DFPlayer library using RT TX pins

Question

I am using the DFRobotDFPlayerMini-1.0.1 library by Angelo. I am trying to use the actual RX TX pins on a Uno R3, but it doesn't connect unless I type in an alternate digital pin number. This is no good for my application as I have a major pin shortage. I have tried typing in (0,1) but that is not being accepted.

The reason for using this library is because it provides a LOOP function that works well.

1. How do I use the RX TX pins with this library?
2. Is there another library that has a good LOOP function in it?

Thanks.

Doug

Answer 1

On a classic Arduino pins 0 and 1 are used for serial communication with the host PC, so you cannot use them to talk to a peripheral without conflicting with that. The library may well be coded to trap and reject such an attempt.

On various alternate (ARM, Atmega32u4, etc) boards these pins may be usable, though the library may not be aware of that. Also on such boards you would generally want to use an available hardware UART rather than a software simulation of one, which may be fairly ATmega-specific anyway - the end result of which is that library code may well need modification to work on a non-traditional device.

Answer 2

When you say "type in (0, 1)" I suppose you mean this:

#include "Arduino.h"
#include "SoftwareSerial.h"
#include "DFRobotDFPlayerMini.h"

SoftwareSerial mySoftwareSerial(10, 11); // RX, TX
DFRobotDFPlayerMini myDFPlayer;

Reference

You cannot use (0, 1) in SoftwareSerial. However, what you could do is pass Serial to the init string:

void setup() {
  // mySoftwareSerial.begin(9600);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  // if (!myDFPlayer.begin(mySoftwareSerial)) {
  if (!myDFPlayer.begin(Serial)) {
    //Use softwareSerial to communicate with mp3.
  }

However that means you cannot use Serial for debugging. You'll have to find another way to log errors and messages.