IchigoJam Combines Strawberry and Raspberry to Deliver a Raspberry Pi Pico-Powered Educational Micro

Dropping an NXP microcontroller for the RP2040, the new and faster IchigoJam P is heading to Africa to drive educational computing classes.

Gareth Halfacree
1 month agoRetro Tech / HW101

Japanese educational coding concern Programming Club Network (PCN) has launched a new version of its IchigoJam microcomputer — with the new IchigoJam P having at its heart a RP2040-powered Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board.

"Introducing the Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) version of IchigoJam," the group writes of its latest design — initially prototyped on a solderless breadboard before being developed into a custom carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Pico. "Now compatible with digital monitors, e.g. DVI. Now also supports USB keyboards!"

The IchigoJam educational computer is now powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, in its new IchigoJam P variant. (📹: PCN)

The original Ichigo (Strawberry) Jam was designed as a low-cost microcomputer for educational use. Built as a compact single-board computer with expansion headers for additional hardware and using the NXP LPC1114F 32-bit Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller, it offered a simple composite video output, a USB port designed for use with dual-mode USB and PS/2 keyboards or a PS/2 keyboard with a USB adapter, and a built-in BASIC programming language.

The IchigoJam P offers some key improvements to this design — starting with a move away from low-quality composite video to a DVI output for use with digital displays, using a full-size DVI-D connector rather than the HDMI connector of most Raspberry Pi Pico display boards. Rather than having a dedicated microcontroller on the board, the P-suffixed version acts as a carrier for a Raspberry Pi Pico and its dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ RP2040 microcontroller — which sits in the middle, between expansion headers pin-compatible with the earlier IchigoJam models.

A major new feature of the redesigned board is its support for true USB keyboards, at a time when PS/2 devices getting harder to track down. This connects straight to the USB Micro-B connector on the Raspberry Pi Pico using a supplied USB On-The-Go (OTG) adapter cable, with a USB Type-C connector on the IchigoJam P itself used only for power. The IchigoJam BASIC pre-loaded into the microcontroller's flash is compatible with that of earlier versions, and provides access to 1kB of program area — though runs considerably faster and offers a full 100 save-file positions.

Production of the new board was funded through a recently-closed crowdfunding campaign, designed to support its provision for programming classes in Africa; general availability is scheduled for December this year, though PCN warns that this will be carrier-board-only and bring-your-own-Pico — unlike the all-in-one bundle provided to crowdfunding backers.

More information is available on the PCN website, while mononymous IchigoJam fan Shiro has published a hands-on review on their blog.

Main article image courtesy of Shiro's IchigoJam Diary.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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