GoKawiilThe pic0rick
The pic0rick is the current recommended board in the un0rick family. It replaces the FPGA-based designs with an RP2040/RP2350 microcontroller, delivering comparable ultrasound acquisition performance at a fraction of the cost and complexity — with no FPGA toolchains or specialized hardware knowledge required.
New to the project? Start with the Getting started guide for a step-by-step walkthrough from unboxing to your first echo.
Specifications
Parameter Value Microcontroller RP2040 (dual-core Cortex-M0+, 133 MHz). RP2350 also supported ADC 60 Msps, 10-bit resolution TGC amplifier AD8331 — 7.5 dB to 55.5 dB variable gain TGC control MCP4812 SPI DAC Pulse generation Three-level pulser via MD1210 + TC6320 (on pulser PMOD board) Pulse voltage +-25 V (via HV generation board) Input protection HV clipping on receive path PMOD connectors 1x single (pulser), 1x double (VGA, MUX, PSRAM, or custom) Data interface USB (serial) PIO usage PIO0: acquisition timing, PIO1: VGA output (when connected) Power USB bus powered Design files KiCad (open source) Firmware C/C++ for RP2040 — Arduino-like development environment Certification OSHWA open-source hardware certified as FR000023
System architecture
The pic0rick is a modular three-board system:
Main board — The core of the system. Contains the RP2040 microcontroller, the 60 Msps 10-bit ADC, the AD8331 TGC amplifier with SPI-controlled gain curve, and HV input protection on the receive path. The main board hosts both PMOD connectors and the USB interface.
Pulser board (single PMOD) — Generates the transmit pulse on behalf of the main board. Uses a pair of MD1210 + TC6320 to produce three-level pulses. Requires the HV board for high-voltage supply.
HV board — A simple +-25V generation board that plugs into the pulser board. Provides the high-voltage rail needed for pulse generation.
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