At first glance, you might just presume this is a regular off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi Pico. Your eye might then be drawn to the USB C connector and the very keen-eyed might notice a few slightly different components on board. However, delve a little deeper, and this is an extensively modified and rugged almost indestructible re-imagining called the Dact Pico.
The first major headline is this Pico-compatible board has over-voltage and over-current protection and also includes discharge protection on every IO pin. The switching power supply on board can receive up to 32 volts without issue, dramatically increasing power options for the board; it can also supply up to 700mA as a constant supply and up to 2A as a burst. There are ferrites on the power input and plenty of extra bypass capacitors meaning the supply is very clean. Polyfuses, standard diodes and transient voltage suppression diodes also abound should you try to connect things up backward or accidentally short an output.
USB-C is a nice addition and is slowly becoming the de-facto standard for developer boards and again the USB input is well-protected with fuses nearby. The other additional feature above and beyond the standard Pico is that the Dact Pico has a reset button on board.
It seems like everything is a well-thought-out addition to the Dact Pico and you’ll have to work pretty hard to damage it. It’s perfect for a mission-critical Pico project!
