Hi Folks!
I want to provide you all with a plan on this project and what I am going to be doing. So, the plan is to add different functionality and components to the same project as we progress, so by the end we will have something complex. Maybe we can get a couple of Pi Picos to communicate with each other. The instructions and code will be provided entirely by ChatGPT. The only thing we need to do is flash the MicroPython code and assemble the components.
Let’s get back to work!
Now that we have MicroPython flashed onto the Pi Pico we are ready to jump into the first project. So to start, I asked ChatGPT this: Create a basic Pi Pico project with MicroPython code and tell me the electronic components I need to use. Also, tell me how to connect the electronic components.
Answer:
Sure! Let's create a basic project using a Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython to blink an LED. For this project, you'll need the following electronic components:
1. Raspberry Pi Pico
2. LED (any color)
3. Resistor (220 ohms is a common value)
4. Breadboard
5. Jumper wires
Here's how to connect the components:
1. **Raspberry Pi Pico**:
- Connect the Raspberry Pi Pico to your computer using a micro USB cable for power and programming.
2. **LED**:
- Place the LED on the breadboard. The longer leg of the LED (the anode) should be connected to a GPIO pin on the Pi Pico. For this example, let's use GPIO pin 0 (GP0).
- Connect the shorter leg of the LED (the cathode) to one leg of the resistor.
3. **Resistor**:
- Connect the other leg of the resistor to a GND (ground) pin on the Raspberry Pi Pico. You can choose any ground pin.
4. **Breadboard and Jumper wires**:
- Use jumper wires to make the connections between the Raspberry Pi Pico, LED, and resistor on the breadboard. Make sure the connections are secure.
Once you have all the components connected, you can proceed with the MicroPython code. Here's a simple code to blink the LED:
# MicroPython code to blink an LED connected to GPIO pin 0 (GP0) on Raspberry Pi Pico
import machine
import utime
led_pin = machine.Pin(0, machine.Pin.OUT) # Define GP0 as an output pin
while True:
led_pin.toggle() # Toggle the state of the LED
utime.sleep_ms(500) # Wait for 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds)
Explanation of the code:
- We import the `machine` module to interact with hardware.
- We import the `utime` module for adding time delays.
- We define `led_pin` as an output pin connected to GPIO pin 0 (GP0) using `machine.Pin`.
- In the `while` loop, we toggle the state of the LED using `led_pin.toggle()` which turns it on and off alternatively.
- We add a delay of 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds) between each toggle using `utime.sleep_ms(500)`.
Upload this code to your Raspberry Pi Pico using your preferred method (e.g., Thonny IDE, rshell, etc.), and you should see the LED blinking!
Video:
Fritzing Design:
**Note**
I used pin 23 for the ground in the video, pin 3 will work as ground too.
Github link: https://github.com/TheDumbEngineer/TheDumbEngineer/blob/main/ProjectOne.py
Components:
Pi Pico - https://amzn.to/4btgvgh
Pi Pico Programming Cable - https://amzn.to/3yeGWYN
220 Ohm Resistor - https://amzn.to/3Uw7uMF