Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 Hardware

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The Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 board integrates a RP2040 microcontroller with hardware suitable for a small robot: two DC motor drivers, four servo connectors, battery input, LED indicators, switches, and seven Grove connectors. This CPU is the same as the Raspberry Pi Pico and can easily be programmed in CircuitPython.

The board comes with sample CircuitPython code.

Technical Details

  • Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ processor

  • 264 KB internal RAM

  • 2 MB of Flash memory

  • 4x Servo motors (GPIO12. GPIO13, GPIO14, GPIO15)

  • 2x DC motors with quick test buttons (dual-channel H-bridge, rated at 1.0A continuous)

  • 7 Automatic power selection: USB 5 V, LiPo (1-cell) or Vin (3.6-6 V)

  • Built-in 1-cell LiPo/Li-Ion charger (over-charged & over-discharged protection)

  • Power on/off switch

  • 13x Status indicator LEDs for GPIO pins

  • 1x Piezo buzzer with mute switch

  • 2x Push button

  • 2x RGB LED (Neopixel)

  • 7x Grove ports (flexible I/O options: digital, analog, I2C, SPI, UART)

  • Mounting holes: 4x 4.8 mm mounting hole (LEGO® pin compatible), 6x M3 screw hole

Technical Notes

  • logic is 3.3V

  • digital and analog inputs limited to 3.3V

  • motor and servo voltages limited to 6V

  • motor and servo voltages can be drawn from USB or battery

Product Packing List

  • 1x Maker Pi RP2040

  • 4x Grove to Female Header Cable

  • 1x Mini Screwdriver

  • 1x Silicone Rubber Feet (Pack of 4)

Installing CircuitPython

The Cytron Maker Pi RP2040 comes with CircuitPython installed, but you may wish to upgrade it to a newer version. The current firmware is available here: https://circuitpython.org/board/cytron_maker_pi_rp2040/

The upgrade procedure:

  1. Download the .UF2 file containing the desired binary firmware image for this specific board.

  2. Connect the board to USB power.

  3. Make sure the power switch is set to ON.

  4. While holding down the BOOT button, press and release the reset RST button. You will see a new disk drive RPI-RP2 appear on your computer. This means the board is now in bootloader mode.

  5. Copy the .UF2 file onto the RPI-RP2 drive, either via drag and drop or the command line.

  6. The board will detach as RPI-RP2 and reattach as the CIRCUITPY drive.