mailto:[email protected]?subject=Request%20for%20access%20to%20Universal%20hex&20spec&body=Name%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AGitHub%20ID%3A) if you require access to the specification.
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This tool is based on a [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex), written to implement the format and associated detailed [specification of the Universal Hex format](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/spec-universal-hex).
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This means that you can use MakeCode or the online Python Editor as you always have, to use all of the features that are common to both version of the BBC micro:bit: Display, buttons, motion sensing, gestures like shake, light sensing, and even the Music blocks.
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## Feature availability
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These are the V2 features and whether we expect them to work as expected ✅ or not 🛑, or there are issues still to be fixed 🔶.
These are the V2 specific APIs and whether we expect them to work as expected ✅ or not 🛑, or there are issues still to be fixed 🔶.
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{% include alert-info.html content="It is important that we work with the community to establish how these APIs work. As such they are subject to change as we get feedback and iterate on them.
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When they are finalised, we will notify people via the [DAL, Editors and Devices](https://microbit.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e1c30f24b90ff3d70275cfff2&id=25403c7650) newsletter." %}
| On loud/quiet sound `input.onSound(SoundType.Loud)` - Triggers after a transition from quiet-loud/loud-quiet, so 'on quiet' will trigger after a loud sound but not continuously |{: width="125"} | ✅ ||
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| Set pin touch type `pins.touchSetType(TouchTarget.P0, TouchType.Resistive)`- capacitive/resistive - Logo is capacitive, large pins are resistive by default. |{: width="650"} | ✅ ||
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| On Logo pressed `input.onLogoPressed()`|{: width="125"} | ✅ ||
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| On logo released `input.onLogoReleased()`|{: width="125"} | ✅ ||
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| Logo is pressed `input.logoIsPressed()`|{: width="150"} | ✅ ||
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| Set on-board speaker On/Off `music.setOnBoardSpeakerEnable(false)` - Edge connector will still output sound |{: width="650"} | ✅ ||
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| Set sound threshold level `input.setSoundThreshold(SoundType.Loud, 128)` - 0-255 threshold for triggering a 'loud' or 'quiet' sound |{: width="650"} | ✅ ||
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| Sound level - returns a filtered 'noise level' not raw microphone samples, useful for eg. 'how noisy is my classroom?' `input.soundLevel()`|{: width="125"} | 🔶 On battery, the 'soundLevel' reported for quiet sounds is higher than the level reported on USB. |[codal-microbit#131](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/codal-microbit/issues/131)|
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| Play sound `soundExpression.giggle.play()`/`soundExpression.giggle.playUntilDone()` - Play from a selection of pre-defined sound emoji |{: width="650"} | ✅ ||
| Check if a loud/quiet sound occurred since the last call to was_sound() |`microbit.microphone.was_sound(microbit.microphone.LOUD)`| ✅ ||
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| Get history of sounds since last call to get_sounds() |`microbit.microphone.get_sounds()`| ✅ ||
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| Set threshold for sound 0-255 |`microbit.microphone.set_threshold(microbit.microphone.LOUD, 128)`| ✅ ||
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| Get current sound level in range 0-255 |`microbit.microphone.sound_level()`| ✅ ||
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| Logo is touched |`microbit.pin_logo.is_touched()`| ✅ ||
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## How do I use the new features?
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The **speaker** works in the same way you would expect when you connect up your headphones or an external speaker to the micro:bit. By default, the sound output will be on both the speaker and Edge connector.
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To access the features of the latest revision only (eg. to output sound only on the speaker and not the edge connector), you will need to add additional code to your programs. This ensures that the default editor experience continues to work for everyone, regardless of the board revision.
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Features that are common to all board variants will work in the same way they always have. For example, you will be able to use the same blocks in MakeCode to use the acceleromater on any board revision.
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Features that are common to all board variants will work in the same way they always have. For example, you will be able to use the same blocks in MakeCode to use the accelerometer on any board revision.
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### Makecode
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You can use the latest board revision in the beta editor [https://makecode.microbit.org/beta](https://makecode.microbit.org/beta) alongside the current revision.
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You can use the latest board revision in the live micro:biteditor [https://makecode.microbit.org](https://makecode.microbit.org) alongside the current revision.
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#### Using the new features in MakeCode beta
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#### Using the new features in MakeCode
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The Microphone and Logo touch features can be found in the Input menu
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### Python
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You can use the latest board revision and APIs in the Python beta editor:
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You can use the latest board revision and APIs in the Python editor:
| Stop music on pin |`music.stop(pin=microbit.pin_speaker)`|
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| Set the volume 0-255 |`microbit.set_volume(128)`|
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| Get current sound loud/quiet |`microbit.microphone.current_sound()`|
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| Check current sound == loud/quiet |`microbit.microphone.current_sound() == microbit.microphone.LOUD`|
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| Check if a loud/quiet sound occurred since the last call to was_sound() |`microbit.microphone.was_sound(microbit.microphone.LOUD)`|
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| Get history of sounds since last call to get_sounds() |`microbit.microphone.get_sounds()`|
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| Set threshold for sound 0-255 |`microbit.microphone.set_threshold(microbit.microphone.LOUD, 128)`|
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| Get current sound level in range 0-255 |`microbit.microphone.sound_level()`|
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| Logo is touched |`microbit.pin_logo.is_touched()`|
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## Universal Hex Format
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The editors and apps are compatible with and will let you download and flash a file to any micro:bit revision. This is called a **Universal Hex** file. A clear indication that you are working with this format is that a compiled .hex file will be ~1.8Mb as opposed to ~700Kb in size.
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A **Universal Hex** hex file will work on a V1 or V2 board.
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A clear indication that you are working with this format is that a compiled .hex file will be ~1.8Mb as opposed to ~700Kb in size.
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A [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex) has been written to implement the format and associated detailed [specification of the Universal Hex format](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/universal-hex/).
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A [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex) has been written to implement the format and associated detailed [specification of the Universal Hex format]https://github.com/microbit-foundation/spec-universal-hex).
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## Universal Hex Creator
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We have created a [Universal Hex Creator](../universal-hex-creator) tool, to easily create a .hex file that will support all micro:bit variants.
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This tool is based on the [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex).
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## Universal Hex Creator
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We have created a [Universal Hex Creator](../universal-hex-creator) tool, to easily create a .hex file that will support all micro:bit variants.
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This tool is based on the [Universal Hex JavaScript Library](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex).
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The Universal Hex Creator lets you combine a hex file created for a micro:bit V1 device and a hex file created for a V2 device, resulting in a Universal Hex format that is compatible with all revisions of the micro:bit.
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DAPLink will process the Universal Hex and only write data to the relevant board revision; V1 or V2. More information is available on our [Hex format](../hex-format) page and the [Javascript/Typescript libary](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex) on which the Universal Hex Creator tool is based.
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DAPLink will process the Universal Hex and only write data to the relevant board revision; V1 or V2. More information is available on our [Hex format](../hex-format), the [Javascript/Typescript libary](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/microbit-universal-hex) on which the Universal Hex Creator tool is based and the associated [Universal Hex specification](https://github.com/microbit-foundation/spec-universal-hex).
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To support [cross-device compatibility](../hex-format/#cross-device-compatibility), we have created a [standalone error hex](/docs/software/assets/stand-alone-error-v1.hex) that can be combined with a V2 only hex in this tool to produce a Hex that will work on a V2 board, but error if used on a V1.
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