SB Components' Latest Board Looks to Get Your Raspberry Pi Pico Projects Online via 2G Cellular
This surprisingly affordable feature-packed expansion board is built with the IoT in mind, but has a finite lifespan thanks to 2G shutdowns.
UK-based electronics specialist SB Components has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a Raspberry Pi Pico carrier board designed to improve its suitability for Internet of Things (IoT) projects — by giving it a cellular modem.
The Raspberry Pi Pico has proven a popular microcontroller board since its launch earlier this year, thanks in no small part to impressive specifications for its bargain-basement price. What it doesn't have, however, is wireless connectivity — and it's here that SB Components is looking to offer a solution.
"SB Components recognizes the needs of its customers," the company claims, "which is why it developed the Raspberry Pi Pico 2G Expansion, a high-tech communication device. The SIM868 is a comprehensive Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/GNSS module with an integrated CH340 USB to UART converter, Bluetooth 3.0, 5V operating voltage, SMA and IPEX antenna with the provision of U.FL Connector that covers the 850/900/1800/1900MHz frequency band, and an onboard 1.14" LCD, with auto multi-level repeating that runs on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2G Expansion."
In short, it's an impressively-featured carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Pico covering a wide range of use cases — and more thanks to expansion capabilities, including an analog audio interface. There is a catch, however: It uses the 2G GSM cellular network, which is being decommissioned in a range of regions — with most operators in the UK, where SB Components is based, looking to deactivate their 2G networks by the end of the decade.
The board is currently being crowdfunded via Kickstarter, with physical rewards starting at £35 for early bird backers and £45 for latecomers ($48 and $62 respectively) — the latter a 30 per cent discount over the expected retail price, the company claims. Both tiers include a bundled Raspberry Pi Pico and antennas for the GPS and GSM radios.