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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : PicoCalc and V7.00.00 - are they a match ?
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Volhout Guru  Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 6195 |
Hi, Is there anyone that has experience with the PicoCalc and MMBasic version V7 ? What pico are you using (1/1W/2/2W) ? What steps to update MMBasic from the pre-loaded V6. Is it working reliable, or something you throw in the bin after irritation xxxx. Thanks in advance, Volhout (Thinking of asking/ordering one for Christmas...) PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 12051 |
Don't IMHO they are c..p. The keyboard is unusable, the display is too small. The power supply is badly designed. It has unusable PSRAM but no RTC. Sound output is pathetic. The com port on the usb-c is badly designed. They are physically fragile, many users break the display either when installing or when updating the Pico or the firmware. If you must order one then you should use either the Pimoroni Plus 2 W or the Waveshare equivalent - RP2350B with onboard PSRAM and CYW43. They are fully supported by the WebMite and PicoMite builds (RP2040 and RP2350) |
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| Briano Newbie  Joined: 20/01/2026 Location: CanadaPosts: 24 |
MMBasic v7 works fine for me. Using a PicoCalc for almost a year now, almost exclusively with MMBasic, Have a Pico 2W right now.....brian |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9234 |
I wouldn't describe the PicoCalc as being "a match" for MMBasic at all. It ran an old and patched version of MMBasic. You can now get the official MMBasic to run on it, but that still doesn't make it "a match" in my book, just one of the less capable (and more expensive) platforms. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini |
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| toml_12953 Guru Joined: 13/02/2015 Location: United StatesPosts: 735 |
It runs 7.00RC4 with no problem. If you don't need to control a lot of external hardware (I use it to print to serial printers and as a handheld terminal), you can think of it as a very powerful handheld scientific calculator and, against the other ones, like the HP Prime, TI EVO, Numworks, etc. it really shines. I love mine. I don't need Pico 3 with external video and keyboard. I need an all-in-one handheld solution. The PicoCalc is perfect for me. If Peter had continued with his handheld, I'd have bought that but, alas, it was not to be. Other than external hardware like stepper motors, GPS devices and the like (which I don't need) how is this less capable? Also, it only costs $79.00 USD. Where else can you get full color 320x320 video and full keyboard (granted, not in a standard layout) in a handheld form factor for that price? How much do other solutions cost? |
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homa Guru Joined: 05/11/2021 Location: GermanyPosts: 723 |
You mean RC3?!! I can’t find an RC4 on there at the moment https://github.com/UKTailwind/PicoMite/releases?page=1 That said, I actually find the PicoCalc quite useful. I’d like it to have a better keyboard and a 3:4 screen ratio instead of a 1:1 one. That aside, what exactly is Peter’s project doing in this regard? Matthias Edited 2026-10-24 05:44 by homa |
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| toml_12953 Guru Joined: 13/02/2015 Location: United StatesPosts: 735 |
It's up to RC5 now: https://github.com/UKTailwind/PicoMite Footnote added 2026-10-24 06:15 by toml_12953 Of course, the link I gave is unofficial, so don't ask questions about that version here. However, I do find the differences between that version and the announced one are usually very minor if they exist at all. This is especially true of later Betas and Release Candidates such as RC5. |
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