[ad_1]
Adafruit uses Raspberry Pi’s RP2040, and Raspberry Pico, And put it in different things. USB key-shaped device without GPIO and limited connections. What are they thinking? Adafruit has created a series of RP2040 power supply boards, starting from the smallest, QT Py RP2040 To their biggest Feather RP2040 All of these have a series of GPIO pins, most with additional functions.
For Adafruit’s latest RP2040 board, we have a board designed around Adafruit’s Trinkey shape, which combines a Trinket-style device with the convenience of a USB key. Trinkey QT2040 is designed for plug and play and can be connected to any computer running any operating system.
Trinkey QT2040 provides a quick and simple way to build projects using the powerful functions of RP2040, so we connected a series of sensors through the convenient Stemma Q/Qwiic connector.
Adafruit Trinkey QT2040 hardware specifications
| System-on-chip | RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by British Raspberry Pi. Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, running a flexible clock up to 133 MHz. 264KB SRAM and 8MB onboard flash memory | |
| Universal input and output interface | STEMMA QT / Qwiic port for I2C connection NeoPixel (WS2812B) RGB LED user programmable BOOT button | |
| Power/USB | USB A is built into the ultra-thick PCB | |
| aspect | 1 x 0.7 inches (2.54 x 17.8 mm) |
Design and use of Adafruit Trinkey QT2040
Obviously, Adafruit’s Trinkey QT2040 is centered around the USB-A connection. There is no trailing wire, just plug in and start hacking. Adafruit’s Trinkey series boards follow this approach, but Trinkey QT2040 is the first to be driven by Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 SoC. The previous Trinkeys were supported by the Atmel SAMD21 SoC. Due to the size of Adafruit Trinkey QT2040, there is no traditional breadboard compatible pin, instead we have a Stemma QT / Qwiic connector that can be used for compatible devices, including sensors and screens. Stemma QT / Qwiic components can be linked together to build projects. For example, we connect AS7341 10-channel spectrometer and BME688 air quality sensor to Trinkey QT2040 and read real-time data, which is displayed through Python Shell (REPL). Trinket QT2040 also has a single NeoPixel, if it is not programmed, it will display any errors through the set number of LED flashes and set color. We can use NeoPixel in our projects thanks to a simple CircuitPython library that abstracts most of the complexity, including abstracting GPIO pins, instead of having a named reference (board.NEOPIXEL). The user-programmable BOOT button is usually used to set the board to a mode where new firmware can be refreshed. This button can also be used in our project. It also has an abstract named reference (board.BUTTON) that can be used to trigger actions in our code.
Physically Trinkey QT2040 is slightly larger than QT Py RP2040 But this is a good thing, because Trinkey QT2040 is designed to take advantage of many Stemma QT components with similar footprints. Using four M2.5 screw holes, we can stack components together, and using short Stemma QT cables, we can build simple and powerful projects.
Trinkey QT2040 is compatible with C/C++ and MicroPython, but to take full advantage of the board, we do need to use CircuitPython. With CircuitPython, we have an easy-to-use Python 3 dialect, and a large selection of libraries ensures that we can select and connect the Stemma QT/Qwiic board and start hacking. CircuitPython is the ideal way to experience Trinkey QT2040.
Adafruit Trinkey QT2040 use case
The lack of traditional GPIO is an obstacle to Trinkey QT2040, but this is by no means a logout. The USB form factor means that Trinkey QT2040 can be connected to computers that require quick access to the hardware hacker platform. Need to crack some I2C components, Trinkey QT2040 will enable you to insert and crack. But this is not what Trinkey QT2040 can do. We can use various Stemma QT/Qwiic boards to build our projects and connect directly to the USB power bank without additional wires. An example of such a project is a data collection device, which uses sensors to retrieve temperature, humidity, and air quality, and stores the data in an 8MB large-capacity flash memory. Then we can retrieve the Trinkey QT2040 project and connect to the computer to interpret the data. The M2.5 mounting hole and Stemma QT connection make its construction very simple and very neat.
Bottom line
Adafruit Trinkey QT2040 is not a development board for everyone. The lack of traditional GPIO will delay some, but the convenience of USB A and Stemma QT/Qwiic elevates the board to a Swiss army knife of tools. It has everything we need to collect data from compatible sensors. It can be powered from any USB port and is compact. The circuit boards of the Trinkey series are niche, but they can get the job done. USB A connections are very popular and useful, but as laptops move to USB C, we asked ourselves whether future versions of the board will be equipped with newer connections?
[ad_2]
