PiNoIR – what’s it for? Comparison of RasPiCam and Pi NoIR output in daylight

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware  35 Responses »
Oct 272013
 
PiNoIR - what's it for? Comparison of RasPiCam and Pi NoIR output in daylight

The PiNoIR Raspberry Pi camera without infra-red filter is about to hit the streets. It looks like the first purchased units have shipped already. Matt “Raspberry Pi Spy” Hawkins has got one he bought from RS. I’m not quite sure what happened there, since the product isn’t officially launched yet. But no doubt others will have them soon enough. Needless to say, before it even officially hits the streets, people are arguing about what it is, what it isn’t and how the Raspberry Pi Foundation should and shouldn’t be referring to it. (What a pedantic, […more…]

Pi Noir – macro photos of the new Raspberry Pi camera board

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware  5 Responses »
Oct 262013
 
Pi Noir - macro photos of the new Raspberry Pi camera board

I went to visit the Raspberry Pi Foundation in Cambridge on Friday. It was really nice to finally meet Liz and the ever-growing team. We exchanged “black boards”. I gave them samples of some prototypes I’ve been working on, and they gave me one of the new Pi NoIR camera boards with “No IR” filter. I tried it out with John (who’s been working with Gordon on solving the USB issues). It works exactly the same way as the green PiCam. The only difference is that, because there’s no infra-red filter, daytime colours look a […more…]

Pi Supply – ATX style power switch for Raspberry Pi – Review

 Electronics, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  27 Responses »
Oct 142013
 
Pi Supply - ATX style power switch for Raspberry Pi - Review

Pi Supply is an external power switch for your Raspberry Pi. I have to be scrupulously honest here and say that, when I first heard about it, I thought “well that solves a problem I haven’t got”. But in the Raspberry Pi forums, quite a lot of people complained about not having a power switch. It’s never been an issue for me. I don’t find unplugging a micro USB cable all that hard. I’ve never broken the capacitor off the Pi (although I have broken a couple of SD card slots and fried a couple […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…]

Boeeerb’s MotorPiTX has arrived – a couple of quick photos

 Electronics, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  6 Responses »
Sep 172013
 
Boeeerb's MotorPiTX has arrived - a couple of quick photos

MotorPiTX, by Jason Barnett, was delivered today. It’s a robotics board for the Raspberry Pi, combined with ATX style power supply. It was one of this summer’s successful Kickstarter campaigns. It was either the first or second KS that I’ve backed. I’m a bit busy this week, but there’s a part of me that’s saying “never mind all that, just get out there and put it together”. I’m not going to do that tonight. I think we’ll have to settle for some kit photos and I’ll let you know how I get on with the […more…]

PiHub powering four Raspberry Pis at once

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware  1 Response »
Sep 102013
 
PiHub powering four Raspberry Pis at once

This is a gratuitously silly video post. Yesterday, Stewart “PenguinTutor” Watkiss posted a comment on the Raspberry Pi Foundation blog… “I wonder if you can run 2 or 3 Raspberry Pis from it if you don’t need it for connecting extra USB accessories to. Based on the power of the power supply it should be, in which case could provide a good way to power multiple Raspberry Pis in a classroom (although I don’t suppose that is officially supported).” …which was far too irresistable a challenge and had to be tried out immediately. I didn’t […more…]

PiHub from Cyntech and Pimoroni – a new powered USB Hub for the Raspberry Pi

 raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  9 Responses »
Sep 092013
 
PiHub from Cyntech and Pimoroni - a new powered USB Hub for the Raspberry Pi

PiHub, a new powered USB hub, designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi, has been released today. I first saw an early prototype of this when I visited Cyntech back in May 2013. It was on a table of goodies and it jumped out at me immediately. It’s absolutely beautiful to look at. Modelled in the shape and colours of the Raspberry Pi logo, it has four downstream USB ports, a barrel connector for power and an USB B upstream port that connects to a USB port on the Pi. Here’s what the final production version […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…]

RasPiCamcorder software released on Github

 Electronics, Input and Output, python programming, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Camera, Raspberry Pi Hardware  24 Responses »
Aug 092013
 
RasPiCamcorder software released on Github

A few people have been asking me about the RasPiCamcorder software. My original plan was to partner with a well known supplier and offer a “build your own RasPiCamcorder” kit, along with software and instructions, as a product. The software was always going to be open sourced though. But the market said NO! Many people have argued with the market and lost. I don’t intend to. There simply weren’t many takers for it. Cool though it is to be able to Dropbox your photos and videos, having neither sound nor screen seems to be enough […more…]

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