While it’s possible to use Raspberry Pi Pico with a breadboard or Veroboard, we’ve seen the benefits of inserting the board into a baseboard such as Maker Pi Pico providing LEDs, a MicroSD card, audio output, and the ability to add ESP-01 WiFi module or well as up to two Grove expansion modules.
Hammond Pearce decided to design his own Raspberry Pi Pico baseboard with Kiwikit board supporting some of the off-the-shelf modules and interfaces he commonly uses.
Kiwikit key features and specifications
- Supported module – Raspberry Pi Pico
- Storage – 8-pin header for AT24C08 EEPROM up to 1KB
- Display – Connector for I2C SSD1306 OLED display
- On-board sensor – LDR (light-dependent resistor aka photoresistor) connected over analog input
- I/Os
- SPI header working for instance, with SD card modules as shown in the photo above.
- I2C header compatible with MP-6050 accelerometer/gyroscope modules
- Header with 2x ADCs with optional pull-ups that could be used with other photoresistors, or compatible sensors.
- Breakout header for other GPIO pins
- Misc – Two user LEDs, 1x power LED, 3x user buttons, 1x reset button
- Power Supply – 5V via micro USB on Raspberry Pi Pico or 8-pin power header
The Kiwikit board is open-source hardware and designed in KiCAD with the source files available on Github. He ordered 10 boards for $2 from JLCPCB, plus shipping ($15). It’s unclear whether Hammond plans to sell the board, so you may have to make it yourself. You’ll find more information in the blog post where he explains his design and decisions in detail.
Via Hackster.io
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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