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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Running MMBASIC on RP2040
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jwettroth Regular Member  Joined: 02/08/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 86 |
Amazon sells these little RP2040 boards for about $2 ($20 for ten). USB C connector, boot and reset buttons and about an inch square. I bought a few to play and use them with Arduino IDE but plan to use the real SDK. Has anyone experimented with MMBasic on them? I have a lot of little tasks in my lab where one of these running basic could be awesome. It would be really cool if I could just plug in, use the USB console with editor etc and then set them to autorun. A replacement for the old Picaxe! Is there any reason that MMBasic won't run on one, I'm going to give it a shot but wanted to share, know others experience and any gotchas.  Thanks. Footnote added 2026-05-03 12:04 by jwettroth The title of this post was was originally reffering RPi Pico "Zero" Mini boards- I guess this was a trademark or unwanted word. It kind of loses it meaning with just the RPi Pico 2040.... John Wettroth |
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| JohnS Guru  Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4309 |
Like this? John |
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| jwettroth Regular Member Joined: 02/08/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 86 |
Very cool, I tried it and it just works! Quite cool, amazing. I have a little example app that run a WS2812 that takes console input for RGB levels. I ran into one oddity. After it runs, the terminal screen goes black (using Teraterm). This might just be terminal settings? When I run editor, it fixes it and I get color highlighted source code. Are there any oddities you've noted? I don't know why I never thought to do this before. John Wettroth |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5864 |
Mmbasic runs fine on RP2040 zero. I have several in measuremen instrumenta, and Mick uses one as fish tank controller. Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8796 |
One of my favourite little modules. :) Just remember that you have to treat it as a standard Pico though. You get the added bonus of GP29. Unfortunately the castellated connections are wasted unless you cut a hole or notch in the PCB. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3746 |
Ditto, but I'd go for the Aliexpress RP2350 version, though: RP2350-Zero (Maybe it's also an option on your site.) At $3.16USD, costs a bit more, but well worth it in my opinion. I have made a PCB for it: Rp2350-Zero PCB ~ Edited 2026-05-03 02:22 by lizby PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on FOTS |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8796 |
I would now, but I didn't have that choice at the time. :) Exactly the same problem with the castellated connections though. Still, you can't have everything. :) I did a design using the RP2040-Zero for a game controller some time ago, cutting a notch out of the board and having the USB-C connector accessible at the back. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| jwettroth Regular Member Joined: 02/08/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 86 |
I'll also probably end up making my own with RP2350. I need the low power features of the 2350. With the RP2040, I'm power gating the whole board externally. Debating whether to remove the 3.3v regulator- experimenting. I'm using a Diodes Inc AP7361EA in front of it for the low power shutdown that does some other shutdown. Bound to become a favorite. Mick- what did you mean in your response above that you have to treat it as a regular RPi Pico? Do you mean, you can't run exotic firmware variants? Lizby- your board looks very useable. Nice job. Thanks all. Edited 2026-05-03 10:19 by jwettroth John Wettroth |
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