Top 10 Raspberry Pi Pico Accessories

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Ash Ash (362)
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We're big fans of the new Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller and can't wait to see what new accessories and projects come out of its development. Thankfully, the Pico launched with a selection of accessories from third-party developers and there are plans in the works for more later this year.

If you've got a Raspberry Pi Pico, you can add one of these accessories to your repertoire for prototyping new projects and tinkering with cool modules. We've included the best, most exciting, and most practical accessories for any maker.

What is the Pico?

The Raspberry Pi Pico is the first official microcontroller from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. It’s decked out with the new RP2050 chip and 16 PWM channels. It’s great for controlling things like Servo motors and switches and has 2MB of storage to contain any code.

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This has to be the cutest and tiniest display we've ever seen, and it's for the Raspberry Pi Pico. The Waveshare LCD Display is just 1.14 inches and displays RGB. It comes with a some learning manuals to help you get it set up and four programmable buttons to help you navigate your Pico.

The Raspberry Pi Pico is so small that for most projects, you likely won't need a case. Still, there are instances where you'll want to have a case to protect your micro-investment. This basic case from C4Labs is about all you'll need, and we like that it's clear—so you can see that beautiful Raspberry Pi Pico in action!

Another great starter kit option is this basic Pico starter kit from our friends at SunFounder. In addition to the Raspberry Pi Pico with pre-soldered GPIO pins, the kit comes with lots of learning materials and some basic project tools to get you started making awesome things with your new Pico. For example, the kit comes with an LED starter kit to help you get started with using LEDs and the Raspberry Pi.

If you’re just getting started, you can’t go wrong with a starter kit. This Raspberry Pi Pico Basic Starter Kit from Vilros has everything you need to begin your Pico development experience. It comes with a battery module, carrying case, micro USB cable, Pico, and headers. If you want to share the Pico with someone else, this should be enough to get them started.

We don't just recommend having a breadboard on hand for the Pico. These little gadgets are the perfect tool in any maker's collection.

If you're not familiar with breadboards, these boards are used to bridge temporary connections between boards like the Raspberry Pi or Arduino, sensor modules, and much more. They're an excellent resource for prototyping new projects and learning how things work.

Headers can be soldered into place on devices like the Raspberry Pi Pico or Pi Zero. These make it possible to connect HATs, modules, sensors, etc without permanently soldering them to the Pico.

Having extra headers on hand is always a good idea. You never know when you might get a new board or need to repair bent pins on an existing one.

The team at Pimoroni went above and beyond to get a line of accessories ready for the Pico by launch day and boy, did they deliver! If you want to tinker with the Pico and modules from Pimoroni, you may want to check out the Pico Explorer Base.

This device supports the Pico and provides an LCD screen, various breakout inputs, and room for a Pico module. There are larger models available with room for more Pimoroni Pico modules.

The Pico Scroll Pack is a tiny 17 x 7 LED matrix. It can be attached directly to the Pico or be interfaced with using a Pimoroni Explorer Base. As far as tinkering is concerned, this is a flexible gadget with plenty of space for custom messages and more.

This module also has four programmable buttons. The input from them can be used to trigger custom responses and functions.

The Pico RGB Keypad Base is designed to work with the Raspberry Pi Pico. The 4x4 keypad features RGB LEDs backlighting each key which have a squishy-feel when pressed. To the right is room for the Pico to plug directly into the base.

This module would work well as a component to a bigger project or just as a simple RGB keypad with a USB interface.

The Pico Display Pack module might be one of the coolest accessories you can grab. It's a 1.14-inch IPS display designed just for the Pico.

Like the Scroll Pack module, it has four buttons that can be programmed with custom functions. If you want something flashy to use with your Pico, the Display Pack is definitely worth a look.

MicroPython is like Python but teenier.
Ash Ash (362)
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Ready to play with your new Raspberry Pi Pico? Not so fast! You'll need to set up some software on a separate machine before you can start programming your new microcontroller.