# Pico Aboard Communication **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [November 25, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626 "2024-11-25T02:12:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Kiwi](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Kiwi)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 2:12am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/1 "2024-11-25T02:12:20Z")
Pimoroni sells products (such as the [Badger 2040 W](https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/badger-2040-w?variant=40514062221395)) that say “Pico Aboard!” (or “Pico W aboard!”) and I was wondering how the pico communicates with the rest of the device? Does it use the GPIO? If not, can _I_ use the GPIO? (I might be titling this topic wrong, so feel free to correct me. Sorry!) ---
**Author:** ![ahnlak](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/ahnlak/32/5610_2.png) [@ahnlak](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/ahnlak)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 11:25am UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/2 "2024-11-25T11:25:39Z")
It means it physically has a Pico(W) attached, rather than just embedding an rp2040 controller in it. The pads of the Pico(W) are exposed, but you’d have to double-check the specific schematic (usually on the product page) to know what pins are already grabbed by the hardware. ---
**Author:** ![alphanumeric](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/alphanumeric/32/2729_2.png) [@alphanumeric](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/alphanumeric)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 12:42pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/3 "2024-11-25T12:42:54Z")
Yes, it communicates with the device its connected to via the GPIO pins. The **W** just means it has built in WIFI. It’s up to you whether you want to use the WIFI or not. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Kiwi](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/4 "2024-12-06T14:34:31Z")
But the Badger 2040 has GPIO, and the 2040 W has a full Pico W, but no GPIO, so which pins on the Pico on the Badger W can I use? ---
**Author:** ![hel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/hel/32/6075_2.png) [@hel](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/hel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/5 "2024-12-06T17:58:36Z")
There’s a schematic for Badger 2040 W linked on the shop page that should show you what pins it uses: [Badger 2040 W (Pico W Aboard)](https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/badger-2040-w) Here’s a direct link! [https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0174/1800/files/badger\_w\_schematic.pdf?v=1675859004](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0174/1800/files/badger_w_schematic.pdf?v=1675859004) ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Kiwi](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/Kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/6 "2024-12-06T22:35:21Z")
So any pins that aren’t shown being connected to something else on that schematic are free for me to use? ---
**Author:** ![hel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.pimoroni.com/hel/32/6075_2.png) [@hel](https://forums.pimoroni.com/u/hel)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://forums.pimoroni.com/t/pico-aboard-communication/26626/7 "2024-12-11T16:02:10Z")
Yep, that’s correct.