Phase 1 · Foundations

Goal: read a schematic, write real C, and blink an LED by writing to a hardware register on a Raspberry Pi Pico 2. No libraries.

Three modules, roughly 6 to 8 weeks at a few hours a week.

Module	You will be able to	Time
1. Electronics you actually need	Measure voltage and current, size a resistor for an LED, read a datasheet's electrical characteristics table.	1 to 2 weeks
2. C, learned properly	Write, compile, and debug C on your computer; use pointers and bit operations with confidence.	3 to 4 weeks
3. Your first board (Pico 2)	Build and flash a program, single-step it in a debugger, and toggle a pin by writing the register yourself.	1 to 2 weeks

Can I skip anything? If you already write C for a living, do Module 2's checkpoints as a self-test and move on. Everyone should do Module 1's two checkpoints and all of Module 3.