Raspberry Pi Pico VGA video output using only resistors

Building VGA output from a Raspberry Pi Pico. The Raspberry Pi Pico is amazing.

Sections of the video so you can skip ahead

00:00 Intro
01:06 Pico Setup
03:35 VGA Resistor DAC
08:43 Program and Demo

In this video I go through building the VGA output circuit using only resistors. It has a 5 bit DAC on each of the red, green and blue lines which means it should have 32,768 individual colours.

In the video I mislabel 2 resistors. The resistor ladder should be 499 ohm, 1K ohm, 2K ohm, 4.02K ohm and 8.06K ohm in that order. It's supposed to double each time, the linked schematic in the description is accurate here https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/rp...

The full schematic just for the VGA output including RGB, HSYNC and VSYNC is here    • Schematic for Raspberry Pi Pico VGA  

The demo code comes from the GitHub repo for RaspberryPi.org see the links below.

Please note this video is not sponsored in any way. There is a follow up video where I fix some of the colour issues I mention in this video. See the end card for the link.


Useful Links

Setup and getting started with Raspberry Pi Pico
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documenta...

Circuit Diagram for VGA output is here
https://datasheets.raspberrypi.org/rp...


Github Repos you need
https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-p...
https://github.com/raspberrypi/pico-e...

BuyAPi.ca where I bought my Raspberry Pi Pico
https://www.buyapi.ca/product/raspber...

VGA Female to Female Gender Changer
https://www.amazon.com/VCE-Changer-Co...

Assorted Resistors and Breadboard Kit
https://www.amazon.ca/Assortment-Resi...

7" VGA and HDMI screen (like the one I used in this video)
https://www.amazon.ca/Display-Monitor...