Beagle Term Guide
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Beagle Term is a free Google Chrome Application that you can use to interact with microcontrollers. With Beagle Term, you can send and receive information from your microcontroller by typing computer code.
This requires Google Chrome as your web browser.
Getting started with Beagle Term
Find Beagle Term in the Google Chrome App store. You can also find it by simply searching for “Beagle Term” in Google. Click “Add to Chrome”. You will now be able to access Beagle Term any time in the “Apps” tab in Google Chrome.
Before you open Beagle Term, connect your microcontroller to the computer using the USB cable. Click on the Beagle Term icon to launch the application or use the “Launch App” button in the Google Chrome Store.
Once launched, Beagle Term will automatically detect the settings you need like the Port, Bitrate etc.
Note: Sometimes Beagle Term does not detect the Port correctly. If you are not able to connect initially, try another Port selection from the drop down menu. For Macs specifically, you will need to manually change the Port. On Macs, the Port is automatically detected as the Bluetooth port (“dev/tty.Bluetooth-Incoming-Port”), not the communication port that the microcontroller is connected to. From the drop down menu, select the port that looks closest to “dev/tty.cu.usb…”
You are ready to type code when you see >>>
Below is an example of the Beagle Term welcome screen when your microcontroller is connected properly.
If you having trouble, you can reboot your Beagle Term session at any time and start fresh by hitting Ctrl + d
Troubleshooting in Beagle Term
Often times in sensor building, your sensor may not work perfectly the first time. It is common for people to encounter problems that they need to troubleshoot. The most common errors arise from incorrect or loose wire connections or misspelled code commands.
If you find your sensor does not work, double and triple check all of your connections. Make sure you haven’t switched the position of wires or that you have plugged wires into breadboard positions that are actually connected to the rest of your circuit.
Also, it is important to type your code EXACTLY as it is written in the instructions including capital letters and underscores in the correct places. The microcontroller does what you typed, not what you meant to type. It can be frustrating and difficult to catch when you miss one small thing like a single incorrect character or letter. But don’t worry, this happens to everyone, even the most advanced programmers!
Common error messages in Beagle Term:
- SyntaxError: Invalid Syntax – This means you have typed something wrong. Maybe you have forgotten a “)” or a “:” somewhere.
- ImportError: No module named “…” – You will get this if you misspelled the name of a module you are trying to import. For example if you type “import read_temps” instead of “import read_temp” you will get this error because your micrcontroller does not have a module called “read_temps” to import.
- AttributeError: Module object contains no attribute “…” – You will get this error if you misspell the name of the function within the module you are trying to use. For example if you write “read_temp.Read_Temp()” instead of “read_temp.read_temp()” you will get this error.