Solder Party Launches a Cut-Down Stamp Carrier Basic for Its RP2040, RP2350 Stamp and Stamp XL
If you only need the very barest of features from a Stamp breakout board, the new RP2xxx Stamp Carrier Basic is for you.
Swedish open hardware specialist Solder Party has announced the launch of a new Stamp Carrier Basic for those who have a RP2040 Stamp, RP2350 Stamp, or RP2350 Stamp XL they're looking to easily wire up.
"The RP2xxx Stamp Carrier Basic is as simple as it gets! It breaks out all the Stamp pads to easily accessible pin headers, except the USB data pins, which are routed to a USB Type-C receptacle (and, just in case, test points on the back of the Carrier). It's compatible with all the RP2-based Stamp boards."
Those "Stamp boards" are compact surface-mount modules, the original model of which was roughly the size of a postage stamp, designed around Raspberry Pi's RP2 family of microcontroller chips: the original RP2040 and second-generation RP2350. Solder Party announced its support for the latter in Stamp form back in August last year, unveiling the RP2350 Stamp and bigger RP2350 Stamp XL plus an enlarged carrier board for the latter.
The new RP2xx Stamp Carrier Basic is an extension, or rather contraction, of the bigger RP2xxx Stamp Carrier XL: like its predecessor, it offers the option to mount an RP2040 Stamp, RP2350 Stamp, or RP2350 Stamp XL, but instead of bringing the general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins out to blocks of single-row 0.1" female pin headers saves on space by using two-row mail headers instead.
The board also lacks other features of the XL variant: there's no DC input jack, no Qwiic socket or micro-HDMI-shaped DVI connector linked to the RP2350's High-Speed Transmission (HSTX) peripheral, no battery connector, no dedicated UART and SWD debug connectors, and no USB Host-capable USB port. There is, at least, a single USB Type-C port, which can be used for both data and power.
At the same time, the company has launched a FlexyPin-compatible breakout board for the Raspberry Pi RM2 wireless module — accepting the module in a reversible solder-free low-insertion-force mount and bringing its pins out to breadboard-friendly 0.1" pin headers. "It's a great way to create testing/flashing jigs," the company says, "or just experiment with the module without the commitment of soldering it."
The RP2xx Stamp Carrier Basic is available on the Solder Party Lectronz store at $4.33 before volume discounts, Stamp not included; the Raspberry Pi RM2 FlexyPin Adapter is priced at $1.03, though you'll need to supply your own FlexyPins and RM2 module. Design files are available on GitHub under the CERN Open Hardware License v1.2.
