Having taught workshops for a beginners on a variety of development platforms, from Arduino, to ESP32, BBC Micro:bit, and Raspberry Pi Pico, I have moved on to a new one for the next round of turning people on to physical computing. The Maker Pi RP2040 doesn’t have an elegant name, but it’s a great platform for learning and experimentation.

The Maker Pi is very inexpensive, starting around $10 (through Newark). It has a RP2040 chip at its heart, so it can be programmed as a Raspberry Pi Pico. Thus no setup and easy Circuitpython or Micropython programming. It has onboard neopixels and a buzzer, a dual motor controller, user buttons, and breakouts for servos. It uses Grove connectors, which are much more secure than headers, but less permanent than soldering. The unit thoughtfully comes with 4 sets of Grove to jumper wire adapters, so you can use any commodity accessories as well as Grove-enabled ones. There are helpful status LEDs and on/off switches as well. You can power it with USB, Lipo (with a built in charger), or other power source using screw terminals.

It doesn’t have wireless communications but it is a cinch to add an external component for that.

I will be teaching a workshop on this board at the It Begins in Brockport maker space starting in October, 2023. I will post the workshop materials under the classes tab here once they are mature.

In the meantime check out the manufacturers site at: https://www.cytron.io/p-maker-pi-rp2040-simplifying-robotics-with-raspberry-pi-rp2040