Cambridge Raspberry Jam

 Electronics, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  8 Responses »
Dec 132013
 
Cambridge Raspberry Jam

Last Saturday (7th December) there was a Raspberry Jam at Cambridge Institute of Astronomy. This one was a bit different from previous jams because we had some beginners’ Scratch workshops for children in the morning. I was tasked to lead the workshop. The support was tremendous. There was a small army of people setting up ~20 Raspberry Pi systems when I arrived. Another small army assisted with the workshop itself, intervening when the children needed a prod in the right direction. Thank you to all these helpers. It couldn’t have been done without you. We […more…]

Hong Kong and Shenzhen HDMIPi Trip

 Electronics, Raspberry Pi Hardware  13 Responses »
Dec 032013
 
Hong Kong and Shenzhen HDMIPi Trip

Just back from a week in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Shenzhen is the capital of the Chinese electronics market. If you buy components on ebay, chances are they’ll be shipped from Shenzhen, and through Hong Kong. Shenzhen is a large and sprawling city. There’s an awful lot of new construction going on. Every time we went to see a supplier, we went past dozens of new blocks of flats/apartments being built. And we’re talking skyscrapers, each and every one of them. It was a really busy time there and I didn’t get many pictures, but […more…]

HDMIPi Update – The Mega Bundle and the China Trip

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  24 Responses »
Nov 212013
 
HDMIPi Update - The Mega Bundle and the China Trip

Yet another post about HDMIPi? I hear you groan. Well, yes. I’m afraid so. But this may well be one of the last before the HDMIPi Kickstarter campaign ends at the end of November. If you read it, you’ll find out why. (Executive summary: going to Hong Kong and China next week). If you haven’t yet heard of HDMIPi, it’s a 9″ Affordable HDMI screen Kickstarter project I’ve set up as a joint venture with Cyntech. The rest of this post is pretty much swiped from this update page (which I wrote, so it’s my […more…]

Sonic Pi flight of bumblebee video with HDMIPi

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  2 Responses »
Nov 172013
 
Sonic Pi flight of bumblebee video with HDMIPi

A few weeks ago I blogged about the flight of the bumblebee on Sonic Pi, but didn’t get a video done at the time because the GPU on my computer was playing up. I later reflowed it with my paint-stripper heat gun and it’s working pretty well now. (Jason “boeeerb” Barnett explained how to do it in about 3 tweets on twitter.) I thought now was the time to kill two birds with one stone and show you Sonic Pi flight of the bumblebee in video, whilst simultaneously demonstrating the HDMIPi V1 prototype (with sound) […more…]

HDMIPi with phone (SGS2) and MHL adaptor

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  3 Responses »
Nov 132013
 
HDMIPi with phone (SGS2) and MHL adaptor

Connecting HDMIPi to your phone via MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) and HDMI is probably not what most people are backing HDMIPi for, but at least one person has asked me about it. He’s a mobile app developer who wants to work on a larger screen. It just so happens that I’m one of those ‘nutters’ who likes to buy adaptors to make things connect to each other – whether I need them to or not. I just like to do it “because it can be done”. So, shortly after I found out that my Samsung […more…]

HDMIPi used with DSLR – Nikon D90

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  9 Responses »
Nov 112013
 
HDMIPi used with DSLR - Nikon D90

The HDMIPi KickStarter campaign continues. We still have 19 days to run and there’s one more KS Pi record within reach. BrickPi had 1,702 backers. We currently have 1,627 backers at the time of starting to write this. With 19 days still left, you’d have to think it’s quite reachable. If we can raise another £10,000, we’ll have doubled the previous record amount for a Raspberry Pi KickStarter project (previously held by BrickPi). Neither of these are why we “did” HDMIPi, though, and we’ve already exceeded our expectations. Records are nice, but not important. We […more…]

Trip to Pimoroni to discuss HDMIPi case design

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  5 Responses »
Nov 082013
 
Trip to Pimoroni to discuss HDMIPi case design

Yesterday, Dave Mellor and I went to visit Paul and Jon at Pimoroni. One of the main things we wanted to do was discuss the case/surround design of our HDMIPi screen Kickstarter project with the guys. So we showed Paul and Jon the V1 prototype in action and left a V2 LCD screen with Paul for the mechanical design. We hope to be able to show some designs or sketches in due course. We actually shot some of our Kickstarter video at Pimoroni. The pick and place machine in the video is the one that […more…]

HDMIPi – the 9 inch portable Hi-Definition HDMI screen for the Raspberry Pi – KickStarter

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware  62 Responses »
Nov 022013
 
HDMIPi - the 9 inch portable Hi-Definition HDMI screen for the Raspberry Pi - KickStarter

On Thursday afternoon at 15:27 I launched my first KickStarter campaign. It’s called HDMIPi, (pronounced HD My Pi). Basically, it’s a 9 inch HDMI screen with 1280×800 pixels, so it’s high-definition, but not full HD. I’ve joined forces with Cyntech for this project, as they have the experience and connections to see it through. Pimoroni will be doing the case/surround for it. Since the Pi’s fantastic GPU can handle HD, an HD screen seems desirable. But small HD screens are stupidly expensive. So, in the spirit of Pi, we thought we’d see what could be […more…]

Pi NoIR filming in the Dark – Experiment 1

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware  4 Responses »
Oct 312013
 
Pi NoIR filming in the Dark - Experiment 1

After trying out the new Pi NoIR camera in a daylight comparison, it was time to test it for its main role. Apart from specialist applications in botany, etc. the “killer app” for Pi NoIR is night vision. You need an infra-red source to illuminate the target area. The only one I had to hand was an IP cam, which has a light sensor on it and ten infra-red LEDs. When it starts to get dark, the leds switch on. I’ve got another IR source on the way from Phenoptix, which I plan to dedicate […more…]

Pi NoIR filmed by RasPiCamcorder at Raspberry Pi HQ

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Oct 292013
 
Pi NoIR filmed by RasPiCamcorder at Raspberry Pi HQ

While I was at the Raspberry Pi HQ in Cambridge last week, I thought it would be fun to shoot a little video of the new Pi NoIR camera using my RasPiCamcorder and some close-up lenses. It seemed like an unmissable opportunity. It’s a rather short video, but you should see some people you’ll recognise in it. I also tacked onto the end a quick comparison of daylight use of the Pi NoIR and RasPiCam. This shows why Sunny were a bit reluctant to release a version with no IR filter in case people tried […more…]

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