Innehållsförteckning för #122 från Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

01 As well as a food syringe and LEGO gear wheels, you'll need a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with 16GB microSD card, a LEGO EV3 Medium motor with tachometer, and a 27MHz radio controller. 02 A motorised LEGO gearing system adjusts the ballast syringe. A hose sucks in water and draws water into the syringe chamber. Buoyancy remains constant while the extra weight of water increases the gravitational pressure. 03 A radio board and controller culled from a cheap toy provide a user-friendly remote control, powered by Raspberry Pi, with no need for a dedicated battery.…

Being stalked can cause life-affecting anxiety and stress. For this reason, Matt's made the full code for his anti-stalking device available on GitHub: magpi.cc/cytgit.…

MAKER Kosmas Raptis A high school student from Greece who works with computers and electronics in his spare time, and enjoys low-level and emulator-based projects. magpi.cc/kosmasgit A few issues ago we featured a recreation of the Kenbak-1 using a Raspberry Pi 4 in 2:5 scale – it's considered to be the very first personal computer by many, and originally came out in 1971. Raspberry Pi 4 is definitely much more powerful thanks to Moore's Law and, it turns out, so are microcontrollers. “[This] is something I call the PicoKenbak,” Kosmas Raptis tells us via email. “It's a functional recreation of the Kenbak-1, one of the first (if not the first) personal computers, using a Raspberry Pi Pico. My version does not really look similar to the original computer due to…

Graham Sanderson, Raspberry Pi Pico SDK lead and performance architect by day, took on the challenge of making Doom run on the microcontroller in 2021. The game would be released in March 2022 after six months of development, but the first public evidence of the scheme appeared a year earlier, when Sanderson tweeted: “RP2040 Doom must be a thing, but if I do it, it needs to run all the demo WAD properly.” Sanderson grew up with the Sinclair ZX81 and BBC Micro. He says that the most fun part of his role working on the RP2040 SDK has perhaps been, “taking 30-plus years of development and applying it to the constrained microcontroller environment, which has a similar feeling set of constraints to the home computers I had as a…

MAKER Rob Zwetsloot If Rob had a nickel for every time he's made a Luigi's Mansion Poltergust, he'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice. magpi.cc Looking for a cool costume accessory this Halloween to really make your costume stand out? Pair this 3D-printed vacuum cleaner with an over-the-counter Green Plumber costume and you have a thematically correct costume that won't break the bank. The Poltergust G-00 is the tool of choice of Luigi in Luigi's Mansion 3, and we thought we'd jazz it up with a Raspberry Pi Pico with lights and motors and more. It's moustache time. 01 Print your vacuum cleaner In the past, Luigi's Mansion Poltergusts were easily made with old vacuums off of eBay. Just get one and you're…

The magic mirror is one of those great Raspberry Pi projects that looks cool, isn't too hard to make, and is actually a bit practical too. The software is all basically taken care of, yet is very customisable for those who have the know-how to go further with their projects. Smart mirrors are too useful to just have them limited to one big mirror in your home, though, so we've collected some smaller versions you can try out to put above your sink, or even on your desk. Seeing is believing. Magic Mirror basics How to build any kind of smart mirror with Raspberry Pi 01 Build a frame Before anything else, you'll need an old/spare TV or monitor for your magic mirror. You'll need to build a frame to the…

AUTHOR Price:$30 / $335 magpi.cc/zingaropython One of the fundamental aspects of computer science is learning how to code. For this, Python is one of the most popular and easy-to-leam languages, since it's well-structured and is used in all sorts of real-world applications. Daniel Zingaro's programming primer is a suitable introduction for beginners, covering core concepts such as loops, lists, sets, functions, file management, sets, dictionaries, and algorithms. It concludes with a chapter on how to write more efficient code. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, it teaches you the type of thinking required to solve problems using a computer. The key is to use top-down design to break a larger problem down into smaller tasks that can be tackled using functions. You can test your problem-solving skills on a series…

The MagPi | THE FINAL WORD Our big theme in this edition of The MagPi has been retro computing. I remember getting into computers when I was little. One day, a BBC Micro turned up at school and I was hooked. My dad took some persuading, but eventually I sweet-talked him into buying the family a ZX Spectrum 48K. Neither of my two older sisters was interested, so I got it all to myself. I loved the way you could create, and see, things on the screen, how programs could be used to make things. While other people saw glorified calculators, I was entranced with interactive stories like The Hobbit and The NeverEnding Story. When I wasn't reading fiction, I was lost in a world of pixellated narrative. When I…

MAKER Grgo Mariani Grgo is a software developer working for IBM in Böblingen, Germany, and a huge Raspberry Pi fan. magpi.cc/picopocket While reminiscing about a retro electronic game called Lights Out (a puzzler with a grid of lights), Grgo Mariani realised he could make his own updated version with an unused Raspberry Pi Pico. “I remember how I used to play it while visiting my family and think about working out a perfect strategy to solve each new puzzle. Since I recently became a father, I wanted my son to have this experience as well, but unfortunately, I could not find a shop where I could buy this product anywhere,” he recounts. This was the push he needed to start creating, and the result is a rather fun little games…

MAKER Riley Groeschel Riley Groeschel is a recent Mechanical Engineering graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He loves breathing life into old electronics. magpi.cc/serwriter It may surprise you to know that some people still use typewriters today. There are government departments which tap away on them because they can't be hacked and they are used in some capacity by banks, prisons, businesses, and law firms. Here at The MagPi magazine, we're also taken in by a typewriter's charm; from its immediacy and feel to the sound made as the letters are hammered on to the carriage. So, when Riley Groeschel decided to dust down a Brother AX-25 electronic typewriter and give it a new lease of life, we felt it was something to write home about. “I've turned…

MAKER Phil King Long-time contributor to The MagPi, Phil is a freelance writer and editor with a focus on technology. @philkingeditor With built-in wireless connectivity, Pico W is ideal for creating Internet of Things (IoT) projects. To make it even simpler, Anvil has released a Pico W IoT toolkit to enable you to connect easily, and securely, to web apps you create on the Anvil platform. There's a drag-and-drop web UI builder, built-in database, user authentication, email integration, HTTP APIs, and more – and it all talks to your Pico W. By using Anvil's special UF2 firmware image, you can code programs on Pico W in MicroPython as normal, with a few extra lines to connect to Anvil, then create a web app on the Anvil site which can send…

If you would like to experience the many therapeutic benefits that knitting, crochet, weaving, or any other fibrous form of creativity can offer (mindfulness, reduction of anxiety and stress, improved cognitive function, sense of control, sense of achievement… to name just a few), then there are many options: YouTube videos - there are hundreds to choose from, and it's how this author taught herself to crochet. Try: or Ask a friend/family member to teach you - nothing beats a hands-on lesson with an expert Join an online lesson. Try: or Buy a beginner kit-these come with instructions and everything you need. Try: or Get yourself a book from the library - we suggest you grab a 'Howto'-type publication along with a stitch dictionary, if you are learning crochet…

Raspberry Pi Computer Courses AUTHOR Raspberry Pi Foundation Price:Free magpi.cc/rpfcourses There has never been a more important time to learn the fundamentals of computing, whether you have a related career in mind or you just want to feel more confident in how you deal with information technology. The Raspberry Pi Foundation was created with the aim of enabling every young (or older) person to develop that confidence while learning how to solve problems and express themselves creatively. To that end, the registered charity has created a large range of learning resources aimed at various abilities and audiences. While the Raspberry Pi Projects site (magpi.cc/projects) offers numerous tutorials for computing and digital making, there's also an array of computer courses. The ‘Computer Systems and Networking' category is a good place to…

Every Monday we ask the question: have you made something with a Raspberry Pi over the weekend? Every Monday, our followers send us amazing photos and videos of the things they've made. Here's a selection of some of the awesome things we got sent this month - and remember to follow along at the hashtag #MagPiMonday!…

MAKER Brick Experiment Channel Software engineer BEC has a Lifelong passion for designing builds using LEGO Technics parts. Raspberry Pi has proved invaluable to their most recent projects. magpi.cc/brickexperiment This LEGO builder extraordinaire is a “middle-aged guy from Finland” who dreams up, and then painstakingly creates, working models that address complex physics and mathematical challenges. His latest build, LEGO Submarine 4.0, runs off a LEGO EV3 motor and Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W. Like all his builds, the Submarine project is thoroughly documented on his YouTube channel, Brick Experiment Channel (magpi.cc/becyoutube), where his methodical approach to construction and problem-solving have earned him more than 2.7 million subscribers. This is the fourth LEGO submarine design he has completed. The first three variously used propellers to add or reduce buoyancy (“gravity and…

MAKER Matt Edmondson Digital forensics specialist for the US Department of Homeland Security and keen maker and tinkerer. digitalforensicstips.com Even spooks get spooked if their Spidey sense tells them they're being followed. A conversation with an intelligence handler concerned for their client's safety led US government digital forensics expert Matt Edmondson to put together a Raspberry Pi 3-based alert system to warn of a potential tail. In true espionage style, the Chasing Your Tail device fits inside an anonymous black briefcase and silently flags an issue, should a tracker be identified. It looks for smartphones and other Bluetooth or WiFi-enabled devices that are actively scanning for connections – essentially any modern phone, laptop, or tablet – and lets the anxious ‘mark' know that the same device has been in close…

MAKER Dillon McCardell & Erin Stanfill Dillon is a recent Computer Engineering graduate with a passion for design and development, taking ideas from concept to reality. Erin is a computer engineering graduate with a drive to continually learn, pushing technology into the future. magpi.cc/auralock Many of us use our face to unlock mobile phones and tablets, but imagine ditching your keys and doing the same to enter your home. It's that idea which underpins a project by Dillon McCardell and Erin Stanfill: a door locking system using facial recognition that uses off-the-shelf components. Called AuraLock, it's primarily based around a Raspberry Pi 4 computer, a camera, door sensor, and Android mobile device. “Currently there are consumer facial recognition door locks, but they run on batteries and require push-button feedback to…

WRITER K.G. Orphanides K.G. is a software preservationist and developer with an abiding love of vintage computers. magpi.cc/MightyOwlbear From Dizzy to Doom, Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W are holding their own against far more expensive emulation systems, and they're ready to play almost as soon as you power on. With the July 2022 launch of the Raspberry Pi Pico W, equipped with wireless networking capabilities, there are a few more features to be tapped. Numerous mature and highly capable emulators have been ported to Pico, allowing you to run huge chunks of the 8-bit computer and console eras, with hardware kits and expansion boards that make it easy to connect monitors, controllers, SD card storage, and high-quality audio. Unlike top-heavy computer emulators designed for computers and capable of running…

PICOCART64 The PicoCart64 is a flash cart for the Nintendo N64; a device that can hold code to be read by the original console hardware, allowing you to load your own games and software onto an actual N64. It can boot N64 homebrew, which makes it a compelling way of accessing the console's rich post-market game ecosystem on real hardware, given that the most popular N64 flash carts are both costly and often hard to come by. Creator Konrad Beckmann says that he set out on the project to find out if it's possible to use Raspberry Pi Pico instead of the FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) used in most commercially available flash carts, already expensive hardware that's become even more rare in the face of global chip shortages. The PicoCart64…

MAKER Sean McManus Author of Mission Python, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps, and Raspberry Pi For Dummies (with Mike Cook). Get free chapters at Sean's website. sean.co.uk With Raspberry Radio, you're guaranteed to hear your favourite songs. The program creates a virtual DJ, who plays your MP3s at random, but introduces each one with some information about it. Every eight songs, there's a break for the news and weather. For an extra touch, you can add a Display-O-Tron HAT to show the artist and track name while it plays, like a DAB radio does. This project shows you how to make your Raspberry Pi speak, how to access the metadata in an MP3 file, and how to play music from Python. 01 Prepare your files Raspberry Radio makes use of the…

There is a stitch in crochet called C2C or 'corner to corner', and each C2C stitch basically creates a small square or block. This means that C2C is a handy stitch to know if you want to design a pixel crochet blanket for example (also known as graphghans - afghans made from graphs), made up of a series of squares where each square represents one pixel of the image. You could write your own simple pattern for this on a piece of graph paper and then stitch it up. Or, you could use a website such as Stitch Fiddle (hsmag.cc/PixelCrochet) and create your chart there, where you can upload a picture to the site, or create a new design yourself. C2C is similar to how computers store images in grids…

CODE: THE HIDDEN LANGUAGE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE Recently updated to an expanded 2nd Edition, Charles Petzold's book explores in detail how a computer works, gate by gate. There's a companion website at codehiddenlanguage.com. magpi.cc/codehidden GROKKING ALGORITHMS Algorithms are the building blocks of all computer programs, This book shows you how to apply common algorithms to the sorts of practical problems you may face as a programmer. magpi.cc/grokalgo PYTHON CRASH COURSE One of the easiest-to-follow programming books for beginners, it's project-based, so you'll be creating Python programs as you learn key skitts that are applicable to most other languages, magpi.cc/pythoncrash…