µctrl Raspberryπ pico & arduino

[Craig Bladow]

(01-23-2021 12:34 AM)Paul Dale Wrote:  

(01-22-2021 09:36 PM)John Keith Wrote:  I wonder if a high performance DIY calculator could be made by combining a Zero W with a Pico to handle power management, keyboard I/O, etc.

The Pico ought to be enough by itself. It's the same speed as the processor used in the WP 34S and has a lot more RAM and flash. It's also dual core so double the speed if the parallelism can be effectively utilised.


Pauli

Ah, but the Pi Zero W brings wireless access and mass storage. An in-between solution could be made with a single ESP32 which has wireless, has a dual core version if desired, and clocks as high as 240 mHz.

All that said it probably comes down to the desired size and weight, the capacity of the batteries that fit in the case and the power that the micro-controller and display draw.

I went as far as to put two of the RP2040s in a shopping cart, but didn't pull the trigger as I have a dozen or so micro-controllers sitting unused in my parts bin.