Hey friends — I nearly missed this one! It’s already October 2nd as I write (oops), but I’ve had my head down prepping content for a jam-packed autumn. Back to work, back to skool, and back to building!
🔍 Pico Ecosystem & Raspberry Pi News
September brought some exciting Pi developments — not Pico-specific, but still worth a look:
- Raspberry Pi 500+: A sleek update to the Pi 400 — now with Pi5 and SSD baked into a keyboard. Plug in power and a monitor, and you’ve got a full desktop. I haven’t grabbed one yet, but it’s tempting for events and demos. Take a look
- M.2 HAT Compact for Pi5: A tidy little add-on for SSDs. I’ve been using PIMoroni’s version, but this one’s great for off-the-shelf enclosures. See the launch
- PoE M.2 HAT+ from Waveshare: This one’s a game-changer for embedded network builds — PoE and M.2 in one board. Check it out
🎥 YouTuber Spotlights
Some brilliant creators are cooking up magic:
- Kevin McAleer is teasing a Raspberry Pi Pico-powered drone. I’m watching this closely — it’s right up my alley. Follow Kevin
- Dan Makes Things dropped a Portal 2-inspired robot arm. It’s got personality, it’s got flair — and it might just inspire me to turn my own robot arm camera into GladDos. Watch Dan’s build
Got a project you’d like featured? Ping me — I love sharing community builds.
🧪 My Projects & Experiments
September was full-on, and October’s looking even busier. Halloween builds, Christmas specials, and a new 3D printer to speed things up!
Here’s what I’ve been tinkering with:
- AI PCB Design with Flux: I gave Flux’s CoPilot a tough challenge — full PCB design. It nailed it. Watch the test
- LVGL GUI Tutorial: GUI frameworks usually make me groan, but LVGL is growing on me. Here’s a quick tutorial. Watch here
- Pico Flash Security: Ever worry about gifting a Pico with sensitive data? I hacked one in under 10 seconds. WolfSSL to the rescue. See the attack & fix
- Waveshare RP2350 Touch 2.8C Review: Biggest screen I’ve tested yet — and it’s lovely. Watch the review
- SDK 2.2.0 Status LED Library: New library, new bugs. I poked around and found a few. Bug hunt video
🔮 What’s Coming in October
Here’s what’s brewing:
- Robot arm camera upgrades
- VSCode for real Pico workflows
- USB Host comms
- AMOLED screen integration
- Spooky Halloween builds 🎃
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🧑🤝🧑 Meet Me at Pi Jam UK
Raspberry Pi are hosting a Pi Jam catch-up on 1st November 2025 in the UK. I’ll be there with RexP1, my Star Wars inspired droid — come say hi! RexP1 playlist
