{"id":9073,"date":"2022-08-07T08:51:43","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T12:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=9073"},"modified":"2023-04-11T13:25:18","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T17:25:18","slug":"picow-arduino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/picow-arduino\/","title":{"rendered":"Pico W with the Arduino IDE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Download<\/a> \"Parts<\/a> \"View<\/a> \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

There are a lot of videos and articles about using the new Raspberry Pi Pico W with MicroPython, but very little has been produced about using this new board with the Arduino IDE.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today we will look at precisely that.\u00a0 While there has been no update to the Arduino RP2040 boards manager to include the Pico W yet, there is another boards manager that we can use instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

Amid all the confusion of life in 2020, there was one bright light – the release of the Raspberry Pi Pico<\/a>. This was the first microcontroller produced by Raspberry Pi, which until then was known as a manufacturer of single-board computers focused on the educational and maker market.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pico was not only unique in its position in the Raspberry Pi product lineup, but it was also unique in that it used a new microcontroller chip that Raspberry Pi also manufactured. The RP2040 microcontroller is a powerful device that has onboard voltage regulation and two internal PIO (Programmable Input Output) processors to allow the creation of custom I\/O interfaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

At only 4 dollars, the Pico joined boards like the Seeeduino XIAO as a low-cost, high-performance microcontroller.\u00a0 And like the XIAO, it was missing one feature many makers craved – wireless connectivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

That all changed in June 2022 when the folks at Raspberry Pi tweeted out a picture of a cow!<\/span><\/p>\n

Raspberry Pi Pico W<\/span><\/h2>\n

It was a bit of an odd tweet from Raspberry Pi, a (hopefully) Photoshopped image of a cow bearing Raspberry Pi logo markings. The picture was titled \u201cPi Cow\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Of course, we now know the meaning of the strange image, as \u201cPi Cow\u201d is just a rearrangement of the words \u201cPico W\u201d. \u00a0 Certainly a unique way of announcing a new microcontroller board!<\/span><\/p>\n

Pico W Features & Specifications<\/span><\/h3>\n

The \u201cW\u201d in Pico W does, of course, refer to WiFi, as, unlike its predecessor, the Pico W does indeed have WiFi connectivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

At a glance, the Pico W looks a lot like the Pico, with the obvious exception of the huge metal square that contains the WiFi magic. It has the same 40-pin castellated connector design that the original Pico has and the same 3-pin Debug connector, which has been moved to a different position to accommodate the WiFi module and onboard antenna.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The new device has exactly the same specifications as the older one, the only programming difference (aside from the WiFi) is that the onboard LED is now addressed differently, as the GPIO pin previously used to control it is required for the WiFi module.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of WiFi, the new Raspberry Pi Pico W uses the <\/span>Infineon CYW43439 WiFi and Bluetooth module<\/span><\/a> for its wireless network capability. This is a single-band 2.4 GHz 802.11n transceiver with a data rate of up to 96 Mbps. It has an integrated low noise amplifier (LNA) for improved performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for that onboard LED, it\u2019s now connected to the WL_GPIO0 pin on the Infineon CYW43439. You can address it using the \u201c<\/span>LED<\/span><\/i>\u201d constant in MicroPython, instead of directly addressing GPIO pin 25 as you did in the older Pico.\u00a0 In the Arduino IDE boards manager that I\u2019ll be showing you soon, the onboard LED uses the constant <\/span>LED_BUILTIN<\/span><\/i>(as it does with many Arduino boards).<\/span><\/p>\n

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As with its predecessor, the Pico W is distributed in a simple plastic carrier package, and groups can be purchased in strips. You can also buy versions with the pins already soldered in.<\/span><\/p>\n

What about Bluetooth?<\/span><\/h3>\n

In addition to the cryptic cow picture, the folks at Raspberry Pi have left us with another mystery – where is the Bluetooth?\u00a0 After all, the Infineon CYW43439 does indeed support Bluetooth 5.2.\u00a0 So why doesn\u2019t the Pico W offer Bluetooth in addition to WiFi?<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, there is much debate about this in the maker community.\u00a0 Many people feel that it is just a matter of time before Raspberry Pi releases an official SDK for using Bluetooth with the Pico W.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But others point out that if you look at the <\/span>specification sheet for the Infineon CYW43439,<\/span><\/a> you\u2019ll note that the WiFi and Bluetooth use different interfaces, although they share many of the same radio components.\u00a0 Bluetooth can use either a PCM or UART input, however, if you check out <\/span>the schematic diagram for the Pico W<\/span><\/a>, those pins appear to be unconnected.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many are puzzled about how Bluetooth will work on the Pico W without those pins. Perhaps the schematic isn\u2019t complete, or maybe we can use the same interface for both modes. If that\u2019s the case, it’s possibly just a firmware update.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eben Upton himself addressed the issue in his blog post<\/a> announcing the Raspberry Pi Pico W:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Eagle-eyed readers of datasheets will notice that CYW43439 supports both Bluetooth Classic and Bluetooth Low-Energy: we have not enabled Bluetooth on Pico W at launch, but may do so in the future.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Until this all gets resolved, I wouldn\u2019t plan on developing Bluetooth applications with the Raspberry Pi Pico W very soon!<\/span><\/p>\n

Pico W vs. ESP32<\/span><\/h3>\n

Time to address the obvious question – which is better, the Raspberry Pi Pico W or the Espressif ESP32?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At a glance, it would seem that the lack of Bluetooth on the Pico W makes the ESP32 an instant winner, and when the rest of the specifications are compared, the ESP32 certainly wins in almost every category.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One aspect in which the Pico W may have an advantage is that at 6 US dollars a piece, the boards are cheaper than most ESP32 boards.\u00a0 And there is also the PIO feature in the Pico W which is exclusive to the RP2040 chip.<\/span><\/p>\n

So if your application doesn\u2019t require Bluetooth or touch switches, or if you want to drive a VGA display or an odd device using the PIO processors, then the Pico W is a great choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparing the Arduino IDE<\/span><\/h2>\n

Most tutorials to date will show you how to use the Pico W with MicroPython, which is a great and easy method of programming this device.\u00a0 And in the future, I\u2019ll also show you some Pico W applications coded in MicroPython.<\/span><\/p>\n

But today, we will use the Arduino IDE to program the Pico W with C++. To do this, we will have to add a Boards Manager to handle the new microcontroller.<\/span><\/p>\n

I assume you have already installed the Arduino IDE on your Linux, Mac, or Windows workstation.\u00a0 Note that <\/span>if you are a Windows user, you should install the IDE from the ZIP or EXE file on the Arduino website, not from the app in the Microsoft Store<\/b>.\u00a0 It has been reported that the Microsoft Store version of the Arduino IDE has difficulty with the Pico, so it will likely have problems with the newer Pico W.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raspberry Pi Pico Arduino core<\/span><\/h3>\n

The<\/span> Raspberry Pi Pico Arduino core<\/span><\/i><\/a> is a boards manager maintained on GitHub by user <\/span>Earle F Philhower<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 This core covers not only the original Pico and the Pico W but also includes pretty well every RP2040-based board that you can find and is frequently updated.<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to add this to your Arduino IDE, you will need to edit your Preferences to add a JSON string in the same fashion that we have done for other boards like the ESP32 and Seeeduino XIAO.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can accomplish this as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n