Raspberry-Pi-Pico-Basic-Kit
Raspberry Pi Pico Basic Kit, MicroPython Programming Learning Kit

Overview

Raspberry Pi Pico is a low-cost, high-performance microcontroller board with flexible digital interfaces. It incorporates Raspberry Pi's own RP2040 microcontroller chip, with a dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor running up to 133 MHz, embedded 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of onboard Flash memory, as well as 26 x multi-function GPIO pins.
For software development, either Raspberry Pi's C/C++ SDK or the MicroPython is available. There are also complete development resources and tutorials to help you get started easily, and integrate it into end products quickly.

Features

RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom.
Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, the flexible clock running up to 133 MHz.
264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of onboard Flash memory.
Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards.
USB 1.1 with device and host support.
Low-power sleep and dormant modes.
Drag-and-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.
Accurate clock and timer on-chip.
Temperature sensor.
Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip.
8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support.

Pinout

Dimension

Software Environment Debugging

In order to facilitate the development of Pico boards using MicroPython on the computer, it is recommended to download Thonny IDE.
Download Thonny IDE and install it in steps.
- Thonny IDE download link (Windows)
- Thonny website
After installing, please configure the language and the environment for the first time. Note that we should choose the Raspberry Pi option in the board environment.

Configure the Micrpython environment and select the Pico port.
- First connect the Raspberry Pi Pico to the computer, left-click on the configuration environment option in the lower right corner of Thonny--> select configure an interpreter.
- In the pop-up window bar, select MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico), and select the corresponding port.

Click OK to return to the main interface of Thonny, download the firmware library to Pico, and then click the stop button to display the currently used environment in the Shell window.
Pico download firmware library method in Windows: Press and hold the BOOT button and connect to the computer, release the BOOT button, a removable disk will appear on the computer, and copy the firmware library into it.
How to download the firmware library for RP2040 in Windows: After connecting to the computer, press the BOOT key and the RESET key at the same time, release the RESET key and then release the BOOT key, a removable disk will appear on the computer.
Copy the firmware library into it (you can also use Pico).

Details of the Start Kit

Raspberry Pi Pico with pre-soldered header x1
Breadboard x1
1*3PIN yellow pin header x1
USB-A to micro-B cable x1
PIR sensor x2
Breadboard wires x1
Single-joint potentiometer x1
8-Bit WS2812 RGB LED x1
Round button x3
Alarm x1
330R resistor x10
5mm LED x6
LCD1602 RGB Module x1
Jumper wire female-female 10PIN x1
Jumper wire male-female 10PIN x1
Plastic storage box x1

Raspberry Pico

Raspberry Pi Pico is a low-cost, high-performance microcontroller board with flexible digital interfaces. It incorporates Raspberry Pi's own RP2040 microcontroller chip, with a dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor running up to 133 MHz, embedded 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of onboard Flash memory, as well as 26x multi-function GPIO pins.
For software development, either Raspberry Pi's C/C++ SDK or the MicroPython is available. There are also complete development resources and tutorials to help you get started easily, and integrate it into end products quickly.

Features

RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom.
Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, the flexible clock running up to 133 MHz.
264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of onboard Flash memory.
Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards.
USB 1.1 with device and host support.
Low-power sleep and dormant modes.
Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB.
26 × multi-function GPIO pins.
2 × SPI, 2 × I2C, 2 × UART, 3 × 12-bit ADC, and 16 × controllable PWM channels.
Accurate clock and timer on-chip.
Temperature sensor.
Accelerated floating-point libraries on-chip.
8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support.

Pinout

LCD1602 RGB Module

Features

Incorporates character LCD panel LCD1602.
Adjustable RGB backlight color, up to 16M (2563) backlight colors in theory.
Can display up to 16 X 2 characters, support screen scrolling, cursor movement, and other functions.
Onboard AiP31068L LCD driver chip, PCA9633 RGB control chip.
I2C control interface, only two signal pins are required, saving the IO resource.
Compatible with 3.3V/5V operating voltage.
Comes with online development resources and manual (Raspberry Pi/Jetson Nano/Arduino examples).

Specification

Operating voltage: 3.3V/5V
Interface: I2C
LCD type: character LCD
Controller: AiP31068L PCA9633DP2
Display 64.5 x 16.0 mm
Dimension: 87.0 × 32.0 × 13.0mm
Operating current: 26mA (5V), 13mA (3.3V)

Pinout

PIN	Description
VCC	3.3V/5V
GND	GND
SDA	I2C data line
SCL	I2C clock line

Working Protocol

Software Setup

Please follow the guides of Raspberry Pi to install and set up Pico for the Pico.

For easy use, we recommend you use the Thonny tool.

Thonny website
Please set the Thonny development environment to be RaspberryPi when setting.

Configure the Micrpython environment and select the Pico port.
- First, connect the Raspberry Pi Pico to your computer, left click on the Configure environment option in the lower right corner of the Thonny --> Select Configure interpreter.
- In the pop-up window, select MicroPython (Raspberry Pi Pico), and select the corresponding port.

Click OK and then back to Thonny, download the firmware library to the Pico. Then click Stop, and you can see the current environment in the Shell window.
How to download the firmware library for Pico in Windows: Press and hold the BOOT key and connect to the computer, then release the BOOT key, a removable disk will appear on the computer, and copy the firmware library into it.
How to download firmware library for RP2040 in Windows: After connecting to the computer, press the BOOT key and RESET key at the same time, release the RESET key, and then release the BOOT key, a removable disk will appear on the computer.

Copy the firmware library into it (you can also use the Pico method).

Examples

Download Demo Codes to your Raspberry Pi and test.

External LED Example

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the Lesson-5 External LED example with Thonny. Run the example, and you will find that the red LED is flashing.

Codes:

led_external = machine.Pin(15, machine.Pin.OUT) #Set GP15 to output Mode
while True: 
   led_external.toggle() #Toggle the LED every 5 seconds.
   utime.sleep(5)

Traffic Light System Examples

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the Lesson-9 Traffic-Light-System example by Thonny, run the codes and test the traffic light, the buzzer sounds when you press the button.

Codes

def button_reader_thread():  #Check if the button is pressed
   global button_pressed 
   while True:
       if button.value() == 1: 
           button_pressed = True
           
_thread.start_new_thread(button_reader_thread, ()) #Start a new thread to monitor the stats of button
while True:
   if button_pressed == True: #If the button is pressed, turn on the LED and let the buzzer work.
       led_red.value(1) 
       for i in range(10): 
           buzzer.value(1) 
           utime.sleep(0.2) 
           buzzer.value(0) 
           utime.sleep(0.2) 
       global button_pressed 
       button_pressed = False 
   led_red.value(1)  
   utime.sleep(5)     
   led_amber.value(1) 
   utime.sleep(2) 
   led_red.value(0) 
   led_amber.value(0) 
   led_green.value(1) 
   utime.sleep(5) 
   led_green.value(0) 
   led_amber.value(1) 
   utime.sleep(5) 
   led_amber.value(0)

Burglar Alarm LED Buzzer Examples

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the Lesson-14 Burglar Alarm LED Buzzer examples by Thonny. The LED lights on if an object is moving around the Passive infrared sensor and the buzzer will indicate.

Codes

def pir_handler(pin):  #Interrupt process function
   print("ALARM! Motion detected!") 
   for i in range(50): 
       led.toggle() 
       buzzer.toggle() 
       utime.sleep_ms(100)
sensor_pir.irq(trigger=machine.Pin.IRQ_RISING, handler=pir_handler)#Enable the Interrupt, the interrupt function is called when motions is detected.
while True:  #Toggle LED every 5s
   led.toggle() 
   utime.sleep(5)

Potentiometer Example

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the Lesson-16 Potentiometer example by Thonny, you can adjust the potentiometer and check if the voltage printed to the Sheel window are changing as well.

Codes

potentiometer = machine.ADC(26) #Set the GP26 pin as analog input
conversion_factor = 3.3 / (65535)
while True:
   voltage = potentiometer.read_u16() * conversion_factor #Convert the sampled data to voltage value
   print(voltage) #Print the voltage data, it chanaged according to the sliding rheostat.
   utime.sleep(2)

WS2812 Example

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the WS2812_RGB_LED.py file of Lesson-25 WS2812 example by Thonny, the LEDs light in Blue, Red, Green, and White.

Code

#This code uses the state machine mechanism. The following code is a decorator where we can initialize the hardware, set the pin level, etc.
#label("bitloop") We can define some tags in our code so that we can jump to them.
#jmp(not_x,"do_zero") If x=0, we jumpt to do_zero.
#nop() .set(0) [T2 - 1] The code jumpt to here if x = 0.
@asm_pio(sideset_init=PIO.OUT_LOW, out_shiftdir=PIO.SHIFT_LEFT, autopull=True, pull_thresh=24)
def ws2812():
   T1 = 2
   T2 = 5
   T3 = 1
   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(22).
sm = StateMachine(0, ws2812, freq=8000000, sideset_base=Pin(0)) #Create the stats machine
# Start the StateMachine, it will wait for data on its FIFO.
sm.active(1) #Start the stats machine
# Display a pattern on the LEDs via an array of LED RGB values.
ar = array.array("I", [0 for _ in range(NUM_LEDS)])
print(ar)
print("blue")
for j in range(0, 255): 
   for i in range(NUM_LEDS): 
       ar[i] = j 
   sm.put(ar,8)  #put() is put the data to output FIFO of the stats machine
   time.sleep_ms(5)

LCD1602 I2C Example

Connect the boards as in the picture below. Connect the Pico to Raspberry Pi or PC. Open the Lesson-21 LCD1602 I2C example by Thonny, you need to first save the RGB1602.py to Pico and then run the Choose_Color.py file. The LCD will change color every 5s. If you run the Discoloratio.py file, the LED displays RGB colors.

Codes

Choose_Color.py

#Define colors
rgb9 = (0,255,0) #green
lcd.setCursor(0, 0) #Set the position of cursor
# print the number of seconds since reset:
lcd.printout("Waveshare") #Print the string
lcd.setCursor(0, 1) #Move the cursor to second row.
lcd.printout("Hello,World!")#Print the string
lcd.setRGB(rgb1[0],rgb1[1],rgb1[2]); #Set the back light

Discoloration.py

t=0
while True:
 
   r = int((abs(math.sin(3.14*t/180)))*255);  #RGB changes as time goes
   g = int((abs(math.sin(3.14*(t+60)/180)))*255);
   b = int((abs(math.sin(3.14*(t+120)/180)))*255);
   t = t + 3;
   lcd.setRGB(r,g,b);#Set the RGB data again.
# set the cursor to column 0, line 1
   lcd.setCursor(0, 0) #Set the curson to the first row.
# print the number of seconds since reset:
   lcd.printout("Waveshare")#Print the string
   lcd.setCursor(0, 1) #Set the cursor to second row
   lcd.printout("Hello,World!")#Print the string
   time.sleep(0.3)

Pico Quick Start

Firmware Download

MicroPython Firmware Download

C_Blink Firmware Download

Firmware Download

MicroPython Firmware Download

C_Blink Firmware Download

Text Tutorial

Introduction

Raspberry Pi Pico

MicroPython Series

C/C++ Series

For C/C++, it is recommended to use Pico VS Code for development. This is a Microsoft Visual Studio Code extension designed to make it easier for you to create, develop, and debug projects for the Raspberry Pi Pico series development board. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, this tool can help you confidently and easily develop Pico. Below we will introduce how to install and use the extension.

Official website tutorial: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/pico-vscode-extension/.
This tutorial is applicable to Raspberry Pi Pico, Pico2, and our company's RP2040 and RP2350 series development boards.
The development environment defaults to Windows as an example. For other environments, please refer to the official website tutorial for installation.

Arduino IDE Series

Install Arduino IDE

Download the Arduino IDE installation package from Arduino website.
Just click on "JUST DOWNLOAD".
Click to install after downloading.
Note: You will be prompted to install the driver during the installation process, we can click Install.

Install Arduino-Pico Core on Arduino IDE

Open Arduino IDE, click the File on the left corner and choose "Preferences".

Add the following link in "Additional boards manager URLs", then click OK.

https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json

Note: If you already have the ESP32 board URL, you can separate the URLs with commas like this:

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json,https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json

Click on Tools -> Board -> Board Manager -> Search for pico, it shows installed since my computer has already installed it.

Upload Demo At the First Time

Press and hold the BOOTSET button on the Pico board, connect the Pico to the USB port of the computer via the Micro USB cable, and release the button when the computer recognizes a removable hard drive (RPI-RP2).
Download the demo from #Resource, open the D1-LED.ino under arduino\PWM\D1-LED path.
Click Tools -> Port, remember the existing COM, do not need to click this COM (different computers show different COM, remember the existing COM on your computer).
Connect the driver board to the computer with a USB cable, then click Tools -> Ports, select uf2 Board for the first connection, and after the upload is complete, connecting again will result in an additional COM port.
Click Tools -> Board -> Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040 -> Raspberry Pi Pico.
After setting, click the right arrow to upload.
- If you encounter problems during the period, you need to reinstall or replace the Arduino IDE version, uninstall the Arduino IDE clean, after uninstalling the software you need to manually delete all the contents of the folder C:\Users\[name]\AppData\Local\Arduino15 (you need to show the hidden files in order to see it) and then reinstall.

Open Source Demo

Resource

Example Demo

Official Document

Pico W

Firmware

Pico W MicroPython Firmware

Pico

User Manual

Schematic & Datasheet

Related Books

Raspberry Pi Open-source Demo

Development Software

Demo Codes

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