What Raspberry Pi Pico development board do you recommend

Hi Sean,

I'm biased too, but if you want the DIY option, then in https://github.com/shabaz123/pico-eurocard there is a zip file there called exportpico_euro_v_2_0.zip.

If that file is sent to a PCB factory, then the board that arrives can be used as-is (apart from buying the Pico), since the Pico is very complete.

In other words, by just soldering on the Pi Pico (either directly or with header pins), then the board can be used to patch wires to external breadboard, or to the perfboard area already on the PCB.

Then, whenever you feel like it, additional parts can be soldered on depending on needs. For instance, a couple of buttons and LEDs, or a 3.3V or 5V regulator, if you want to power other things too.

This is the completely populated board (but as mentioned, you could start with just the Pico soldered on). The board has space for two Picos (thanks to an idea from Jan Cumps  ). The second Pico is a smaller XIAO RP2040 (it is just used as a debugger when C/C++ coding using the Pico SDK. If you're using Arduino or Python, then it's not required.

Is your board something Newark / element14 will be (is already?) stocking? Is that a possibility, cstanton  ?

I wish/hope they can but I don't know who to ask. Since not everyone will want 5-10 boards from a PCB manufacturer and the associated shipping costs from China, it would be useful for people to buy just one or two.

I quite like the large size, since it has the built-in debugger and power supplies. Kind of all-in-one for projects. 

The one that Gough Lui links is interesting too, I just noticed they have LEDs on all ports which is pretty neat. I was just thinking, there is a cheaper way to do that using a different method on the Pico-Euro board. On the right side of the Pico-Euro board, the outputs are ordered on consecutive pins, since this is useful for PIO projects (PIO benefits from ordered pins). It is easy to connect a logic analyzer on banks of pins, but there could also be a plug-on custom PCB with LEDs on it (e.g. 8 LEDs), that can be removed and connected to different banks of 8 pins when desired. Far lower cost to do that than having dozens of MOSFETs and LEDs soldered.

ntewinkel said:

Is your board something Newark / element14 will be (is already?) stocking?

Typically before it gets to that stage for consideration, it helps to have passed the regional/global certifications for safety/testing, such as IPC Standards/CE mark, etc. and demonstrated to have had mass appeal (probably why a lot of products go through Kickstarter).

ntewinkel said:

Is your board something Newark / element14 will be (is already?) stocking?

Typically before it gets to that stage for consideration, it helps to have passed the regional/global certifications for safety/testing, such as IPC Standards/CE mark, etc. and demonstrated to have had mass appeal (probably why a lot of products go through Kickstarter).

It is officially vetted by a Belgian user 

Also I think it's better as a free (well, material cost) option than a commercial product that would then push the price up, because I doubt I could turn this into a high-volume product. Kickstarter effort would then require marketing effort to get the volume up etc., just not feasible to spend this time for a product that isn't intended to be a business.

I suppose I could check to see how much it costs to get the surface-mount parts populated (there is only one MOSFET, and about 16 resistors/capacitors), and then stick (say) 100 of them on eBay or Amazon at just cost price, for through-hole assembly with locally sourced parts by the user not me, and if they sell then great, and if they don't then it's not a lot of money spent. That would be less work than a Kickstarter I reckon.

Bit more production-friendly version, with all the surface-mount parts now only on one side.

I'll ask JLCPCB and/or Elecrow for a quote including supplying and soldering the SMD parts, and supply a bag of the headers and jumpers and buttons/LEDs, so that there is enough to get going (the DC-DC converters, rotary encoder etc can be sourced by the user as required, since they are not essential to use the board).