Pro Micro RP2040 Hookup Guide

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Contributors: bboyho
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Introduction

The Pro Micro RP2040 is a low-cost, high-performance board with flexible digital interfaces featuring the Raspberry Pi Foundation's RP2040 microcontroller. The board uses well known Pro Micro footprint with castellated mounting holes.

SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040

SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040

DEV-18288
$10.95
3

Required Materials

To follow along with this tutorial, you will need the following materials. You may not need everything though depending on what you have. Add it to your cart, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.

SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040

SparkFun Pro Micro - RP2040

DEV-18288
$10.95
3
USB 3.1 Cable A to C - 3 Foot

USB 3.1 Cable A to C - 3 Foot

CAB-14743
$5.50
4

Tools

You will need a soldering iron, solder, and general soldering accessories for a secure connection when using the plated through hole pads.

Soldering Iron - 60W (Adjustable Temperature)

Soldering Iron - 60W (Adjustable Temperature)

TOL-14456
$16.50
16
Solder Lead Free - 15-gram Tube

Solder Lead Free - 15-gram Tube

TOL-09163
$3.95
4

Prototyping Accessories

Depending on your setup, you may want to use IC hooks for a temporary connection. However, you will want to solder header pins to connect devices to the plated through holes for a secure connection.

Breadboard - Self-Adhesive (White)

Breadboard - Self-Adhesive (White)

PRT-12002
$5.50
48
Break Away Headers - Straight

Break Away Headers - Straight

PRT-00116
$1.75
20
IC Hook with Pigtail

IC Hook with Pigtail

CAB-09741
$5.50
10
Female Stackable Header - 12-Pin

Female Stackable Header - 12-Pin

PRT-14322
$0.75

For those that want to take advantage of the Qwiic enabled devices, you'll want to grab a Qwiic cable.

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

SparkFun Qwiic Cable Kit

KIT-15081
$8.95
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Qwiic Cable - 100mm

Qwiic Cable - 100mm

PRT-14427
$1.50
Qwiic Cable - Breadboard Jumper (4-pin)

Qwiic Cable - Breadboard Jumper (4-pin)

PRT-14425
$1.50

Qwiic Cable - 500mm

PRT-14429
1 Retired

Suggested Reading

If you aren't familiar with the Qwiic system, we recommend reading here for an overview if you decide to take advantage of the Qwiic connector.

Qwiic Connect System
Qwiic Connect System

We would also recommend taking a look at the following tutorials if you aren't familiar with them.

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)

SPI is commonly used to connect microcontrollers to peripherals such as sensors, shift registers, and SD cards.

Pulse Width Modulation

An introduction to the concept of Pulse Width Modulation.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.

I2C

An introduction to I2C, one of the main embedded communications protocols in use today.

Analog vs. Digital

This tutorial covers the concept of analog and digital signals, as they relate to electronics.