NetThing V1.12A

PicoCalc NetThing V1.12A: a wireless scanning and network troubleshooting tool for the ClockworkPi PicoCalc with a Raspberry Pi Pico W or Pico 2 W. It scans for Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, connects to the LAN by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth tethering or IP over USB, and has a set of tools for finding out why a connection is slow or down. It can also find Bluetooth trackers such as the Apple AirTag (and other Find My tags, Tile and Samsung SmartTag).

The PicoCalc's Wi-Fi radio supports only 802.11n in the 2.4 GHz band, not 5 GHz or newer standards such as 802.11ac, so only 2.4 GHz networks show in the Wi-Fi scan.

What is new since V1.10A

• The scan lists jump around less. The signal shown is a running average, and a row changes place only after its signal has moved 6 dB. Left and Right on the Wi-Fi scan and the Bluetooth scan set the time between list updates, from 0.5 to 10 seconds in steps of 0.5 (1.0 second at the start, shown at the right of the heading).
• Enter on the Wi-Fi scan and the Bluetooth scan opens the details of the chosen access point or device, which now say whether it can be connected or tethered to. Enter or C there connects to an access point; Enter or T tethers to a Classic Bluetooth phone. On the network you are already connected to, it goes straight to the connection screen without asking to disconnect.
• The tracker alert has two lists, NEAR and FAR AWAY: tags with a green or yellow signal and tags with a red signal, each longest in range first. Its update time is set with Left and Right too.
• The Wi-Fi scan no longer pauses itself while connected, and starts scanning whenever you open it. A scan that fails to start is tried once more before the screen pauses. P still pauses.
• B=BLUETOOTH SCAN and W=WIFI SCAN now sit on the P=PAUSE line of the two scan screens.
• F5 saves a screenshot of any screen to the SD card as a BMP file, and the Wi-Fi tools (signal meter, channel survey, health check) open with T on the Wi-Fi scan without a connection. (Both from V1.11A.)
• New SCREENSHOTS.md with screens from a busy shopping mall, and a note about roaming in the README: the CYW43 chip's firmware moves between access points with the same name by itself.

Files

• netthing-RP2350.uf2: for the Pico 2 W. Hold BOOTSEL while powering on (or press ~ in a running program) and copy it to the RP2350 drive.
• netthing-RP2040.uf2: for the older Pico W. Compiled but not tested on real hardware (its author has only a Pico 2 W). To fit in that chip's RAM it has no Bluetooth tethering and no Windows test server tools, and the certificate tool is slower.
• netthing-server-Windows.exe: the optional Windows test server for the download, upload and latency tools (unchanged apart from its version number).

A plain Pico or Pico 2 has no wireless chip; the program says so and waits for ESC.

The Bluetooth stack (BTstack, by BlueKitchen GmbH, from the Pico SDK) and the USB stack (TinyUSB, MIT) are included in the firmware; BTstack's licence allows use with Raspberry Pi's Pico W and Pico 2 W for non-commercial use (see the README). See the README for the full list of tools and how to build from source.

NetThing V1.10A

PicoCalc NetThing V1.10A: a wireless scanning and network troubleshooting tool for the ClockworkPi PicoCalc with a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W. It scans for Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, connects to the LAN three ways (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth tethering to a phone, or IP over USB to a PC), and has a set of tools for finding out why a connection is slow or down.

What is new since V1.01A

• Connect to the LAN by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth tethering or USB, one at a time. A line on the top row of every screen says how: NOT CONNECTED, WI-FI name -52 DBM, USB 192.168.137.2 or BT phone 192.168.44.x. The LAN tools (ping, trace route, DNS checker, speed test, LAN scan and the rest) run over whichever link is up.
  • Bluetooth tethering (Pico 2 W only): on the Bluetooth scan, Enter on a phone pairs with it (confirm a code), joins its Bluetooth tethering and gets an address. Turn on Bluetooth tethering on the phone first.
  • IP over USB: press U on the title screen, plug the PicoCalc into a PC and share the PC's internet with the new network adapter (Internet Connection Sharing on Windows; step-by-step instructions are in the README, with pointers for Linux, the BSDs and macOS).
• Three modes after the title screen: Wi-Fi scan, Bluetooth scan and LAN tools. L opens the LAN tools, B and W move between the scans, and ESC goes to the title screen without dropping the connection (any key brings you back to where you were).
• The Wi-Fi scan now runs over and over by itself, merging the results, and the list stays steady: networks you saved are kept at the top (green when both the name and the access point's address are saved, yellow when only one is). P pauses.
• One Bluetooth screen: the Low Energy devices, and below them a scrolling Classic area (phones, headsets, speakers, car kits). Find one device by its signal, read what a device says about itself, a tracker alert and a 2.4 GHz crowding report are keys on that screen. Phones already paired with the PicoCalc are shown first, in green.
• Leaves networks politely: a DHCP release and a proper goodbye to the access point, PC or phone when you disconnect, switch connections, leave the program, or reboot to BOOTSEL with ~.
• Saved networks remember the access point addresses (BSSIDs) they were joined through.

Files

• netthing-RP2350.uf2: for the Pico 2 W. Hold BOOTSEL while powering on (or press ~ in a running program) and copy it to the RP2350 drive.
• netthing-RP2040.uf2: for the older Pico W. Compiled but not tested on real hardware (its author has only a Pico 2 W). To fit in that chip's RAM it has no Bluetooth tethering and no Windows test server tools, and the certificate tool is slower.
• netthing-server-Windows.exe: the optional Windows test server for the download, upload and latency tools (unchanged apart from its version number).

What has been tried: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth tethering (with one phone) and IP over USB (Windows 11 with Internet Connection Sharing). IP over USB on Linux, the BSDs and macOS is untried.

A plain Pico or Pico 2 has no wireless chip; the program says so and waits for ESC.

The Bluetooth stack (BTstack, by BlueKitchen GmbH, from the Pico SDK) and the USB stack (TinyUSB, MIT) are included in the firmware; BTstack's licence allows use with Raspberry Pi's Pico W and Pico 2 W for non-commercial use (see the README). See the README for the full list of tools and how to build from source.

NetThing V1.01A

PicoCalc NetThing V1.01A: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth troubleshooting tools for the ClockworkPi PicoCalc with a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W.

What changed since V1.00A

• The tools are in three menus instead of one long one: Wi-Fi tools (health check, signal meter, channel survey), LAN tools (health check, ping, ping the router, continuous ping, trace route, DNS checker, name lookup, speed test, web page check, clock, certificates, LAN scan, port check, Windows test server tools) and Bluetooth tools.
• The status screen has fewer keys: T Wi-Fi tools, L LAN tools, B Bluetooth, D disconnect.
• Disconnecting, and leaving the program while Wi-Fi is connected, now ask Y/N first, so a few ESC presses too many do not drop the connection.
• Windows test server V1.01A. A few harmless build warnings are gone.

Files

• netthing-RP2350.uf2: for the Pico 2 W. Hold BOOTSEL while powering on (or press ~ in a running program) and copy it to the RP2350 drive.
• netthing-RP2040.uf2: for the older Pico W. Compiled but not tested on real hardware (its author has only a Pico 2 W); it has smaller limits because that chip has half the RAM (see the README).
• netthing-server-Windows.exe: the optional Windows test server for the download, upload and latency tools.

A plain Pico or Pico 2 has no wireless chip; the program says so and waits for ESC.

The Bluetooth stack (BTstack, by BlueKitchen GmbH, from the Pico SDK) is included in the firmware; its licence allows use with Raspberry Pi's Pico W and Pico 2 W for non-commercial use (see the README). See the README for the full list of tools and how to build from source.

NetThing V1.00A

First public release of PicoCalc NetThing: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth troubleshooting tools for the ClockworkPi PicoCalc with a Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W.

Files

• netthing-RP2350.uf2: for the Pico 2 W. Hold BOOTSEL while powering on (or press ~ in a running program) and copy it to the RP2350 drive.
• netthing-RP2040.uf2: for the older Pico W. Compiled but not tested on real hardware (its author has only a Pico 2 W); it has smaller limits because that chip has half the RAM (see the README).
• netthing-server-Windows.exe: the optional Windows test server for the download, upload and latency tools in the program's server menu.

A plain Pico or Pico 2 has no wireless chip; the program says so and waits for ESC.

Notes

• For https the program offers to write its built-in list of 32 root certificates to the SD card the first time it needs one.
• The Bluetooth stack (BTstack, by BlueKitchen GmbH, from the Pico SDK) is included in the firmware; its licence allows use with Raspberry Pi's Pico W and Pico 2 W for non-commercial use (see the README).
• See the README for the full list of tools and how to build from source.