Raspberry Pi Pico Clone with 16MB Flash, USB-C, Neopixel, and More!

Clones of the Raspberry Pi Pico have started to appear for sale. These clones offer more features, for less money. But are they truly compatible? What extra features do you get? Let's find out.

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License



#garyexplains

[explodingonc]

Just for the Type-C connector, I would prefer the clone board. I hate micro-USB plugs, they are just too flimsy and breaks way too soon.

[mikeywisniewski]

Fantastic, love the USB-C connector. For my future projects, definitely going with something like this.

[DamianRene]

VCC-GND Studio is the original designer and manufacturer of this RP2040 based Raspberry Pico clone black board. It uses an LDO regulator instead of a buck-boots converter; it is a very low dropout voltage regulator still good for a Li-Ion or LiPo battery (up to 3.4V). The advantage of the LDO is a massively reduction in power consumption in sleep and dormant states.

[alexcranmer]

I’ve successfully use a couple of these with Pimoroni’s Pico RGB Keypad Base without any issues. You get extra memory, user button, a neopixel and much better usb C which is better for repeated connection/disconnection. I found they arrive a lot quicker (< 2 weeks) if you order multiple boards at a time.

One thing to note is they are wider than a regular Pico and will overhang pins/connections on some prototype boards.

[richsadowsky]

I have 4 in house and 2 on order of the RPi-2-pico-W (Pico W). I just ordered 2 clones with RP2040 TYPE-C 16MB
after watching this. Thanks Gary.

[RexxSchneider]

Thanks for this video. I've used Pi Picos since they were first available, but I just bought one of these 16Mb flash clones from Ali Express for £1.69 ($2.17) with free shipping on orders over £8. It took just 8 days to arrive, so we're really in a different ballgame now in terms of price and availability. Naturally, Ali has zero documentation so your video was most welcome, if only to learn which GPIO pins were connected to the USR button and the Neopixel.

[dphair]

Gary, thank you for doing these videos and making your code available. Helps a beginner like me to learn without reinventing. I had to bridge R68 on my board to work the neopixel and noticed at 7:10 on the video that your board is already bridged. Also updated a couple of GPIO numbers in the code to match what you explained on the video.

[theodorecoutu]

I bought one, the only difference I noticed that may cause incompatibility is:
The 3v3_EN pin was disconnected from GPIO 23 so you can no longer control the SMPS but the pin instead controls the NeoPixel.

[stargator]

Is there an original firmware (current) changed to recognize the 16 MB, because it only detects 2MB with the original one. I had to use the Pomodori Lipo 16MB to see the other ones, but I would like to have the original firmware only updated for the 16MB. Do you have any hints for this?

[CDRaff]

Just wanted to throw out a little tip to make life during a USB transition easier and that is: Adapters. I got these great USB-C to USB Micro and USB Mini adapters that use jewelry clasps to fasten to the cable and they are amazing. No more digging for older cables when I am working with a board like a Pico or an Arduino Nano. I wish they made a USB-B one. Stupid Uno and it's ancient connector.

[davidmarks]

I have one and its got nicescreen printing on the top and bottomfor all the pints SUPER NICE.

[martin.winkelhofer]

To answer Gary's question:
Since (all) the clones are based on original design/drawings from RPi Foundation, the RP2040 chip itself will be the original one (hard to clone this, right?) and other components that were present in the original design should be basically the same (BOM is included in public design files) => I wouldn't expect any issues related with the RP2040 itself (oscillator, power, USB compliance, ...). However, the more "changed" the clone is, the less trust I would have. No one wants his RPi Pico project to random reboot occasionally.
For critical projects I would choose the original only.

[marklewus]

if the original Pico had a reset button I would keep buying it. But I’m going to place an order for a handful of the ones you described. I don’t mind the USB micro connector too much but I mind it a lot when you have to plug and unplug every time you want to reset the board!

[OcenaSoft]

I have a few different Pi Pico's and then got this one as a result of your video. Have to say, for the price, I am impressed!!! It works the same and functions just like the real thing in Arduino IDE as well. It's good to have the reset pin and the RGB LED for testing as well. Now, knowing what I know about the clones, I would have gone for this one first. Now I can't wait for the Wi-Fi version to hit the market, as that is what I have the most of. Great video and well explained - thanks!!!

[avejst]

interesting video as always 👍
great walkthrou of the board.
Thanks for sharing your expirences with All of us 👍😃

[serialcs]

I can confirm that Version 2022-1.3 needs R68 bridged for the NeoPixel to work. I bought 2 boards recently and both needed the bridge.

[hiddencat]

Exists also a very similar board "WeAct RP2040", with 16 mb of flash, with one small difference - 3.3v output on 4-th pin fron right side, not on 5th... And no NeoPixel LED there)

[joey]

I've always bought and preferred clone boards. Never had any issues with them and they tend to offer more features. If the original manufacturers want me to buy from them they should at least offer the same utility as the superior clone versions.

[kristiansims]

Is it really a clone if it has the original chip? Anyone can buy the RP2040 and put it in a dev board; it doesn’t require any reverse engineering or IP license violations as far as I know.

Does look like a nice board though. I know the pico went with micro USB for cost and available cables but it still feels backwards.

[lint]

Maybe everyone should buy at least one of the original boards to help support and encourage R.Pi Foundation and then clones for the other features when those features are needed.