# Use multiple VL53L1X sensor with I2C multiplexer 8086-X **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [July 2, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412 "2020-07-02T15:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/1 "2020-07-02T15:10:52Z")
Hi, I’m using a I2C multiplexer from 8086-X, because the VL53L1X sensor are not able to change the i2c address x29 permanently. I after installation I see the following: pi@raspberrypi:~ i2cdetect -y 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f 00: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 20: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 29 -- -- -- -- -- -- 30: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 40: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 50: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 60: -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 70: UU -- -- -- -- -- -- -- and pi@raspberrypi:~ i2cdetect -y 8 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b c d e f 00: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – 10: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- 20: – -- – -- – -- – -- – 29 – -- – -- – -- 30: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- 40: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- 50: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- 60: – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- – -- 70: UU – -- – -- – -- – pi@raspberrypi:~ $ in the examples git there is a line tof = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c\_bus=1, i2c\_address=0x29) tof.open() so I tried to change it in tof1 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c\_bus=7, i2c\_address=0x29) tof1.open() and add tof2 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c\_bus=8, i2c\_address=0x29) tof2.open() starting the program I’ve got the error message: pi@raspberrypi:~/thunderborg $ sudo python dist2.py distance.py Display the distance read from the sensor. Uses the “Short Range” timing budget by default. Press Ctrl+C to exit. VL53L1X Start Ranging Address 0x29 VL53L0X\_GetDeviceInfo: Device Name : VL53L1 cut1.1 Device Type : VL53L1 Device ID : ProductRevisionMajor : 1 ProductRevisionMinor : 15 Traceback (most recent call last): File “dist2.py”, line 28, in tof2 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c\_bus=8, i2i\_address=0x29) TypeError: **init** () got an unexpected keyword argument ‘i2i\_address’ I assumed, that using different i2c busses solve the problem, but import VL53L1X seems not to support several i2c busses? Or are there further functions available to bring it up and running. I saw something like this for python bus14 = smbus.SMBus(14) bus15 = smbus.SMBus(15) this doesn’t fit in the tof-statement tof1 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c\_bus=7, i2c\_address=0x29)above? Any ideas. Many thx Peter ---
**Author:** ![Shoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Shoe](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Shoe)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 3:35pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/2 "2020-07-02T15:35:25Z")
> got an unexpected keyword argument ‘i2i\_address’ `i2i_address` is a typo, it should be `i2c_address`. When you say the 8086-x multiplexer, I take it you mean [this one](https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/i2c-multiplexer-phat-for-raspberry-pi)? I’ve not used it and the instructions are quite vague but it implies that it sets up alternate i2c busses, so your idea sounds right: ```auto tof1 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c_bus=7, i2c_address=0x29) tof2 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c_bus=8, i2c_address=0x29) ``` (By the way, if you’re posting large amounts of code add three back-ticks (`) to the start, and three at the end. The forum will format text inside those as code and make it much easier to read.) EDIT: Sorry, just realised I misread your post.Deleted a lot of irrelevant stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/3 "2020-07-02T17:00:57Z")
Hi, you are right, (beaten with blindness :-(). Now I don’t get errors starting the code. My problem now is, that ToV1 sensor measures nonsense. Mostly very short distances. I already replaced booth sensor, no change in behavior. So the sensor itself should not be the problem. Will now replace my cabling see if its a physical problem. This is my code (simple enhenced one of the GIThub examples): ````auto #!/usr/bin/env python import time import sys import signal import VL53L1X print("""distance.py Display the distance read from the sensor. Uses the "Short Range" timing budget by default. Press Ctrl+C to exit. """) tof1 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c_bus=7, i2c_address=0x29) tof1.open() tof2 = VL53L1X.VL53L1X(i2c_bus=8, i2c_address=0x29) tof2.open() tof1.start_ranging(1) # Start ranging # 0 = Unchanged # 1 = Short Range # 2 = Medium Range # 3 = Long Range tof2.start_ranging(1) running = True def exit_handler(signal, frame): global running running = False tof1.stop_ranging() tof2.stop.ranging() print() sys.exit(0) while running: distance_in_mm1 = tof1.get_distance() print("Distance ToF1: {}mm".format(distance_in_mm1)) time.sleep(5) distance_in_mm2 = tof2.get_distance() print("Distance ToF2: {}mm".format(distance_in_mm2)) time.sleep(5) ``` regardly Peter ```` ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 5:16pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/4 "2020-07-02T17:16:22Z")
Hi, in the exit handler stop statement there is a mistake, but this has no influence to the sensor, sorry, cut&paste error. Peter ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 9:14am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/5 "2020-07-06T09:14:21Z")
Hi, I changed all all possible hardware wiring etc. I got no errors, but the the measurment of the two ToF sensors are most wrong. Massively to short, sometimes ToV2 show the same values as ToV1. I assume that the seperation of the two i2c-busses are not working probably. Any ideas. Peter ---
**Author:** ![Shoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Shoe](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Shoe)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/6 "2020-07-07T22:00:47Z")
I honestly have no idea why that would happen. I saw that you opened an issue on Github, hopefully Phil has some suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 7:22am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/7 "2020-07-08T07:22:38Z")
Hi, hope to … no respond from Phil yet :-( Peter ---
**Author:** ![Shoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Shoe](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Shoe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/8 "2020-07-09T13:33:18Z")
I get the impression that Phil is very busy these days. However, I’ve just glanced through the Github page again and noticed someone else has already brought this up: [Multiple VL53L1X on RPi with software I2C not working #33](https://github.com/pimoroni/vl53l1x-python/issues/33) Phil has an experimental fix which [seems to work](https://github.com/pimoroni/vl53l1x-python/pull/34) but hasn’t been folded into the main repository of code yet. You could try uninstalling the sensor module, and reinstalling the [fork with the experimental fix](https://github.com/pimoroni/vl53l1x-python/tree/multiple-i2c-bus-support) and see if that works. ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 2:54pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/9 "2020-07-09T14:54:52Z")
Hi, my thx for your hints, I bought a TCA9548A i2c mux in the meanwhile, just soldered it :-), but I check your hint and will test it too because the handling with the 8086 one using different smb buses for me is more straight forward …As soon as I have the result, I will post it here. Many thx again an have a nice evening … Peter ---
**Author:** ![Shoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Shoe](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Shoe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/10 "2020-07-09T16:43:01Z")
If I remember right the 8086 mux uses the TCA9548A, and the conversation about this bug suggested it was an issue on the Raspberry Pi’s end, so I’m not sure a different version of the breakout will do you much good. ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 9:41am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/11 "2020-07-10T09:41:18Z")
Hi, many thx for your hint… I have a question installing the fork version. I think this is the right github side: > **[pimoroni/vl53l1x-python](https://github.com/pimoroni/vl53l1x-python/tree/multiple-i2c-bus-support)** > > Python library for the VL53L1X Laser Ranger. Contribute to pimoroni/vl53l1x-python development by creating an account on GitHub. Could I simply use the ``` sudo pip install vl53l1x command on this side below or do I have install the code manually. I tried to use [git@github.com](mailto:git@github.com):pimoroni/vl53l1x-python.git but this doesn’t work on the my raspi zero. Or do I have intall it manually and if yes, is there an instruction how to do this? Many thx in advance. Peter ---
**Author:** ![Shoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Shoe](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Shoe)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 10:33am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/12 "2020-07-10T10:33:29Z")
Honestly, I’ve not used branches before but try: ```auto git clone https://github.com/pimoroni/vl53l1x-python.git -b multiple-i2c-bus-support ``` Then go into the directory and run the install script: ```auto sudo ./install.sh ``` ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/13 "2020-07-10T12:30:47Z")
Hi unfortunatelly, it seems, that it’s not probably installed. Not all neceessary files installed. Now one is requested, which I couldn’t find on the raspi (not matter using find, locate etc.) I tried several hints from PIP install, but I always get any errors … Peter ---
**Author:** ![pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pete](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/pete)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/use-multiple-vl53l1x-sensor-with-i2c-multiplexer-8086-x/14412/14 "2020-07-11T15:31:58Z")
Hi, I tried to install it in different ways … but I suck by this message: pi@raspberrypi:~/robi/vl53l1x-python-multiple-i2c-bus-support/examples $ sudo ./dis2.py Traceback (most recent call last): File “./dis2.py”, line 7, in import VL53L1X File “/home/pi/robi/vl53l1x-python-multiple-i2c-bus-support/examples/VL53L1X.py”, line 80, in raise OSError(‘Could not find vl53l1x\_python.so’) OSError: Could not find vl53l1x\_python.so It seems a shared Phyton lib, but I can’t find a solution for it. Peter