tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74191618099290985122024-03-12T23:48:18.842-07:00Raspberry PI Fan PageJames M. Dinsmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13974340327156882534noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7419161809929098512.post-12946683207599082052012-08-23T08:23:00.000-07:002012-08-23T08:23:32.391-07:00A Great Case of pi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My workbench tends to reflect the state of my mind: somewhat cluttered (there is a lot going on in there!) I have some trepidation over having any bare-bottomed PCB being electrically powered up on a surface that also potentially has screws, wires, paperclips and other conductive metals capable of shorting out the board. Sometimes I resort to simple stand-offs; but that does not protect from avalanches from above. For the Raspberry PI, I found an elegant solution from ModMyPi: a well-crafted plastic case that snaps together as a fitted shell. It runs about $11 USD. Something as cool as the pi deserves to look good, too!<br />
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ModMyPi Store <a href="https://www.modmypi.com/shop/raspberry-pi-cases">[Link]</a><br />
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My other interests <a href="http://jamesdinsmoreblogs.blogspot.com/">[Link]</a><br />
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<br />James M. Dinsmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13974340327156882534noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7419161809929098512.post-49971292599949161622012-08-20T13:41:00.000-07:002012-08-20T13:53:38.507-07:00Raspberry PI Fan Page<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="en-US">This has been an
exciting year for embedded Linux with the introduction of half-a
dozen single-board computers (SBC) under $100 USD. The Raspberry pi
has captured a lot of that attention at $35 for a 'deluxe' model and
$25 for the base one. I pre-ordered the deluxe pi in April; and after
some manufacturing delays, finally got my hands on it in July. This
SBC costs less than all of the .net micro-controllers I have
purchased (Domino, Panda II, Spider) and has more capability. First
and foremost, it has a Linux operating system (which I downloaded
from <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/">www.raspberrypi.org</a>
and burned an image onto an SD card). The SD card functions as a
solid-state hard drive. </span>
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The basic specs:</div>
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Arm 6 processor</div>
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700MHz</div>
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256MB RAM</div>
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Broadcom Video Core IV</div>
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3.5W</div>
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There are several
distributions of Linux that have been optimized for the pi; I chose
'Wheezy', which is Debian. Each distribution may have its own default
user name and password (pi, raspberry for Wheezy), which would be
information found on the distribution's download page.</div>
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A micro USB connection
powers the SBC. I have a KVM (keyboard, mouse, monitor) switch on my
work bench, which I use to test computers, so I simply plugged in the
VGA cable through a VGA-to-HDMI adapter to the pi, as well as the USB
cables from the switch for the keyboard and mouse. I also hooked up a
Ethernet cable from my router. Upon powering up the unit, typical
Linux boot-up text scrolled down the screen until it asked for the
aforementioned user name and PW. Then a prompt appeared saying enter
"startx" for GUI. This brought up a white screen with a big
raspberry. Clicking on the bottom left tool bar’s icon of the world
brought up the Internet. This process took a minute or two, but
consider that this is a small processor and there is no cooling fan:
it won't replace your desktop nor laptop; but it will serve as a
wonderful embedded computer for a multitude of applications. I am
thinking Raspberry pi mini Web servers for telemetry.
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I made a dreadful mistake
that I should warn readers about, that corrupted the pi's file
system. I pulled the power plug without properly shutting down Linux.
The Raspberry pi would not reboot! I had to re-format my SD card, and
re-burn the Wheezy image due to this carelessness. The proper way to
shut down is to log off of the GUI, and in the command line text
enter “sudo shutdown -h now” (-r is for reboot, FYI). </div>
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What I would really like
to see developed for this (and all Linux SBCs) is a good touch-screen
display, like found on a tablet computer (like Android has mastered;
but for 'ordinary' Linux). That would ring my bell!</div>
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Raspberry pi Org <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/">[Link]</a></div>
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Newark Element 14 Store <a href="http://www.newark.com/raspberry-pi/raspbrry-pcba/raspberry-pi-model-b-board-only/dp/83T1943">[Link]</a></div>
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My other interests <a href="http://jamesdinsmoreblogs.blogspot.com/">[Link]</a></div>
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James M. Dinsmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13974340327156882534noreply@blogger.com2