New function radio.is_on()

[hickford]

Hi. While the display module has functions on() off() and is_on(), the radio module has only on() and off(). Have you considered adding an is_on() function to query the state?

To save power, my program turns the radio off in certain modes. I'd like to check whether the radio is on before calling receive(). Currently I keep track of that in a separate variable.

[ntoll]

Hmm... I'm playing devil's advocate here - perhaps its a good thing to keep track of mode in the separate variable rather than checking if the radio if on? Or am I missing how your code works? Perhaps you could share your use case?

In not against adding an is_on() function to the radio module, but I'd like to understand your use case further.

[hickford]

Hi Nicholas. Thanks for your reply. My two microbits function as a remote control and receiver. They remote only sends, the receiver only receives. Nevertheless, so I can't mix them up, they run the same code. Check for button press, send message, check for received message, act on it, repeat.

if button_b.was_pressed():
    radio.send("B")

received = radio.receive()
if received:
    act()

This worked fine. Then I had an idea to save power on the remote, which runs on battery. The idea was to turn off the radio between button presses. This broke radio.receive() above which assumes the radio is on. Hence I'd like to test that first:

if radio.is_on():
    received = radio.receive()

It was easy enough to workaround with a separate variable, I just thought radio.is_on() might complete the symmetry of the API.