Pico dram tester

schlae·pico-dram-tester

About the Pico dram tester PCB

Pico dram tester is an open source RP2040/RP2350 PCB design by schlae, published on GitHub under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 100 × 100 mm, with 47 components from 29 distinct parts.

Its main chip is the PICO2, from the RP2040/RP2350 family. Other key parts include the 4116, 4132, 4164/41128/41256, 4416/4464 and 44256. By type, the board carries 16 resistors, 10 capacitors, 9 ICs, 5 test points, 3 connectors and 2 switches.

It belongs with the displays & leds and retro computing designs in this gallery.

From the project

Raspberry Pi Pico 2 Vintage DRAM Tester

Having trouble with your old-school DIP dynamic RAM chips? Here's a simple RAM tester that will give you a definitive pass or fail for a variety of chips.

New rev 3 now available! New features include:

USB-C power connector with PD resistors Universal encoder wiring supports Bourns and Panasonic style encoders * Through-hole footprint for the Pico2 to ease soldering

Pico dram tester, from the project README — From the project README

Main components on the Pico dram tester

PICO2 4116 4132 4164/41128/41256 4416/4464 44256 DCDC_ITR03 RFM-0505S APX803S

Pico dram tester bill of materials (BOM)

47 components, 29 distinct parts — part numbers from the project's BOM.

Qty	Part	Footprint	Refs
1	PICO2	Pico2_PTH	U1
1	4116	DIP_Socket-16_W4.3_W5.08_W7.62_W10.16_W10.9_3M_216-3340-00-0602J	U2
1	4132	DIP_Socket-18_W4.3_W5.08_W7.62_W10.16_W10.9_3M_218-3341-00-0602J	U3
1	4164/41128/41256	DIP_Socket-16_W4.3_W5.08_W7.62_W10.16_W10.9_3M_216-3340-00-0602J	U4
1	4416/4464	DIP_Socket-18_W4.3_W5.08_W7.62_W10.16_W10.9_3M_218-3341-00-0602J	U5
1	44256	DIP_Socket-20_W4.3_W5.08_W7.62_W10.16_W10.9_3M_220-3342-00-0602J	U6
1	DCDC_ITR03	DCDC_ITR03	U7
1	RFM-0505S	DCDC_ITR03	U8
1	APX803S	SOT-23_Handsoldering	U9
1	781-SUP53P06-20-E3 SUP53P06-20-E3 or equiv	TO-220-3_Vertical	Q1
1	TFT 4383	ADAFRUIT_4383	J1
1	MRD_114_IPS_LCD_8P mrd_114_ips_lcd_8p	PinHeader_1x08_P2.54mm_Vertical	J2
1	179-UJCHGSMT1P6TR POWER	USB_C_Receptacle_GCT_USB4125-xx-x-0190_6P_TopMnt_Horizontal	J3
1	TYPE	SolderJumper-2_P1.3mm_Open_Pad1.0x1.5mm	JP1
1	RotaryEncoder_Switch	ENCODER_SW_UNIV	SW1
1	653-B3F-4005 BACK	SW_SPST_Omron_B3F-50xx	SW2
1	534-5005 5V	TestPoint_Keystone_5005-5009_Compact	TP1
1	534-5006 GND	TestPoint_Keystone_5005-5009_Compact	TP2
1	12V	TestPoint_Keystone_5005-5009_Compact	TP3
1	534-5007 -5V	TestPoint_Keystone_5005-5009_Compact	TP4

Show 9 more

Qty	Part	Footprint	Refs
1	5VIN	TestPoint_Keystone_5005-5009_Compact	TP5
1	10UF 10uF	CAPAE200P500X1100	C1
9	0.1UF 0.1uF	CAPAC200	C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, C9 +1
1	33	RESA500	R1
2	680	RESA500	R2, R3
6	4.7K	RESA500	R4, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10
1	100	RESA500	R5
2	5.1K	RESA500	R11, R12
4	33	R_Array_SIP8	RN1, RN2, RN3, RN4

Pico dram tester design files

The KiCad project lives in the schlae/pico-dram-tester repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.

Pico dram tester: common questions

What microcontroller does the Pico dram tester use?

The Pico dram tester is built around the PICO2, from the RP2040/RP2350 family.

How big is the Pico dram tester PCB?

The Pico dram tester measures 100 × 100 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.

How many components are on the Pico dram tester?

47 components, from 29 distinct parts, with part numbers taken from the project's own BOM. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.

Where can I download the Pico dram tester design files?

From the schlae/pico-dram-tester repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout, the schematic and the BOM; the links under Design files point to each one.

Can I use the Pico dram tester design in my own project?

Yes, under the terms of its CC-BY-SA-4.0 license, which schlae chose for the repository.

Can I test firmware for the Pico dram tester without the hardware?

Yes. HardLabs builds a simulation of the board from its netlist and BOM, so you can run and debug RP2040/RP2350 firmware against it before you order a PCB.