I've noted previously several ways that this board is not as good as the PicoW; it doesn't have the range, it draws more power than the Pico W for less range and while you can put the ESP8285 into sleep mode, the design doesn't support the timed ending of sleep mode - which it could have easily done. It also doesn't have anywhere near the support provided by the Pico W and so I agree that this board should not be purchased - that is unless someone has a specific need for this combination of the RP2040 and ESP8285. You do get much more firmware storage on the RP2040, for example and you could build your own ESP8285 firmware.
With respect to the missing C20; it seems that we are agreed that simply replacing the capacitor won't get you additional range - you need a board redesign to incorporate the missing C20 and L1. The point I didn't make well is that track length needs to be considered as inductance and track area as capacitance at Wi-Fi frequencies. (A microstrip transmission line is theoretically modelled as a series of inductances and capacitances inherent in the track properties at microwave frequencies.)
With respect to the missing C20; it seems that we are agreed that simply replacing the capacitor won't get you additional range - you need a board redesign to incorporate the missing C20 and L1. The point I didn't make well is that track length needs to be considered as inductance and track area as capacitance at Wi-Fi frequencies. (A microstrip transmission line is theoretically modelled as a series of inductances and capacitances inherent in the track properties at microwave frequencies.)
Statistics: Posted by Neil_Au — Mon Mar 11, 2024 1:28 am