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matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 10926
Posted: 11:03am 02 Feb 2026
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For info
History: clockworkpi took an unreleased version of MMbasic and made an awful job of modifying it to fit the PicoCalc and then posted it without attribution. This was resolved to some extent when, after prompting by a TBS member, they added attribution to their website. I still really dislike clockworkpi's business model. Take other peoples code, make hack mods and post it, then never provide any software support. In addition, they work by taking the punter's money and only when they have enough ordering the components resulting in very long delivery times.
Despite this, having seen the mess they made of their implementation of MMbasic I made available two LCD drivers to properly support the PicoCalc 320x320 display - ILI9488SP and ST7796SP. Of course it would be easier if we actually knew what controller chip is actually used in their display. There are also new buffered versions of these drivers available but I don't know if anyone in the PicoCalc community has tried them.
Current status: Of course I monitor the PicoCalc forum from time to time and if I see bugs found in MMBasic I try and include fixes in subsequent releases. For example, in 6.02.00 I included a major rewrite of the way foreground and background activity on SYSTEM I2C interacts to hopefully reduce issues with the PicoCalc I2C keyboard. In general, it appears the particpants on the PicoCalc forum are similar enthusiasts to those we have here. Only one person on the forum has been truly unpleasantly rude since MMbasic clearly doesn't match up to his exalted standards. The latest release of MMBasic code for the PicoCalc has been done by a PicoCalc forum member "ernst" who seems to have done a nice job (I've differenced his code from my original) and I would be happy to help support him in maintaining his version going forward.
Issues: The big difference between the PicoCalc philosophy and standard MMbasic is in the way users expect to swap between different binaries. There are Micropython and Forth ports for the PicoCalc, amongst lots of other dedicated applications, and, as I understand it (probably wrongly), the original clockworkpi implementation allowed the user to swap between them by loading .bin files from SDcard? There is also a "uf2" loader for the PicoCalc that again allows the user to load a uf2 from sdcard. I haven't tried to understand this but it seems to rely on a permanent user-level bootloader being available in flash memory. This doesn't fit with the MMbasic approach. MMBasic uses every byte of the available flash for the firmware, the flash slots etc. and the A: drive and assumes that once you have programmed a Pico you will leave it programmed other than version upgrades. To add a bootloader would reduce the size of the A: drive which is already too small for some users on the 2Mb flash Picos. PicoCalc users don't seem to use the A: drive as a SDcard is assumed to be always available. In a perfect MMBasic world, the PicoCalc would be supported by OPTION RESET PICOCALC rather than by specific builds but this doesn't overcome the different approach.
Support: In terms of support, this is tricky. Any bug that can be demonstrated in standard MMbasic will of course be fixed. Bugs that only show in a PicoCalc are harder. They could be specific to the PicoCalc H/W or PicoCalc variant of the firmware in which case they are clearly the responsibility of the person supporting the firmware variant. Or, they could be a bug in MMbasic that is only shown because of the way the PicoCalc uses core MMbasic functionality. As above, my offer to ernst is to help support his port if he is interested but I won't be including any bootloader support in standard MMbasic other than the already existing UPDATE FIRMWARE.
The Palm Pico: Over the next few weeks I will be posting final design files for the Palm Pico, the H/W is complete - I just need to document. This is a self-contained hand-held device to run MMbasic. It is in no way a competitor for the PicoCalc, is architected completely differently, but was inspired by it to the extent that users seemed to like a self-contained handheld device. It will be completely open-source and it is designed for you to build yourself from readily available modules - there is no "corporate" supplier making a profit, I never sell anything or accept any contributions for anything I do. It is already fully supported in standard V6.02.00 and is designed around MMbasic and not any other language or application.
Unfortunately, it has become a common practice. Apart from the Arduino/Raspberry Pi ecosystem, almost all small SBC manufacturers provide little to no software support or updates beyond a frozen Debian image (think Khadas, Milk-V, Mango Pi, Walnut Pi, etc.).
Smaller projects like Pico Calc are no different—they tend to go in all directions without a clear focus beyond the "calculator of the future" gimmick. I think buyers often purchase the device itself rather than a platform (which, in my opinion, is a mistake).
As for me I’d be really interested in the Palm Pico.
It would allow me to switch to the RP2350 and free up some desk space for learning and development—no more need for a VGA screen! With just a PC and a second keyboard, coding becomes much easier: I could use MMedit on the PC and see the output directly on the Palm Pico’s screen.
Is there a small speaker on the Palm Pico ? That be great.
EDIT : Will the code made on palm pico run on a picomite VGA ? My guess is no since it's LCD things but i'm allowed to dream !
Jules Edited 2026-02-02 22:32 by JulesO
toml_12953 Guru Joined: 13/02/2015 Location: United StatesPosts: 542
Posted: 12:41pm 02 Feb 2026
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Woot! I'm ready to buy and assemble the pieces whenever you're ready to publish the info!
jwettroth Regular Member Joined: 02/08/2011 Location: United StatesPosts: 83
Posted: 06:32am 03 Feb 2026
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Matherp and Geoff- I'm profoundly grateful for all your efforts in bringing MMBasic to the amazing product that it is. It has revolutionized my business as a primarily analog consulting engineer. I can deliver a working prototype with my analog IP and a MMBasic backend (usually an MX170) to my customer for basic feasibility. MMBasic is powerful enough and flexible enough that I can put together a great prototype system that can be tweaked by my customer, iterated by both of us and refined. My value added is analog but in this day and age, some software massaging is required as well as some UI refinement. I love what you all have have produced.
When the PicoCalc released, I was an early adopter. I thought it could be something to add to my toolbox. It was immediately obvious to me that they were off track with "calc" in their name and all the comparisons people made to TI-83's, etc. Marketing and postioning aside, its a competently designed piece of hardware, a nice platform and a worthy addition to the MMBasic ecosystem. Because of some of the friction with the way this was released, I understand the rift and some of the bad feelings. This isn't the first drama like this. (the Duinomite, etc.). Micropython is a montrosity in comparison to MMBASIC in my opinion. I understand the draw, a familiar design flow, using importable libraries to extend functionality. It works in some ways but is kind of a pig- Python requires a lot of resources to really shine. Its a decent PC tool and even on a Raspberry PI Board, it makes some sense but its not a microcontroller friendly tool.
I'm encouraged to see some signs of peace on earth here. The PicoCalc is a neat platform though while somewhat ill conceived could be awesome with better support. My concern is that MMBasic won't get the place in world that it deserves and other systems like Micropython will prevail. That would be a shame in my estimation.
Thanks Matherp and Geoff for all your efforts. You've created a great tool.John Wettroth
Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me.
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