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rp2040-bit
Hardware

A Microbit inspired RP2040 board

by 2b4a3pico71

This is an RP2040:bit Board Based On Raspberry Pi Microcontroller RP2040 but is the same size and pinout as the BBC Micro:bit which is another favourite board of ours

So much so we have a website dedicated to it but that's another story – http://microbitlearning.com/ for the record.

Anyway here is an image of the board so you can see for yourself

rp2040-bit

Features

The board has the following features

On-board W25Q16 16M flash Memory chip
On-board 5×5 LED matrix, each LED can be programmed separately.
On-board two programmable buttons.

You get 2 headers which you can solder on, if you want the pico pinout on the back. Other wise its this Microbit type pinout

rp2040-bit-board

Pin Description
0 KEYA
1 KEYB
10 GPIO that is used for the serial clock (SCK) signal of the 3-wire Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus.
11 GPIO that is used for the Master Out Slave In (MOSI) signal of the SPI bus.
12 GPIO that is used for the Master In Slave Out (MISO) signal of the SPI bus.
13 CSn
17 These pins are wired to the 3V supply
18,19 Implement the clock signal (SCL) and data line (SDA) of the I2C bus communication protocol. With I2C, several devices can be connected on the same bus and send/read messages to and from the CPU.
29 ADC3

Development

You can use Micropython, Arduino or the C++ SDK.

Its an RP2040, so you can use your typical development environment.

I went for micropython and for me the easiest development environment is Thonny.

rom machine import Pin
import time
led_Col=[2,3,4,5,25,7,8,9,21,22];
Pin(led_Col[0], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[1], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[2], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[3], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[4], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[5], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[6], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[7], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[8], Pin.OUT)
Pin(led_Col[9], Pin.OUT)
buttonA= Pin(0, Pin.IN, Pin.PULL_UP)
buttonB = Pin(1, Pin.IN, Pin.PULL_UP)
while 1:
    
    for i in range(len(led_Col)):
        
        i>5
        
        j=Pin(led_Col[i], Pin.OUT)
       
        Pin(led_Col[0], Pin.OUT).low()
        Pin(led_Col[1], Pin.OUT).low()
        Pin(led_Col[2], Pin.OUT).low()
        Pin(led_Col[3], Pin.OUT).low()
        Pin(led_Col[4], Pin.OUT).low()
        Pin(led_Col[5], Pin.OUT).high()
        Pin(led_Col[6], Pin.OUT).high()
        Pin(led_Col[7], Pin.OUT).high()
        Pin(led_Col[8], Pin.OUT).high()
        Pin(led_Col[9], Pin.OUT).high()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
            
        j.high()
        Pin(led_Col[5], Pin.OUT).low()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
        
        j.high()
        Pin(led_Col[6], Pin.OUT).low()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
        
        j.high()
        Pin(led_Col[7], Pin.OUT).low()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
        j.high()
        Pin(led_Col[8], Pin.OUT).low()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
        j.high()
        Pin(led_Col[9], Pin.OUT).low()
        
        time.sleep(0.2)
            
        if (buttonA.value()==0):
            
            Pin(led_Col[0], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[1], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[2], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[3], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[4], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[5], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[6], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[7], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[8], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[9], Pin.OUT).high() 
        
            time.sleep(0.5)
        
        elif (buttonB.value()==0):
            Pin(led_Col[0], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[1], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[2], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[3], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[4], Pin.OUT).high()
            Pin(led_Col[5], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[6], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[7], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[8], Pin.OUT).low()
            Pin(led_Col[9], Pin.OUT).low()        
        
            time.sleep(0.5)

What you will see with this example is the following

The LEDs lights up one by one.
When button A is pressed, the first horizontal row of LEDs on the top will light up.
When button B is pressed, the row near button B lights

Pricing

You can get this board for under £7 from Aliexpress, which in my opinion is a bit of a steal. There of course may be some shipping charges

Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 bit board
Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 bit kit
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Nano RP2040 Connect
Hardware

the Nano RP2040 Connect from Arduino

by 2b4a3pico71

In this article we take a look at the Nano RP2040 Connect from Arduino.

The Nano as well as having an RP2040 microcontroller onboard has native Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity via a Nina W102 uBlox module. There is also a combined accelerometer and gyroscope, an Omnidirectional Digital Microphone and a Cryptographic Co-processor.

There are 20 Digital IO pins, 8 Analogue, 20 PWM and 20 External Interrupts. UART, SPI and I2C busses provide peripheral connectivity.

The Nano RP2040 Connect also features a built-in RGB LED that you can use in your application. It should be noted that while using the BLE mode on the NINA module, the RGB LED cannot be used.

While the module is in BLE mode, SPI is deactivated, this is used to control the RGBs.

Nano RP2040 Connect

Specs

Here are the specs of the board

Board Name Arduino® Nano RP2040 Connect
USB connector Micro USB
Pins Built-in LED Pin 13
Digital I/O Pins 20
Analog input pins 8
PWM pins 20 (except A6, A7)
External interrupts 20 (except A6, A7)
Connectivity Wi-Fi Nina W102 uBlox module
Bluetooth Nina W102 uBlox module
Secure element ATECC608A-MAHDA-T Crypto IC
Sensors IMU LSM6DSOXTR (6-axis)
Microphone MP34DT05
Communication UART Yes
I2C Yes
SPI Yes
Power Circuit operating voltage 3.3V
Input voltage (VIN) 5-21V
DC Current per I/O Pin 4 mA
Clock speed Processor 133 MHz
Memory AT25SF128A-MHB-T 16MB Flash IC
Nina W102 uBlox module 448 KB ROM, 520KB SRAM, 16MB Flash
Dimensions Weight 6 g
Width 18 mm
Length 45 mm

Lets look at some of the additional features and hardware of this board

MP34DT05 microphone

The MP34DT05-A is an ultra-compact, low-power, omnidirectional, digital MEMS microphone built with a capacitive sensing element and an IC interface. The sensing element, capable of detecting acoustic waves, is manufactured using a specialized silicon micromachining process dedicated to producing audio sensors.

The IC interface is manufactured using a CMOS process that allows designing a dedicated circuit able to provide a digital signal externally in PDM format.

The MP34DT05-A is a low-distortion digital microphone with a 64 dB signal-to-noise ratio and –26 dBFS ±3 dB sensitivity.

LSM6DSOXTR

The LSM6DSOX is a system-in-package featuring a 3D digital accelerometer and a 3D digital gyroscope boosting performance at 0.55 mA in high-performance mode and enabling always-on low-power features for an optimal motion experience for the consumer.

The LSM6DSOX supports main OS requirements, offering real, virtual and batch sensors with 9 kbytes for dynamic data batching. ST’s family of MEMS sensor modules leverages the robust and mature manufacturing processes already used for the production of micromachined accelerometers and gyroscopes.

The various sensing elements are manufactured using specialized micromachining processes, while the IC interfaces are developed using CMOS technology that allows the design of a dedicated circuit which is trimmed to better match the characteristics of the sensing element.

The LSM6DSOX has a full-scale acceleration range of ±2/±4/±8/±16 g and an angular rate range of ±125/±250/±500/±1000/±2000 dps.

Nina W102 uBlox module

The NINA-W10 series are stand-alone multi radio MCU modules that integrate a powerful microcontroller (MCU) and a radio for wireless communication.

With the open CPU architecture, customers can develop advanced applications running on the dual core 32-bit MCU.

The radio provides support for Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and Bluetooth v4.2 (Bluetooth BR/EDR and Bluetooth low energy)communications.

Arduino support

You can add support for the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect by doing the following

  • Open the board manager from Tools > Board – Board Manager.
  • Search for rp2040 and install the Arduino Mbed OS Nano Boards package – accept any pop-ups.
  • Close the board manager and return to the IDE.

Python

The Arduino IDE does not yet support Python.

Instead, we can use OpenMV, a platform that supports programming Arduino boards with MicroPython. Through the OpenMV editor, we can install MicroPython, and upload scripts directly to the board.

Purchase

Amazon : Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect with Headers

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MakerPiPico
Hardware

The Maker Pi Pico A Project Board For The Raspberry Pi Pico

by 2b4a3pico71

In this article we look at another Raspberry Pi Pico board, this one is the Cytron Maker Pi Pico and its a good one.

The Maker Pi Pico is a board for the Raspberry Pi Pico, it comes in 2 variants one of these has a Raspberry Pi Pico soldered and the other one you can add your own Pi Pico

The Maker Pi Pico can be programmed with CircuitPython, MicroPython and C/C++. Its as easy as connecting to any computer via USB, then drag and drop the file onto it to upload the program.

Here is an image of a populated board which also shows some of the on board features and its pinout

MakerPiPico

Features

  • A Raspberry Pi Pico is included and is already soldered to the board
  • There are 2 20 pin headers which provide easy access to all Raspberry Pi Pico’s pins
  • There are LED indicators connected to all GPIO pins
  • There are 3 x programmable push buttons which are connected to GP 20-22
  • There is a NeoPixel RGB LED which is connected to GP 28
  • There is a Piezo buzzer which is connected to GP 18
  • There is a 3.5mm stereo audio jack  which is connected to GP18-19
  • There is an Micro SD card slot which is connected to GP10-15
  • There is an ESP-01 socket which is connected to GP16-17
  • There are 6x Grove ports

So as you can see there are a few features on board that mean you can get up and running straight away with the on board devices

Links

https://github.com/CytronTechnologies/MAKER-PI-PICO
Maker Pi Pico Datasheet
Maker Pi Pico Schematic Rev1.0.0-1.1.0 & Rev1.2.0.

Purchase

Aliexpress Link

Examples

Here are some basic examples using the resources on the board

Blink an LED example

The common blink an LED using Micropython

import machine
import utime

# LED BLINKING

led = machine.Pin(10, machine.Pin.OUT)   # set pin 10 as OUTPUT
       
while True:    
    led.toggle()     # toggle LED
    utime.sleep(0.5) # sleep 500ms

 

RGB led example

This is a basic RGB example in Micropython using the on board led

import array, time
from machine import Pin
import rp2
from rp2 import PIO, StateMachine, asm_pio

# Configure the number of WS2812 LEDs
# - There's 1x built-in RGB LED on Maker Pi Pico board
NUM_LEDS = 1

@asm_pio(sideset_init=PIO.OUT_LOW, out_shiftdir=PIO.SHIFT_LEFT,
autopull=True, pull_thresh=24)
def ws2812():
    T1 = 2
    T2 = 5
    T3 = 3
    label("bitloop")
    out(x, 1) .side(0) [T3 - 1]
    jmp(not_x, "do_zero") .side(1) [T1 - 1]
    jmp("bitloop") .side(1) [T2 - 1]
    label("do_zero")
    nop() .side(0) [T2 - 1]

# Create the StateMachine with the ws2812 program, outputting on pin GP28 (Maker Pi Pico).
sm = StateMachine(0, ws2812, freq=8000000, sideset_base=Pin(28))

# Start the StateMachine, it will wait for data on its FIFO.
sm.active(1)

# Display a pattern on the LEDs via an array of LED RGB values.
ar = array.array("I", [0 for _ in range(NUM_LEDS)])

while True:
    print("blue")
    for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
        ar[i] = 255
    sm.put(ar,8)
    time.sleep_ms(1000)

    print("red")
    for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
        ar[i] = 255<<8          # shift 8 bits to the left
    sm.put(ar,8)
    time.sleep_ms(1000)

    print("green")
    for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
        ar[i] = 255<<16         # shift 16 bits to the left
    sm.put(ar,8)
    time.sleep_ms(1000)

    print("white")
    for i in range(NUM_LEDS):
        ar[i] = 0xFFFFFF
    sm.put(ar,8)
    time.sleep_ms(1000)

 

Summary

If you want to get started with the Raspberry Pi Pico then this is a ideal starting point, it has enough extra features for beginners on the board and at a low enough price to be worth a purchase.

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raspberry pi pico w
Hardware

A look at the Raspberry Pi Pico W

by 2b4a3pico71

This board is the Raspberry Pi Pico W which added wireless capability to the Raspberry Pi Pico range and the price is starting at a mere $6 for the board. So a bit of a bargain really for makers, lets look at a picture of this board

As the owner of a RP2040 site and one that covers many products it obviously gives me great pleasure to see new products being launched and especially products from the Raspberry Pi foundation. The latest board is the Raspberry Pi Pico W which adds wireless capabilities to the Raspberry Pi Pico range and the price is starting at a mere $6 for the board. PICO-WPICO-W There are actually 3 slight variations and these are Raspberry Pi Pico W brings 802.11n wireless networking Pico H ($5) and Pico WH ($7) add pre-populated headers, and introduce a new 3-pin debug connector, to Pico and Pico W respectively. The Raspberry Pi Pico W uses the same RP2040 microcontroller, here is a recap of the microcontroller features including the new features highlighted in bold Features Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz 264kB on-chip SRAM 2MB on-board QSPI flash 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN (Raspberry Pi Pico W and WH only) 26 multifunction GPIO pins which include 3 analogue inputs 2 × UART, 2 × SPI controllers, 2 × I2C controllers, 16 × PWM channels 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support 8 × Programmable I/O state machines for custom peripheral support Supported input power 1.8–5.5V DC Operating temperature -20°C to +85°C (Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico H); -20°C to +70°C (Raspberry Pi Pico W and Pico WH) Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards (Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W only) Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB Low-power sleep and dormant modes Accurate on-chip clock Temperature sensor Accelerated integer and floating-point libraries on-chip The CYW43439 wireless chip from Infineon is used to supply the wireless lan functionality, interestingly the chip also says that it has bluetooth support which is not yet available in this board, lets hope they add that as well. The SDK has already got support for wireless networking, other platforms may or may not work. There is also a uf2 image with networking support available Now, in the UK these are in short supply often only available in quantities of 1 but I have a couple and we will be looking at the board in more detail in upcoming articles Summary The original Pico sold over 2 million units, now by adding wireless support you now have a true IoT platform with many add-on boards, great documentation and all for a low price. This might be another game changer for makers Links UF2 image with networking support Connecting to the internet PDF

There are actually 3 slight variations  to this board and these are

The Raspberry Pi Pico W brings 802.11n wireless networking

The Pico H ($5) and Pico WH ($7) add pre-populated headers, and introduce a new 3-pin debug connector, to Pico and Pico W respectively.

The Raspberry Pi Pico W uses the RP2040 microcontroller, here is a recap of the microcontroller features including the new features highlighted in bold from the original Raspberry Pi Pico

Features

  • Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz
  • 264kB on-chip SRAM
  • 2MB on-board QSPI flash
  • 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN (Raspberry Pi Pico W and WH only)
  • 26 multifunction GPIO pins which include 3 analogue inputs
  • 2 × UART, 2 × SPI controllers, 2 × I2C controllers, 16 × PWM channels
  • 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support
  • 8 × Programmable I/O  state machines for custom peripheral support
  • Supported input power 1.8–5.5V DC
  • Operating temperature -20°C to +85°C (Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico H); -20°C to +70°C (Raspberry Pi Pico W and Pico WH)
  • Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards (Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W only)
  • Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB
  • Low-power sleep and dormant modes
  • Accurate on-chip clock
  • Temperature sensor
  • Accelerated integer and floating-point libraries on-chip

The CYW43439 wireless chip from Infineon is used to supply the wireless lan functionality, interestingly the chip also says that it has bluetooth support which is not yet available in this board, lets hope they add that as well.

The SDK has already got support for wireless networking, other platforms may or may not work. There is also a uf2 image with networking support available

Now, in the UK these are in short supply often only available in quantities of 1 but I have a couple and we will be looking at the board in more detail in upcoming articles

 

Links

UF2 image with networking support

Connecting to the internet PDF

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raspberry-pi-pico-pinout
Hardware

A look at the original Raspberry Pi Pico

by 2b4a3pico71

This is not a SBC like a standard  Raspberry Pi, in that you cannot run an operating system like linux on it.

Think of an  Arduino Nano from a size point of view but this board is way more powerful than an Arduino from a development point of view

You can experiment by adding hardware like lcds, sensors and other modules to it. Lets look at this board in more detail.

Requirements

You will need a USB cable and some headers, this is truly a barebones development.

You do not need an external SD card as your programs are uploaded to the onboard flash

It can be reprogrammed over USB from a Raspberry Pi or other computer using the C/C++ SDK or the official MicroPython port. At the bottom of this article we have various documentation links.

Raspberry Pi Pico PInout

This is the pinout for the Raspberry Pi Pico

raspberry-pi-pico-pinout

Raspberry Pi Pico Specifications

The main chip on board is the ‘RP2040’  which is a ARM Cortex M0+ processor, with a flexible clock running up to 133MHz.

  • RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi
  • Dual-core ARM Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz
  • 264kB of SRAM, and 2MB of onboard Flash memory
  • Castellated module allows soldering directly to carrier boards
  • USB 1.1 Host and Device support
  • Low-power sleep and dormant modes
  • Drag & drop programming using mass storage over USB
  • 26 multi-function GPIO pins
  • 2×SPI, 2×I2C, 2×UART, 3×12-bit ADC, 16×controllable PWM channels
  • Real-time clock
  • Temperature sensor
  • Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip
  • 8×Programmable IO  state machines for custom peripheral support

Add-ons

There are many add-on boards available from various companies these include the following

Pico Scroll Pack – A 7×17 grid of individually controllable white LEDs
Pico Display Pack – A 1.14″ IPS LCD screen with four buttons and a RGB LED
Pico Decker (Quad Expander) – attach up to four add-ons to a single  Raspberry Pi Pico using an expander board
Pico Omnibus (Dual Expander) – attach two add-ons to a single Raspberry Pi Pico

 

Summary

This is a low cost board which is designed to fill the low cost maker market, similar to an  Arduino. The benefits of this is unlike other development boards there is already good documentation and support

You may need a few extras and the board does not have any wifi or bluetooth capabilities but these can be added with other boards. Maybe future variants can add these capabilities.

At under £5 its well worth a purchase to experiment with

Links

Documentation for the Raspberry Pi Pico board and the RP2040 microcontroller:

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