Bluetooth and Wireless Support

Santroller configurator allows using the Pico W to create wireless guitars. You can use a single Pico W with a PC or phone, or you can use a second Pico W as a bluetooth receiver to get console compatibility. Note that once this is done, USB still works, so you can still use a guitar over USB if the battery dies or you want the better latency that wired provides.

Danger

There are fake Pico W boards out there that are NOT supported by santroller. If you see an ESP based wireless module on the listing for your Pico W, do NOT buy it.

>There are fake Pico W boards out there that are NOT supported by santroller. If you see an ESP based wireless module on the listing for your Pico W, do NOT buy it.
Danger

Programming and configuring only works over USB. If you are designing a controller around this, make sure that the USB port is still accessible.

Wiring a battery

The simplest way to safely add a second power source to Pico is to feed it into VSYS via a Schottky diode. This is necessary as it means the USB voltage won't feed back into your batteries, since the batteries and USB run on different voltages. Internally, there is another Schottky diode on the pico to prevent the batteries from feeding back into the USB pins.

If you intend to use a rechargable battery and have the USB port charge it, there are various products out there that can add battery charging support to the pico, that come with the necessary electronics required to support both charging and data over a USB cable.

Programming a Bluetooth Transmitter

  1. Follow the standard guide to set up your inputs.
  2. Expand Controller Settings, and set the Emulation Type to Bluetooth Controller
    Bluetooth Settings
  3. Hit Save Settings

Programming a Bluetooth Receiver

  1. Program a Transmitter using the above guide, and keep it plugged into a power source.
  2. Plug in your Pi Pico and open the configuration tool. It should show up as an unprogrammed device, if it does not, unplug the Pico, hold bootsel, and plug it back in.
  3. Set the Input Type to Bluetooth Receiver and hit Configure
  4. Once initial configuration is done, hit Configure again.
  5. Expand Controller Settings, and set the Controller Type to the same Controller Type used in the transmitter.
  6. Expand Bluetooth Input and hit Start Scan
  7. Find your transmitter in the Selected Device drop-down, and then hit Save Settings