i2c Read Number

Read one number from an I2C address using a specified number format.

pins.i2cReadNumber(0, NumberFormat.Int8LE, false);

Simulator: This function needs real hardware to work with. It’s not supported in the simulator.

Parameters

address: the 7-bit I2C address of the device you want to read a number from.
format: the NumberFormat of the number value to read.
repeated: if true, don’t send a stop condition after the read. Otherwise, a stop condition is sent when false (the default).

Repeated start

A repeated start condition is set to help make sure that when you want to read multiple numbers from the device at one time, it can happen without interruption. A start conditon is sent (if repeated is true) each time a number is read without a matching stop condition. When the last number is read, the stop conditon can be sent by setting repeated to false. For single reads, don’t use repeated or set it to false.

Reserved addresses

Some sensors on your micro:bit use the same I2C bus that is connected to the pins that you program. This means that you should be careful to NOT use an address for your device that is the same as the any of the ones used by the sensors on the board. Check the I2C sensor addresses list before you assign one to your device. This will help you keep the addresses separate.

Bus address format

The micro:bit uses 7-bit values to address the devices connected on the I2C bus. Before an address is transmitted, it is adjusted temporarily to an 8-bit value so that the valid address bits are sent properly. This means that the value of an 8-bit address present on the bus will appear as twice that of what you specified. This is fine though, since the device you are addressing will decode it to match the address you gave. If your device address is specified as an 8-bit address, you will need to use an address that is half that value when you read to or write from it.

Returns

a number from the device with the NumberFormat you asked for.

Examples

Read a big endian number from a device

The following example reads a number in big-endian, 16-bit, unsigned integer format from the 7-bit I2C address 32.

Read a number from the device at a 7-bit I2C address as a 16-bit number. The 16, big-endian, and integer chosen for the format.

let inValue = pins.i2cReadNumber(32, NumberFormat.UInt16BE, false);

Repeated reads

Read three bytes from a device at address 33 at one time.

let nums: number[] = []

nums[0] = pins.i2cReadNumber(33, NumberFormat.UInt8LE, true)
nums[1] = pins.i2cReadNumber(33, NumberFormat.UInt8LE, true)
nums[2] = pins.i2cReadNumber(33, NumberFormat.UInt8LE, false)