Access the full workshop here: https://core-electronics.com.au/courses/raspberry-pi-pico-workshop/

You need to ensure that your Pico is powered correctly or you may damage it. We will be getting more in depth into that later in another video but for now we will just be powering it through the micro USB port which is a pretty fool proof method. Any USB connection on your computer will happily power the board with the 5 volts it needs through that USB connection.

Now the Pico isn't made of glass but it is still possible to damage it or even kill it if you don't handle it correctly. The most common way that you are going to do this is by incorrectly wiring up a circuit. So before powering it on always double check that you have wired up everything correctly and that things are connected into the pins that they should be. We will usually give you a diagram showing you what it should look like.

You should always unplug the USB from the Pico before wiring up any circuits or plugging anything into the Pico. By unplugging it you are stopping it from supplying any power to the circuit which will let you wire up what you want and then you can check it before you plug it back in.

Another way to damage your microcontroller is by shorting the pins. This is when you kind of accidentally connect two pins together that shouldn't be connected. So keep it away from anything conductive like metals and obviously keep it away from water and any other liquids. Also be sure that you don't put it down on a metal bench or a metal surface. That's a common one that catches people off guard as the metal bench will short out the pins.

While the risk is very small it's a good idea not to touch the Pico when it's plugged in either. You may have a build up of static electricity and touching the Pico could damage it. There are other minor reasons for why you shouldn't do that but it's just good practice not to touch a microcontroller when it's running. And when you're handling it try and handle it by the edges of the board.