Kit companion

SunFounder Kepler Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico W: lesson by lesson, simulated

The kit’s MicroPython lessons, in order, each a program that runs on a simulated Pico W in your browser with the kit’s parts on the GP pins its code uses: from a blinking LED and a keypad game to joining WiFi and serving a web page.

Open the first lesson Find your lesson What else it can build

Not affiliated with SunFounder. Lesson titles are referenced so you can follow along.

Lesson by lesson

Every lesson in the kit’s order

Lesson numbers and titles follow the MicroPython lessons of the online tutorial (read November 2026). Each circuit uses the kit’s parts on the pins the lesson uses.

48 of the 57 lessons with a circuit run here, 10 of them with a change we name, 9 coming soon, 6 setup lessons need no circuit.

1.1
Introduction of MicroPython
No circuit
What MicroPython is. Every lesson below runs the real MicroPython firmware for the Pico W.
1.2
Install Thonny IDE
No circuit
Installing an editor on the computer. The editor here runs in the browser, with nothing to install.
1.3
Install MicroPython on Your Pico
No circuit
Putting the MicroPython firmware on the board. The simulated Pico W boots it already.
1.4
Upload the Libraries to Pico
No circuit
Copying the kit’s driver files onto the board. Here each lesson that needs a driver carries its own in a tab, copied on at Run.
1.5
Quick Guide on Thonny
No circuit
Running, stopping and saving a program. Run and the Serial Monitor here do the same jobs.
1.6
(Optional) MicroPython Basic Syntax
No circuit
A primer on Python syntax: variables, loops, lists and functions. No circuit.
2.1
Hello, LED!
Runs here
An LED and a 220 ohm resistor on GP15, switched on and off once a second.
Open in the editor Pico W MicroPython blink on GP15
2.2
Display the Level
Runs here
A ten-segment LED bar on GP6 to GP15, a 220 ohm on each segment, filling up one segment at a time and then emptying.
Open in the editor Pico W LED bar graph fills and empties
2.3
Fading LED
Runs here
PWM on GP15 raises the LED’s duty cycle in small steps, so it brightens slowly.
Open in the editor Pico W fading LED with PWM on GP15
2.4
Colorful Light
Runs here
A common-cathode RGB LED on GP13, GP14 and GP15 (330 ohm on red, 220 on the others) mixes orange from three PWM levels.
Open in the editor Pico W RGB LED mixes orange with PWM
2.5
Reading Button Value
Runs here
A button from 3.3 V to GP14 with a 10k pull-down: each press prints a line.
This is the lesson’s pull-down wiring; it also shows a pull-up version, which reads the other way around.
Open in the editor Pico W button on GP14 with a pull-down
2.6
Tilt It！
Runs here
A ball tilt switch from 3.3 V to GP14 with a 10k pull-down: tip it over and the program says it opened.
Open in the editor Pico W tilt switch on GP14
2.7
Toggle Left and Right
Runs here
A slide switch with its middle leg on GP14 puts the pin on 3.3 V or ground, with a 10k and a 100 nF capacitor to steady it.
Open in the editor Pico W slide switch on GP14
2.8
Press Gently
Runs here
A lever micro switch with its common leg on GP14 reads 1 while pressed and 0 at rest.
Open in the editor Pico W micro switch on GP14
2.9
Feel the Magnetism
Runs here
A reed switch from 3.3 V to GP14 closes when a magnet comes near, and a pin interrupt counts each time.
Open in the editor Pico W reed switch interrupt on GP14
2.10
Detect Human Movement
Runs here
A PIR motion sensor on GP14 raises an interrupt when someone moves, and the program times each spell of movement and quiet.
Open in the editor Pico W PIR motion sensor on GP14
2.11
Turn the Knob
Runs here
A potentiometer on GP28 (ADC2) sets the PWM brightness of the LED on GP15, and its reading is printed.
Open in the editor Pico W knob on GP28 dims an LED on GP15
2.12
Feel the Light
Runs here
A photoresistor and a 10k divide 3.3 V with the middle on GP28: more light, a lower reading.
Open in the editor Pico W photoresistor divider on GP28
2.13
Thermometer
Runs here
A 10k thermistor divider on GP28, turned into Celsius and Fahrenheit with the beta equation.
Open in the editor Pico W thermistor thermometer on GP28
2.14
Feel the Water Level
Runs here
A water level sensor on GP28 reads higher the more of it is wet, and warns of a leak over 30000.
Open in the editor Pico W water level sensor on GP28
2.15
Two Kinds of Transistors
Runs here
A button on GP14 is copied to GP15, which switches an LED through an S8050 NPN transistor.
This is the lesson’s S8050 (NPN) circuit. With the S8550 (PNP) in its place, the same program lights the LED while the button is up instead.
Open in the editor Pico W button switches an LED through an S8050
2.16
Control Another Circuit
Runs, with a change
GP15 drives an S8050 that pulls in a relay, with a 1N4007 across its coil, and the relay’s contact switches an LED on and off every two seconds.
The relay’s coil is fed from VBUS (5 V) here. The lesson feeds it from 3.3 V, which is below the pull-in voltage of a 5 V relay, so the simulated one would stay open. A two-pole relay plays the kit’s one-pole relay; one pole is used.
Open in the editor Pico W relay through an S8050 switches an LED
3.1
Beep
Runs here
GP15 switches an S8050 that sounds an active buzzer: four short beeps, a pause, and again.
Open in the editor Pico W active buzzer beeps through an S8050
3.2
Custom Tone
Runs here
PWM on GP15 drives a passive buzzer through the S8050: three notes, 440, 494 and 523 Hz.
Open in the editor Pico W passive buzzer plays notes with PWM
3.3
RGB LED Strip
Runs here
Eight WS2812 pixels on GP0, fed from VBUS, each given its own color, then the colors turned along the strip.
The program uses MicroPython’s own neopixel module where the lesson loads the kit’s ws2812.py; the strip sees the same data.
Open in the editor Pico W WS2812 strip of eight on GP0
3.4
Liquid Crystal Display
Runs here
An I2C LCD1602 on I2C1, SDA on GP6 and SCL on GP7, shows two messages in turn.
The lesson’s text says pins 20 and 21, but its code and drawing use GP6 and GP7, as here.
Open in the editor Pico W I2C LCD1602 on GP6 and GP7
3.5
Small Fan
Runs, with a change
GP14 and GP15 drive a DC motor through a motor driver: a second one way, a stop, a second the other way.
The kit’s TA6586 motor driver is not simulated, so an L9110S plays it: the same two inputs per motor (GP14 and GP15) and the same truth table. It runs from the Pico W’s 3.3 V here, where the kit uses its Li-po charger module: on 5 V the L9110S would not read the Pico W’s 3.3 V outputs as high.
Open in the editor Pico W fan motor both ways on a motor driver
3.6
Pumping
Runs, with a change
GP14 high and GP15 low keep a small water pump running through the motor driver.
The kit’s TA6586 motor driver is not simulated, so an L9110S plays it: the same two inputs per motor (GP14 and GP15) and the same truth table. It runs from the Pico W’s 3.3 V here, where the kit uses its Li-po charger module: on 5 V the L9110S would not read the Pico W’s 3.3 V outputs as high.
Open in the editor Pico W water pump on a motor driver
3.7
Swinging Servo
Runs here
50 Hz PWM on GP15 sweeps an SG90 servo from 0 to 180 degrees and back.
Open in the editor Pico W servo sweep on GP15
4.1
Toggle the Joystick
Runs here
A joystick with X on GP27, Y on GP26 and its press switch on GP22 with a 10k pull-up, printed five times a second.
Open in the editor Pico W joystick on GP27, GP26 and GP22
4.2
4x4 Keypad
Runs, with a change
A 4x4 keypad with rows on GP2 to GP5 and columns on GP6 to GP9, each column pulled down, scanned row by row.
The kit puts a 10k pull-down on each column; here the Pico W’s own pull-downs (Pin.PULL_DOWN) do the same job, so the resistors are left out.
Open in the editor Pico W 4x4 keypad on GP2 to GP9
4.3
Electrode Keyboard
Runs here
An MPR121 touch module on I2C1 (GP6 and GP7) reports which of its twelve electrodes a finger is on.
The program reads the chip with a small mpr121.py of Mokxi’s, in its own tab.
Open in the editor Pico W MPR121 touch keyboard on I2C1
5.1
Microchip - 74HC595
Runs here
A 74HC595 with DS on GP0, STcp on GP1 and SHcp on GP2 lights eight LEDs one more at a time, then clears them.
Open in the editor Pico W 74HC595 fills eight LEDs
5.2
Number Display
Runs here
The 74HC595 drives a common-cathode seven-segment digit through one 220 ohm on its common pins, counting 0 to 9.
Open in the editor Pico W 74HC595 counts 0 to 9 on a digit
5.3
Time Counter
Runs here
A 74HC595 on GP18 to GP20 and digit selects on GP10 to GP13 multiplex a four-digit display that counts the seconds.
Each digit’s select pin gets its own 220 ohm, as in the lesson, and the four digits are multiplexed a few milliseconds apart.
Open in the editor Pico W four-digit display counts seconds
5.4
8x8 Pixel Graphics
Coming soon
Two chained 74HC595s scan an 8x8 LED matrix row by row to draw a cross.
The kit’s bare 8x8 LED matrix, driven by two 74HC595s, is not simulated yet. The MAX7219 matrix module is, if you want to try a matrix now.
6.1
Measuring Distance
Runs, with a change
An HC-SR04 with TRIG on GP17 and ECHO on GP16, its echo timed with ticks_us() and turned into centimeters.
The HC-SR04 is fed from VBUS (5 V) here. The lesson powers it from 3.3 V, below the 4.5 V its datasheet asks for, and the simulated module, like the datasheet, does not range on 3.3 V. On 5 V its ECHO is a 5 V signal, so a 1k and a 2k divide it down to 3.3 V for GP16.
Open in the editor Pico W HC-SR04 distance on GP17 and GP16
6.2
Temperature - Humidity
Runs here
A DHT11 on GP16 reports the temperature and the humidity every two seconds.
The program uses MicroPython’s own dht module where the lesson loads the kit’s dht.py.
Open in the editor Pico W DHT11 temperature and humidity on GP16
6.3
6-axis Motion Tracking
Runs here
An MPU6050 on I2C1 (GP6 and GP7) prints its acceleration and its rotation.
The program reads the chip with a small mpu6050.py of Mokxi’s, in g rather than the m/s² the kit’s imu.py gives.
Open in the editor Pico W MPU6050 acceleration and rotation
6.4
IR Remote Control
Runs here
An IR receiver on GP17 and the 21-button remote: each button’s NEC code is decoded and its name printed.
The decoder is a small nec.py of Mokxi’s, timed from pin interrupts, in place of the kit’s ir_rx folder.
Open in the editor Pico W infrared remote decoder on GP17
6.5
Radio Frequency Identification
Runs, with a change
An MFRC522 on SPI0 reads a card’s UID and the text stored on it, and stores text typed in the Serial Monitor on the next card.
The lesson has two programs, one to write and one to read; here one program does both. It uses a small mfrc522.py of Mokxi’s and stores the text in block 8.
Open in the editor Pico W MFRC522 reads and writes RFID cards
7.1
Light Theremin
Runs here
A photoresistor on GP28 learns the light’s range for five seconds while the LED on GP16 is lit, then the light sets the buzzer’s pitch.
Open in the editor Pico W light theremin: light sets the pitch
7.2
Room Temperature Meter
Runs here
The thermistor divider on GP28 gives the temperature and the I2C LCD shows it every second.
Open in the editor Pico W room temperature on an I2C LCD
7.3
Alarm Siren Lamp
Runs here
A slide switch on GP17 turns on a siren: the buzzer sweeps 130 to 800 Hz while the LED on GP16 pulses in step.
Open in the editor Pico W alarm siren and lamp on a slide switch
7.4
Passenger Counter
Runs here
Each time the PIR on GP16 sees someone, a pin interrupt adds one to the count on the four-digit display.
Each digit’s select pin gets its own 220 ohm, as in the lesson, and the four digits are multiplexed a few milliseconds apart.
Open in the editor Pico W passenger counter: PIR and four digits
7.5
GAME - 10 Second
Runs here
Shake the tilt switch on GP16 to start and stop a stopwatch on the display; stop it on exactly 10.00 to win.
Each digit’s select pin gets its own 220 ohm, as in the lesson, and the four digits are multiplexed a few milliseconds apart.
Open in the editor Pico W ten-second game with a tilt switch
7.6
Traffic Light
Runs here
Green on GP7, yellow on GP8 and red on GP9 change on a timer, 30, 5 and 30 seconds, with the time left on the display.
The lesson’s text lists the colors in another order; its code and drawing put green on GP7 and red on GP9, as here.
Open in the editor Pico W traffic light with a countdown display
7.7
Guess Number
Runs, with a change
A number game on the keypad (rows GP21 to GP18, columns GP13 to GP10) and the I2C LCD, which narrows the range after each guess.
The kit puts a 10k pull-down on each column; here the Pico W’s own pull-downs (Pin.PULL_DOWN) do the same job, so the resistors are left out.
Open in the editor Pico W guess the number: keypad and LCD
7.8
RFID Music Player
Runs, with a change
Lay a card on the reader and the notes stored on it play on the buzzer, with the WS2812 strip flashing a color per note.
Store the tune with lesson 6.5’s program here, which keeps it in block 8. A card with nothing stored plays a short tune of its own.
Open in the editor Pico W RFID music player with a WS2812 strip
7.9
Fruit Piano
Runs here
Each of the MPR121’s twelve electrodes plays its own note while the RGB LED on GP13, GP12 and GP11 flashes a random color.
Touch the electrodes on the canvas; the fruit is left out.
Open in the editor Pico W fruit piano: MPR121, buzzer and RGB LED
7.10
Reversing Aid
Runs, with a change
An HC-SR04 measures the gap, and the active buzzer on GP15 and the LED on GP14 beep faster as an obstacle gets closer.
The HC-SR04 is fed from VBUS (5 V) here. The lesson powers it from 3.3 V, below the 4.5 V its datasheet asks for, and the simulated module, like the datasheet, does not range on 3.3 V. On 5 V its ECHO is a 5 V signal, so a 1k and a 2k divide it down to 3.3 V for GP16.
Open in the editor Pico W reversing aid: HC-SR04 and a beeper
7.11
Somatosensory Controller
Runs here
The tilt of the MPU6050, worked out from gravity and averaged, turns the servo on GP15 to follow it.
Open in the editor Pico W tilt controller: MPU6050 points a servo
7.12
Digital Bubble Level
Coming soon
The MPU6050’s tilt moves a two-by-two bubble around an 8x8 LED matrix.
The kit’s bare 8x8 LED matrix, driven by two 74HC595s, is not simulated yet. The MAX7219 matrix module is, if you want to try a matrix now.
8.1
Access to the Network
Runs here
The Pico W joins WiFi, gives up after ten seconds if it cannot, and prints its IP address.
It joins Mokxi’s simulated access point, named by the board’s WiFi properties. The lesson also saves the network’s name and password in a file of their own; here they sit at the top of main.py.
Open in the editor Pico W joins WiFi in MicroPython
8.2
Follow the @CheerLights
Coming soon
The strip on GP0 shows the CheerLights color, fetched from ThingSpeak once a minute.
Mokxi’s simulated network has no real internet, so this lesson’s cloud service cannot be reached from it. Coming once there is an honest stand-in.
8.3
Security System via @IFTTT
Coming soon
When the PIR on GP17 fires, the buzzer sounds and an IFTTT webhook sends an email.
Mokxi’s simulated network has no real internet, so this lesson’s cloud service cannot be reached from it. Coming once there is an honest stand-in.
8.4
Real-time Weather From @OpenWeatherMap
Runs, with a change
Join WiFi, fetch the weather and the time, and show both on the I2C LCD on GP6 and GP7.
OpenWeatherMap and NTP are on the real internet, which the simulated network does not reach. Here the weather comes from http://weather.mokxi/ (set it in the Cloud panel) and the time from http://time.mokxi/.
Open in the editor Pico W WiFi weather and time on an I2C LCD
8.5
Cloud Calling System with @MQTT
Coming soon
Four buttons on GP16 to GP19 each publish a message to a public MQTT broker.
Mokxi’s simulated network has no real internet, so this lesson’s cloud service cannot be reached from it. Coming once there is an honest stand-in.
8.6
Cloud Player with @MQTT
Coming soon
A song name arriving on an MQTT topic plays that tune on the buzzer.
Mokxi’s simulated network has no real internet, so this lesson’s cloud service cannot be reached from it. Coming once there is an honest stand-in.
8.7
Setup a Web Server
Runs here
The Pico W serves a web page on port 80 whose links set the RGB LED on GP13 to GP15 and which shows the thermistor’s temperature.
Open the board’s page from the Web panel. The 3.3 V supply comes from the Pico W’s USB rather than the kit’s Li-po charger.
Open in the editor Pico W web server sets an RGB LED
8.8
Building Web APP with @Anvil
Coming soon
The DHT11’s readings go to an Anvil web app, and text typed in the app shows on the LCD.
This lesson needs Anvil’s own firmware for the Pico W and its cloud, neither of which runs here.
8.9
Play in @SunFounder Controller
Coming soon
A phone app’s slider turns the servo and its gauge shows the HC-SR04’s distance, over a WebSocket on the local network.
This lesson talks to SunFounder’s phone app over a WebSocket on port 8765; the simulated network reaches a board’s port 80 only.
8.10
Plant Monitor in @SunFounder Controller
Coming soon
A phone app shows the temperature, the humidity and the water level, and runs the pump at a press.
This lesson talks to SunFounder’s phone app over a WebSocket on port 8765; the simulated network reaches a board’s port 80 only.

Lesson list and pins read from SunFounder’s online tutorial. The explanations on this page are our own.

Learning path

Everything the SunFounder Kepler Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico W can build

54 projects use only the parts in this box, ordered from a first blink to the hardest.

Beginner (31)

Intermediate (18)

Advanced (5)

Level up

Add a few parts, unlock more projects

The smallest shopping lists that open the most new projects for the SunFounder Kepler Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico W.

Add Piezo speaker

Unlocks 5 more projects:

Add Multimeter and Piezo speaker

Unlocks 8 more projects:

Add Multimeter, ne555 and Piezo speaker

Unlocks 11 more projects:

Two kits

Projects that combine two kits

Own another kit as well? These need parts from both boxes, and neither can build them alone.

In the box

The kit’s parts, and what plays them here

The parts in the SunFounder Kepler Kit for Raspberry Pi Pico W, by the names its maker gives them. Each one is in the editor’s parts panel.

Raspberry Pi Pico W Raspberry Pi Pico W
Breadboard Full-size breadboard The circuits here wire each part straight to the board’s pins.
LEDs (red, green, blue, yellow, white) LED
Resistors, 10 ohm to 1 megohm Resistor
1N4007 diode Diode
Capacitors (104 ceramic, 10 uF) Capacitor
S8050 and S8550 transistors Transistor (NPN or PNP)
RGB LED RGB LED
LED bar graph LED bar graph, 10 segments
7-segment display Seven segment display
4-digit 7-segment display Four-digit seven segment, multiplexed
LED dot matrix (8x8) Not simulated yet; the MAX7219 matrix module is.
I2C LCD1602 Character LCD with I2C backpack
WS2812 RGB 8 LEDs strip Addressable RGB LEDs
74HC595 74HC595 shift register
TA6586 motor driver Motor driver, L9110S Not simulated; the L9110S has the same two inputs per motor and plays it.
Li-po charger module, power pack and battery holder The circuits here run from the Pico W’s USB power (VBUS and 3.3 V).
Buttons Pushbutton
Micro switch Limit switch, lever microswitch
Slide switch Slide switch
Reed switch Reed switch
Tilt switch Tilt switch
Potentiometer Potentiometer
Infrared receiver Infrared receiver, VS1838B
Infrared remote Infrared remote, 21 buttons
Joystick module Thumb stick
4x4 keypad Keypad, 4x4
MPR121 module Capacitive touch, MPR121
MFRC522 RFID module, card and key fob RFID reader, MFRC522
Photoresistor Light sensor
Thermistor Thermistor, 10k NTC
PIR motion sensor module Motion sensor
Water level sensor module Water level sensor
Ultrasonic module Ultrasonic ranger
DHT11 Temperature and humidity, DHT22 Set to DHT11 in these circuits.
MPU6050 module Accelerometer and gyroscope, MPU6050
Active and passive buzzers Buzzer The passive buzzer is the piezo speaker part.
Relay DPDT relay A two-pole relay; one pole is used.
DC motor and fan blade DC motor
DC water pump and tube Mini water pump
9G servo Hobby servo
USB cable and jumper wires The editor connects the board for you, and wires are drawn between pins.

For the manual

A link and a QR code for this page

Print either one beside a lesson, or tape it inside the box lid. Both open this page.

mokxi.com/k/sunfounder-kepler

The code is black on white with a quiet border, so it prints and scans at any size from 2 cm up.

Download the QR code (SVG)

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FAQ

Questions about this page

Is this made by SunFounder?

No. Mokxi is independent and is not affiliated with SunFounder. The page follows the kit’s lessons so you can use the two side by side; the circuits, sketches and explanations are Mokxi’s own.

Do I need the kit?

No. Every lesson that runs here runs in the browser, so you can try them before you buy a kit, or keep going while a part is missing or broken.

Is the code the same as in my manual?

The pins and the parts are the same, and the programs are MicroPython running on the real MicroPython firmware, with the same built-in modules. The code itself is written for this page, with comments that explain each step, and a few small drivers of our own stand in for the kit’s driver files, so it will not match the manual line for line.

What do "with a change" and "coming soon" mean?

A lesson marked "with a change" runs, but something differs from the kit, and the note under it says exactly what. "Coming soon" means we cannot simulate that lesson yet, and the note says why. We do not mark a lesson as running unless it does.

Is it free?

Yes. Every lesson on this page opens with no account. A free account saves your own copies of the circuits.