In this tutorial, I quickly demonstrate how to set up the HC-SR04 distance sensor for distance measuring with the Raspberry Pi Pico. I am demonstrating this because it took me a while to find some code that works with 5V logic on the sensor. Note that if you have the 5V version of the sensor, which most people have, you can use it with the Pico but it may cause some damage over time. I have yet to see that in my applications but I would not test it unless you have more Picos lying around. There is a 3.3V version of the sensor which I will be selling soon on my Amazon store. If you still need the 5V version you can find it with the link here:
Amazon HC-SR04 with Metal Bracket
1-) Physical Setup:
Get four jumper wires and connect them as follows:
The main point here is that there is an Echo and a Trig pin corresponding to the Transmitter and the Receiver respectively.
2-) Code Setup:
- Copy the code snippet from the bottom of this link. Really want to thank this gentleman for simplifying this code without the need for external libraries. He deserves most of the credit here but it did take me some time to find this, as all of the other libraries did not work.
- If you have the physical setup and your Raspberry Pi turned on. You should be able to run the code snippet in the MicroPython environment and start getting values. It's that simple!
Conclusion:
Hopefully, you got this all set up to start with your robotics applications. I think the metal mounting bracket with the sensor is a nice touch to any application involving this sensor. Once again, you find the sensor and the bracket for a low cost with this link. Please, if you found this useful in any sort of manner or if it saved you time please like, comment, and subscribe. Thanks for reading!
