Use Python to Build a Magic SMS Button

It is time to add electronics to your 3d Printer projects. In this tutorial, I will walk you through the creation of a Magic SMS Button. I will supply all of the code so there is no programming required. You will learn about Circuit Python, the FeatherS2 ESP32 microcontroller, the MU Editor, and more.

** In the video I do not discuss verifying the "to" SMS phone number. As part of a Twilio trial account limitation, you will need to select the option to verify your phone number before successfully sending an SMS. **

Why limit your maker projects to static builds. Learn how to automate them with this tutorial. This tutorial is suitable for everyone, no programming experience is necessary.

If you want to read about this project head over to Instructables.

00:00 Introduction
03:12 Adafruit FeatherS2 ESP-32 Development Board
05:24 Soldering Headers
07:24 MU Editor and IDE
12:30 Circuit Python Library
14:44 Twilio Setup
16:50 Writing the Magic SMS Board
20:50 Testing the Button with the FeatherS2
21:37 DrVAX Circuit Python Github Repository
23:11 Loading and Testing the SMS Program

Here are some useful links:

Adafruit FeatherS2 Development Board

Mu Editor

Twilio

Amazon Affiliate Link for the Magnifying Glasses I used in the Video

Let's continue to learn together. Irv

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[tbeletti]

Let me start my first youtube comment ever by saying, DrVax, your patient, refined teaching style pulls me in like a tractor beam. I started by watching your three part Freecad series and was able to take that knowledge and immediately begin 3D modeling, and successfully, with zero prior experience. Thank you for being you!

[AlbertoFranchi]

Irv, based on your tutorial I just wrote a dozen lines of python code I embedded on a similar board. This code connects to my wi-fi and expose a web page with just a button. Clicking on the button a relay is excited for half second. The relay is connected to the remote port of a 8 track player to let me change the track remotely. It substitute the original 10 meters cable. Basically I made a 50 years old player "wireless"! Thank you! I will post a youtube video soon.

[randbasic]

Thank you Dr. Vax!
More great content. Always love projects to improve or add onto other projects!

[peterking]

Very well presented, clear concise instructions.

[woodwaker]

Great step by step guide with just enough information to make sense. I can see the advantage of this board and the breadboard, as you can use this for more projects. My guess is that you will have something else for this soon

[erikschiegg]

Python a is really _the_ 'Tony Stark Industries Iron Man hacking language', that touches everything quickly, without spending seven years in Tibet to master it.

[willieolivier]

Awesome, will follow this series intently!

[BogHopperFPV]

Love this sort of thing and the breadth of your channel content

I’d love to expand this to using a PIR sensor to notify me when someone comes to the door - and link to a video stream if possible- maybe someone else has already done that but I appreciate the way you describe the process Ken

[avejst]

Nice detour
Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us 👍😁

[dr_workaholic]

Thank you Dr. Vax For the great videos I am actually working on a very similar project

[thunderace]

I've been using Picaxe products on and off for almost 10 years. I've been thinking of moving into the Python space but never seem to get around to it. This might be just the thing to get me started.

[tasmedic]

This looks likea loda fun, Irv!
I'll probably go cheaper still and get an Arduino clone with an esp32 attached, but I can see that your solution is simpler, if a little more costly.
Twilio didn't like my Yandex email account. I gather they don't like anything to do with Russia! However, I was allowed to sign up with Gmail, even though I live in Australia and have an Australian mobile number.
Bests, and please keep this fantastic content coming!
Shalom,
Chris

[yksw]

Actually I was hoping for a "shield" and having an independent device, with SIM and phone capabilities. But that's how things go. Expectations vs reality 😊

[boatingsibbingandwandering]

There seems a heck of a lot of signing up to websites to get this to work more user names and passwords to remember I watched this and my brain now hurts

[tasmedic]

Hi Irv. I'm back again!
I had a look at some of the adafruit YouTube videos and it seems to me it's easier and cheaper (especially here in Austrlalia) to simply buy an orangepi or similar, cut down Raspberry Pi, which can do this stuff just as well, plus you get a more versatile board with more processing power, and with even more community support. I gather you can even load circuitpython onto the raspberry clones and play with it that way.
The bottom line seems that adafruit proprietary boards are fun and interesting, but less powerful and less versatile than the raspberry pi and similar, and have a bit less support. Am I wrong?

[plaiddooryakima]

May I ask why the MU editor? Which version for MU and what version of macOS? I ask because on both my Macbook Pro and my iMac running Big Sur 11.2.3, MU hung and slowed them down in the process (using 100% CPU on the core it was running on). Thanks.

[rearlcya]

Please read my comment in your video, "Sending G code to a 3-D printer from chrome."

[boatingsibbingandwandering]

Won’t any smart phone just do this far better and neater using kit most people already have with accounts they are already signed up to I think you have reinvented the wheel and made it square