Version 1.20.2

You Spin Me Right 'Round

Tufty 2040: Firmware should now work and includes a fix to Tufty's native (RGB565) update code to reduce a typical screen update from ~30ms to ~10ms.

Cosmic Unicorn: Ghosting should be fixed in (just like Galactic).

Pico Display Pack 1.14": A fix to LCD init.

Ulab has been bumped to 6.0.12 where it's available (Tufty, Cosmic, Galactic).

Support added for the shiny new RGB Encoder Wheel breakout 👀

We're still building against MicroPython stable v1.20.0 and will continue to do so until there are some irresistible updates upstream. Quite a few changes have been made to streamline our build process and this may have introduced some regressions. Let us know if something is missing or broken.

🎉 Thank you to contributors new & old! 🎉

What's Changed

• Reduce size & workload of MicroPython build cache by @Gadgetoid in #764
• Inky Frame: longer sleep_for by @ahnlak in #754
• Display initialisation fixes for the Pico Display Pack 1.14" LCD by @nkotilainen in #767
• Cosmic: add links by @helgibbons in #768
• Fixes for compilation under macOS / GCC 13.3.1 by @raybellis in #771
• pico_rtc.py, Just a little PR for a possible typo :) by @Quitsoon in #748
• Fix web server only serving file once and wifi country configuration by @mutatrum in #746
• Ulab: Bump to 6.0.12. by @Gadgetoid in #773
• Ghosting fix for Cosmic by @MichaelBell in #775
• Support for RGB Encoder Wheel Breakout by @ZodiusInfuser in #774
• Tufty 2040: DMA display update. by @Gadgetoid in #777

Full Changelog: v1.20.1...v1.20.2

New Contributors

• @nkotilainen made their first contribution in #767
• @raybellis made their first contribution in #771
• @Quitsoon made their first contribution in #748
• @mutatrum made their first contribution in #746

Version 1.20.1

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ✲ﾟ｡⋆ [ɥɥɥɥɥƃƃƃƃ]ɹɹɹɐɐɐɐ

In my haste to release 1.20.0 I fell into a trap- a MicroPython C memory handling trap. One iiickkle tinnny change that I hadn't testing against turned out to be the one that broke all of our builds. This release fixes that, before someone makes me walk the plank.

As before, nothing much has really changed except for a version bump and some (apparently not as) minor (as I thought) changes.

ℹ️ since we'll tracking unstable MicroPython from this point onwards, the v1.20.x moniker doesn't mean all that much. We'll bump x every time we release a new version with new Pimoroni Pico libraries. Our point releases are unrelated to MicroPython's own point releases so it's just as well that those are extraordinarily uncommon.

Note from the future - the v1.20.1 image for Tufty 2040 is bugged. If you have a Tufty, best to use v1.19.18 for now.

What's Changed

• CI: Single-job builds to avoid #761. by @Gadgetoid in #762

Full Changelog: v1.20.0...v1.20.1

Version 1.20.0

Major MicroPython Milestone

Woah, woah. A version 1.20.0 of MicroPython! Surely that means lots of new great things in Pimoroni Pico MicroPython right, right?

Well... uh... it's not a particularly well-kept secret that we've (and, indeed, the official builds) been tracking the latest MicroPython changes since the Pico W. As such this release is mostly a formality and really nothing of consequence has changed since Pimoroni Pico v1.19.18.

Still, we're going to celebrate anyway: 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

What's Changed

• CI: Tidyup and combine MicroPython builds. by @Gadgetoid in #737
• PicoGraphics: document dither=False by @helgibbons in #739
• Update noise.py by @phennessey in #751
• Galactic: add link by @helgibbons in #750
• CI: Fix various build errors due to a caching race condition. by @Gadgetoid in #756
• MicroPython: Set board manifest for Inky, Enviro. by @Gadgetoid in #757
• Fix relative link to PicoGraphics documentation by @andrewmk in #760
• CI: Set MICROPY_GIT_TAG for #752. by @Gadgetoid in #759

Full Changelog: v1.19.18...v1.20.0

MicroPython Changes: micropython/micropython@38e7b84...v1.20.0

New Contributors

• @phennessey made their first contribution in #751
• @andrewmk made their first contribution in #760

Version 1.19.18

MicroPython Magic Memory

Okay so 1.19.17 was a bit of a memory corruption disaster. It turned out that - despite our best efforts - our C++ code was still assuming it had heap RAM it could use at its leisure. This was... sort-of... the case, except MicroPython's heap overlapped this same memory with disastrous and unpredictable results.

This is a re-issue of sorts, fixing the critical flaws in 1.19.17 but not introducing much else.

This change fixes some init heap usage in LTR559, LTP-305 (Dot Matrix display breakout) - removing almost 10k of memory usage - and PicoGraphics and introduces a new module cppmem which quietly redirects C++ heap allocations over to the MicroPython heap.

🦡 Badger 2040 and Badger 2040 W builds now live here: https://github.com/pimoroni/badger2040/releases/latest

What's Changed

• Inky Frame: add new examples and update sample images by @helgibbons in #713
• Scroll Pack: Fix demo.py by @helgibbons in #723
• Docs: Fix link by @helgibbons in #727
• Add reference to 7.3 inkyframe by @tjp in #729
• MicroPython: Magic C++ Memory Management. by @Gadgetoid in #725
• Badger 2040: Add deprecation warnings and firmware links. by @Gadgetoid in #722
• Move boot.py to modules_py.cmake by @Gadgetoid in #730
• MicroPython: Various networking fixes to code & examples. by @Gadgetoid in #731
• CI: Bump MicroPython to 38e7b84. by @Gadgetoid in #732
• Refactor out remaining C++ heap usage during init. by @Gadgetoid in #733

Full Changelog: v1.19.17...v1.19.18

MicroPython Changes: micropython/micropython@05bb260...38e7b84

New Contributors

• @tjp made their first contribution in #729

Version 1.19.17

Heap Upheaval

⚠️ This build is incredibly broken, you should use v1.19.16 instead - https://github.com/pimoroni/pimoroni-pico/releases/tag/v1.19.16 ⚠️

A recent change in MicroPython took away the last remaining drips of heap memory that some of our modules (erroneously) relied upon, this release is mostly a great sweeping set of changes to fix these instances and ensure we can continue to follow the latest and greatest MicroPython changes and integrate Bluetooth when it comes.

This is a pretty significant set of changes which may not be complete, if you encounter issues let us know and try version 1.19.16 instead.

Most of these changes have no user-visible effect and everything should work as before, with the notable exception of:

Unicorn Pack & Scroll Pack

As part of these changes both Unicorn Pack and Scroll Pack received a refactor into MicroPython class style modules, so:

import picounicorn

picounicorn.init()

Becomes:

from picounicorn import PicoUnicorn

picounicorn = PicoUnicorn()

As an added bonus we've thrown in PicoGraphics support for both of these boards. Neither benefit particularly from all that fancy graphics stuff, but it's nice to have party. PicoGraphics for Scroll Pack and Unicorn Pack works like it does for Cosmic/Galactic Unicorn, here's a minimal example for Scroll Pack:

from picographics import PicoGraphics, DISPLAY_SCROLL_PACK, PEN_P8
from picoscroll import PicoScroll

graphics = PicoGraphics(DISPLAY_SCROLL_PACK, pen_type=PEN_P8)
scroll = PicoScroll()

while True:
    graphics.set_pen(0)
    graphics.clear()
    graphics.set_pen(255)
    graphics.text("Boo", 0, 0, scale=1)
    scroll.update(graphics)

ℹ️ Note that Scroll Pack's update() method now accepts a PicoGraphics instance, if you want to use it without PicoGraphics you can call show() instead.

Bye bye Badger Builds

The builds for Badger 2040 and Badger 2040 W have been removed. You should head over to https://github.com/pimoroni/badger2040/releases where you'll find ongoing releases for Badger boards.

What's Changed

• MicroPython: Tidy up CMake files for our boards. by @Gadgetoid in #709
• clock.py: constrain hour to 0 to 24 by @mogenson in #715
• i75/i75w: Auto-detect board and set up user button. by @ageeandakeyboard in #655
• MicroPython: Avoid heap allocations in all C++ modules. by @Gadgetoid in #711

Full Changelog: v1.19.16...v1.19.17

MicroPython Changes: micropython/micropython@294098d...05bb260

New Contributors

• @mogenson made their first contribution in #715

Version 1.19.16

Indelible Inky

This release includes a number of improvements to all Inky Frame boards, spurred by Inky Frame 7.3".

• The inky_frame module now includes colour constants and handy functions to manage Inky Frame when it's running on battery.

• The pimoroni module now includes a PWMLED class which handles a single LED with brightness and on/off control.

• All inky_frame LEDs are now driven by PWMLED and have variable brightness control.

• set_thickness() now works for Inky Frame (and all PicoGraphics pen types, in fact), allowing you to control the thickness of the lines used to render Hershey fonts. Text can be oooh so much prettier.

• line() now supports a fifth argument, "thickness", letting you draw thick lines at any angle. This is great fun for really slow analogue clocks and other UI elements that involve thick lines that rectangles can't accomplish.

• A PicoGraphics instance for Inky Frame will now raise a ValueError if you try to access the raw framebuffer with memoryview(graphics). It's backed by PSRAM so there's no memory to access... yet!

• A bug has been fixed in PCF85063A driver, allowing you to set the time more than once.

See the Inky Frame module documentation for details about new (and old) features, caveats and so on.

What's Changed

• Contribute an automatic display brightness example by @LionsPhil in #701
• Fix small typo in README by @antonmosich in #708
• Inky 7.3 tweaks & docs by @Gadgetoid in #702

New Contributors

• @antonmosich made their first contribution in #708

Full Changelog: v1.19.15...v1.19.16

Version 1.19.15

Cosmic Calamity

Version 1.19.15 mostly adds support for a couple of new and shiny things but we've also taken the opportunity to make improvements to some existing products-

Galactic Unicorn

Galactic Unicorn firmware now includes numpy, and we've included a directory full of examples to show you how you can use it for all manner of dynamic effects and crude simulations.

To make these effects a little easier to produce we've also added support for palette-mode pens to Galactic, most of the examples use PEN_P8 which means every pixel on Galactic Unicorn is represented by one 8-bit number that provides an index into a palette of your choice.

Inky Frame

You can now use create_pen(r, g, b) with Inky Frame and PicoGraphics will try its best to dither your drawing to the 7 colours that Inky is capable of producing. This works best on large blocks of colour such as backgrounds or chunky text.

You can also use dither=False in JPEG decoding, causing JPEG files to be quantized to Inky's 7 colours rather than dithered. This is useful if you're using an image as a background for your project, or just want the cool posterisation-style effect.

PicoGraphics

PicoGraphics has a new create_pen_hsv(h, s, v) method, which replaces all of the copy-pasted hsv_to_rgb functions in our various examples with a faster, tidier implementation. Creating hsv pens works in all pen modes, and will either return a palette index or an appropriately converted RGB colour for you to use with set_pen as normal.

No Bluetooth, Yet.

While this is the first release built against Pico SDK 1.5.0, the new Bluetooth functionality is not yet available in MicroPython.

For a demonstration of Bluetooth doing something on Galactic/Cosmic see: https://github.com/Gadgetoid/galactic-bluetooth-audio/

What's Changed

• CI: Upload Badger 2040 W examples .uf2 to release files. by @Gadgetoid in #670
• some minor docs tidying by @helgibbons in #671
• CI: Bump MicroPython to latest commit post Pico SDK 1.5.0 bump. by @Gadgetoid in #672
• Few more Interstate examples by @helgibbons in #648
• Update to Badger 2040 W getting started by @Zoobdude in #673
• Support for Inky Frame 7.3" (using direct pen into PSRAM framebuffer) by @Gadgetoid in #663
• Cosmic by @ageeandakeyboard in #641
• CI: Don't include debug .elf files in artifacts. by @Gadgetoid in #677
• Cosmic Unicorn: Launch Examples. by @Gadgetoid in #676
• Update function names in readme by @Zoobdude in #679
• Patch: fixed error caused by missing secrets.py by @thirdr in #678
• List index out of range fix, remove default QR message if text files are available and file housekeeping by @SimonShirley in #658
• Added a pico display 2.0 Mandelbrot set example. by @Gadgetoid in #680
• Inky 7.3: C++ library and JPEG example compatibility. by @Gadgetoid in #682
• Inky 7.3: Support dithering of arbitrary colours. by @Gadgetoid in #685
• fixed example for automation2040wmini by @rabid-inventor in #533
• Driver for the mlx90640 thermal camera by @Gadgetoid in #225
• PicoGraphics: Include dependencies if necessary. by @Gadgetoid in #686
• CI: Separate CCache cache for Pico/PicoW. by @Gadgetoid in #687
• added in the wifi examples from another branch by @ageeandakeyboard in #683
• Cosmic Unicorn: Port paint example. by @Gadgetoid in #694
• Cosmic: tidy examples and docs by @helgibbons in #696
• Cosmic Unicorn: Eighties super computer in numpy/ulab. by @Gadgetoid in #697
• PicoGraphics: correct hsv pen reference by @helgibbons in #699
• CheerLights example for the Galactic Unicorn by @Corteil in #546
• Launcher for Inky Frame 7.3" by @thirdr in #695
• Galactic: add CO2 breakout example by @helgibbons in #700

Full Changelog: v1.19.14...v1.19.15

List of changes to MicroPython since Pimoroni Pico release v1.19.14: micropython/micropython@35524a6...294098d

New Contributors

• @Zoobdude made their first contribution in #673
• @SimonShirley made their first contribution in #658
• @Corteil made their first contribution in #546

Version 1.19.14

Badger Badger Badger WiFi WiFi

This release adds support for Badger 2040 W which is, as the name suggests, a wireless version of Badger 2040. We've switched to PicoGraphics for this version (we'll migrate Badger 2040 once the bugs are ironed out). It includes breaking changes from older Badger code, so you should consult the Badger 2040 W Python README to see what's changed.

PicoGraphics has also gained an HSV Pen thanks to @ageeandakeyboard, allowing a pen to be created from (hue, saturation, value) values, avoiding the need to calculate the RGB result in Python. Try set_pen_hsv(h, s, v).

Thanks to @LionsPhil for tweaking the Tufty 2040 Launcher/Menu to be a lot more RAM friendly, to @MichaelBell for fixing the ghosting issue in Galactic Unicorn and @ahnlak for adding RGB332 Pen support into Galactic Unicorn.

What's Changed

• Update CI status badges on README.md by @Gadgetoid in #636
• Correct RAM units by @helgibbons in #638
• Update docs and add links by @helgibbons in #639
• Plasma: Swap make_new/print functions for WS2812 module. by @Gadgetoid in #640
• CI: CMake build for Pico W and Pico. by @Gadgetoid in #651
• CI: Bump MicroPython to 67fac4e. by @Gadgetoid in #649
• Added PEN_RGB332 support by @ahnlak in #659
• PicoGraphics: HSV Pen by @Gadgetoid in #665
• Fix ghosting on the Galactic Unicorn by @MichaelBell in #666
• CI: Generate version.py for #664. by @Gadgetoid in #667
• Add support to Interstate / HUB 75 for panels with different color orders by @ZodiusInfuser in #660
• Rewrite the Tufty2040 main menu somewhat by @LionsPhil in #668
• Badger2040w by @Gadgetoid in #633

Full Changelog: v1.19.12...v1.19.14

New Contributors

• @LionsPhil made their first contribution in #668

v1.19.12

Upstream Upgrade Avalanche

This release bumps the MicroPython version we're building against, including significant changes and bugfixes.

Additionally, non-wireless boards are no longer built against the stable v1.19 MicroPython version and are instead synced with the latest, unreleased fixes.

This also means we should better align with the official releases of MicroPython, and we now include "mip" and "ntptime" in W builds as we should!

For an exhaustive list of changes see:

• Wireless boards: micropython/micropython@9dfabcd...699477d
• Non-wireless boards: micropython/micropython@v1.19...699477d

What's Changed

• Fixed typo with inventor examples by @ZodiusInfuser in #621
• add link by @helgibbons in #627
• MicroPython: Update to support new slots mp_obj_type_t. by @Gadgetoid in #515
• Patch/inky launcher 57 update by @thirdr in #626
• Fix BME68x configure function by @helgibbons in #625

Full Changelog: v1.19.11...v1.19.12

Note from the future: If you're using Plasma 2040 or Plasma Stick then you should skip this release - the builds below contain a bug that affects the Plasma library. Use v1.19.11 instead!

Version 1.19.11

PicoGraphics for HUB75

What's Changed

• correct sine wave in calc.py by @helgibbons in #585
• Add festive Plasma Stick examples by @helgibbons in #592
• Use http instead of https to avoid memory errors by @helgibbons in #599
• update to the hub75 drivers to make them compatible with Picographics by @rabid-inventor in #601
• JPEGDEC/PicoGraphics: Add support for RGB888 target. by @Gadgetoid in #600
• Unicorn volume fix by @ahnlak in #603
• Correct badge picture dimensions by @housten in #602
• Fetch pimoroni-pico SDK from git repository by @thinkofher in #388
• MicroPython: Create inky_frame module for buttons. by @Gadgetoid in #569
• Update actions for deprecation warnings by @Daft-Freak in #606
• Inky Frame Build by @Gadgetoid in #605
• Launcher + Examples for Inky Frame by @thirdr in #608
• usb-fix for Inky Frame Launcher by @thirdr in #609

Full Changelog: v1.19.10...v1.19.11

New Contributors

• @housten made their first contribution in #602
• @thinkofher made their first contribution in #388
• @thirdr made their first contribution in #608