RasPiO GPIO Ruler

 Input and Output, interfacing, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  7 Responses »
Jul 142015
 
RasPiO GPIO Ruler

For some time now I’ve been using the wonderful RPi.GPIO Python library by Ben Croston. It’s great for using the General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) ports on the Raspberry Pi to control things and read inputs. I’ve written at least 14 tutorials on it (listed here) over the last couple of years. But I still find myself needing to look up the exact commands to use. I’ve made a crib-sheet which is really useful, but pieces of paper get lost. What I really want is the most used commands in a portable, accessible form that […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…]

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…]

Texys 2.8 inch touchscreen with RasPiCamcorder – step 1

 Electronics, interfacing, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review, Uncategorized  4 Responses »
Jan 162014
 
Texys 2.8 inch touchscreen with RasPiCamcorder - step 1

At the end of August, I bought one of Texy’s 2.8 inch 320×240 touch-screens to have a play with. I thought it’d be great if I could somehow get it working with my RasPiCamcorder. Although, at the time, you had to jump through quite a few hoops to get the drivers working, and nobody had yet done the necessary work to enable camera output to be displayed on it. Then I got busy with KickStarter and HDMIPi and it lay untouched until December. I periodically looked in on the camera section of the Raspberry Pi […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…]

8 x 8 LED array driven by max7219 on the Raspberry Pi via python

 Input and Output, interfacing, python programming, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  124 Responses »
Aug 202013
 
8 x 8 LED array driven by max7219 on the Raspberry Pi via python

For a long time I’ve wanted to have a go with one of these 8×8 led arrays. I always thought they look like lots of fun. Searching around, I happened across Richard Hull’s Github repo, which provides a set of Python drivers and installation instructions for this 8×8 led array… …which can be had, if you’re willing to wait a week or two, for a little over £2 ($3) delivered from Banggood Assembly It comes in kit form and takes about 10 minutes to solder up, if you’re not new to soldering. There are no […more…]

How to stream vlc from a Raspberry Pi with GPIO control but without being root

 Electronics, Input and Output, interfacing, Linux usage, python programming, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera  19 Responses »
Aug 072013
 
How to stream vlc from a Raspberry Pi with GPIO control but without being root

Having managed to get VLC streaming from Pi Camera to Nexus 7 Android tablet working, it was only a matter of time before I wanted to stream from the RasPiCamcorder. But when I tried it, I came across an annoying problem. RPi.GPIO needs to run as root (that’s why we always use sudo for our GPIO stuff) But VLC refuses to run as root. This means you can’t run them both from the same program. There’s all sorts of clever solutions people proposed (and I wasted a lot of time unsuccessfully trying them all out) […more…]

Using the MCP23017 port expander with WiringPi2 to give you 16 new GPIO ports – part 3

 Input and Output, interfacing, python programming, raspberry pi  80 Responses »
Aug 012013
 
Using the MCP23017 port expander with WiringPi2 to give you 16 new GPIO ports - part 3

In this article, I’ll show you how to hook up and control a port expander chip with wiringpi2 for python. It’s really easy, and once set up (with about 3 lines of code) you can control your new ports just the same way as if they were on the Pi itself. This is, so far, my favourite new feature of WiringPi2 for Python – although there are some I have yet to play with. This is part 3 of my wiringpi2 for python series. If you haven’t read parts 1 & 2 yet, I recommend […more…]

New Raspberry Pi graphics and models for Fritzing

 Electronics, Input and Output, interfacing, raspberry pi  18 Responses »
Jul 292013
 
New Raspberry Pi graphics and models for Fritzing

Over the last few days, the guys at Fritzing have been busy – they’ve released three new versions in three days. What’s Fritzing? I hear you ask. It’s an excellent Free Open Source program for doing circuit diagrams, board design etc. I use it a lot for my circuit diagrams on RasPi.TV. New Raspberry Pi models and graphics But what is of particular interest to me and possibly to you also, is that there are now new models for Raspberry Pi model B (rev 1 and rev 2). The graphics are beautifully done and all […more…]

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