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If you are an electronics hobbyist but don't want to make/design your own surface mount boards (like me) there are lots of very accessible RP2040 boards at very

by nickcw 2y ago

If you are an electronics hobbyist but don't want to make/design your own surface mount boards (like me) there are lots of very accessible RP2040 boards at very low prices. I've used it in the Raspbery Pi Pico ($5) which comes on a nice board with lots of IO. There is a W version for a bit more with WiFi. If you don't mind slightly less IO then you can order an RP-2040 Zero. I got 6 off AliExpress for about $12. These only have 23 IO pins but they have a reset button, USB-C and are tiny (1.5cm x 2.5cm). The nice thing about all of these is that they use the standard Raspberry Pi dev tools, micropython, C++ just works with convenient USB loading of the firmware.

willis936 2y ago
I like to shout out the pico ice. Most of the $30 price tag is for the UP5K tied at the hip, but for embedded projects where you have some sub-microsecond activities it's a (relatively) inexpensive option with open source tooling.
moffkalast 2y ago
Unless you're incredibly space constrained I don't really get the point of that 2040 Zero, it just costs more for fewer features. The Pico is already pretty tiny. The Pico is really good at pin interoperability at least, in the land of ESP, what appears to be lots of IO pins quickly turns into barely enough if you're lucky, with pins connected internally to flash or the bootloader or whatever. I really wonder why they even bother breaking those out. The ESP32-CAM comes with 10 data pins, and only 4 of them are actually generally usable lol.
- dgacmu 2y ago
  I think it's about the clones on aliexpress, which are about $2.50, vs $5 for the pico.
crote 2y ago
I also highly recommend shopping around for alternative RP2040-based dev boards. The official Pi Pico is surprisingly bad, and just about every alternative out there is better in one way or another. I mean, come on: no reset, huge form factor, only 2Mbit flash, micro USB - in 2024? Just about the only pro it has is that it is widely available.
- joemi 2y ago
  The Pi Pico is not a "huge form factor". It fits better on breadboard than pretty much anything with an ESP32 on it (since it's less wide), and it provides access to most of the RP2040 pins. Since the PIO can drive a lot of pins at once, this lets you really unleash the RP2040's power to do things like DVI output. Having access to more pins is something many people consider a plus not a minus. As to your other points, I wouldn't mind more flash but I don't think the amount it has is particularly small. The micro USB, though, is a disappointment, though.
- KennyBlanken 2y ago
  Given the incompetence in hardware design with nearly every Pi ever released, I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that the official Pico board is terrible as well. I mean come on, how do you fuck up USB-PD that badly? Unless you're doing it on purpose to force people to buy special power supplies sold by your vendors...
  - gsich 2y ago
    This and the shitty HDMI connectors.
steve_adams_86 2y ago
I love the tiny RP2040 boards. I’ve got a few little projects based on the adafruit QT Py. I do wish there was a wireless version. There is if you use the ESP32 QT, but not RP2040 as far as I can see.

by nickcw 2y ago

willis936 2y ago

I like to shout out the pico ice. Most of the $30 price tag is for the UP5K tied at the hip, but for embedded projects where you have some sub-microsecond activities it's a (relatively) inexpensive option with open source tooling.

moffkalast 2y ago

Unless you're incredibly space constrained I don't really get the point of that 2040 Zero, it just costs more for fewer features. The Pico is already pretty tiny. The Pico is really good at pin interoperability at least, in the land of ESP, what appears to be lots of IO pins quickly turns into barely enough if you're lucky, with pins connected internally to flash or the bootloader or whatever. I really wonder why they even bother breaking those out. The ESP32-CAM comes with 10 data pins, and only 4 of them are actually generally usable lol.

dgacmu 2y ago
I think it's about the clones on aliexpress, which are about $2.50, vs $5 for the pico.

crote 2y ago

I also highly recommend shopping around for alternative RP2040-based dev boards. The official Pi Pico is surprisingly bad, and just about every alternative out there is better in one way or another. I mean, come on: no reset, huge form factor, only 2Mbit flash, micro USB - in 2024? Just about the only pro it has is that it is widely available.

joemi 2y ago
The Pi Pico is not a "huge form factor". It fits better on breadboard than pretty much anything with an ESP32 on it (since it's less wide), and it provides access to most of the RP2040 pins. Since the PIO can drive a lot of pins at once, this lets you really unleash the RP2040's power to do things like DVI output. Having access to more pins is something many people consider a plus not a minus. As to your other points, I wouldn't mind more flash but I don't think the amount it has is particularly small. The micro USB, though, is a disappointment, though.
KennyBlanken 2y ago
Given the incompetence in hardware design with nearly every Pi ever released, I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that the official Pico board is terrible as well. I mean come on, how do you fuck up USB-PD that badly? Unless you're doing it on purpose to force people to buy special power supplies sold by your vendors...
- gsich 2y ago
  This and the shitty HDMI connectors.

steve_adams_86 2y ago

I love the tiny RP2040 boards. I’ve got a few little projects based on the adafruit QT Py. I do wish there was a wireless version. There is if you use the ESP32 QT, but not RP2040 as far as I can see.