Magicbit development kit for IoT review - Part 1 Unboxing

Being a passionate IoT enthusiast, I recently embarked on a quest to find an affordable development kit to help me grasp the fundamentals of IoT. Learning about IoT can be quite overwhelming if one does not have access to the right equipment and resources.

To get started you will need to learn about

• ?the basics of electronics, electronic components & simulation platforms?such as Autodesk Tinkercad, Autocad or Kicad
• the basics of programming (Arduino, C#/C++, MicroPython, Web development)
• using IoT boards and sensors such as Arduino Uno, Magicbit, or MicroBit
• ?using cloud solutions to easily develop IoT applications example Azure, AWS, and Magicblocks.io platform

Given the complexity of IoT, it is essential to identify the right hardware for your projects that is user-friendly and cost-effective.

After evaluating the cost, ease of use, and hardware specifications of various development boards, I decided to go with Magicbit.

?Unboxing

So, let's start by unboxing the Magicbit development kit. The kit comes in a compact box that contains the Magicbit board, sensors, a USB cable, a battery connector, wires, a user manual, Magicblocks coupon, and a "Code like a Ninja" sticker.

The first thing you will notice about the Magicbit board is its small size, which makes it very portable and easy to work with. It comes equipped with various components onboard, including push buttons, LED, OLED display, LDR, Potentiometer,?battery connector, Micro USB, ESP32 module, and a motor driver all on a single board. The board also has inbuilt WiFi and Bluetooth capabilities.

The buttons and LEDs are useful for user input and feedback, while the OLED display provides a simple and clear way to display information. The battery connector allows you to power the board using the batteries, while the motor controller allows you to control a motor with ease. The function of the potentiometer is to change a value when rotated.

The Magicbit board supports a range of add-on sensors/ output modules, allowing you to attach a wide range of components to the board. Here are the modules that came with the Magicbit IoT kit

Tilt Sensor- detects the incline or motion of an object

• Temperature & humidity sensor - Measures temperature and humidity in the environment
• Motion sensor- detects the motion of humans or animals
• Proximity sensor- identify close objects without touching
• IR Emitter- Transmits IR signal patterns
• IR Receiver-?detects signals from IR remote
• Soil moisture sensor- determines the moisture level in the soil
• Servo motor- a motor to control the angle of rotation
• Ultrasonic sensor- measures the distance for a target object
• Li-Ion Battery
• Jumper wires

These modules can be easily attached to the Magicbit board using the onboard connectors, which makes it easy to add new functionality to your IoT project.

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Getting started with Magicbit

To start using the Magicbit board, simply connect it to your computer using the USB cable provided. The board should be recognized by your computer as a USB serial port.

You can then use the Magicbit platform, Magicblocks?to program the board using a simple and intuitive visual programming language. Magicblocks is based on the popular open-source nodeRED IoT platform. Magicblocks functions include

1. Manages devices in your network by adding or removing devices
2. Receives data from the devices & stores it for future use.
3. Controls the functions of the devices, set the way you should respond to different events & sensor inputs.
4. Displays data gathered on intuitive dashboards
5. integrates with other services like social networks and email

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Use this link, https://magicblocks.io/?to launch Magicblocks

Click on the sign-up button to create an account, and log in. You will be required to verify your account from your email.

As a Magicblocks user, you can benefit from a complimentary 1-year subscription. The Magicbit IoT Kit contains a coupon for Magicblocks in its packaging. To subscribe to the Standard Subscription, simply enter the coupon code provided in the Subscription tab on the Magicbit device. If you don't have a valid subscription, the playground will only be available for 1 hour of continuous use before it automatically stops. After that, you will need to wait for 1 hour before starting the playground again.

The platform comes with a range of example programs that you can use to get started quickly.

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Summary

The Magicbit development kit is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in IoT device development. It offers the opportunity to explore various IoT solutions such as circuits, sensing, embedded programming, communication (WiFi and Bluetooth), cloud, and IoT backend platforms. This versatile and powerful development board is suitable for both beginners and advanced learners who wish to create a wide range of IoT applications. The Magicbit ecosystem provides hardware kits, software, and learning resources to support IoT application development. If you're looking for an easy-to-use and powerful development board for your IoT project, the Magicbit board is definitely worth considering.

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