VGA for Pi Debuts at CamJam, alongside HDMIPi production model No. 1

 Electronics, Input and Output, Raspberry Pi Hardware  41 Responses »
Sep 072014
 
VGA for Pi Debuts at CamJam, alongside HDMIPi production model No. 1

I went to the Cambridge Jam yesterday and displayed HDMIPi production model #1, met lots of people, including Eben, Liz, and a multitude of Pi enthusiasts and bloggers (quite normal for a #CamJam). There was also a CNBC news crew there to film some Pi action. They shot a brief clip of me doing something like this… Matt Hawkins @RPiSpy kindly took this one for me using my camera. Good job he’s not a monkey, or we might have a copyright dispute. It was really nice to spend some time chatting to Matt. (Thanks for […more…]

RPi.GPIO – port function checker

 Input and Output, interfacing, python programming, raspberry pi  10 Responses »
Sep 012014
 
RPi.GPIO - port function checker

A few weeks ago I blogged about RPi.GPIO updates for the model B and updated my RPi.GPIO documentation and quick reference sheets. But there was one feature I held back on because I needed a bit more time to mess about with it. (And then got busy with other things.) So What Was It? gpio_function() Another RPi.GPIO feature that sneaked in while I wasn’t looking is gpio_function() This is a feature that’s been inserted in RPi.GPIO to enable you to query the setup status of a port to see how it’s configured. import RPi.GPIO as […more…]

New Port ID Board for the Raspberry Pi B+ – RasPiO Portsplus 2

 Electronics, Input and Output, interfacing, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  7 Responses »
Aug 132014
 
New Port ID Board for the Raspberry Pi B+ - RasPiO Portsplus 2

Today I’m launching the RasPiO Portsplus 2. It’s a simple port ID board for the Raspberry Pi model B+. It’s available over at https://rasp.io/portsplus2 but full information below… RasPiO® Portsplus 2 The RasPiO® Portsplus 2 board is designed for the new Raspberry Pi B+. It labels the ports clearly for you so that you don’t need to count pins. This will help you avoid wiring errors and damage… You can slip it over the B+ GPIO header if you want, or hold it next to the header (many people tell me they do this – and this […more…]

Bitscope Micro Logic Analyser Demystifies SPI on the Pi

 Electronics, Input and Output, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  11 Responses »
May 262014
 
Bitscope Micro Logic Analyser Demystifies SPI on the Pi

SPI – Serial Peripheral Interface Demystified I was in need of an interesting signal to check out the logic analyser functionality of the BitScope micro. So, another of my current RasPiO® Beta boards was used as a convenient way to connect an mcp3008 analog to digital converter (ADC) to the Pi and the scope. I don’t claim to be an expert on SPI, but having spent the best part of a day playing with it, the mcp3008 data sheet and the BitScope Micro, I understand it a lot better now. Four pins are used… CEO […more…]

Launching the RasPiO product range – first three boards

 Electronics, Input and Output, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  21 Responses »
Mar 212014
 
Launching the RasPiO product range - first three boards

The day has finally arrived for me to launch my first three products in the RasPiO® range. What’s RasPiO®? I hear you ask? It’s a family of add-on boards for the Raspberry Pi®. It’s pronounced “Razz-Pie-Oh” (emphasis on Pi) and is derived from the fact that the boards will mostly be I/O (input-output) boards for the Raspberry Pi. We’re starting small and simple, and will grow in size and complexity with time. I spent most of last summer designing PCBs. It takes a frustratingly long time to bring things to market. But that’s another story, […more…]

Top Ten Android Apps for use with Raspberry Pi

 Input and Output, interfacing, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  47 Responses »
Jan 262014
 
Top Ten Android Apps for use with Raspberry Pi

I regularly use my Nexus 7 or my Android smartphone (was Galaxy S2, now Nexus 5) to help me with my Raspberry Pi activities. Here is a ‘top ten’ roundup of my favourite Android apps that I use with Pi. Sorry iPhone users. I don’t have an iPhone, but I expect many/most of these apps are available for iPhone too. These apps are used for a whole range of activities, so I’ll try to put them in a reasonably logical order. Each app has an icon by its title. Clicking it, takes you to the […more…]

RasPi.TV Festive Twitter Draw

 Input and Output, raspberry pi  6 Responses »
Dec 222013
 
RasPi.TV Festive Twitter Draw

Back in October, I did part 1 of a series on interfacing Python to the Twitter API using Tweepy. Part 2 hasn’t happened yet because HDMIPi took over my life for several weeks as our KickStarter campaign went ballistic. But you’ll probably be delighted to hear that today’s post is not about HDMIPi. It’s about a Prize Draw that I’ll be holding for @RasPiTV twitter followers. I’ll be using the script I wrote in part 1 to pick a @RasPiTV twitter follower at random on Friday 27th December, and again on New Year’s Day. I […more…]

MotorPiTX build and testing with photos

 Electronics, Input and Output, python programming, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  16 Responses »
Sep 302013
 
MotorPiTX build and testing with photos

On Saturday I decided to build my MotorPiTX, by Jason ‘boeeerb’ Barnett. It was a straightforward build. The only difficult part was the optional micro-USB power connector. Overall it took me about an hour to build. I took my time over it – knowing that I was going to photograph it and that you lot would be scrutinising every blemish. ;) About 20 minutes of that time was spent trying to ensure that I didn’t bridge two connections on the micro USB connector. I rarely use desoldering braid, but on this occasion I did. I […more…]

Cambridge Raspberry Jam 21 September 2013

 Input and Output, interfacing, python programming, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  7 Responses »
Sep 252013
 
Cambridge Raspberry Jam 21 September 2013

I had a very busy time at the Cambridge Raspberry Jam last Saturday. I was speaking and demonstrating the prototype RasPiO® baseboard that I designed. More on that in a bit. Because I was speaking, I decided not to do a show and tell as well. I was glad about that, as I tend to get stuck next to my show and tells, which stops me from going around and seeing what other people are doing. Since Mike “Recantha” Horne had asked me to judge the show and tells competition, I had to have a […more…]

Using PiGlow with GPIO button control on the Raspberry Pi

 Electronics, Input and Output, python programming, raspberry pi, Review  4 Responses »
Sep 062013
 
Using PiGlow with GPIO button control on the Raspberry Pi

Pimoroni released the PiGlow in August while I was away in Poland. It’s a small, purple board (that fits inside a PiBow) with 18 LEDs in 6 colour groups, arranged in a 3 armed spiral formation. It has an 8 bit, 18-way PWM controller that can be used to control the brightness of the LEDs (0 = OFF, 255 = Fully ON). (More on PWM here) Although I was abroad when it came out, there was plenty of banter about it on twitter. In a few short weeks, various people have written Python classes to […more…]

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