Let’s review and play with the Elecrow Pico W5.

The Elecrow Pico W5 is a microcontroller development board based on the RP2040 chip (the same chip used in Raspberry Pi Pico) with enhanced wireless capabilities. Key features include:

• RP2040 microcontroller with dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor
• Support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi using the BW16 module from AiThinker
• Bluetooth 5 connectivity
• USB-C connector for power and programming
• Compatible with MicroPython, C/C++, and other programming languages

Pros

• The dual-band WiFi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) is a significant upgrade over the standard Raspberry Pi Pico W, which only supports 2.4GHz
• RP2040 is a proven microcontroller with good community support
• USB-C connection is more modern than micro-USB found on some other boards

Cons

• As a third-party board, it may have less community support than official Raspberry Pi products

Setting Up MicroPython on Elecrow Pico W5

Initial Setup

I decided to use MicroPython for my Elecrow Pico W5. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Connect the board to your computer via USB

2. Enter bootloader mode:

   • Press and hold the BOOT button
   • While holding BOOT, press and release the RESET button
   • Then release the BOOT button

3. A flash drive should appear on your computer (in my case with the label RPI-RPI2)

4. Download the MicroPython firmware from:https://www.elecrow.com/download/product/CMB12201R/MicroPython/MicroPython_Demo.zip

5. Extract and locate the file: RPI_PICO-20240602-v1.23.0.uf2

6. Copy or drag this file to the flash drive

7. Safely eject the drive and press the RESET button on your board

Testing with a Blink Example

To test your setup:

1. Open a terminal and connect to the board with:

   screen /dev/cu.usbmodem2101 115200
   

   Note: Your device name may be different than cu.usbmodem2101

2. Copy and paste the Blink.py example code into the terminal

3. If everything is working correctly, you should see the LED blinking

Using the WiFi Module

The Pico W5 uses a BW16 WiFi module which can be controlled with AT commands.

• You can find the complete AT command list at: https://aithinker-combo-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/docs/command-set/index.html

Future Exploration: OTA Updates

Since the board has WiFi capabilities, Over-The-Air (OTA) updates would be useful.

Currently, I haven’t found a ready-to-use MicroPython example, but there are C language implementations for the Pico W:

• https://github.com/usedbytes/picowota
• https://github.com/usedbytes/picowota_blink

This remains an open area for exploration.

Useful link

• https://www.elecrow.com/pico-w5-microcontroller-development-boards-rp2040-microcontroller-board-support-wifi-2-4ghz-5ghz-bluetooth5.html?idd=6
• https://notjulian.github.io/blog/posts/pico-w5/