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Using the Raspberry Pi Pico's Built-in Temperature Sensor

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Introduction to the Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython
Understanding the Built-in Temperature Sensor
Writing Your First Temperature Sensor Script
Enhancing Your Temperature Monitoring Project
Project Challenges and Next Steps

Reading Temperature with the ADC

Learn how to write a Python script to read raw data from the Raspberry Pi Pico's built-in temperature sensor using its ADC.

By Kevin McAleer,    1 Minute

Introduction

In this lesson, you’ll write your first script to interact with the Raspberry Pi Pico’s temperature sensor. You’ll read raw ADC values and display them in the Thonny console.

Step 1: Understanding the Code

The Pico’s ADC provides a digital representation of the temperature sensor’s reading. In Python, you can use the machine module to access the ADC.

Step 2: Writing the Script

  1. Open Thonny.

  2. Type the following code:

    import machine
import time

# Initialize the ADC for the temperature sensor
sensor_adc = machine.ADC(4)

while True:
    # Read the raw ADC value
    raw_value = sensor_adc.read_u16()
    print("Raw ADC Value:", raw_value)
    time.sleep(1)
  3. Save the script to your Pico as read_temp.py.

Step 3: Running the Script

  1. Run the script in Thonny by pressing the green Run button.
  2. Observe the raw ADC values printed in the console.

What You’ll See

The raw ADC value will change depending on the temperature of the Pico’s chip. In the next lesson, you’ll learn to convert these values into meaningful temperature readings.

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