Raspberry Pi Pico for Radio Amateurs

A Practical Guide to the Raspberry Pi Pico in the Ham Shack

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a tiny, low-cost microcontroller that packs a surprising amount of power. For radio amateurs, it opens the door to building custom station equipment without the bulk and expense of a full computer. This book, written by experienced author and licensed ham Dogan Ibrahim (G7SCU), shows you exactly how to put the Pico to work in your shack.

Across 310 pages, you’ll find a carefully structured progression from the basics of the RP2040 hardware and MicroPython programming to a collection of 37 fully working projects. The emphasis is on practical, useful builds that solve real problems for radio amateurs.

From MicroPython Basics to Working Projects

The early chapters cover the Pico hardware module, its pinout, power requirements, and how it compares to the Arduino UNO. You’ll learn how to install MicroPython and write simple programs, including calculations for Ohm’s law, resistor color codes, attenuators, filters, and antenna lengths. These software-only tools are handy for day-to-day shack work.

Once you’re comfortable with the fundamentals, the book moves into hardware-based projects. You’ll build:

• Station mains power control and a station clock
• Temperature and humidity monitoring, plus geographical coordinates
• Waveform generators (square, sawtooth, triangular, sine) using both software and hardware techniques
• A frequency counter, voltmeter, ammeter, ohmmeter, and capacitance meter
• An RF power meter with attenuators and dB calculations
• Morse code exercisers and a Morse decoder
• An FM radio receiver, including versions with LCD and rotary encoder control
• PWM frequency and duty cycle measurement
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi control projects
• An audio amplifier module with rotary encoder volume control
• RTL-SDR and 433 MHz transmitter/receiver experiments

Every project is described with block diagrams, circuit diagrams, and complete program listings. The code is explained in detail, so you can modify it for your own requirements.

Who This Book Is For

If you’re new to the Raspberry Pi Pico, the book’s clear introduction will get you up to speed. If you’re an experienced radio amateur, you’ll appreciate the breadth of projects and the focus on useful station tools. Some basic familiarity with electronics and programming is helpful, but the author assumes no prior experience with the Pico itself.

About the Author

Prof. Dogan Ibrahim is a licensed amateur radio operator (G7SCU) and has written extensively on microcontrollers and electronics. His teaching experience shines through in the step-by-step explanations and the careful selection of projects that are both interesting and achievable.

Get Started with Your Pico Projects

Whether you want to build a station clock, a Morse trainer, or a full FM radio, this book provides the knowledge and the code to make it happen. Add it to your digital library today and start turning that inexpensive Pico into a valuable ham radio tool.