SB Components' Micro RP2040 Shrinks the Raspberry Pi Pico Into a Compact Stamp-Like SOM with USB-C
A rival to the popular Solder Party RP2040 Stamp, this surface-mountable square board includes a USB Type-C connector for data and power.
UK embedded electronics specialist SB Components has launched a new, more compact take on the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller board — with the footprint of a stamp-style surface-mount system-on-module (SOM) but boasting an on-board USB Type-C connector for convenience: the Micro RP2040.
"Micro RP2040 [is] a small and compact version of the popular Raspberry Pi Pico," SB Components explains of its tiny microcontroller development board design. "With 23 multi-function GPIO [General-Purpose Input/Output] pins and a [USB] Type-C port, the Micro RP2040 has all the functionality of the Raspberry Pi Pico but in a smaller size."
Its feature set, in fact, is a direct clone of the popular Raspberry Pi Pico: 23 of the RP2040's GPIO pins are brought out to castellated pin headers — but covering three of the square board's four sides, rather than the two of a Raspberry Pi Pico — and there's a 2MB SPI flash chip for program storage, the same capacity as the Raspberry Pi Pico and radio-equipped Pico W.
There are two big differences between the Micro RP2040 and the Raspberry Pi Pico, though, and we're not just talking about the PCB color. The Micro RP2040 is considerably smaller, using a stamp-like form factor which gives it as small a footprint as possible when surface mounted but with the trade-off of being less suitable for use with a solderless breadboard. It also has a USB Type-C connector for data and power, an upgrade from the outdated micro-USB connector on the Raspberry Pi Pico.
It's the USB port which makes the Micro RP2040 stand out from rivals sharing a similar form factor, the best known of which is Solder Party's RP2040 Stamp — boasting castellated pins to all four sides of its square form factor, but having no handy USB connector for easy use without a carrier board.
The Micro RP2040 is now available on SB Components' Tindie store for $6.99, with the promise of full compatibility with programs written for the original Raspberry Pi Pico.