51–60 of 413 posts
I agree with the authors points that the RP2040 is a great chip would love to see the Pico W pricing come down as popularity grows.
The lack of built-in flash kills it for me. STM32 M3s with comparable throughput are cheaper and don't require an external flash chip (example: STM32F103C8T6 for $1.20 from jlc). I love the generic PIO though, I really hope other manufacturers pick up on that.
I have just one question: is this product meant for the "hobbyist" space only?
Lack of code security and onboard flash weren't dealbreakers for me here, but others will have more stringent requirements. QSPI is so incredibly cheap now.
The PIO's really are the star of the RP2040 show, giving it a capability that competing chips like the ESP32 can't match. They are appearing all over the place in the console hacking space for this reason. Lower power consumption in steep modes for battery-backed applications would be a welcome addition in any V2 version though.
Where can I learn more about how they are used in console hacking? This sounds very interesting
E.g. see https://github.com/Ansem-SoD/Picofly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
He's saying that the bootloader is in ROM so it's unbrickable, but the application code that the bootloader jumps into can be updated over USB. Most mid-range and higher microcontrollers have a similar feature, but they almost always have a custom protocol that requires a specialized flashing program rather than showing up as a mass storage device.
To be frank, I don't get its appeal at all. Most hobbyist uCs were already unbrickable, and using mass storage mode for flashing is rather cumbersome and clunky to automate as soon as you're past hello worlds.
I just think that despite all testing and care bugs are still possible, and the ROM bootloader is a backup that's always there. Plop a tiny switch on the PCB, and even if I screw up an OTA update customers will still be able to flash with no special tools (if the device has a USB port, that is).
I also use it as a recovery state for panics, makes the device impossible to brick by a panic loop.
The lack of built-in flash kills it for me. STM32 M3s with comparable throughput are cheaper and don't require an external flash chip (example: STM32F103C8T6 for $1.20 from jlc). I love the generic PIO though, I really hope other manufacturers pick up on that.
> I love the generic PIO though, I really hope other manufacturers pick up on that. Unfortunately the Pi Foundation is seeking patents on the PIO architecture. I don't think they've been granted yet though.
Right?... Right?!?
The lack of built-in flash kills it for me. STM32 M3s with comparable throughput are cheaper and don't require an external flash chip (example: STM32F103C8T6 for $1.20 from jlc). I love the generic PIO though, I really hope other manufacturers pick up on that.
Are you gated on PCB real estate, or cost? 8 megabits of QSPI is under 50 cents. I really don't care that it's external if the entire chipset is under 2 bucks.
The PIO's really are the star of the RP2040 show, giving it a capability that competing chips like the ESP32 can't match. They are appearing all over the place in the console hacking space for this reason. Lower power consumption in steep modes for battery-backed applications would be a welcome addition in any V2 version though.
If you need a lot of IO - you're probably not looking at ESP32. It's just cheap and has WiFi builtin.
There are many options for other MCUs, that compare favorably to with RP2040... though majority aren't for the hobbyist market.
I agree with the post in 100%, I use RP2040 for both hobby projects and my keyboard startup project (arrowmechanics.com in case sb was interested).
IMHO What RP foundation did is the greatest breakthrough in the world of embedded tech projects since the popularization of atmegas.
I have just one question: is this product meant for the "hobbyist" space only?
I was on the fence about using it for a small commercial project I'm doing, but the lifetime has been put out long enough (2041 at this point), and it's so freaking cheap that I'm going to do a one-time buy of 10 years worth of parts. Lack of code security and onboard flash weren't dealbreakers for me here, but others will have more stringent requirements. QSPI is so incredibly cheap now.