Home Tech Podcast Special Edition: Raspberry Pi, In the Beginning

Jim is joined in this special by John Zajdler and Chris Barns of the Digital Media Zone and host of thEndUsr Podcast.

Chris and John spend some time talking about their experience with the new Raspberry Pi in this hour long podcast.

Raspberry Pi Specs:
Broadcom SOC
700 MHz ARM11 with a Broadcom GPU
RAM: 256MB
HDMI, Composite Out, 100 megabit Ethernet, SD cardslot
Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux and RISC OS
SSH using username:pi and password:raspberry (Use PuTTY)
What is the Raspberry Pi and where did it come from?

• Original alpha used ATmega644 (8 bit RISC) and was intended to get children into programming. Now uses ARM11 family (32 bit RISC)

Why use the Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi goals;

1. Interesting. (1080p)
2. Programmable. Languages, Python, Debian…
3. Robust. Easy and convenient to carry around.
4. Cheap. Inexpensive.

Applications of the Raspberry Pi

• Advantages of Using the Pi’s GPIO
• LAMPi – The Raspberry Pi LAMP Server Project via RaspberryPi.org
• Webmin Guide via RaspberryPi.org
• Wii Controller + Raspberry Pi + Python = Awesome!! via BrianHensley.net
• John’s Next Project: Tutorial: Drive a 16×2 LCD with the Raspberry Pi #piday #raspberrypi @Raspberry_Pi via Adafruit
• One wire support on GPIO #4 when loaded
• Realtek RTL8188CUS wifi support

Details:

Updated to Hexxeh firmware

4 Gig SD image (will not fit in 2 G cards!)

I2C and hardware SPI support

I2C/SPI modules initialized on boot

sshd on boot

ssh keygen on first boot

runs avahi daemon (Bonjour client) and is called raspberrypi.local

Issues with the Raspberry Pi

• Power Supply
  • Need to have > 700mA of current over microUSB, which is not guaranteed with all cables
  • Demo Video: Best Power Supply for the Raspberry Pi
  • Ensure that voltage between TP1 & TP2 is greater than 4.7 to run properly
• None so far for Chris, although Chris has low power consumption

Hardware Hacking and Arduino

• Easy developement using Arduino IDE base on Processing
• Written in C/C++ using the Arduino Library
• Prototype board for the ATMega328
• Arduino Powered Smart Fan Controller via Barnesian

Where to purchase?

• RS
• Allied Electronics
• Element 14
• Newark

Resources

• Adafruit
  • Occidentails from Adafruit, Linux distro from Adafruit

• Adafruit Raspberry Pi Educational Linux Distro

• Occidentalis v0.1

• Breakout the GPIO to breadboard: Raspberry Pi Cobbler
• XBee Adapter kit – v1.1 via Adafruit
• Friday’s is Piday at Adafruit.com
• Ask an engineer Google Hangout
• Show and Tell Google Hangout
• Sparkfun
  • XBee Explorer Dongle via Sparkfun
• Other
  • Leo Laporte from TwitTV interviews Eben Upton on July 18 2012 via TWIT
  • Details images of the Printed Circuit Board via andrewscheller.co.uk
  • Model B Schematics via RaspberryPi.org
  • Raspberry Pi site, FAQ and forums at raspberrypi.org
  • The MagPi Magazine: The MagPi an online fan based magazine covering Raspberry Pi. A very useful resource.
  • RaspBMC http://www.raspbmc.com/
  • RaspberryPiBeginners on YouTube
  • Ben Heck’s Raspberry Pi Build Trailer on YouTube
  • Raspberry Pi First Look via The Linux Action Show
  • Connected Digital World by Andrew Edney
  • The Digital Lifestyle by Ian Dixon
  • Top 10 Raspberry Pi Myths and Truths via Scott Hanselman
  • Kernel source on Github
  • Chris’ PHP XBee Library on Github