Raspberry Pi Ideas
NWCCTV
Posts: 3,629
Christmas 2012 I got a Raspberry Pi. Fast forward to now. I think I might have time to play with it. Within the next week or two I have to have surgery on my foot. Doc says I will have a regular cast and will have to be bed ridden for 4 weeks. (Yea, Right!!!)
Any how, I just ordered a Pi Starter kit from EBay that has a bunch of various components with It. I plan to play around just to get the hang of It. However, I am just curious as to what others have done with their Pi's.
Tis is the kit I bought. Already have SD Cad and wireless keyboard.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161219337202?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Any how, I just ordered a Pi Starter kit from EBay that has a bunch of various components with It. I plan to play around just to get the hang of It. However, I am just curious as to what others have done with their Pi's.
Tis is the kit I bought. Already have SD Cad and wireless keyboard.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161219337202?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
Comments
This gives you low level access to the core of the PI, even when the OS runs into catastrophic failure.
You can find this item in the parallax store also, perhaps someone here can link you to a compatible item.
https://www.adafruit.com/products/954
However DO NOT power the PI using this cable, it cannot handle the current.
See: https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=52181
This thread also contains info on how to update your linux os. AND PI FIRMWARE.
Getting the PI going is a challenge because it doesn't auto detect the display you are using very well.
The instructions are incomplete as far as how to edit the config file to set your display type so see this thread, i also explain it in a follow up post below.
https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=52002 (specifically read the part about how to get the PI to first install the OS, and then reboot back into noobs to set the configuration of the OS, AFTER installing it)
It matters if you have A or B PI (256mb or 512mb) Because some code needs to be modified to work with each pi.
With your kit, it looks like you can make a streaming mp3 radio
Try to get this going for your first project, its not too hard.
http://usualpanic.com/2013/05/raspberry-pi-internet-radio/
JUST MAKE SURE YOU LOOK AT MY THREAD ABOUT PI CURRENT, as the usb cables are questionable, and so is the typical usb port when it comes to supplying 1/2 amp at 5v. (i would direct wire a PI with a 5v 1A power supply, and NOT use any usb connector or usb device to power the PI, when I did, it cause corruption, wifi failure, and display dimming.
Good luck, if you have any questions along the way, ask here, and i will try to help you, i have gotten pretty far in a short while.
I have a PI running a mp3 radio stream, using a adafruit Negative display (pi plate), along with the power being supplied by a proper power supply, and thicker wires.
You can see the voltage, and the current its pulling. The pi is running a mp3 stream, wifi, a negative display, outputting rca audio, and rca video.
I use a console cable to do commands, which you cannot see here, the TV was hooked up before I realized how powerful the console cable connection was.
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruits-raspberry-pi-lesson-5-using-a-console-cable but like i said, do not power the pi with the console cable (the red wire)
Also, make sure you do FULL sd card image backups (not just a partition, but the whole sd card, sector by sector) because its REALLY easy to screw up linux.
They seem to NOT interrupt your listening to sell you services.
Explore the Jamacian stations for steeldrum music.
Explore the Hawiian stations for some more nice music not usually available.
Europe and the U.K. has the serious classical stuff.
Japan has jazz and a lot of curious pop music.
https://learn.adafruit.com/setting-up-a-raspberry-pi-with-noobs/you-will-need
It says you need 4 gig, but they lie, you need 8gig to install raspbian.
Also make sure you format the card using the sd format tool they mention.
When you first boot into noobs you will need to repeatedly press the number 4 on the keyboard to get it to switch to the RCA video output, from there you will need to select the OS of your choice, install it, and then go back into noobs by holding down the SHIFT button, then you will need to press 4 again on the keyboard to get the display to show up again, then you need to select the OS you previously installed from the list.
At this point the ability to EDIT the CONFIG.TXT file will allow you to click it, you need to make sure the sdtv_mode=1 dosen't have a # in front of it and that it says mode 1. which is for a NTSC rca display.
At that point you should be able to boot into the OS regularly and have it show up on the display, you might need to go back into NOOBS by holding down the shift button at boot, and then after you think its booted, press 4 again to turn the rca on again (this needs to be done everytime you boot into nooobs) when in noobs edit the config.txt file by first highlighting the os you already installed, click edit config.txt, and then you will need to also uncomment (remove the #) in front of the overscan left,right,top,bottom, and tweak the numbers so that the display dosen't go off the screen, its not a live edit, so you have to reboot to see the changes, or if it has too much a gap on the edges you may need to enter negative numbers to adjust it.
ALSO,if you dont have a 8 gig SD card, GET ONE. 4 gig wont allow you to install raspbian. (which is the os i used, and most use)
Of course the raspi can run a web browser.
The live video thing... maybe? I would depend on what the IP camera is using as video?
Even better, the Raspi can act as a fairly capable web SERVER.
Even better than that, the Raspi can serve web pages that can be used to control the I/O pins and support I2C and SPI devices.
And triggering python scripts or system commands.
The package that can do this is called: webiopi
Adafruit has a tutorial that talks about using webiopi and a webcam here:
Raspberry Pi Garage Door Opener
Surgery? Hopefully not to serious. These days they can pop you in and out of the hospital like toast for many proceedures.
I've seen a couple of alternate propeller IDE development projects in the works.
Has anyone run a propeller IDE on the pi?
The opensource SimpleIDE for Spin and C/C++ development has been running on the Pi for ages.
Sadly I don't seem to have the builds I posted to dropbox up there any more.
Bill Henning has been making Propeller boards to mount on the Pi and I think he has the SimpleIDE package as well.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/153275-Propeller-add-on-for-Raspberry-Pi-RoboPi..-the-most-advanced-robot-controller-for-Pi
http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/
which included instructions for using an SD formatting program from
https://www.sdcard.org/home/
Everything worked for me just as the noobs instructions said they would, from downloading the zipped sd code, using the sdcard.org program for formatting my 8g sd card, copying the unzipped files to the sd card, booting the pi from the card, choosing an os to load, and booting to a GUI after the os load completed. That's as far as I've gotten; I haven't tried setting up web access or doing any work on the pi yet.
The basic formatting program didn't say whether it worked for 64 bit, but the same location offers a bunch of of other formatting programs which are supposed to work on 64 bit systems -
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
I will update here if it worked. The forums and adafruit sites are full of people thinking its the power saving thats shutting it off, but for most people they are finding the wifi device gets really hot when placed directly into one of the usb ports, so if you use any usb device, make sure its on a cable/hub.
If you use a cobbler extender, like I am in my picture, and are powering the PI through it, you might want a jumper between TWO 5v lines and TWO grounds so you have dual conductors through that ribbon cable, because you are supplying 500ma through a solid core wire that is very thin. Having dual conductors for both ground and 5v puts you in the zone for 1A.
EDIT: Got it figured out. Just used the formatter recommended by R Pi.
Do you have any links to discussions about "Pi has some serious issues with heat getting transferred to the two USB slots"?
You are surprising me because I have never heard of such an issue, despite following the Pi forums a lot. I don't see my USB slots getting hot.
Also, I did not have to modify anything after the initial installation. My RCA monitor comes up just fine and in the correct format even. Just need to figure out how to have it boot to the GUI and will be set.
EDIT: Never mind. I found it.
I can't believe it took me a year and a half to get started on this. This thing is too cool!!!!
Use the "rasp-config" program from the command line. It has a menu system that let's you configure all kinds of things. In there is an option to enable booting into X Windows.
When I say hot, I mean abnormally, so hot you question wether you want to touch it after noticing how hot it already is.
From my own research, im finding that it actually might be rare issue, but it is there. Its highly possible my PI is deffective, as it IS missing a capacitor, which exists on the schematic. (RCA video line)
Chances are good its got a deffective usb chip, tomorrow I will open up the case, and do a thermal measurement of all pcb parts on the board.
At which point I will RMA both the PI and the WIFI dongle.
A simple google search on the terms "usb raspberrypi heat" turns up:
https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/10176/wifi-dongle-heating-problem
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2222412
http://www.diygadget.com/heat-sink-set-for-raspberry-pi-prolong-the-life-of-raspberry-pi.html
http://hackaday.com/2012/06/26/adding-heat-sinks-to-a-raspberry-pi/
I have a PI purchased 2 weeks ago, "Pi-Rev-2.1-Model-AB" and it still has the overheat issue with the usb ports.
Datasheet: http://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/schematics.md
I tried my WIFI device on an extension, but it still overheats, when in a hub..... so the port heat issue already killed it before I caught it.
So far the heat killed a USB WIFI dongle, I haven't modified the PI at all.
Keep in mind the PI is only supposed to be able to supply 130ma TOTAL out BOTH usb ports.
Many wifi dongles pull that or more. (keyboards pull 100ma) so with usb wifi, and keyboard, you are already over the usb supply limit.
But the time I found this out, my wifi dongle had already went into permanent instability from going linear due to the excessive heat.
(run away issue from usb chip heating up, which caused the wifi to heat up, which caused the usb voltage to drop, which caused the wifi to go linear and add to the heat.)
From what I have read so far, its due to the USB chip its self being Smile, not some trace/layout issue on the pi as they originally thought with Rev A, B.
And its a hit and miss with everyone, sometimes you get it, some times you don't.
http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=44171&hilit=heat
http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=38518&p=191581&hilit=heat#p191581
http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=37851&p=187631&hilit=heat#p187631
IT seems we have the answer folks.... Smile IC design i.e. its a hit or miss wether you will have this issue.
Its an old thread, but the issue still showed for me, so perhaps I got unlucky and they failed to properly test my PI for this issue.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3070945&cid=41120017
I have EXACTLY what they are describing here, and if ANYONE feels I do not, then I WILL document the heat, and the fact that I am using REV 2.1.
Brand new PI board purchased 2 weeks ago, from MCM, pcb says made in EU.
Not to say I don't believe you. I have a tiny WIFI dongle that I tried in a couple of Pi ages ago and it never worked reliably. Always failing after a few minutes.
I know someone with the same device and it works fine for him. I guess I it never occurred to me to check for how the thing got.
I have to dig it out and try again.
If you read the last link I posted, the raspberrypi.org forums were actually censoring people on this exact issue.
WOW, just wow.
+100 for PARALLAX by FORFEIT.
If you CAN use a wifi dongle (mini or whatever) directly in the usb port, tell it to stream an audio link, using a media player, for 1/2 hour or so, and then pull the dongle, and feel it.
If its not very hot, then you don't have a problem. If you do have the problem, your dongle will be hot and you will question its life due to the heat.
And eventually the dongle will drop the connection, once its cooked long enough. (4-8 hours)
At that point you can eat the dongle, because its WELL DONE.
Place inside a bun, throw on some relish, mustard, ketchup, and you have a nice HOT DOGONEGLE.
My dongle will also completely reset the PI when inserting live.
I will be testing it tomorrow with 4 DIFFERENT wifi dongles.(unless they get hot also, i don't wanna kill my own wifi devices)
I've never experienced that.
How are you powering your Pi, what WiFi stick were you using?
I currently have three robots with wifi, two Model B Pi's with RoboPi's, one with just my simple "SPRITE" controller (Servo, Feb.2014), around the house and have not noticed any heat problems, and I normally run them 3-4 hours at a time.
Mind you, most WiFi sticks I have do not work reliably without a powered hub,
My bots have NETIS WF-2111's, and I power them with a Patriot Fuel+ 54mAh battery pack. RoboPi also is powered by the Pi, but I do have a 3v3 regulator on board as the 3v3 from the Pi header is limited to roughly 50mA.
FYI, the other 3 Pi's in-use around the house also have not exhibited hot USB connectors. Those do not use WiFi, they use Ethernet.
So i switched to powering it via console cable, soon after I realized wifi was still dropping, and the plate display was now dimming, it might be a power issue from too much power being pulled through a usb cable in data mode. (console cable cannot be used as usb battery mode)
So I switched to powering the PI via the ribbon cable (cobbler) header and my own current/voltage adjustable benchtop power supply.
Thats when I saw its pulling 500ma while streaming mp3 audio from the internet using the wifi dongle.
Currently this setup will only last 20 minutes or so before the wifi dongle shuts its self off from heat.
If i hook the dongle up to a usb extension, it still heats up and drops, or if I use a powered hub, it still heats up drops, no doubt the dongle is dead NOW.
I suppose its possible the dongle (was originally) defective, but it worked at first for many hours, its like its slowly cooking more and more and shortening its life.
My KEYBOARD also studders no matter which port I use, or even if I plug the usb keyboard into the powered hub, keyboard will still act like keys are stuck.
I tried multiple keyboards, different brands too. Studdering still there.
This tells me its the usb chip inside the pi, not the WIFI dongle. (but the dongle is likely dead now that its thoroughly cooked)
Ethernet connection works fine all day, never drops the stream.
But the keyboard still studders with ethernet, even though wifi dongle is no longer connected at all.
I even tried (shown in the picture) to not have any usb device hooked up except the usb wifi dongle, still cooks and drops.
I don't doubt at this point that the wifi device is toast.
Right now I know that the dongle is dead and any further use is questionable.
More wifi dongles (2 different brands, along with a possible 2 more from boss) will enter the picture tomorrow when I will monitor them like a hawk.
Because its my pocket they are going to burn through at that point.
I'll report back here.
Picture shows PI, with PI plate, usb wifi dongle, (notice no other usb device)
Streaming mp3 via wifi, outputting audio and rca video to TV.
Power supply shows voltage readout of 5.07v along with 500ma+ draw.
Power goes to cobbler on breadboard then through ribon cable to PI.
Originally PI was powered using the usb plug and wall wart with usb port(included in pi kit purchased from mcm)
Then after issues, power was switched to cobbler ribbon cable to measure draw and voltage on power supply its self.
Nothing helped the wifi dropping and heating issues. WIFI dongle is exact same model as adafruit, but sold at MCM.
ENTER THE PI WITHOUT THAT LAN9512 combo hub/Ethernet chip IC3 on the PI model B
http://www.raspberrypi.org/raspberry-pi-compute-module-new-product/
Start designing your propeller pcbs with a SODIMM header..
Skeeematic of the sodimm module: http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/RPI-CM-V1_1-SCHEMATIC.pdf
There has been many and lengthy discussions on the Raspbery Pi forums for a long time about various issues with the Pis power supply and USB interface. Everything has been out in the open. This has resulted in some changes to the power arrangements on the Pi and a lot of work on the USB driver software.
The introduction of this new module says nothing about that. Especially not "admitting" anything that has not been on the table before. It's a totally different product for totally different use cases.
What a totally excellent idea !
Might be well worth doing if that module turns out to be popular.
Now if chip can get that 16-cog 512kb 64 analog i/o out around the same time that this is released...
(the new prop could serve as a ethernet/usb interface for the PI sodimm?)
BUT CAN HE MOVE THAT FAST?
I smell a winner!