# Adafruit Proto Under Plate PiCowBell ## Overview ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/128/764/medium800/adafruit_products_5905-04.jpg?1710776753) The **Adafruit Proto Under Plate PiCowBell** is intended to be treated like a mini solderless proto plate to simplify programming and sensor connectivity for your Raspberry Pi Pico board. Reset button? Yes! STEMMA QT / Qwiic connector for fast I2C? Indeed. Plug-and-play so no soldering necessary when used with a [Pico H](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5525) or [Pico WH](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5544)? Here you go! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/128/765/medium800/adafruit_products_5905-03.jpg?1710776815) This board has double sockets already soldered on, you can plug in your Pico board directly in, and get access to a prototyping area underneath _as well as_ a second row of socket pins. The second row means you can connect wires just by poking them into the header, either directly to LEDs or buttons or to jumper to a breadboard. So you don't have to look up or count pins, each socket is nicely labeled. There's also 4 mounting holes for easy attachment to an underplate. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/128/766/medium800/adafruit_products_5905-01.jpg?1710776851) The dual socket headers we use are 'hollow' - that means you _can_ connect through the back if desired. Specifically, you can use [Pico Stacking Headers](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5582) to plug through to some other device that is expecting Pico pins. Also, in theory, if you soldered pin headers on the 'wrong side' of a Pico, you could plug it up through the bottom. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/128/767/medium800/adafruit_products_5905-02.jpg?1710776897) We recommend picking up a set of [little rubber feet](https://www.adafruit.com/product/550) to protect your desk if you're not mounting this board to something else. **The Proto Under Plate PiCowBell provides you with the following:** - **2x20 slim socket headers** - plug in your Pico and have an extra row of sockets for each pin! - **Right angle** **reset button** that sticks out the end. - **Right angle JST SH connector for I2C / Stemma QT / Qwiic** connection. Or can use it for plain GPIO wiring if you don't have any I2C devices to attach. Provides 3V, GND, IO4 (SDA), and IO5 (SCL). There is an extra set of 4 breakout holes next to the JST SH if you want more I2C connections or want to re-assign the I2C port. - **3 hole-connected strips** are in the center area. You can cut the traces between the holes, but they're intended to be treated like a mini-mini breadboard. - **Every pad on the Pico has a duplicate hole pad** next to it for solder-jumpering. - **The ground pads have white silkscreen rectangles** to easily identify, plus one long ground strip near the reset button. - **One long strip of connected holes for 3.3V power.** - Gold-plated pads for easy soldering. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/128/768/medium800/adafruit_products_5905-05.jpg?1710776984) We do not have I2C pullups on the board, but your Qwiic/QT breakout board or accessory likely already has them onboard. If using the Philhower Arduino core, the Wire peripheral is already set up to use IO4 and IO5. If using CircuitPython or MicroPython, you'll need to let the code know to look at 4+5 for SDA+SCL pins. - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-proto-under-plate-picowbell/pinouts.md) ## Primary Products ### Adafruit Proto Under Plate PiCowBell for Pico [Adafruit Proto Under Plate PiCowBell for Pico](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5905) The **Adafruit Proto Under Plate PiCowBell** is intended to be treated like a mini solder-less proto plate to simplify programming and sensor connectivity for your Raspberry Pi Pico board. Reset button? Yes! STEMMA QT / Qwiic connector for fast I2C? Indeed.... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5905) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5905/guides) ## Related Guides - [ScoutMakes DRV5032 Hall Sensor](https://learn.adafruit.com/scoutmakes-drv5032-hall-sensor.md) - [Dune Worm Thumper](https://learn.adafruit.com/dune-worm-thumper.md) - [Nunchuck Controlled Laser Cat Toy](https://learn.adafruit.com/nunchuck-controlled-laser-cat-toy.md) - [Introducing Pro Trinket](https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-pro-trinket.md) - [Knobby Sequencer](https://learn.adafruit.com/knobby-sequencer.md) - [Adafruit VCNL4030 Proximity and Lux Sensor](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-vcnl4030-proximity-and-lux-sensor.md) - [Adafruit SHT31-D Temperature & Humidity Sensor Breakout](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-sht31-d-temperature-and-humidity-sensor-breakout.md) - [Adafruit TMF8801 Time of Flight Distance Sensor](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-tmf8801-time-of-flight-distance-sensor.md) - [NES Emulator for RP2040 & RP2350 DVI Boards](https://learn.adafruit.com/nes-emulator-for-rp2040-dvi-boards.md) - [Adafruit QT Py RP2040](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-qt-py-2040.md) - [Wizzy: A Needle Felted Cat](https://learn.adafruit.com/wizzy-a-needle-felted-cat.md) - [Adafruit 2.0" 320x240 Color IPS TFT Display](https://learn.adafruit.com/2-0-inch-320-x-240-color-ips-tft-display.md) - [Adafruit GP8403 I2C DAC with 12V Booster](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gp8403-i2c-dac-with-12v-booster.md) - [QT Py RP2040 USB to Serial MIDI Friends](https://learn.adafruit.com/qt-py-rp2040-usb-to-serial-midi-friends.md) - [Introducing Adafruit PyGamer](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pygamer.md)