Lou D, better known as Loud, has unleashed version 0.4.0-BETA of the USBSID-Pico firmware, and let’s just say he didn’t hold back—either in features or in commentary. This release is aimed squarely at anyone using their Raspberry Pi Pico/PicoW and Pico2/Pico2W-based SID board, which interfaces with real or emulated SID chips over USB, WebUSB, or even USB MIDI. Whether you’re tinkering with SID players or connecting a MIDI controller, there’s something new under the hood.
Version 0.4.0 isn’t a minor bump—this one’s packed. The SDK has been updated to version 2.1.1, and both the core firmware and the configuration tool have seen significant improvements. There’s now dedicated support for the v1.3 PCB audio switch, better logging, and some love for the NTSC cycle rates. The boot sequence has been touched up, configuration data now lives in persistent flash, and RGB Vu meter behavior has been cleaned up and made more accurate.
On the more colorful side of things, Lou’s release notes read more like a late-night group chat than a changelog. From complaints about docstrings and cheap glasses to open frustration with Python references and “fat-fingered” typos, it’s clear this update wasn’t built in silence—or serenity.
That said, real improvements are everywhere. FMOpl support has been added and finalized, there’s a new queue system for SID tests running on Core 1, and a state machine now handles buffer processing. LED handling has been moved into its own code base, semaphores got their static initializations, and config detection now triggers more reliably after boot. The config tool has also been upgraded to work with new options like clockrate locking and dual SID setups.
