Use MCP3008 Chip to Expand the Raspberry Pi Pico’s Analog Reading Capabilities @Raspberry_Pi #PiDay #RaspberryPi

Since all the way back in 2013, folks have been using the MCP3008 analog-to-digital chip with a Raspberry Pi to so that it can read analog values. The new Raspberry Pi Pico has an onboard ability to read analog signals, but using an external chip like the MCP3008 can enhance those abilities. Here’s more from Romilly Cocking via RAREblog:

One of my goals for my Pico mini-projects was to verify that I could drive I2C and SPI chips using the Pico’s MicroPython. I2C and SPI protocols are really useful.They let you drive all kinds of interesting sensors and actuators, and that means that they enable lots and lots of interesting applications.

There are an SPI example in the excellent Getting Started guide, and it gave me some useful ideas. There’s a little more information in the Pico Python SDK documentation, and yet more clues in the Pico pinout diagram. I also found a CircuitPython driver for the MCP3008 on Adafruit’s GitHub repository.

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