Pimoroni Explorer: Wifi Module Question

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1

Hi all,

I recently purchased the Pimoroni Explorer and have had fun making some basic changes to the example scripts that came pre-installed. I was thinking of some future ideas i’d like to try and create myself and was wondering if it’s possible to add wifi to the board. I saw online that Pimoroni sell the RM2 Wireless & Bluetooth Breakout (SP/CE). The break out is SP/CE so I wouldn’t be able to connect to the Qw/ST connectors. I’ve never used a breadboard before (i’ve only used the Qw/ST or breakout garden) but in theory would I be able to connect this breakout via the breadboard? If yes, is there a way to do this without soldering pins into the breakout? If it’s possible are there any good guides for which holes i would need to attach too etc?

Thanks

2

If your going to go with no soldering, it would be this
8 Pin JST-SH Cable (SP/CE)
this
RM2 Wireless & Bluetooth Breakout (SP/CE)
and some of these.
Jumper Jerky Junior

That’s assuming you can code GP0 - GP5 for SP/CE.

1 Like
3

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction :) I haven’t coded for changes like that before but willing to have a go. If you know of any good guides on the topic let me know.

4

If you look at the RM2 example.
pimoroni-pico-rp2350/micropython/examples/pico_plus_2/breakouts/rm2-breakout-catfacts.py at main · pimoroni/pimoroni-pico-rp2350

You can set the pins it uses by editing this line.
wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF, pin_on=32, pin_out=35, pin_in=35, pin_wake=35, pin_clock=34, pin_cs=33)

As far as I know anyway.
The schematic for the explorer should show you what pins the Output Header connects too on the RP2350B.
pimoroni_explorer.sch

Hel Gibbons @hel should be able to tell you if they are preconfigured and changeable. The @hel will get her attention so just wait a bit for her to chime in. ;)

5

I don’t have an RM2 immediately to hand to try this, but I reckon it should work - I think it’s possible to do wifi over configurable pins in recent versions of MicroPython.

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6

Hi all,

So I’ve gone and purchased the following:

  • 8 Pin JST-SH Cable (SP/CE)

  • RM2 Wireless & Bluetooth Breakout (SP/CE)

  • Jumper Jerky Junior

I’ve connected the Jumper Jerky’s to the 8 Pin JST-SH Cable (SP/CE) and then connected that to the RM2 Wireless & Bluetooth Breakout (SP/CE).

Just wondering if anyone can help explain the next steps:

The SP/CE connector has the following [my cable colours]:(N/C [Red], 3V3 [Orange], CS [Yellow], SCK [Green], DAT [Blue], WL ON [Pink], GPIO0 [Brown], GND [Black]).

I’ve looked online for the meaning of the above and got the following:

Pin Definitions

  • N/C: Stands for “Not Connected”.

  • 3V3: Refers to a 3.3V power supply pin.

  • CS: “Chip Select” pin. Used to communicate via SPI.

  • SCK: “Serial Clock” pin. Used to provide timing for serial data transfers, often found in SPI interfaces.

  • DAT: “Data” pin. Generic data signal pin.

  • WL ON: “Wi-Fi On” or “Wireless LAN On” pin. Enables the Wi-Fi.

  • GPIO0: “General Purpose Input/Output” pin, specifically GPIO number 0.

  • GND: “Ground” pin.

The Pimoroni Explorer itself has a Breadboard and a separate GPIO section with the following:

GP0, GP1, GP2, GP3, GP4, GP5

ACD0, ACD1, ACD2, 3.3V, GND, GND

Do I need to use a mixture of the breadboard and the GPIO section?

Or just solely the GPIO section? If just GPIO I take it I plug the BLACK cable into the GND connector, ORANGE into the 3.3V connector, BROWN into the GP0 connector and I leave the RED cable dangling.

For my other four cables I need to reassign the GP1 through GP4.

Am I on the right lines?

Any further advice or guidance is much appreciated.

Thanks!

7

Is there any reason why the links in your post are redirected via some kind of outlook.com service?

8

@pboddie Who’s post?

9

Sorry, pimanpi’s post above. I guess the reply function doesn’t make the thread of discussion obvious.

10

No idea but changed to plain text now.

11

Those links were fine for me? They took me where they said they would. Anyway, weird stuff happens on the interweb. ;)