Innehållsförteckning för #124 från Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

MAKER magpi.cc/hemiphoto With an established tree surgery business under their belts, Ed Lane and his brother decided to branch out into “proper forestry”, offering advice to larger clients such as farmers and landowners about the long-term health of their land. Obvious puns aside, adding hemispheric photographic monitoring to their list of services meant both clients and arborists could take a long-term look at how climate change was impacting stands of trees in their immediate vicinity. Having encountered Raspberry Pi at university, and through a general interest in technology, Ed chose it for Green Lane Forestry’s ForestryPi monitoring scheme, which quickly attracted several business customers. In a further twist, Ed has recently handed over the tree surgery business to his brother and is currently training as a primary school teacher. He…

MAKER thelostsounds.org Identifying creatures based on their appearance is a matter for the observant, with a little help from reference books, related websites and apps, and maybe some clever AI. Sound identification requires a different set of tools, and is reliant on the bird or animal in question first having been recorded and positively identified so that subsequent naturalists may be sure of what they’re hearing. The Lost Sounds Project puts this recording process in the hands of schoolchildren who explore their local environment and use Raspberry Pi computers and microphones to record bird songs, as well as their unique characteristics. Mixed media The Lost Sounds Project was piloted in Morecambe Bay, “one of the most significant sites in the UK for breeding birds,” explains Dr Liz Edwards, part of…

MAKER magpi.cc/instapheux Along-held ambition to create his own CNC machine drove 19-year-old Yannik Dolde towards his goal and the result is a pretty amazing drawing device, which he’s made largely from upcycled parts that he had lying around. As if that level of ingenuity were not enough, he’s also developed his own software to ensure it does exactly what he wants it to. The whole package “This small CNC drawing machine, which is more or less a pen plotter, is just developed for testing the software and hardware for future projects,” Yannik tells us. This resourceful maker upcycled some old CD drives and floppy drives for the X and Y axes, as “using them was the easiest way to get a linear movement system with already installed motors.” The pen…

MAKER magpi.cc/opengamma Radiation detection is not something we often have to consider here at The MagPi - we’re not sure if that makes us lucky or boring - but the equipment is fascinating nonetheless. It’s also quite expensive. This is where, once again, Raspberry Pi Pico comes in to help reduce the cost and ease of access of this important kit, with thanks to Matthias Rosezky as well. “This is a cheap, complete, and open-source gamma spectrometer that you can build for yourself and use without having to worry about expensive equipment or any hardware design,” Matthias tells us. “With it, you can easily detect even low levels of gamma radiation, and run spectrometry to determine the composition of a radioactive material. It’s highly modifiable, both in hardware and in…

RASPBERRY PI 4 The main computer is Raspberry Pi 4 Model B. This is your tiny computer with dual-display ports and enough processing power to act as a full desktop. Available with 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and now even 8GB RAM, you get a fast processor and a 40 GPIO header (populated with pins so you can quickly start attaching kit and components). Pricing starts at $35, although you'll pay more for a 4GB or 8GB version. • magpi.cc/raspberrypi4 RASPBERRY PI PICO W This microcontroller packs a huge amount of the functionality of Raspberry Pi into a tiny, low-cost (from $10) board. There are 40 pins on Pico W, so you can wire it into electronics kit and projects. The new Pico W model has Wi-Fi built into it for deployment…

ARCADE MACHINE Retro gaming is lots of fun, but why not go the whole hog and build your own arcade machine? Retro expert KG Orphanides put together a multi-part build guide that is collected in our Retro Gaming with Raspberry Pi book (magpi.cc/retrogaming). The end result is spectacular, and would have pride of place in any gamer's home. If you want to buy a pre-built arcade machine, then Picade has long ruled this particular roost. Its Picade Console (£90, magpi.cc/picadeconsole) is a Raspberry Pi-powered box with an arcade-quality stick and buttons that plugs straight into a HDMI TV or monitor. Meanwhile, it's Picade (magpi.cc/picade) is available with an 8-inch display (£195), or 10-inch display (£249), or a full 10-inch kit comes complete with Raspberry Pi 4 8GB unit, PSU, and…

There are many different kinds of making whether you’re working with electronics, wood, or cotton wool, there are some basic things you’ll need to consider for your setup. CUTTING MAT Cutting mats are not only designed for you to cut on, but also have some useful measurements and angles and other data printed around them. Plus it can be a good way to centre your workspace. COMPUTER Is this obvious? It doesn't seem like it would be that obvious. We’ve seen makerspaces with monitors mounted on the wall at the back so that maximum real estate on the desk can be used. A Raspberry Pi 4 or 400 can help power it for looking up guides, and even testing your projects. WHITEBOARD When you're thinking up ideas and solutions, it…

PYTHON, PYGAME, AND RASPBERRY PI GAME DEVELOPMENT Covering concepts such as objectoriented programming and design patterns, Sloan Kelly’s guide shows you how to code several games and even connect external controls via the GPIO pins. ► magpi.cc/pprpigames ADVENTURES IN MINECRAFT 2ND EDITION By writing Python programs, you can modify the Minecraft world to create a whole new experience. This book shows you how to do it and write a complete interactive arena game. ► magpi.cc/advminecraft2nd RETRO GAMING WITH RASPBERRY PI 2ND EDITION As well as covering how to play retro games on Raspberry Pi, and even build an arcade machine, this book includes a tutorial series on how to create your own games using Python and Pygame Zero. ► magpi.cc/retrogaming2nd…

Rover where Years ago, in one of your early issues, there was a rover project that I would like to recreate. I’m thinking 2016 or so, as I think it was built on a Raspberry Pi 1 with 26 GPIO pins. Can’t seem to find it now, so any help would be appreciated. It was the only one I have found that has a web page interface for video. Tony via email The big robot we made in 2016 is issue 38’s budget robot that used an A+ as a chassis, so that would have been 40 pins, and it didn’t have a camera for a web interface. A robot that should fit the bill for what you remember is the Tiny 4WD that we built in issue 50 and…

MAKER github.com/MaironW There is no doubt that a crisp, modern, flat display has been a blessing for our eyes, not to mention the space in our homes, schools, and offices. But if you’re a retro enthusiast and you have old video games or movies from the last century, then you may want to go the whole hog and grab yourself a cathode-ray tube (CRT) television instead. That’s exactly what Mairon Wolniewicz has done, creating a media server based around a Raspberry Pi computer that outputs to an old Sony Trinitron CRT he picked up following months of searching. As it happens, these TVs were created in the Sony UK Technology Centre factory in Pencoed, south Wales, where Raspberry Pi is produced today, but Mairon was simply after a quality television…

MAKER magpi.cc/jagermachine The Internet of Things (IoT) is a bit of a nebulous, poorly defined concept that really just means you can control objects wirelessly. One use of IoT tends to always be cool though, and that’s drink or food prep - probably in no small part due to Star Trek’s replicators. While we’ve seen a few drinks dispensers made out of Raspberry Pi, we always love to see a new one, especially when it involves a couple of Jägerbombs. This is the JägerMachine. “It started out as a gift for one of my friends and kept getting more and more complicated,” creator Pegor Karoglanian tells us. “It’s essentially a machine that pours a shot of Jägermeister or any beverage of choice. The cool part about it is that, once…

“ Give Raspberry Pi the gift of sight by attaching a camera ” SENSE HAT The Sense HAT is one of the biggest and most interesting pieces of hardware you can attach to Raspberry Pi. As part of the Astro Pi space mission, two Raspberry Pi computers, and Sense HATs, are placed on board the International Space Station (astro-pi.org). It's packed with sensors, an LED matrix, and has a joystick. There are hundreds of projects for it. • magpi.cc/sensehat CAMERA Give Raspberry Pi the gift of sight by attaching a camera to its built-in CSI (camera serial interface). Raspberry Pi has a range of different cameras available, starting with the Camera V2 (magpi.cc/camera). It's perfect for stop-motion and wildlife capture projects. There is also a Camera NoIR for capturing images…

MAKER magpi.cc/hauntedowlbear This month, we’ll start writing a game for our Raspberry Pi Pico-powered handheld. Hungry Rain is a tiny survival game in which you control dot, who must find food and avoid the flood to stay alive. We’ll use libraries created by Vincent Mistler of YouMakeTech to handle inputs and address the ST7789-Compliant LCD display. This tutorial assumes you’ve already copied these tools to your MicroPython Handheld’s Pico; if you haven’t, git clone the magpi.cc/picogbgit repository and copy all the files from its root directory to Pico. A handful of other instructions presume you’re using a Linux distro such as Raspberry Pi OS on your development computer, but work in a similar fashion on a PC. 01 Have a sprite During development, the game’s sprites little graphics to represent the…

Computers used to be enormous machines the size of entire rooms, made exclusively for governments and industry. Then they became small enough to serve as fixtures inside the home. Eventually, somewhere in the 1980s, they were small enough to become portable devices that you could take with you nearly anywhere. At this point, the possibilities of productivity and creativity were practically limitless. It's this feeling of limitless potential and portability that inspired me to create my portable PC project. Taking some mid-1980s portables as a point of inspiration, I looked at two specific models: the Dynamac and the Grid Compass. Both have a certain sense of rarity and mystique to them (the Dynamac being a limited release Macintosh conversion, and the Compass being the computer of choice for NASA engineers).…

Every work space, whether you're making or doing some simple DIY, needs a selection of important tools. While this is not an exhaustive list, it's an excellent start… GENERAL TOOLS DRIVER SET Have some kind of screw to tighten? Driver sets tend to come with a bit for every kind of screw, whether it’s Phillips or hex. We like ones that come with a ratchet attachment as well, which allows for faster hand tightening. You can always pair it with a small electric screwdriver too. POWER DRILL If you need to make a hole cleanly and safely, you need a drill. Make sure you get some drill bits for different materials - and always stay safe. KNIFE A good craft and/or utility knife has many functions. Of course, it can…

The MagPi | INTERVIEW > Name Toby Roberts | > Occupation Maker-in-residence > Community role Maker | > Twitter @TobyRobertsPi Like many people with a Raspberry Pi, Toby Roberts’ entry into the world of our favourite microcomputer was via a media centre build. He’d been building and making as part of his job long before that though. “I used to be a police officer tackling serious organised crime and terror threats across the east of the UK,” Toby tells us. “I was a Technical Surveillance Officer for 15 years, so I built stuff to hide video, audio, and other covert gear. You really don’t want your sensitive police equipment discovered, so I’d disguise it as something else, like a piece of street furniture or a household item. The variety of…

The MagPi | THE FINAL WORD Being part of the community is one of my favourite things about working on The MagPi, and for Raspberry Pi in general. There are many very kind and very smart folks that love to show off what they can do with Raspberry Pi, or Raspberry Pi Pico, and help others if they can as well. It’s nice to be a part of it. However, as I write this, the future of a certain bird-themed social media service seems a little uneasy. While many refer to it as ‘The Hellsite’ (for very valid reasons) in my personal life, and professional life, I’ve had a lot of fun with it and made many great connections. I love starting Monday (or Tuesday, if there is a bank…

MAKER magpi.cc/handipi The name of this project is rather inspired because it pretty much encapsulates what it’s about. Aside from being a handheld hacking deck making use of Raspberry Pi 4, a touchscreen, and mini-keyboard, HandiPi also comes in, well, handy as an easily portable desktop computer. Not bad given Richard Sutherland originally envisioned creating nothing more than a functional case. “It sort of ran away from there,” he smiles. Richard was inspired by the PICOmputer PCB created by Peter ‘Bobricius’ Misenko. “It’s a sort of carrier board for Raspberry Pi Pico that includes a keyboard using 6 mm push-button tactile switches and a display,” he explains. “When I later ordered a Raspberry Pi 4 computer, I got to thinking: what if I could build a case with a screen…

MAKER magpi.cc/erikberglundyt Like many aquarists, Erik Berglund and his family face the issue of what to do with their pet fish when they want to leave the family home for any length of time. So, like any good maker, Erik came up with his own solution. “To give my family the freedom to still go on long vacations without having to worry about finding a fish-sitter, I decided to make an automatic fish feeder,” he tells us, having recently purchased an aquarium for his young daughter. “There were many nice designs available online, but they were all missing something - control and reliability. I wanted a solution that could be easily controlled from a smartphone, with a minimum of hassle.” Erik also specifically wanted reliability in terms of timing, so…

MAKER magpi.cc/openbook Once upon a time - about three years ago, in fact - Joey Castillo went up against established e-book devices such as Amazon’s Kindle by creating a DIY, opensource equivalent. Called the Open Book, it was a Microchip SAM D5l-powered Feather board that sought to free users from the limitations of having to grab e-books from proprietary stores. It also aimed to demystify electronics. Since then, Joey has revised his project, ditching the SAM D51 microcontroller in favour of Raspberry Pi Pico’s RP2040 dual-core microcontroller. In doing so, he drastically slashed the number of components from 114, and redesigned the customprinted circuit board. The result is the Open Book Abridged Edition, and anyone with a soldering iron can build it for themselves. “I want folks to understand that…

The joy of Raspberry Pi lies in the making. We're not shoppers by heart, instead preferring to hack and mend our way around objects. Even so, this is our hobby and, like any other, it can be a huge amount of fun. So let's not worry too much about buying some wonderful things to go alongside our favourite tech computer. “ A few things you can pop under the tree for yourself ” An entire industry has grown around Raspberry Pi, with home projects, artificial intelligence equipment, electronics kits, and just about every type of gizmo and gadget you can imagine. In fact, pretty much the hardest thing to buy at the moment are Raspberry Pi computers themselves. But don't worry. We have some great advice on that front. So,…

ELECTRONICS KIT At the heart of Raspberry Pi is the digital connection between code and the world of electronics. So it makes sense that one of your first kits will contain pure electronic components. Remember getting your first electronics kit? It's like that, with Python code on top. There is a huge range of Raspberry Pi electronics kits around. The CamJam EduKit (£6, magpi.cc/edukit) is a perennial favourite. With a breadboard, buttons, LEDs, jumper cables, and an instruction book; it walks you through your first projects. If you want to explore electronics with Raspberry Pi Pico, then SB Components’ Pico Breadboard Kit (£14, magpi.cc/picobreadboardkit) is a board with buttons, LEDs, and a half-breadboard fixed in that can be interfaced with Pico. If you want a kit that goes beyond LEDs…

MAKER @philkingeditor Anvil’s Pico W IoT toolkit enables you to connect easily, and securely, to web apps you create. Using the Anvil UF2 firmware image, you can code programs on Pico W in MicroPython, with a few extra lines to connect to Anvil, then create a web app on the Anvil site which can send and receive data to/from your Pico W program. Last issue, we sent DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor readings from Pico and displayed the readings in a web app dashboard. This time, we’ll plot the data in graphs. 01 Install the firmware If you already have a Pico W with the Anvil firmware installed and connected to your wireless network, you can skip the first two steps of this guide. To link your Pico W to the…

Invent Your Own Computer Games With Python AUTHOR No Starch Press Price: £25 / Free (online) magpi.cc/inventgames Having played a fair few computer games, many of us may well have come up with a great idea for a new one. But how can we get started making it a reality? For novice coders, Python is an ideal starting point as it’s fairly easy to learn and is one of the world’s most widely used programming languages. Also available to read online for free, Al Sweigart’s book (now in its fourth edition) aims to help even complete novices get started with Python to code games. While it starts with the basics and some very simple games, such as guessing a hidden number, it follows an accessible learning curve that teaches key…