Projects and resources

Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W

I’m currently writing a project-based free guide to getting started with the Pico W and an inexpensive eBook of 16 projects for the Pico/Pico W.

Some of these projects are complete. Others are works in progress.

You can see a brief introduction to some projects on this episode of Tom’s Hardware PiCast.

If you want to know when the free guide is available and get early access to the eBook, you can sign up here.

Projects in the forthcoming free guide

You can see the contents as I work on them on GitHub.

  1. Build a webserver on the Pico W that will allow you to buzz a remote buzzer from your phone. (In progress)
  2. Build a simple weather station and connect it to the Internet of Things using MQTT. (In progress - 80% complete)
  3. Interact with people all over the world using NeoPixels, @cheerlights and MQTT. (Complete)

Projects for the eBook

Planned Pico projects

Some of these are based on the Pico experiments I did back when it was first announced last year.

  1. Simple Oled Oscilloscope.
  2. Control the Pico from a Raspberry Pi, host computer or Nvidia Jetson Nano.
  3. Build a simple AF signal generator using the PIco PIO.
  4. Add 8 analogue inputs using the MCP3008.
  5. Drive multiple LEDs with a shift register.
  6. Plot diode characteristics with the PCF8591 ADC/DAC
  7. Build a Pico etch-a-sketch.
  8. Build an auto-ranging Ohm Meter.

Planned Pico W projects

These include the three projects from the free guide, with five additional projects

  1. Build a webserver on the Pico W that will allow you to buzz a remote buzzer from your phone. (In progress)
  2. Build a simple weather station and connect it to the Internet of Things using MQTT. (In progress - 80% complete)
  3. Interact with people all over the world using NeoPixels, @cheerlights and MQTT. (Complete)
  4. Build an 8-channel logic analyzer using the MCP23008
  5. Build TIB - The Intelligent Breadboard. Ceck and test bread-bord prototypes with your Pico W.
  6. Build Picodoro - a Pico-based Pomodoro timer than sees when you’re working.
  7. Picobot - a LiDAR-based mobile robot you control from your phone.
  8. PicoWriter - a MicroWriter-inspired hand-held word processor with a chording keyboard.

Babelboard

Bableboard h/w and Bableboard s/s are projects that aim to make it easier to interconnect Raspberry Pi, RPi Pico, Pico W, Adafruit feathers and the NVIDIA Jetson range with each other and with Grove components, Adafruit featherwings and other useful breakout boards.

pico code

pico-code contains the code for my original experiments with the Pico and new code for some Pico W projects.

Raspberry Pi projects for the Pimoroni Explorer HAT

I loved the Pimoroni Explorer HAT so much I wrote a book about it.

If you’re keen to get started with Physical Computing on the Raspberry Pi, but don’t want to do a lot of soldering, the Explorer HAT is a great way to get going. And the book will teach you everything you need to know!

You can buy the Explorer HAT book (for $10 or more) here.

And remember if you want early access and a discount on the Pico/Pico W book, sign up here.