Page 27 - Programming the Photon Getting Started With the Internet of Things

The Photon board itself is a very small form factor, as you can see in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.1 Photon board.

The two buttons on the Photon board, SETUP and RESET, allow you to configure

your Wi-Fi credentials and restart the device if needed. Combined together they also
trigger a full factory reset just in case you get into a bit of trouble with your device.

At the top of the board you will find the micro USB port, which is used to power the
board, as well as connecting it to your computer for USB programming if required.

The Photon board has a built-in chip antenna, which is fine for most indoor
applications, but the Photon also features an external socket for connecting a Wi-Fi

antenna for range extendibility and a directional antenna. The Photon board is configured
by default to always choose the most reliable method if both the chip antenna and external
antenna are used. The antenna can also be manually selected in the firmware.

Summary

By now you should be itching to get started. The Photon board is a great device for
creating IoT projects in the maker community, as well as for developing commercial

consumer products. The next chapter will show you how to set up your Photon board and
start programming your first project.