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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Text positioning
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aaaaaaaargh Newbie  Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Hello everyone! I have just take my first small steps with the picomite. What a fantastic system and what great documentation! As a Basic enthusiast I feel right at home here, the forum looks like a friendly place with loads of useful information. On that subject: How do I print something to a certain screen location. I can't find a "LOCATE row,column" like function. I am using a Pico 2 and Teraterm. I have found a PRINT @(X,Y) command but X and Y have to be specified in pixels, that seems odd for a serial terminal. When using pixel-like coordinates e.g. PRINT @(100,100) "Hello", the text is positioned somewhat away from top/left edge so I'm assuming there is some multiplication factor needed? I'm sure I missed something obvious... Thanks, Arthur |
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thwill Guru  Joined: 16/09/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4378 |
Hi Arthur, It's one of those gnarly parts of MMBasic, I haven't got H/W in-front of me, but try getting the values of MM.INFO(FONTHEIGHT) and MM.INFO(FONTWIDTH) and using those as multipliers for the font you aren't using  .If you are accessing the PicoMite through a serial console then you can also PRINT the ANSI escape codes to move the terminal cursor. Best wishes, Tom MMBasic for Linux, Game*Mite, CMM2 Welcome Tape, Creaky old text adventures |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8964 |
Ah... confusion reigns. lol Welcome to the forum, Arthur. :) When you have a serial connection to a Picomite you aren't strictly controlling an ASCII device from an ASCII terminal at all. You are at the command line (console) of a device with full graphics capabilities in its own right. You have to think of it along those lines. When you do it makes sense, you can't specify a character position on such a system as the resolution is naturally in pixels, not characters. The character size is set by the font in use. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| aaaaaaaargh Newbie Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Thanks to both of you, it makes sense to me now. I used Const my=MM.Info(FONTHEIGHT) Const mx=MM.Info(FONTWIDTH) For x = 2 To 70 For y = 2 To 20 Print @(x*mx,y*my) "X", Next Next to get characters positioned correctly. So this is to keep it sort of compatible with a graphic screen, I guess. But for now i'll only be using Teraterm so i'm going to use vt100 sequences. I found some nice examples elsewhere in this forum :-) Thanks for the quick response! Edited 2026-07-20 20:57 by aaaaaaaargh |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2002 |
aaaaaaaargh as on the Parallax forum?  Welcome. The PicoMite makes a great front-end for the P2  |
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Martin H. Guru Joined: 04/06/2022 Location: GermanyPosts: 1485 |
Yes, I did implement 3DMonster Maze also for VT100 once. Or Mandelbrot Welcome to the forum Cheers Martin Edited 2026-07-20 22:23 by Martin H. 'no comment |
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| aaaaaaaargh Newbie Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Yes, you caught me ;-) And you, different handle over there? I guess the PicoMite and P2 would be a nice combo, needs more thinking... Edited 2026-07-20 22:34 by aaaaaaaargh |
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| aaaaaaaargh Newbie Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Cool examples! This is going to be fun. |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2002 |
Yeah, I'm Mickster over there but I figured that it was too similar to Mixtel90 for here. I was on the old KISS thread. I have two P2-Edge modules, two KISS modules and the Cluso99 module. I currently have the Edge modules talking to the (awesome) RP2350DIL modules but I am considering switching to the KISS because it is similar format to the RP2350DIL. RP2350DIL I guarantee that you'll get hooked on the PicoMite |
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| fred777 Regular Member  Joined: 01/07/2021 Location: United KingdomPosts: 97 |
Maybe get one of the new P2 sunnyside modules, that would fit the RP2350DIL nicely. And now I know about it, I will have to get an RP2350DIL, I do love a dil/dip board 😋 |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2002 |
It's nice but he lost too many pins. I'm already tight with 58 |
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| aaaaaaaargh Newbie Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Unfortunately yes... So I'm curious, how are u using the Pico as a frontend? Edited 2026-07-21 19:56 by aaaaaaaargh |
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| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2002 |
The PicoMite or ARMite H7 or CMM2 is the command processor for my bespoke CNC controls. These are not G-Code interpreting controls and five-axis is the minimum (I have 22 and 17 axis machines in the field). I specialize in Tube Forming machines that not only bend tubes but automatically load/unload themselves. The sequences can get complicated because unlike metal cutting (subtractive process), the workpiece grows. Having a BASIC interpreter running the show, cuts down development time dramatically. Furthermore, I don't want to waste the precious resources of the Prop on displays and SD storage. The PicoMite has become a serious controller in it's own right with low-level math, EIGHT PIDs, PIO, CRC, etc. Two PicoMites can even be coupled (8bit one-way or 4bit bidirectional). However, for personal satisfaction, I aim to exceed every metric of what the industry giants have and so the Prop is the only way to do this. It's really silly because we are talking ridiculous specifications that are practically useless. The book "Programming and Customizing the Propeller" introduced me to RPCs (remote procedure calls) and so I am doing similar. The PicoMite calls out to procedures on the Prop. Breaking News: St Georges Hall, Blackburn is being refurbished and they just placed an order for 4,000 chairs. They will all be made on a MicroMite-controlled CNC tube bender. Edited 2026-07-21 20:10 by PhenixRising |
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| aaaaaaaargh Newbie Joined: 18/07/2026 Location: United KingdomPosts: 6 |
Very impressive! It is always nice when Basic is used for serious stuff |
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