Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico, 2nd Edition

I’m ecstatic to announce the launch of my latest book: the second edition of Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico, the best-selling guide to using MicroPython on a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board – now fully updated for the Raspberry Pi Pico W.

The revised larger edition comes with additional chapters specific to the Raspberry Pi Pico W, a device which can do everything the Raspberry Pi Pico can do and more – thanks to the addition of a radio module capable of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communications. New projects include connecting to a Wi-Fi network, querying remote servers, and hosting a web page capable of interacting with the Raspberry Pi Pico W’s general-purpose input/output pins, plus configuring a Raspberry Pi Pico W as a Bluetooth beacon – connecting, if you’ve got one, to your phone or a second Raspberry Pi Pico W.

It’s not just about the new chapters, though. This second edition offers a complete overhaul: all projects have been brought up-to-date with the latest MicroPython advancements, a now hard-to-find display component has been swapped out for something more readily available at a lower cost, and the ever-talented Sam Adler has created all-new illustrations to bring the book’s look and feel in-line with my recently-launched The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide 5th Edition.

As always, I want to thank everyone at Raspberry Pi Press for their work in helping me make this the best book it could be: editor and publishing director Brian Jepson, co-editor Liz Upton, interior designer Sara Parodi, Nellie McKesson in production, photographer Brian O’Halloran, graphics editor Natalie Turner, and head of design Jack Willis, plus everyone else involved in getting the book to shelves today.

Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico 2nd Edition is available from all good bookshops and Raspberry Pi resellers now, as well as on the official Raspberry Pi Press store for global delivery; if your bookseller doesn’t have a copy, or if you’d like to request it from your library, you can ask for it under ISBN 978-1-912047-29-1.

As always, I hope you have as much fun reading the book as I did writing it!

Custom PC, Issue 229

Custom PC Issue 229For my Hobby Tech column in this month’s Custom PC Magazine I’ve taken a look at the Blink smart-home security camera ecosystem, and in particularly its new doorbell camera, the shiny Raspberry Pi Pico W, and built a custom Linux distribution for the Microchip PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit.

My interest in the Blink ecosystem is not purely academic. Having recently purchased a new house, I saw the opportunity to deploy a cost-effective camera system while documenting the process for Hobby Tech – and I’m pleased to report that Blink, which is entirely battery-driven bar a mains-powered “Sync Module, made things easy. The hardware was initially photographed in my studio then installed on-site with additional imagery captured, before being tested over a period of weeks to iron out teething problems.

The Raspberry Pi Pico W, meanwhile, is a near-identical clone of the Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board – but this time it’s brought a radio along for the ride. At the time of writing, only Wi-Fi was available – with Bluetooth present in hardware but not yet enabled in the firmware – but that’s enough to vastly expand the possibilities for projects driven by the Raspberry Pi Pico and its RP2040 microcontroller. Better still, the price has been kept low: at £6 including VAT, it’s near-impossible not to recommend the Raspberry Pi Pico W.

Finally, I reviewed the PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit back in Issue 224 – and one of my biggest complaints was with the pre-installed Linux distribution, which was extremely spartan and not a little buggy. It may have only been five months since that review was published, but things have change for the better – and to prove it I used Microchip’s documentation and Yocto Linux board support package (BSP) to build a much more polished Linux operating system for the board.

All this and more is available at your nearest newsagent or supermarket, online with global delivery, or as a free download on the official website.