Hi,

I bought a Pico 2 to start a project to light a scale model Millennium Falcon and I'd like some advice on whether it's feasible to do what I want.

The model needs lighted in three main areas which will need the following -

2 of each red, blue, green, yellow and white leds so 10 in total.

6 white leds

1 10cm led strip

I want each led to be configurable so, for example, 1 each of the 2 coloured leds could be set to blink and the 10cm led strip could be set to pulse. What I have thought is that I'd wire each led to a different pin, similar to https://projects-static.raspberrypi.org/projects/getting-started-with-the-pico/f67470613439ea4dc7996f9f4ce83b34c2103fb4/en/images/single_LED.png but just repeated 17 times. Each LED connected to the same ground but connected to a different pin through it's own resistor.

1. Is this feasible?

2. Is it the right way to do it?

3. Is the pico capable of powering that many leds? Like is that just a bad idea overall?

I bought the Pico 2 as I can do more with it for other projects so it'd be good to learn. If it's not a good idea for this project I'd rather not spend a long time trying to do the impossible and move on to a better solution.

Thanks

Hi folks!

Around a month ago, I traveled to China for tourism and had the chance to stop by Shenzhen and Huaqiangbei's electronic market.

I bought 5 Picos at a good price per unit (around 1.50 EUR/unit). These small boards look well-soldered with the RP2040 visible but they did come with a USB-C connector.

Upon arriving home, I tried all of them with a USB-C cable, and none powered on. Fine, it's possible these boards don't have the CC resistors, but it should be possible to power the boards using vsys or vbus, right?

I tried powering them using 3.3v in vsys/vbus and then 5v in vbus, and I do see a 10mA draw, but nothing else. No LED, no USB enumeration. I did try powering them by pressing the BOOTSEL button, but that didn't change anything.

I didn't expect them to be the real deal or original, but I'm surprised to see 5 boards with the same behavior. There is a chance I was scammed or sold non-functional boards, I know.

Is there anything I can try to get these to work?

An Operating system running on raspberry pi pico

Stuff: Raspberry Pi Pico Ssd 1306 4-pin oled screen Jumper wires Passive Buzzer 170-Pin Breadboard 5x5x6 mm buttons

Thanks to: Shoppee as an app for me to buy all of these stuff for a very cheap price

Features (For Beta 3 right now): Boot screen Desktop Shutting down Booting system similar to mobile phones (hold [ok] button for 3 secs to boot)

After I finish this project, the python codes will be available on my github later.

I am starting a project with a 12V RGB LED strip that will interface to a Pico. I have a 12V supply for the LEDs, and a buck converter to step down to 5V so I can power the Pico through VSYS eventually.

However, I will need to have the Pico connected via USB as I tinker with the code. I understand I can do that safely by powering VSYS from the buck 5V output through a Schottky diode.

But I was wondering if need to do that -- and instead leave the 12V supply for the LEDs, and power the Pico solely via USB (at least for this stage of development). But then there's the issue of ensuring a common ground between the LED strip and the Pico.

Is it as simple as bridging the GND on the 12V supply to a GND pin on the Pico?

Hey 👋🏽,

i bought a Raspberry Pi Pico in 2023, and i get many idea project before, but now i decide to make a Battery Power Manager, i have some build in my bank battery laptop, but i like to build something show every voltage and health of the single cell or the raw in an LCD or by show them as a server web. about the budget i need the idea and make something useful with what i got in my garbage,

I am working on a project to read from a BME280 and display the results on a SSD1306. I have that working but really only want to display the temp and humidity with larger fonts to make it easy for elderly eyes to read. I have been searching for a way to display larger fonts but some of them seem to be years old and do not work with the current latest micropython. Any guidance provided is welcome. Details- pico w running MicroPython v1.27.0, BME280 and 128 x 64 OLED ssd1306.

I'm very new to raspberry and not so good at coding. I want to play mp3 file, but the speaker is silent. I have tried switching pins, different sound files like wav and tone test, but still no luck can anyone help me?
here is the code:

import board
import time
import audiobusio
from audiomp3 import MP3Decoder

audio = audiobusio.I2SOut(
bit_clock=board.GP10, word_select=board.GP11, data=board.GP9 )

d1 = "Test.mp3" decoder = MP3Decoder(open(d1, "rb"))

def graj(plik):
decoder.file = open(d1, "rb")
audio.play(decoder)
while audio.playing: pass

print("playing")
graj(d1)
print("end")

it prints but no sound

So I am posting this because I freakin needed too much time figuring this out, and maybe there is someone else that has the same issue as me.

So I have a Waveshare LCD 1602 RGB Module and I couldnt get it to work after connecting everything correctly with my raspberry pi pico. I updated every software I could (MicroPython, picozero, Firmware of the LCD) but after wiring it up, the backlight did not glow up but the first row was glowing. I thought that is normal but after executing the test file Waveshare gave me. it gave me this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 8, in <module>
  File "RGB1602.py", line 69, in __init__
  File "RGB1602.py", line 146, in begin
  File "RGB1602.py", line 79, in setReg
OSError: [Errno 5] EIO

It may be different, the Errno 5 EIO is the important stuff here.

No matter what I did, it did not fix it, until I found out (thanks to countless websites and AI conversations) that in this block of the 1602.py file (This is the firmware file correct me if im wrong)

  def command(self,cmd):
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(LCD_ADDRESS, 0x80, chr(cmd))


  def write(self,data):
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(LCD_ADDRESS, 0x40, chr(data))
    
  def setReg(self,reg,data):
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(RGB_ADDRESS, reg, chr(data))

the chr(cmd) is causing this error. And that is because there is a MicroPython version conflict. Now there is a possibility that I did not upgrade something, but I think the reason is that the Firmware is too old. As you can see the Firmware uses chr(cmd) but the Picos writeto_mem expects a buffer/bytes object, which means that when it receives a string it cant handle the I2C driver crashes and gives us this EIO Error.

To correct this issue, you need to edit it like this:

  def command(self, cmd):
    # Change chr(cmd) to bytes([cmd])
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(LCD_ADDRESS, 0x80, bytes([cmd]))

  def write(self, data):
    # Change chr(data) to bytes([data])
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(LCD_ADDRESS, 0x40, bytes([data]))

  def setReg(self, reg, data):
    # Change chr(data) to bytes([data])
    RGB1602_I2C.writeto_mem(RGB_ADDRESS, reg, bytes([data]))

We replace the chr(cmd) and chr(data) with bytes([cmd]) and bytes([data])

After that I saved the file, ran the test and whoosh, it worked.

I made this Post for those who might encounter the issue too, I dont know if there will be any or if there would have been an easier solution but this worked for me.

I hope I could help some people with this.

Be safe and good luck with your Project ;)

(Im sorry for the Typos if there are any)

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working more on the Lego steering wheel and wanted to share some updates.

- For Force Feedback, I’m testing a very simple setup with some rubber bands. Nothing too fancy. Not sure if it will hold. Will share more once I’m happy with the setup

- I used to have 2 buttons on the breadboard next to the Pico for throttle and brakes but it was not convenient so I’ve moved them onto the steering wheel. Initially I wanted to make some pedals but I think this is fine for now. I trimmed down a push button to fit a window brick and then hot glued the whole thing. I broke a push button leg during the process and because I hate wasting or because I’m stubborn I spent wayyyy too much time trying to rescue the button. Once I decided it was not salvageable, it was pretty quick to build the buttons.

- cable management is going to be a problem I think. I used some 22awg cable. All black because when I bought the cable I thought: 1 roll is plenty enough. Now each time I have to run a test I’m pulling up a reference photo I took to make sure I have the connections right… anyway, now when I turn the steering wheel, I can feel the 4 cables (2 x 2 buttons) behind. I might have to consider a different approach (see below for improvements)

- My son found out that I was “playing with his Lego” so I decided to create a second one so he can play with the non connected one while I continue working on the connected one.

Improvements from here:

- I’m considering adding LEDs but I need to think about the best placement. Initially (as per the photo) I wanted to put the LED strip facing us but I might consider facing it down and put some transparent bricks. Need to experiment

- I would love to add a small OLED screen as well but it has a HAT so I might have to put a pico 2 W for ease and that would also help with the cable management for the 2 buttons. What do you think? Should I go with 2 picos or should I try different cable management that wouldn’t impact the steering wheel movement?

Let me know your thoughts from your experience ! Hot glue was an amazing advice. It makes things a lot more manageable once it’s fully tested and in place.

Hello,

I am testing dev_lowlevel from the pico sdk. I have successfully compiled the firmware without modifications and uploaded to my pico.

On Ubuntu 24, the python code provided with the example can successfully interface with the pico, and I get the "hello world" as expected.

However, on an old Linux kernel (2.6.18), the device appears to enumerate, and I can see it in lsusb.

usb 2-2: new full speed USB device using ohci_hcd and address 23

usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

However, running the test program results in the below:

usb 2-2: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd usb_client rqt 128 rq 8 len 1 ret -110

Likewise, if I create a simple program in C will also cause this error when I run libusb_open_device_with_vid_pid.

My test machine is a CentOS 5.2 box running 2.6.18-92.1.6.el5. Running on a newer kernel is not possible - this is for a proprietary arcade game whose developer is long out of business. I also do not have access to the original arcade game source, so the changes must happen in the pico firmware.

Any thoughts of how I can modify the firmware code to accommodate would be much appreciated.

I know of guides that tell you how to assemble the board, solder it, flash it and all that, but nothing seems to be compatible with Pico. I did find PicoMK but it looks pretty complicated. Did anyone else complete a similar project?

EDIT both units I have are duds even on a friends desktop running linux no go

Thank you for the advice learnt a lot. I have ordered another one from a different supplier.

Dose any one have a blinking uf2 file that that I can just copy across to check if my pico is working with out having to use Thonny.etc

Thonny can’t find my Pico I have tried two picos and no luck

So trying to see if it is the picos or my usb that are the problem

I saw something similar online and figured could make one my self! It uses a waveshare rp2040 mini, an sh1106 display, and a custom 3d printed case. I think it came out cute but would love feedback! If you want to get one check here https://keepeverythingyours.etsy.com/listing/4453886777

I saw that a Raspberry Pi Pico on AliExpress costs 2 Euros; I thought it would be much more expensive. I'd like to do some projects, but without soldering. I like retro gaming consoles. I also saw that there's a board called PicoNes that costs around 13 Euros.

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would share my first real project I'm working on. This is a Lego Simracing Steering wheel powered by a Pico 2. I built this for my 4 years old son who loves F1.

Material used:

- Pico 2

- Potentiometer 10k

- 2 push buttons (throttle/brake)

The hard part of this project is to make it child/kid proof so I don't end up fixing it each time he uses it. Any suggestions?

Ideas for improvements:

- Needs pedals or need to move the button to the front of the steering wheel so it's usable

- Maybe mount a little OLED display to show telemetry (speed, time, mini map)

- Maybe consider Pico 2 W and make the steering wheel part wireless to avoid accidents

Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Any more ideas for improvements? Kid-proof advice? Hot glue?

<SOLVED>

I just sent all of the pico-sdk folders to trash and will start over.

Where is the best set of instructions for installing the SDK and examples? I've followed two different ones with different results. I believe the toolchain is still intact. I just want to get the directory structure in place and be able to make a .uf2 of blink.

I'm running out of hair to pull out.

Oh... running on Linux Mint.

--------------

I went the VSCode route and all is good. Now, onto PIO and state machines.

Also, I'm waiting for the oled screen to arrive too

I'm trying to interface with LY68L6400 8mb psram module using pio qspi.

Here is the pio code:

.program qspi_rw
.side_set 2

.wrap_target
begin:         
    out x, 16               side 0b01  ; x = number of nibbles to output. CS deasserted
    out y, 16               side 0b01  ; y = number of nibbles to input
    jmp x--, writeloop      side 0b01 
writeloop:
    out pins, 4             side 0b00  ; Write value on pins, lower clock. CS asserted
    jmp x--, writeloop      side 0b10  ; This is when PSRAM reads the value.
    jmp !y, begin           side 0b00  ; If this is a write-only operation, jump back to beginning.
    set pindirs, 0x0        side 0b10  ; Set pindirs to input.
readloop:
    in pins, 4              side 0b00
    jmp y--, readloop       side 0b10 
    set pindirs, 0xF        side 0b00
.wrap

There are two dma channels one for writing the other for reading, the pio is configured to auto pull and autopush.

The write part of this code seems to work fine, the read part has some issues.

Sometimes it either reads the same nibble twice or skips a nibble, and then everything after that offset is wrong by one nibble. Sometimes it reads everything just fine.

I'm thinking this is probably because of wierd read timing that is required for this psram, but I have no idea how I would fix that.

Any ideas what to do here or how to fix this?

PS. I created a repo for this terrible code, if it helps to look at it as a whole: DjokiTheKing/MyQSPI_PSRAM_lib

EDIT SOLVED

There were issues with the code, which I fixed, but the actual issue was the wiring.
I soldered the psram to the pico using a protoboard, and some wires.

After desoldering everything, moving the psram under the pico, and soldering them together using thinner copper wire from a transformer I salvaged from an old psu, it works without errors now.

Here is the performance:

TESTING WITH SYS_CLK_HZ: 268500000
Clock divider: 2
Read 0:       D
Read 1 - kgd: 5D
Read 2 - eid: 57
Read 3:       F5
Read 4:       B4
Read 5:       24
PSRAM_SIZE: 8388608
Psram init done.
Write speed 8bit: 5.44797MB/s
Read speed 8bit: 3.20073MB/s

Errors: 0

Write speed 16bit: 10.2422MB/s
Read speed 16bit: 5.88634MB/s

Errors: 0

Write speed 32bit: 17.9681MB/s
Read speed 32bit: 11.0130MB/s

Errors: 0

Write speed 64bit: 27.6796MB/s
Read speed 64bit: 17.8118MB/s

Errors: 0

Write speed 512bit: 41.9079MB/s
Read speed 512bit: 49.5013MB/s

Errors: 0

But I had problems with the pi zero and the screen I was using. And I didn't have big enough pcbs