I’ve just discovered Bus Pirate 5, and I’m new to this forum. I’ve been reading about a few of the hardware problems. Before I place my order, could you tell me which board revision is currently available to buy for a UK purchaser, and what is the PCB colour? Are there any further board revisions planned? If so, when will the latest board be available? Just making sure I’m getting a rock solid hardware version. I don’t mind the firmware being under development.
Current version is REV 10, purple PCB. We’ve shipped thousands and have no current hardware bug reports, aside from corner cases we’ve solved with firmware fixes. I currently have no revisions in progress.
There was an issue in the REV8 preview/developers edition, which was the purpose of the preview version (to get it to interested testers). That was corrected in REV10. We had a small batch of REV10 made with the wrong gerbers, we caught more than half before they shipped, and replaced any that couldn’t be DIY fixed.
I don’t plan to update the hardware again until RPi comes out with a new chip. I’ve heard conflicting reports on this. Someone told me RPi was disappointed in the RP2040 response and wouldn’t do another chip. Someone else told me a bigger chip might come in the next year or two.
I’ve been told there is a RPi beta program, but until recently I didn’t think we were big enough to be included. We’ve got 6+ distributors now and more in the pipe so I may apply. I’m sure I can’t discuss it if I do receive preview silicon.
3 Likes
Hi there.
I am in the UK and had my BusPirate5 for a few weeks now. Fantastic piece of kit and does a lot more than I had expected and nearly as much as I hoped for! The firmware updates are continuously surprising me in pleasant ways.
Shipping was smooth and fast. Order one and I suspect you will be delighted.
2 Likes