Innehållsförteckning för #132 från Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

ARGON ONE M.2 £40/$42 It's one of the most popular media player cases for good reason. As well as providing a cool-looking enclosure for your Raspberry Pi 4, the Argon One M.2 has room for a slimline M.2 SATA SSD (available separately) in the bottom section. With UASP support, this enables super-fast data transfer speeds. The only slight downside is that a U-shaped USB adapter to bridge the upper and lower case sections uses up one of Raspberry Pi's USB 3.0 ports. Still, the sleek all-in-one case re-routes and converts the micro-HDMI ports to full-size ones on its rear. It also has a built-in IR receiver to use with the optional Argon One remote. As well as passive cooling, the case has a built-in fan with controllable speed via a…

What kind of data can people pick up with Raspberry Shake? Branden: There's two primary data streams you can get from Raspberry Shake, depending on the model. One of them is for measuring Earth's motion. That could be an earthquake, but it could be a person walking, so it spans a wide spectrum. You can measure Earth motion from a magnitude six earthquake from the exact other side of the globe – about 16,000 km away. This motion is finer than the thickness of a human hair. The other type of sensor is called Raspberry Boom, which is a similar sensor but it measures what's happening in the atmosphere around and above your body. There's been a lot of fun activity in the community with that, measuring explosions, as well…

The Pi Hut magpi.cc/zip96 From £36 / $38 SPECS FEATURES: 12×8 RGB ZIP LED matrix display, 6 × input buttons, piezo buzzer, vibration motor, on/off switch, 3 × breakout headers POWER: 3 × AA battery holders DIMENSIONS: 141 × 60 × 24.6 mm Retro gaming is fun, so how about creating your own oldschool games? The ZIP96 offers the opportunity to learn to code and enjoy playing the results on a basic handheld console. It doesn't even have a case, although you could always design and 3D-print one. The bare-bones PCB features four standard tactile push-buttons for a directional pad on the left, with a couple of action buttons on the right. Between them is not a screen, but a 12×8 LED matrix with addressable RGB pixels. Below this are…

Pimoroni magpi.cc/cosmic £80 / $82 SPECS DISPLAY: 32×32 matrix of RGB LEDs (1024 in total) FEATURES: Pico W on board, 10 × push-buttons, mono I2S amp and 1W speaker, 2 × Qwiic/STEMMA ports, battery connector, 2 × metal legs DIMENSIONS: 204 × 204 mm Verdict The larger display area opens up more possibilities for projects, such as a weather dashboard, as well as for playing impressive graphical effects and animations. 9/10 We thought the Galactic Unicorn (reviewed in issue 126, magpi.cc/126) was impressive, but the Cosmic Unicorn is its bigger stellar sibling. This supersize display has 1024 addressable RGB LEDs in a square 32×32 grid. The Pico W pre-soldered to the rear means you've got Wi-Fi connectivity baked in, along with Bluetooth – as used in our music visualiser tutorial…

As you can see from our events map, wherever you are, there is usually some kind of maker event you can go to. Like Raspberry Jam Mexico – as seen in the pictures captured on this page! FIND OUT ABOUT NEXT MONTH'S EVENTS AND POP-UP ON PAGE 92…

01. Physical Computing with Raspberry Pi Pico Micro-Training Tuesday 1 August St George's College, Harare, Zimbabwe magpi.cc/picomicro Introducing the Raspberry Pi Pico range of products, this micro training equips participants with the knowledge needed to begin using Pico effectively and building projects with Pico. By the end of this session, participants will be able to setup a Pico and write code using MicroPython to operate a Pico 02. Small Satellite Conference Saturday 5 August to Thursday 10 August Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA magpi.cc/ssc23 Members of the Raspberry Pi team will be at the 37th annual Small Satellite Conference, which Raspberry Pi are proud to sponsor. The conference explores future missions and delves into key technological drivers, operational constructs, and activities that inform and secure the success of small…

SUCCESS STORY magpi.cc/success Digital signage has become a multibillion—dollar industry. Yodeck was quick to predict the potential: the firm needed hardware to support its reliable, cost-effective, and easily managed service, with no compromise on performance. Raspberry Pi 4 proved a perfect match. Digital signage company Yodeck was founded in 2014, having emerged from a previous firm that provided digital displays and signage based around PCs. The Athens-based business has a staff of 60 with offices in Cyprus and in the US, and is active in 135 countries. It is a successful participant in a worldwide digital signage market that, from a standing start a decade ago, is set to rise to $45 billion by 2030, according to analysts Grand View Research. The company was set up by CEO Vangelis Mihalopoulos,…

LIBREELEC Billed as ‘just enough OS for Kodi’, LibreELEC is a custom lightweight Linux operating system that can run on Raspberry Pi 2, 3, 4, and 400. The OS image is about half the size of OSMC. It's available to install to a microSD card in Raspberry Pi Imager, although you may want to check out the official LibreELEC downloads page for the very latest version. Upon first boot, a helpful setup wizard enables you to connect to your Wi-Fi network and enable SSH remote access and Samba sharing. You're then placed in the standard Kodi ‘Estuary’ user interface – which you can change to a different skin if you prefer. Alongside the usual Kodi add-ons, there are dedicated LibreELEC ones including various decoders, tools, PVR clients, and retro game…

PIKON If you simply fancy looking at the stars, you can't go far wrong with PiKon – a 3D-printed telescope that makes use of Raspberry Pi Camera and mirrors to create a telescope that costs considerably less than commercial ones. We've seen fantastic close-up photos of the moon using the HQ Camera, and that's just the beginning of what you can do with it. pikonic.com RMS METEOR Using collaboratively written software, RMS (Raspberry Pi Meteor Station) can be hooked up to old CCTV cameras to track meteors through the night sky. The creators are part of UKMON (UK Meteor Network) which can use RMS data to help identify what folks are seeing during the night. magpi.cc/rms CHEAP ALL SKY CAMERA This very cheap and neat build is able to view…

Technaxx Germany magpi.cc/tx207 €99/£89/$110 SPECS POWER: Max power 21 W, Max voltage 6 V, Current 3 A Max, Efficiency >19% DIMENSIONS: Weight: 0.75 kg, Dimensions: 20 (81 unfolded) × 29 × 3 cm DESIGN: Solar panel —monocrystalline solar cell, Operating temperature +10°C~+40°C, Material PET, Plug type 2 × USB-A (3 A max) We've been interested in running Raspberry Pi from a solar panel, like this Technaxx TX-207, for a while. Many of our projects work outdoors, and it'd be great to power them without the need for running cables. Raspberry Pi devices, especially Raspberry Pi Zero and Pico, are tremendously low-power boards, so theoretically this shouldn't be a problem. There's no shortage of solar panels around, but this option from Technaxx caught our eye, thanks to its widespread availability (you…

Pimoroni magpi.cc/inkyframe7 £90 / $93 SPECS DISPLAY: 7.3-inch e-ink, 800×480 pixels, seven colours FEATURES: Pico W, 5 × user buttons, reset button, LEDs, microSD card slot, breakout header, 2 × Qwiic/STEMMA QT ports, 2 × metal legs DIMENSIONS: 176.2 × 139.2 mm Verdict All the low-power advantages of colour e-ink combined with larger screen estate makes this a formidable display. 9/10 The Inky Frame 7.3˝ is the big daddy of e-ink displays, offering a usable area of 160mm by 96mm – a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.67:1. With an 800×480 resolution, that gives a pixel density of 127.8 PPI; while notably lower than the 188.7 on its Inky Frame 4.0˝ smaller sibling, it's perfectly adequate in practice. The on-board real-time clock can place Pico into an ultra-deep sleep mode Other…

Raspberry Pi projects you can crowdfund this month 8 Thermocouples DAQ “The board can read thermocouples type J, K, T, N, E, B, R, and S, thus covering a very large temperature range. The compensation for the thermocouple type is done in software. Thermocouples of multiple types can be mixed and matched on the same board, providing complete flexibility for the user.” kck.st/3Nqi6Ji GPS 4G HAT “The GPS 4G HAT is an expansion board for the Raspberry Pi. Besides the recording of GPS positions, the product allows transmitting data via 4G and to detect motion by means of the integrated motion sensor. Furthermore, the GPS 4G HAT provides additional input and output connections.” kck.st/3O17LVM…

01 Bjørn is physically present in his chosen location, and his camera begins to collect the relevant data that it needs to create the eventual image. 02 The viewfinder displays a real-time description of Bjørn's location, picking up on key pieces of information including the weather, the temperature, the time, and notable landmarks that are close by. 03 Bjørn adjusts his three dials, including the radius of the area he wants included. Pressing the red ‘trigger’ button, the camera creates its version of its surroundings, complete with, in this case, shadows, people, and greenery.…

01 Microscopic channels to hold 10,000 drops of dried fluorescent chemicals were etched onto a 2×2 cm chip. Eight shades were used to create the Mona Lisa image. 02 A Raspberry Pi HQ Camera was mounted on a tripod, a microscope filter attached, and the whole setup trained on the microscopic chip. Many camera recording checks were made because there would be no second chances. 03 Filming began as liquid was slowly but steadily introduced in a controlled manner, where it dissolved the spotted dyes. The effect was visible for a few hours before diffusion caused the colours to bleed into each other and the spectacle was over.…

This month, I set off with the intention of building a Pomodoro timer controlled by physical movements, rather than buttons or switches. To capture the physical movements, I'd need an IMU, or Inertial Measurement Unit. Pimoroni sells one of these that uses the same motion sensor chip used in smartphones and watches to measure 3-axis acceleration, 3-axis gyroscopic motion, and 3-axis compass heading. I'd also need a screen (Pimoroni is selling off its lovely Scroll pHAT HD displays, featuring 17×7 LEDs, for £6.90 plus shipping), and a real-time clock module to keep the time. I also threw an atmospheric sensor into the basket, because why not? For now, I'm sticking with Python, as not all the sensors support my first choice, MicroPython. The Scroll pHAT HD fits neatly on the…

TOP TIP We have a detailed construction guide here: magpi.cc/makeshake. 01 Hardware setup With the DIY kit you have to supply your own Raspberry Pi, and get the geophone wired up to the Raspberry Shake board itself, which needs to be placed on the first 26 pins of Raspberry Pi's GPIO. Seal it inside the enclosure and then make sure it will stand level with a spirit level and the adjustable feet in its desired location. 02 Install software If you didn't get the Raspberry Shake SD card, download the OS from magpi.cc/shakeimg and install it with Raspberry Pi Imager (magpi.cc/imager). Plug in the SD card and power up Raspberry Pi, and then head to a browser on another computer and type in http://rs.local. The username is myshake, while the password is…

PIGEON PI Did you know you can teach pigeons? It makes sense, as homing pigeons exist; however, Pi & Chips decided to test this out by creating a feeder that activated with the touch of a button. Would Frank the pigeon be able to figure out the way to get more food? We actually don't know, but you can definitely try it for yourself and your local pigeons. magpi.cc/pigeonpi NATUREBYTES WILDLIFE CAM This full camera trap kit is fairly simple, using motion sensors to take photos and/or video of things moving in its view. Hopefully, this includes birds, hedgehogs, and only minimal humans. Attach a NoIR Camera Module and some IR LEDs and you'll be able to record night-time footage too. naturebytes.org PLANT GROWTH TIME-LAPSE Watering plants and seeing how…

Elecrow magpi.cc/advpicokit £29 / $38 SPECS MICROCONTROLLER: Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W COMPONENTS: Sensors, jumper cables, robot kit, breadboards, LEDs, inputs, hand tools LANGUAGE: MicroPython We've looked at and reviewed many an electronic starter kit in the past, but we have never come across something as comprehensive and, frankly, stuffed full of fun components as this Advanced Kit. We're not joking about having to fight off colleagues either; Raspberry Pi resident maker Toby Roberts’ eyes lit up when we received it in the office and we did promise he could have it after our review. Unfortunately, we may have to break that promise (sorry Toby) as, frankly, you could not ask for a better box stuffed with little electronics to satiate just about any Pico project idea you could…

Old tech will always be cool. A mix of nostalgia and forgotten design concepts will forever make something appealing to the right person. Sometimes though, the technology behind them can be hard to keep using – this is where our favourite tiny computer comes in to modernise. Old School Minitel Laptop Terminal to desktop These French terminals connected to a country-wide network that allowed you to book train tickets, check email, access banking, and other digital services we take for granted now. Now, it's a laptop. magpi.cc/minitel Thermal Paper Polaroid Snapshot Instant cameras are making a comeback, but what if you could combine newer photography tech with them? Well, this is your answer. magpi.cc/thermpola Magic mirror dresser Victorian upcycling Magic mirrors are classic and cool Raspberry Pi projects – this…

LIVERPOOL MAKEFEST 2023 Set in the beautiful Central Library, Liverpool MakeFest is a free event that brings makers together from all over the country to enthuse about their creations, projects, and art. Naturally, many a Raspberry Pi could be found lurking in the various builds, robots, and displays that peppered four floors of the building. After a smaller event last year, there was more to see and do this time, including new features such as spoken poetry. For Raspberry Pi fans, there were some impressive things to see. Brian Corteill, very much the Roy Kent of Raspberry Pi events (he's here, he's there…), brought Zoe, his huge e-ink Zoetrope. Children and adults alike delighted in seeing their animations come to life. Another veteran of the scene, Dr Footleg, demonstrated his…