The Pico Wireless Pack was discontinued, presumably owing to the PicoW
As I’ve got a bunch of Pico2s it seemed that such a Pack was actually not a bad idea to have available so I purchased one (they only had 2 left)
OK, I know the Pimoroni Pico Plus 2 W actually covers the lack of wireless (and yeah, got one of those as well as the non-Wifi versions as well)
This did make me think though - are there other discontinued add-ons that may be desirable in the future?
I really miss the “Captain Resetti”. This was a small, simple but great add-on for the Pico.
This isn’t Pico related but if we are talking retired products. I miss the Pibow extended bolt packs big time. Same deal with the custom modification layers. I was using the Ninja Diffuser a lot with custom cases / builds. Anything with an RGB LED matrix that didn’t come with a diffuser. The Sense hat for example.
I have two of those Pico Wifi packs. Never really put one to good use, but I held on to them anyway. Also have a couple of the Captain Reseti’s here. Lots more actually soldered in place. The way I code, a reset function is invaluable. lol ;) =-)
I resorted to a switchable USB hub as a ‘reset switch’
That works remarkably well with the pico as the USB hub has a simple switch you can turn off then on again which, of course, avoids the horrible unplug/re-plud MicroUSB (or other connector like USB-C depending on variant)
I was lucky with the WiFi as CPC still had two (and I grabbed one of them)
These switchable USB hubs can kill your device (I know for sure because I experienced it too). You can have very short, but nasty voltage peaks far above the nominal 5V.
And the reset button will also work if you don’t power your device via USB.
That’s worrying. What spectfic device? I’m using one of these as it comes from a trusted supplier
“Device” was referring to the attached microcontroller. I killed an ATTiny85. The “trusted supplier” does not change the way electronics work. And if you look at your hub: I bet it is from China.
Just about everything is from China in some way. The Pi stuff is made in Wales but where’s the chip fab? No China markings on my Picos at least (but no Wales either)
Did you have the same hub? I ask as it appears the supplier is aware of the dangers mentioning that " A 1.35mm DC jack port can provide more power for your USB devices however this is connected to the 5V line on the Raspberry Pi - if you want to use this port, open the case and cut the 5V USB power wire line."
Why they assume it’s connected to a Pi…?
In terms of the USB hub: the switch is a pretty fantastic safety feature, better than not having one. If used correctly, it allows you to start running the AC/DC connector before connecting it to the device, which avoids voltage peaks reaching your device. If used incorrectly, it’s the same as having no switch at all.
It’s hard for me to imagine how a switch would cause a voltage peak to reach a device, but the fact that the device was made in china is unlikely to be the case.
The fact that the DC jack port is wired to the 5v is weirder. As though it was a power output. Misusing that could cause some issues.
USB prevents the data lines to be connected before the power lines are connected. With a switch, you loose this protection.
Compromises are made it happens. If your going to make using the DC Power Jack “optional”, your going to need the +5V from the device the hub is plugged into to power it and what’s plugged into the USB Hub. If you don’t, it won’t work when no power supply is plugged into the DC Jack. The compromise is that the DC Jack is also wired to the +5V bus in the HUB. It gets back powered by the +5V that comes in via the USB Host connection.
The more concerning issue is the USB Host Device will get back powered when you plug in a DC Power Supply. That’s not a good thing, you don’t want two power supplies fighting each other trying to regulate the +5V Buss. Bad things usually happen, magic blue smoke etc.
I have a couple of setups (interstate 75, Plasma 2350) where I use custom wiring for my power supply setup. The +5V ends back feeding through the USB Jack. For these setups I use a custom USB Cable that has the +5V wire cut. Only Data + & - and Ground are wired up at both ends. I can tinker with them via Thonny without issue.
Very interesting! I must admit I thought it was the opposite. Thanks for correcting me
Here is a good read (but very technical): Protecting USB From Power Surges | DigiKey
It basically states: “During a hot connect or disconnect, there will often be an inrush of current from the USB hub to the USB device. This inrush can create current and voltage transients that are many times higher the operating specifications of a typical USB-connected device.”.
All this USB stuff could do with being it’s own thread - it’s more likely to get noticed / read
Obviously there’s some circuitry that could be added to a cheap hub that would make it safe. Alternatively a device that sat between the switched USB and the host could also be designed that limited the power on start.
This actually makes me wonder if there’s actually a safe switched hub available in the first place
I’d imagine that any good solution would sell relatively well (not massively without lots of advertizing tho)
If anyone reading this has a decent concept of something as described (or better) then at least it’d be worth a KickStarter
I would not overrate all of this. Yes, such a hub could destroy your device, but it is certainly nothing that happens on a regular basis. Else you would read all sorts of reports in the net. In my special case it was an ATTiny85, and that is a fairly old chip. So my experience probably does not reflect the general case.
Just for resetting (and not for controlling power) I still would prefer to have a button like the legendary “Captain Resetti”. That was a simple, easy to use and very valuable add-on. I still don’t get it why the Pi Foundation saves some cents and doesn’t provide one themselves.
Yeah, suppose I’m more worried about the reverse happening. This is only concievable if I power a Pico with some external source. I would hate for my 5 buck Pico to damage my vastly more expensive Laptop.
If a Pico gets fried - not bothered, just switch it for another - vice-versa = end of the world…
Last Laptop died just outside Warranty (nothing Pico related) - took me over a year to replace it… Used 10 year old Dell in the interim (not fun)