Waveshare RP2040-BLE is a Raspberry Pi RP2040 module with Bluetooth LE connectivity

If you could not care less about WiFi, the Waveshare RP2040-BLE module combines a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller with an unnamed Bluetooth 5.1 dual-mode chip, and supports a USB-C add-on board useful during development.

There are several Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards with a WiFi and Bluetooth module including the Raspberry Pi Pico W, but if you are only interested in using Bluetooth, the RP2040-BLE board from Waveshare may be more power-efficient and its design may be more suitable for integration into products.

Waveshare RP2040-BLE specifications:

MCU – Raspberry Pi RP2040 dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ microcontroller up to 133 MHz with 264KB of SRAM
Storage – 2MB of onboard Flash memory.
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5.1 dual-mode function (BLE and classic)
- Controlled by serial AT commands
- Ceramic antenna
Expansion
- 24x through and castellated holes with 14x multi-function GPIO pins. 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 2x UART, 3x 12-bit ADC, 14 x PWM
- FPC connector for board with USB-C port, Reset and Boot buttons
Misc – Temperature sensor.
Power Supply – 5V via VBUS pin or FPC connector
Dimensions
- RP2040-BLE board – 33.5 x 21 mm
- USB-C board – 18 x18 mm

The RP2040-BLE module supports drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB and the MicroPython and C/C++ SDKs like the original Raspberry Pi Pico (W), as well as Arduino programming. You’ll find resources to get started in the wiki including details about the Bluetooth APIs as well as resources such as (partial) schematics since we’re not told which Bluetooth chip the module is using… It’s unclear whether it’s compatible with the Raspberry Pi Pico Bluetooth implementation.

Waveshare RP2040-BLE module can be purchased for about $11 on Aliexpress or Amazon with free shipping, and the kit with the USB-C board and FPC cable goes for 90 cents extra on Aliexpress. So depending on your location, it may be more expensive than the Raspberry Pi Pico W, but it’s quite smaller. You’ll also find the module and kit on the Waveshare shop for $6.49 and $7.49, but those prices do not include shipping.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.