Innehållsförteckning för #154 från Raspberry Pi Official Magazine

Back in the neon-soaked 1980s, the vision of the future of computing was very different. We always knew that computing would be central to our lives, but the general idea was that computers would be more like plumbing or gas: integrated into the home as essential utilities. This is within our reach right now! We can put computers to use and build an incredible responsive home of the future (that is just as smart as how we imagined it would be). This month we’re going to put Raspberry Pi into the heart of your home with our guide to Home Automation: from smart sockets, to wireless light bulbs, and network-connected thermostats and cameras. The great thing about Raspberry Pi is that it can control everything and you’re in charge. That…

Documenting quirky makes comes naturally to creative couple Martin and Vanessa. Collectively known as Veeb, they’ve been making madcap designs accompanied by fun videos of each build for the past five years. Their latest project, Pepper Pi, makes use of a headless Raspberry Pi 5 they had available to recreate a Victorian illusion known as Pepper’s Ghost in which an object appears to float in a glass dome. The project also has its roots in early 1900s stock tickers. Impressively, Pepper Pi functions as a perfectly usable transparent PC, too. Seeing is believing Originally conceived during lockdown, Veeb’s videos soon caught on (and meant they didn’t need to do quite so much worthy documentation!). Imitation is flattering, and when Martin and Vanessa realised other people enjoyed some of the videos…

Teenager Rune Bobbaers was diagnosed with the autoimmune illness type 1 diabetes before he was old enough to start school. Curiosity about how insulin is used to manage his glucose levels and keep his body in check led Rune to investigate how to create his own dosage pump so he could understand how it operates. He was “immediately hooked” as soon as he began using Raspberry Pi 400. “That such a small, affordable computer could do so much really inspired me.” He worked on what would become his IINTS insulin pump project during CoderDojo sessions learning MicroPython and using Raspberry Pi Pico W. The now 16-year-old Rune submitted it as a Coolest Project, where it immediately caught the eye of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s judges. Mastering making Rune was keen…

In this tutorial, we will use Raspberry Pi AI Camera with a pre-trained model to detect different Raspberry Pi models. Point Raspberry Pi AI Camera at a Raspberry Pi 4 and it will display ‘Raspberry Pi 4’ on the screen, or ‘Raspberry Pi Zero’ and so on. This is a powerful example of how Raspberry Pi can be trained to perform real-time inference of object detection. It’s a good way to explore the Raspberry Pi AI Camera API (application programming interface) and the relationship between models and inference. Set up AI Camera Connect your Raspberry Pi AI Camera to a compatible Raspberry Pi computer (rpimag.co/aicamera). We are using a Raspberry Pi 5, but the AI Camera is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models. You can read the AI Camera datasheet…

YOU'LL NEED • Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W (version 1 or 2) • M5 Stack Unit MIDI with DIN connector (SAM2695) or Unit Synth • Switches for keys • An OLED, a rotary encoder, and a pixel strip for a Pico MusicBox In this article we’ll look at the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and discover how to make interesting instruments. We’ll use a self-contained synthesizer unit which responds to MIDI commands. You can find all the example programs and configuration instructions in the GitHub repository for this article: rpimag.co/picomidi. Figure 1 shows the Pico MusicBox, a musical keyboard powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico which uses an integrated MIDI device. You can select voices and sound effects using the rotary encoder. Full instructions for building the device are…

Computing and making is, largely, an indoor hobby. Better access to electricity and generally the Wi-Fi is better too. What if we told you that you can take your projects outside, though? Surely we have now grabbed your undivided attention. Many people love to improve their lives with a Raspberry Pi project and we’re here to show you how you can do so when you leave the confines of your home. You already take a smartphone everywhere, so why not a smart project? Grab your factor 50 and lightest shirt, and let’s have some Raspberry Pi fun in the sun.…

Cybersecurity gets plenty of media coverage, not least because most of us have become so dependent on electronic communication and internet connectivity that disruptions can cause major havoc. In splat-a-rat fashion, one type of threat gets beaten back, only for another to rear its head. Solent University final-year student Josh Perryman reasoned that focusing his efforts on identifying a specific type of cyberthreat would be a practical use of machine learning, and also make a great excuse to finally try Raspberry Pi’s capabilities in this field for himself. His Signal Sentinel can detect jamming attacks on wirelessly connected devices including IoT hardware and even cars – an increasingly prevalent target for thieves (rpimag.co/bbccartheft). Josh envisages his Signal Sentinel being integrated with other systems which mitigate or prevent the attack. Demonstration…

The Atari 2600 is an iconic console dating back to 1977. But it’s also a machine that is notoriously difficult to program due to its simple, limited hardware. There’s no character ROM, no frame buffer and there’s only 76 CPU cycles per scan line. What’s more, the console has just 128 bytes of RAM. And yet, for Nick Bild, this is merely a challenge. “I enjoy pushing this kind of hardware to do things it was never intended to do; things that may not even seem possible to most people,” he says. So while, on the face of it, a digital photo frame program doesn’t sound like a big deal, it’s actually mightily impressive. Pixel placement Nick’s program allows photos that have been converted into 8-bit pixel art to be…

QUICK TIP Be careful using isopropyl alcohol on cutting mats, as some types will melt or lose their painted markings when they are exposed to it. This glue has so many uses that it’s difficult to put them all into a single article. Keeping materials in place, stopping tools and small parts from slipping, making fabric or string behave while it’s being draped for photographs, and even just making a sticky notice board. Cutting mat glue is possibly the best glue that you never knew about. If you’ve ever set out to make a paper model or cut out a fine pattern in a piece of thin material, you’ll know that one of the biggest problems you face is the material moving around while you’re trying to cut. You can…

QUICK TIP Felt would be another great base fabric to use if you are a beginner – it is stable, very easy to sew through, won’t fray, and will easily hold the weight of components. Combining LEDs into a sewn project is easy to do, and we’re not just referring to wearable tech here. You can also craft items that you can actually utilise for a functional purpose and, at the same time, add a little Raspberry Pi and LED luminescence to your design. So, this tutorial takes a look at how to add some LEDs to a simple storage pouch that we are also going to make. In fact, these zipper pouches – which can be made in absolutely any size you prefer – are so uncomplicated to make…

HeaterMeter Low and slow rpimag.co/heatermeter Who doesn’t love a good BBQ? While grilling burgers and sausages will be enough to please many folks, true barbecue heads love to smoke their food for hours on end. This obviously takes a lot more time and effort, but it can be made easier with expensive equipment or open-source thermometer tech running on a Raspberry Pi. “Temperature data read from a standard thermistor or thermocouple probe is used to adjust the speed of a blower fan motor mounted to the BBQ grill to maintain a specific set temperature point (setpoint),” says creator Bryan Maryland. “A servo-operated damper may optionally be employed. Additional thermistor probes are used to monitor food and/or ambient temperatures, and these are displayed on a 16×2 LCD attached to the unit.…

ClockworkPi clockworkpi.com $75 SPECS PORTS: USB-C, micro USB, 3.5mm audio out, GPIO header breakout STORAGE: 32GB SD card SCREEN: 4-inch IPS screen with 320×320 resolution POWER: Up to two 18650 batteries (not supplied) PicoCalc is a fantastic kit that’s a step away from ClockworkPi, responsible for previous Devterm and Uconsole products that used Raspberry Pi Compute 4 PicoCalc is a lower-price product built around Raspberry Pi Pico. Whilst on a more accessible price tier, the quality we’ve come to expect of ClockworkPi kits and devices has not been compromised at all. If you fit squarely in the Venn overlap of handheld devices, retro computing, and you’re a fan of Raspberry Pi Pico, then PicoCalc will be of interest. The PicoCalc resembles a large vintage scientific calculator, but has lots of…

Pimoroni | From £34 / $38 | pimoroni.com Verdict A great way to get started with electronics prototyping. Not to be confused with the classic Explorer HAT Pro (still a great option for Raspberry Pi computers), this standalone Explorer is based around the RP2350 microcontroller chip – as used in Raspberry Pi Pico 2 / 2W, so it’s programmable with MicroPython and C/C++. Billed as an ‘electronics project playground’, it features a mini breadboard next to a female header breaking out a selection of RP2350’s GPIO pins, including three analogue inputs, along with 3.3V and a couple of GND pins. So it’s easy to add electronic components to circuits on the breadboard and connect them to the pins. There’s also a header to connect up to four servos, along with…

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. Follow along to #MakerMonday each week over on our various social media platforms! 01. We could do with a few of these at specific, very old pubs 02. Ah, the tank method of turning: have one side of the treads run faster 03. This will be very useful near the climax of an alien invasion movie, we think 04. This is a very impressive use of Pico and AI coding! LLMs can be quite good for code ideas 05. The cyberdeck is nearly ready. Maybe next month we’ll see the hinge… 06. Dr Footleg spreading more Raspberry Pi…

A Raspberry Pi for children Thanks for the guide to setting up a Raspberry Pi for younger children [issue 153]. I’ve lost count of the number of gifts for my kids I’ve had to gently turn down because they’re open to the internet. It’s the most basic thing, but somehow people can’t grasp that the web is not for children! Your writer’s points about adapting point size for eyes that can’t focus like adult eyes, and getting used to sitting up straight at a desk with a proper keyboard, are also well taken. There are so many toy laptops out there, I can’t believe we’re setting up the next generation to sit hunched over like prawns. James via email Indeed so. Of all the reasons to recommend Raspberry Pi as…

Warning Mains Electricity Electricity is dangerous. Be careful when working with electrical projects that involve mains electricity and relay devices to control high-power loads. rpimag.co/electricalsafety Life can be full of ups and downs and, for maker Alan Boris, that can be something to celebrate. After all, he’s a self-proclaimed lover of elevators, having grown to appreciate just how complex these vertical transportation devices actually are. And, when he rode a “very cool” example recently, his tech ambitions rose to another level. “When you start to think about the design, elevators have a lot of inputs and outputs – buttons, sensors, motors, LEDs and floor indicators,” he notes. “They may be simple to use, but they hide a lot of complexity behind the scenes, so I created one using Raspberry Pi…

An EEG (electroencephalogram – say that three times fast) is, to put it simply, a test to measure brainwaves. It’s used to diagnose conditions and illnesses in hospitals, and is usually measured with loads of little discs over your head – a feature you may have noticed on the PiEEG, created by scientist Ildar Rakhmatulin. “I started moving to neuroscience about six years ago, when I set out to apply my machine learning skills in a practical way – specifically, to control a robotic arm, which I found to be an exciting challenge,” Ildar tells us. “However, I couldn’t find a brain-computer interface (BCI) device that met my requirements in terms of price, quality, and openness. So, I decided to develop my own braincomputer interface. This marked the beginning of…

QUICK TIP If you want to create a very optimised solar Meshtastic node, other MCUs such as the RAK family of Meshtastic boards are very efficient. In the first part of this guide (in issue 152), we set up a Raspberry Pi Pico W with a Waveshare SX1262 LoRa Node Module. We’re going to add some other simple parts to this device and place it in a simple ABS enclosure so it can be deployed outside. This then can be considered a repeater node that we wouldn’t directly connect to with the app or anything, but rather, can be placed so it extends range, or solves range problems like line of sight, increasing our mesh network (Figure 1). There are lots of examples online of people building Meshtastic nodes running…

Last issue we covered how to get up and running with RISC OS, installing the operating system on a microSD card for your Raspberry Pi and getting online with the alternative operating system. Now we’ve done this, let’s take a look at the bare-bones basics of how to use it, and the apps that come bundled with it. The first thing to bear in mind when using RISC OS is it uses all three mouse buttons: left, right, and press the scroll wheel for the middle button. Make sure the controller you use has this feature – the official Raspberry Pi mouse is ideal. In a nutshell, when using the mouse, the left button is ‘select’ or ‘activate’, the middle button is ‘menu’, and the right button is ‘adjust’. Along…

The GPIO (general-purpose input/output) pins on your Raspberry Pi enable you to connect electronic components and sensors as you experiment with building your own circuits on a breadboard. Since the GPIO pins aren’t labelled, however, you often need to do a bit of pin counting to find the correct pin to connect to while referring to a pinout diagram. That’s where breakout boards can come in useful: they make it easier to connect electronics and focus on building your projects. Ever since Raspberry Pi was launched in 2012, third-party manufacturers have come up with a variety of breakout boards to help digital makers. They range from the very basic – ‘cobblers’ that use a ribbon cable to connect the GPIO pins directly to the rows on a breadboard – to…

I’m often surprised by just how versatile Raspberry Pi is. In the last few weeks I’ve created an AI-powered Raspberry Pi detector, a Sense HAT data logger, a media player, a retro computer, and a Raspberry Pi radar system. That last one’s coming soon – I just need to figure out a use for it. Whatever you want to make. There’s a computer for that… Raspberry Pi stands at stark contrast to the sealed slabs of glass that people are often glued to. You don’t really learn anything from holding a phone or tablet in your hand, and it’s no surprise to me that schools are increasingly looking to get smartphones out of the hands of kids. More and more, we’re seeing Raspberry Pi used in industrial settings. It’s robust…