PicoCalc - Possible Candidate For My Handheld Computer

[granz]

Yesterday, while looking for stuff about the PicoMite, I found this video on YouTube:

(This appears to be what I had hoped that the TRS-80 Model 100 would be when it first came out. Unfortunately, Radio Shack made the 100 more of a Personal Digital Assistant, than a real computer.)

After watching this, I ordered two of these PicoCalc handhelds ($100 each, delivered - https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/picocalc .) They are based on the Raspberry Pi Pico, and have PicoMite BASIC pre-installed on the included Pico. In addition to BASIC, there are several different languages available. Beyond the included Pico there are also the Pico W, Pico 2, and 2W, so there are several upgrades available (there are also other boards which are pin compatible with the Picos - even one which will run a true Linux. ) There is also room inside the case for additional boards - the guy who created the above video added a LoRa board, and wrote a terminal program for sending messages over a mesh.

So, naturally, I also ordered three (one to play with  ) Pico 2WH (with the headers.) The PicoCalcs are powered by one, or two (for extra run time) 18650 cells (but not included due to international restrictions on LiIon,) so four of them are also on order. Since I was already ordering stuff, I included a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for an LCD that I already have.

ClockworkPi (the producers of the PicoCalc) have a reputation for six-to-twelve month delivery times.  But with this product, most people are reporting one-to-two week delivery time (shipped from Hong Kong to worldwide - including the U.S.) So, I will be reporting on these when they come in.

[JKnightandKARR]

Yesterday, while looking for stuff about the PicoMite, I found this video on YouTube:

(This appears to be what I had hoped that the TRS-80 Model 100 would be when it first came out. Unfortunately, Radio Shack made the 100 more of a Personal Digital Assistant, than a real computer.)

After watching this, I ordered two of these PicoCalc handhelds ($100 each, delivered - https://www.clockworkpi.com/product-page/picocalc .) They are based on the Raspberry Pi Pico, and have PicoMite BASIC pre-installed on the included Pico. In addition to BASIC, there are several different languages available. Beyond the included Pico there are also the Pico W, Pico 2, and 2W, so there are several upgrades available (there are also other boards which are pin compatible with the Picos - even one which will run a true Linux. ) There is also room inside the case for additional boards - the guy who created the above video added a LoRa board, and wrote a terminal program for sending messages over a mesh.

So, naturally, I also ordered three (one to play with  ) Pico 2WH (with the headers.) The PicoCalcs are powered by one, or two (for extra run time) 18650 cells (but not included due to international restrictions on LiIon,) so four of them are also on order. Since I was already ordering stuff, I included a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W for an LCD that I already have.

ClockworkPi (the producers of the PicoCalc) have a reputation for six-to-twelve month delivery times.  But with this product, most people are reporting one-to-two week delivery time (shipped from Hong Kong to worldwide - including the U.S.) So, I will be reporting on these when they come in.

Looks interesting. Good luck with them.

[granz]

Thanks.

This evening I received ONE of the three Pico 2WH that I ordered. I was not happy, but I checked Amazon, and the other two are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

On the other hand, I did receive the Pi Zero 2W with headers soldered in. I already had the 5" resistive touch screen ((https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JECYF2) and it has a female header where you just plug in the Pi, add a USB power pack, and it works like a tablet.

I have a men's prayer breakfast tomorrow morning, and so I'm not sure that I'll get to it before next week. That will make one more project, so we'll see what happens.

Still waiting on the PicoCalc, really exciting with what I'm seeing.

[granz]

More on what I'm doing while waiting on my PicoCalc:

Batteries - the PicoCalc has a battery holder for two 18650 LiIon cells. The thing can run on a single cell, but can take two for double the run time. In addition to the rest of the stuff that I ordered for the PicoCalcs, I also ordered four of the 18650 cells (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL9F4L5L) (I had also preciously ordered a 18650 cell tester/reconditioner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKNDNDRD so that I can start to harvest 18650s from old laptop battery packs). Now, these cells are labelled as 9900 mAh ratings. In addition to these things, I also ordered three 18650 charger units (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNK896J2) to use for the Picos and other things. The idea for these was to use them kind of like UPSs for my project boards for continuous power; charging or not.

In my readings about these cells, there are numerous warnings that any 18650s rated above 3500 mAh should be treated as a lie. So, of course, I wanted to see how good the 9900 mAh cells were. Plug one 18650 into one of the chargers. After fully charging the cell, I plugged the PicoMite (will have to do until I get my actual PicoCalcs) into it, and wrote a program to open a file, and then write the date and time to that file, pause for five minutes and write again. (Don't do like I did at first and open the file once - when the battery died the Pico shut down without closing the file; NO DATA!  ) After re-writing the program so that it opened the file before each write, then closed it and then paused for the five minutes. Letting it run over night (for the second time  ) saw that the Pico had shut down as expected. This time the file had data; it had run for twelve hours and twenty minutes! That was pretty good, I thought. I'll need to purchase some "normal" (i.e. 3500 mAh, or so) 18650s and see how the 9900 mAh ones compare.

For comparison, I tried the same test with a 20,000 mAh power pack that I purchased from Walmart (many years ago, have not seen them since.) The test is currently at two DAYS, eight hours and forty minutes! And, the four LEDs showing the battery charge level is still showing all FOUR LEDs lit (as in showing nearly full charge.  ) Wow! I may have to test out this power pack in the PicoCalc when I get it - if the Pico-under-test ever uses up the charge. 

While setting up the initial testing (with the 18650 charger unit) I saw that the PicoMite would reboot at times. It turns out that when I plug in (or unplug) the charging cord to the charger, it would momentarily disconnect the output power, thus rebooting the PicoMite. So, maybe a capacitor on the V_SYS pin (5V supply used by the SMPS to provide 3.3V. This can be used as a 5V output or input,) would hold the charge through the disconnect. Grabbing a 470µF cap - the biggest I had) I plugged it into the breadboard where I was testing the Pico. Nope, it was just like without the cap at all. So, you want to play it that way? Fine, I'll order some super-caps, and see how you like that! I never expected to search Amazon, order them (6F! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWMYR259) then wait for them to be delivered and receive them before the power pack ran down! But there you have it - the super caps came in yesterday, and the test is still running strong. That power pack is one darned good system - and only about $20 each for two. 

[Jeff_T]

Interesting stuff granz, I hate that you are having to wait so long on delivery. I can't wait for your review.

I looked at some of the Youtube videos and I saw where the basic was based on the MS VB, that's pretty cool, I still have a VB 6 + CD key in my desk draw. Yes that is CD not DVD and I believe, although I have not tried it, that this version of VB will still run on Windows 11

[granz]

Interesting stuff granz, I hate that you are having to wait so long on delivery. I can't wait for your review.

Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, but I knew that it would take a while when I ordered it. It seems so cool that I'm willing to wait - more time to gather hardware and software add-ons for it.   They claim that it is supposed to be shipped out in 30 business days (so around 05 Jun) yeah, quite a while, but... Apparently, some of the other products that they sell have been taking up to six, to twelve, MONTHS! Ouch.

I looked at some of the Youtube videos and I saw where the basic was based on the MS VB, that's pretty cool, I still have a VB 6 + CD key in my desk draw. Yes that is CD not DVD and I believe, although I have not tried it, that this version of VB will still run on Windows 11

Interestingly, I just, tonight, installed a Windows 9x program onto a Windows 10 computer for my daughter-in-law (Disney Phonics Quest https://archive.org/details/phonicsquestdisney, educational programs for our grand-kids.  It installed with no troubles at all.

[granz]

For comparison, I tried the same test with a 20,000 mAh power pack that I purchased from Walmart (many years ago, have not seen them since.) The test is currently at two DAYS, eight hours and forty minutes!

Well, it lasted six-and-a-half DAYS! That is pretty darned long - especially compared to the (supposed) 9900 mAh cell.

Wow! I may have to test out this power pack in the PicoCalc when I get it - if the Pico-under-test ever uses up the charge. 

I will definitely be trying the power pack on the PicoCalc. Now, all I need is one of those walnut-sized nuclear reactors that the Foundation had in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series - years, and years of power, and it's all mine. 

While setting up the initial testing (with the 18650 charger unit) I saw that the PicoMite would reboot at times. It turns out that when I plug in (or unplug) the charging cord to the charger, it would momentarily disconnect the output power, thus rebooting the PicoMite. So, maybe a capacitor on the V_SYS pin (5V supply used by the SMPS to provide 3.3V. This can be used as a 5V output or input,) would hold the charge through the disconnect. Grabbing a 470µF cap - the biggest I had) I plugged it into the breadboard where I was testing the Pico. Nope, it was just like without the cap at all. So, you want to play it that way? Fine, I'll order some super-caps, and see how you like that! I never expected to search Amazon, order them (6F! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWMYR259) then wait for them to be delivered and receive them before the power pack ran down! But there you have it - the super caps came in yesterday, and the test is still running strong. That power pack is one darned good system - and only about $20 each for two. 

Well, after the power pack test completed, I did hook up the super cap. All I did was to plug the positive lead of the cap into the V_SYS, and the negative lead into the ground rail of my breadboard.


The black loop of wire behind the cap is just a ground wire from pin 38 of the Pico to the ground rail.

You can see that the green heartbeat LED is on. The first time that I tried it, the Pico did not seem to power up. I left it for several minutes to do some chores, and when I came back it was running. Now, when I disconnect the power cord, which is charging the power bank, it does not reboot the Pico. Effectively, the super cap makes a dandy UPS. I even unplugged the USB cable which was powering the Pico, and the Pico stayed alive for several minutes - again, I had to walk out after several minutes. But it is good for plugging (and unplugging) the charging cord to the power pack.

This stuff is good for my PicoCalc, but also for any other Pico (or any other controller) projects. There wasn't even any need for any current-limiting resistor either - the internal resistance of the cap is enough to prevent blowing up the controller. 

[granz]

Effectively, the super cap makes a dandy UPS. I even unplugged the USB cable which was powering the Pico, and the Pico stayed alive for several minutes - again, I had to walk out after several minutes.

Well, I changed the test program to record the time every one second, rather than every five minutes in my first two tests. Then I started the program immediately after unplugging the PicoMite - no power pack, or Lithium battery. After the thing died, I reconnected the power cord, logged in to it and checked the log file. With the super cap, the Pico kept running for just under five minutes. So, in addition to the cap enabling the Pico to keep running when plugging, or unplugging, the power to the battery, it will actually survive swapping out the battery/power-pack completely. This bodes well for any IOT thing that needs to keep running.

[Jeff_T]

@granz That's pretty cool, super caps definitely on my shopping list. If you had a system powered by USB on a local receptacle and a relay to enable a power bank in the event of an outage you could just about survive any disruption on the local grid.

Coincidently I bought a 20K mAh "Pocket Juice" power bank from Wal Mart this week for my wife @ $20 for the one, a little pricier than yours but it's a nice unit.

[granz]

@granz That's pretty cool, super caps definitely on my shopping list. If you had a system powered by USB on a local receptacle and a relay to enable a power bank in the event of an outage you could just about survive any disruption on the local grid.

That is another project that is in the near future for me: I want to have one of my microcontrollers monitor my house power and log outages, and bumps. This super cap system will be the basis for that. Also, since my router, and server, are already on a UPS, the power monitor system will report outages to me via email (already built in to the PicoMate BASIC language,) or texting.

Coincidently I bought a 20K mAh "Pocket Juice" power bank from Wal Mart this week for my wife @ $20 for the one, a little pricier than yours but it's a nice unit.

When I searched for that power pack, from Walmart, I thought that it was the same as mine. But then I looked more closely at mine and found that it is a Powertek brand model. It does look almost exactly like yours, and the price (as best as I can remember) is the same as mine. So, accounting for inflation, you got a better price than I did. 

[granz]

@granz That's pretty cool, super caps definitely on my shopping list.

Do you have Amazon Prime? At $10.99 for ten caps (and free Prime shipping,) I decided that they were cheap enough to get a small stock for other projects.

And, if my PicoCalc reboots when I plug it in, or unplug it, there should be enough extra space inside the case for one of these super caps. If not, there are .STL files for case bottoms with even more space.

[Jeff_T]

@granz yes I checked your link on the caps, seems like a good price.

Right now I am bread boarding a test setup as part of a YouTube video series I am working through on the "Raspberry Pi Pico PIO" by "Life with David"   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YafifJLNr6I&list=PLiRALtgGsxmZs_LXGkh09Zr2NUmk_mtEI

It's fascinating stuff and gets pretty deep in parts, and some of it may get over my head, but the first five episodes look quite reasonable and now I want to do a little lab work on it.

[JKnightandKARR]

Damn..... that's ALOT of power to have on standby. Lol

[JKnightandKARR]

https://github.com/rlauzon54/PicoCalcBasic?fbclid=IwY2xjawKwfCVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnVDUyQnBYQWI5azVKa21pAR7KrVO6TCedxdO2JX99ELlHe0O2qdu8PnwymSd_Bvsn9p16H90qgrfRVIS64Q_aem_GVy0t0XcZ9R-dLVi_f2PIg

I found this source code from a FB post, some games, not sure if it could be helpful at all?

[granz]

Very nice, thank you. I have several games/programs that I have collected, but most of these are new to me.

I'm saving this for when I get my PicoCalc.