PiJuice – testing the software and hardware plus 6W 40W solar panels video?

 python programming, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  14 Responses »
Oct 112017
 
PiJuice - testing the software and hardware plus 6W 40W solar panels video?

Today we’ll take a closer look at the PiJuice and how to use it. We’ll also do a bit of testing of the PiJuice HAT and the 6W/40W solar panels. This carries on from the previous post where I had an initial look at the PiJuice. It’s mostly a video review, but there will be some extra information here in the blog. Calculations Before running the testing I did some calculations to predict how long the PiJuice battery might last. The BP7X battery has 1820 mAh and a nominal 3.7V. Multiplying these gives 6734 mWh […more…]

Pimoroni Pirate Radio Review – Make an Internet Radio in about an hour

 Electronics, Review, Uncategorized  5 Responses »
Jul 042017
 
Pimoroni Pirate Radio Review - Make an Internet Radio in about an hour

Back in February, just before I was about to pull the trigger on the RasPiO InsPiRing Kickstarter campaign, I had an email from Emma at Pimoroni. Essentially it was “Would you like to have a look at one of our new Pi Zero W kits?” Damn-right I would! :) But I warned that I would be unlikely to do much with it for a while because of the impending Kickstarter campaign. So, last week on Thursday I finished shipping RasPiO InsPiRing rewards (3 months ahead of schedule – YAY), which meant I could do some […more…]

Which is the best Raspberry Pi sound card? DAC review

 Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  28 Responses »
Dec 122016
 
Which is the best Raspberry Pi sound card? DAC review

I have received a fairly enormous selection of Raspberry Pi audio cards from four suppliers (Pimoroni, IQaudIO, HiFiBerry and JustBoom). It’s a bewildering array of DACs and AMPs, which allow you to turn your Pi into a HiFi system capable of playing sound files up to 32-bit 384 kHz, in theory. In reality 24-bit audio is about the highest quality you can buy and it’s questionable whether human ears can resolve any higher anyway. Anyway – I’m not planning to turn into a raving audiophile (anyone seen my gold speaker leads?) so here’s the stuff […more…]

Playing With Papirus Zero

 Raspberry Pi Hardware, raspberry pihardware, Review  13 Responses »
Aug 052016
 
Playing With Papirus Zero

A few weeks ago I did a “mailbag” video/blog and ran a poll on which product(s) you’d like me to review. There was a clear winner right from day one. Pi-Supply’s Papirus Zero took first place and held it by a comfortable margin for three weeks. So I’m going to have a play with that one first and share my findings with you. Initial Impressions It’s a nice dainty little display. In my review pack there were two displays of different sizes; 1.44 inch and 2.0 inch. It just so happens that the height of […more…]

Mailbag July 2016 overview of PaPirus Zero, Displayotron Hat, Wombat board, PiOT relay board, PiUPS+, Motozero, Zeroview

 Electronics, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  25 Responses »
Jul 082016
 
Mailbag July 2016 overview of PaPirus Zero, Displayotron Hat, Wombat board, PiOT relay board, PiUPS+, Motozero, Zeroview

This time last year I did a “mailbag” video which was well received. So, with the review box filling up, I thought I’d do another. This time I’m covering seven products. I was going to do a G+ poll so you can tell me which one is the most interesting to you, but their surveys are limited to 5 options and I need 7. So I’ve chosen to use a different survey mechanism. I hope it works out. There’s a list of products with links beneath the video and poll. Since this is mostly a […more…]

Is KickStarter Dead Yet? Pros and Cons of Crowdfunding

 Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  3 Responses »
Mar 102016
 
Is KickStarter Dead Yet? Pros and Cons of Crowdfunding

Last summer I wrote a blog post that, at the time, I didn’t publish. I showed it to Mike @recantha Horne and we both agreed its natural tone would come across better as a talk, not a blog post. Last weekend I had a chance to deliver this talk at the Raspberry Pi Birthday Weekend in Cambridge. I managed to get an audio recording (thanks to @AndyBateyPi) to which I have synchronised my slides in the video below (26 minutes including questions). Enjoy… Also Available As Text If you prefer the (slightly fuller) original written […more…]

Raspberry Pi Zero FREE on the cover of this month’s MagPi magazine.

 Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  45 Responses »
Nov 262015
 
Raspberry Pi Zero FREE on the cover of this month's MagPi magazine.

Raspberry Pi Zero FREE on the cover of this month’s MagPi magazine. Yes you read that correctly. Raspberry Pi have pulled another world first out of the bag. Back in the pre-internet days when I used to buy PC magazines, they used to have a cover disk. Well Raspberry Pi have come up with a ‘cover computer’. It’s an absolutely awesome idea and is sure to cause ‘quite a stir*‘. Raspberry Pi Zero, a brand new spin of the Raspberry Pi, is designed to be as inexpensive as possible. A year ago the model A+ […more…]

CamJam Edukit 3 Robotics Kit

 Electronics, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  15 Responses »
Nov 132015
 
CamJam Edukit 3 Robotics Kit

CamJam Edukit 3 robotics kit is launched today. It’s an entry-level robotics kit aimed at beginners, but I’ve had quite a lot of fun with it, and haven’t even used all the bits yet. It’s been put together by Jamie Mann from the PiHut, and Mike Horne and Tim Richardson from CamJam. As with other CamJam Edukits, there is a progressive series of worksheets to help guide you through how to make the various pieces do what they’re designed for. You can find those here. Here’s what the kit looks like straight out of the […more…]

New Official Raspberry Pi DSI screen launches

 Product Launch, raspberry pi, Raspberry Pi Hardware, Review  44 Responses »
Sep 082015
 
New Official Raspberry Pi DSI screen launches

The official 7 inch DSI Raspberry Pi screen is now launched and available for purchase. It’s been a long time in the making, but the B+, the A+ and Pi2B have all been responsible for pushing this display to the back-burner. When there finally was some ‘engineering time’ to get on with it, hurdles were faced with EMC compliance and chip availability. But those hurdles are now overcome and the screen is now launched. And it looks great (click any photo for higher resolution). Video Overview Here’s a video overview. There’s more detail in the […more…]

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