A Small Hack for PICO Prototyping

Published 2026-03-22

I see a lot of people on the web using a PICO with just one prototype board. This is kind of problematic, because the PICO is a wide chip and consumes more space than a standard IC.

I use this clever hack to get more prototyping space (click on the XL to get a huge image):

Using Two Prototype Boards XL

The trick is that the power strips that are on the side of the proto boards come off easily. I took one off, and then joined the two prototype boards together (and put the extra power strip on the left).

The advantage here is that the PICO now straddles the power board, and provides four prototype locations per pin, on both sides. (The traditional way of install the PICO on just one proto board, straddling the middle row, limits you to two prototype locations per pin.)

At the top right of the picture, you can see another little hack I have. It's an RJ-45 breakout board, because ... well, the spacing on RJ-45 just doesn't work with 0.1" prototype boards.