Beetle RP2040 Mini Development Board

SKU: DFR0959

DFRobot Beetle RP2040 is a compact development board (27mm×20mm) built around Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 chip. RP2040 has a dual-core ARM Cortex-M0+ (up to 133MHz), 264KB RAM, and supports USB 1.1. The board features beginner-friendly large pads (easier soldering) and 8 GPIO ports (I2C, UART, SPI, digital/analog), enabling flexible development of various applications.

Front of small square RP2040 microcontroller board with multiple ports and connectors-DFRobot product sku:DFR0959 image.
  • Docs
  • Tech Specs
  • 1. Getting Started

    This guide offers a step-by-step process to download and install the Arduino IDE and SDK for Raspberry Pi Pico, including adding JSON links and selecting the development board.

    2. Example Code for Arduino-Light LED

    The article offers a detailed tutorial on making an onboard LED blink using Arduino, covering hardware and software setup, wiring, and sample code to help beginners learn electronics programming.

    3. Example Code for Arduino-Read Digital Pins with External Pull-up

    This article outlines the process of reading digital pins using an Arduino with external pull-up resistors, including hardware setup, wiring diagrams, and sample code for effective and stable connections.

    4. Example Code for Arduino-Write Digital Pins

    This article offers a comprehensive guide on writing digital pins for Arduino, specifically focusing on blinking an LED using DFRobot Beetle RP2040, Arduino IDE, and the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK. It includes detailed hardware and software preparation, wiring diagrams, and sample code for effective learning and application.

    5. Example Code for Arduino-Read Digital Pins with Internal Pull-up

    This article provides an example code for reading digital pins on Arduino using internal pull-up resistors, detailing hardware setup, software configuration, and the benefits of internal pull-up in simplifying circuit design.

    6. Example Code for Arduino-Read Analog Pins

    This article provides a comprehensive guide with example code for using Arduino to read analog pins on a DFRobot Beetle RP2040, detailing hardware and software setup, wiring instructions, and offering a sample code for monitoring potentiometer values in real-time through the serial monitor.

    7. Example Code for Arduino-UART Communication

    This guide offers an example code for Arduino-UART communication, detailing hardware and software preparation, wiring setup, sample code execution, and result observation for reading environmental sensor data using DFRobot Beetle RP2040.

    8. Example Code for Arduino-Servo Control

    This article offers a detailed guide to controlling servo motors with Arduino, showcasing hardware and software setup, a wiring diagram, and sample code for the DFRobot Beetle RP2040. The servo moves between 0° and 180° using the Arduino Servo Library.

    9. Example Code for Arduino-PWM Output

    This article guides users on creating a breathing LED effect using Arduino PWM on the DFRobot Beetle RP2040, detailing hardware and software setup, sample code, and PWM functionality.

    10. Example Code for Arduino-I2C Communication

    This article offers a comprehensive guide to implementing Arduino-I2C communication with the AHT20 sensor, using the DFRobot Beetle RP2040. It covers hardware and software preparation, wiring instructions, and sample code for reading temperature and humidity data from the sensor via the serial port.

    11. Example Code for Arduino-SPI Communication

    The article explains how to establish SPI communication between an Arduino board and a TFT LCD display, using the DFRobot Beetle RP2040. It includes hardware setup, software preparation, wiring instructions, and sample code to display the text 'DFRobot' on the screen.

    Reference

    Specification

    Parameter Details
    MCU Raspberry Pi RP2040
    Main Frequency 133MHz
    RAM 264K
    FLASH 2M
    Power Supply DC 3.3V~5V
    System Level 3.3V
    USB Interface TYPE-C
    GPIO ×8
    I2C ×2
    UART ×2
    SPI ×1
    Digital Port ×8
    Analog Port ×2
    Reset Button ×1
    BOOT Button ×1
    LED ×1
    USB Device USB 1.1
    Programming Method C++, MicroPython, Arduino C, Mind+ graphical programming
    Soldering Pad Size 4mm×3.5mm
    Soldering Pad Pitch 2.54mm
    PCB Material FR-4
    PCB Copper Clad Process immersion gold
    Solder Material environment-friendly and lead-free
    Dimension (without packaging) 27mm×20mm×4.91mm (at the highest point)/1.06"×0.79"×0.19"
    Weight (without packaging) 20g

    Pinout

    Function Indication

    Pinout Function Indication

    Name Description Remarks
    USB Download Port and Power Supply Port Download program and power the main controller Interface type: TYPE-C
    RP2040 Raspberry Pi RP2040 main controller chip
    Reset Button When pressed, the program performs the reset operation
    BOOT Button Keep pressing the BOOT button and connect USB cable to the computer, then the computer will eject the USB flash drive This button is used when the program cannot be used or downloaded properly
    LED Onboard LED for test, connected to pin 13 Green

    BOOT button: Sometimes RP2040 program running may work wrongly, and this will cause program error and download failure. The solution to that is holding the BOOT button and plugging in the USB cable to the computer at the same time, then the USB drive will be ejected. The relevant port selection in Arduino IDE turns grey and cannot be chosen, but the Arduino program can be download normally without selecting port.

    RP2040 can select port normally after one successful program downloading.

    Shown as below:

    Select Port

    GPIO Pinout

    GPIO Pinout

    NO. Digital Port Analog Port UART I2C SPI Others
    GP0 D0 SPI0/MISO
    GP1 D1 SPI0/CSn
    GP2 D2 SDA1 SPI0/SCK When using SPI0, I2C1 is not available
    GP3 D3 SCL1 SPI0/MOSI
    GP4 D4 RX2 SDA0 When using I2C0, UART2 is not available
    GP5 D5 TX2 SCL0
    GP28 D28 A2 TX1
    GP29 D29 A3 RX1
    GND Ground pin
    VCC This pin is connected to the USB power pin, when used as an output, it equals USB voltage (generally 5V); when used as an input, the supply voltage is 3.3V~5V.
    3V3 This pin is connected to the output of the buck chip. It can be used as a power supply output with a voltage of 3.3V.

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