Adafruit Proto Tripler PiCowbell for Pico and PicoW

The Adafruit Proto Tripler PiCowBell is a versatile tool for Raspberry Pi Pico boards, with a reset button, STEMMA QT / Qwiic connector, rechargeable battery, built-in NeoPixel, and EYE SPI connector. No soldering required when paired with Pico H or Pico WH.

The Tripler effectively multiplies the capabilities of the Proto Under Plate PiCowbell by creating three adjacent slots, allowing for the addition of two 'bell accessories to your Pico or Pico W without the need for soldering. This feature expands your options for customization and simplifies the process.

LiPoly Battery Charging Support

The Tripler enables Lipoly/LiIon support for portable Pico projects. Simply use a 3.7V/4.2V single-cell Lithium battery with a JST 2-PH connector, and it will charge automatically while plugged into USB.

By default, the charge rate is 500mA for use with 500mAh+ sized batteries. You can cut a jumper to reduce the charge rate to 250mA if using 250mAh to 500mAh battery. So you don't have to unplug the battery often, a slide switch is connected to the Pico Enable pin, so you can disable the Pico's 3.3V power supply completely - this is as close as we can get to 'turning off' the Pico.

Alkaline/NiMH Battery Pack Support

You can also cut a different jumper to disconnect the charger completely from the battery, which means you can use 3xAA or 3xAAA battery packs for alkaline or NiMH battery usage. Of course, you will need an external NiMH charger in that case.

STEMMA QT + EYESPI Connectors

Add sensors and displays in an instant with a 4-Pin JST SH connector that is Qwiic / STEMMA QT compatible for just about any I2C sensor or device we stock. We do not have I2C pullups on the board, but your Qwiic/QT breakout board or accessory likely already has them onboard. If using the Philhower Arduino core, the Wire peripheral is already set up to use IO4 and IO5. If using CircuitPython or MicroPython, you'll need to let the code know to look at 4+5 for SDA+SCL pins.

For colorful high-resolution output, connect any of our EYESPI displays with an 18-pin FPC cable. We connect most of the pins for SPI displays with SD card and touchscreen support. Note that we didn't wire through the Busy or Reset pins so E-Ink displays aren't recommended (they sometimes require those pins for deep-sleep and wakeup)

Double-row Socket Headers

This board has double-row sockets already soldered on; you can plug in your Pico and 'Bell boards directly and access a prototyping area underneath and a second row of socket pins. The second row means you can connect wires just by poking them into the header, either directly to LEDs or buttons or to jumper to a breadboard. So you don't have to look up or count pins; each socket is nicely labeled. There are also 4 mounting holes for easy attachment to an underplate. 

The double-row socket headers we use are 'hollow,' meaning you can connect through the back if desired. Specifically, you can use Pico Stacking Headers to plug into some other device that is expecting Pico pins. Also, in theory, if you soldered pin headers on the 'wrong side' of a Pico, you could plug it up through the bottom.

If you're not mounting this board to something else, we recommend picking up a set of rubber feet to protect your desk.

Features:

• Three 2x20 slim socket headers - plug in your Pico and desired 'Bell and have an extra row of sockets for each pin!
• JST PH connector for LiIon/LiPoly or Alkaline/NiMH battery usage - be sure to cut the "disable charge" jumper to use Alkaline/NiMH batteries.
• LiPoly/LiIon charging circuitry for any 3.7V/4.2V nominal 1-cell battery. Default rate is 500mA, can be set to 250mA by cutting the charge-rate jumper on bottom. Two indicator LEDs let you know if battery is charging (orange) or complete (green)
• Slide switch connected to the Pico Enable pin, which will disable the 3.3V power supply.
• Reset button that sticks out at the end
• JST SH connector for I2C / Stemma QT / Qwiic connection. Or can use it for plain GPIO wiring if you don't have any I2C devices to attach. Provides 3V, GND, IO4 (SDA), and IO5 (SCL)
  There is an extra set of 4 breakout holes next to the JST SH if you want more I2C connections or want to re-assign the I2C port.
• 3 hole-connected strips are in the center areas. You can cut the traces between the holes, but they're intended to be treated like a mini-mini breadboard
• Nearly every pad on the Pico has a duplicate hole pad next to it for solder-jumpering
• The ground pads have white silkscreen rectangles to easily identify, plus one long ground strip near the reset button
• One long strip of connected holes for 3.3V power
• Gold-plated pads for easy soldering