Talking of power, you will want a portable way of supplying it. To this end, there’s a JST battery connector on the rear. If you buy the accessory kit version, you get – along with a lanyard – a 2×AA battery pack with a Velcro patch to stick it to the rear of the board.
Alternatively, you could use a standard USB power bank connected to Pico W. Both solutions are a little chunky, though, so you might prefer a slimline LiPo battery pack.
Easy to program
When first powered up, the Badger 2040 W launches into ‘Badger OS’ with a scrollable menu of icons to choose demo programs and tools. These include a badge, digital clock, e-book reader, interactive checklist, news headlines, and weather dashboard.
Naturally, you can connect Pico W to a computer via USB to customise the examples or create new programs – in MicroPython or C/C++. Pimoroni’s standard PicoGraphics library makes it easy to add bitmap images, and several fonts are supported. You’ll need to add your Wi-Fi credentials to try out examples such as news and weather, as well as setting the correct time via NTP.
Verdict
8/10
An interactive badge that doubles as a versatile mini e-ink display with a reasonably quick refresh rate and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Specs
Display: 2.9-inch e-ink, 296×128, monochrome
Features: Pico W, 5 × user buttons, reset button, LEDs, Qwiic/STEMMA QT port
Dimensions: 85.6 × 48.7 × 10 mm
