RaspberryPi2

TheUltimateRaspberryPi2UserGuide

ByTonyBrianson

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Copyright2015-AllRightsReservedTonyBrianson

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced ortransmitted in any formwhatsoever, electronic, ormechanical, including photocopying,recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval systemwithout express written,datedandsignedpermissionfromtheauthor.

TableofContents

CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTIONTORASPBERRYPITHEEVOLUTIONOFRASPBERRYPI2

THEUNIQUEFEATURES:

MODELA

MODELA+

MODELB

MODELB+

SHOULDYOUBUYTHELATESTRASPBERRYPI2,IFYOUHAVEPREVIOUSMODELS?

GETTINGSTARTEDBOOTINGANDCONNECTIONS

AFEWTHINGSYOUNEEDTOKNOW

STARTINGTHEDEVICE

CHAPTER2:SOMEOFTHECOMMONPI2PROJECTSMEDIACENTERWITHXBMCANDRASPBERRYPI2

MINIATUREBALLOON

MINECRAFTSERVERRUNNINGONRASPBERRYPI2

CHAPTER3:USINGTHERASPBERRYPI2FORYOURPROJECTDIFFERENCESBETWEENTHEARDUINOBOARDANDRASPBERRYPI

THINGSTHATWILLHELPYOURPROJECTTOBESUCCESSFUL

MODELOFYOURRASPBERRY

MEMORYCARD

POWERSOURCEANDMICROUSBCABLE

USEACASE

VERSATILEANDFLEXIBLE

CONCLUSION

DIDYOUENJOYTHISBOOK?

CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTIONTORASPBERRYPI

When the first Raspberry Pimodel Awas released, the intentionwas to help improvecomputerscienceeducationinhighschools.Thefirstmodelwasdesignedspecificallyforthatpurpose.

4computerscientistsobservedthattheprimaryschoolandhighschoolstudentwerenotgettingproperpreliminaryintroductionintocomputers.Thismeantthatstudentsgraduatedfrom high school without the requisite knowledge to take computer science or relatedcourses, when they got to University. However, interest in the device started growing.AccordingtoaBBCNewsreport, therewere5milliondevicesthathadbeenboughtbyFebruary2015.

DespitethefactthattheoriginalPi1modelAwasalmostexclusivelydesignedtoteachcomputerscience,manypeoplefoundotherapplicationsforthedevice.Mostpeoplehaveusedthedevicetocreateawiderangeofprojects:TheprojectrangefromIoT(InternetofThings),tohomeentertainmentandvideostreamingsystems.

Thereareanumberofmodels thatcamethereafter.Thesemodels includeA,A+,BandB+.ThePi2isthelatestmodel.ItisalotmorepowerfulthanthepreviousPi1models.Itwascreatedtoprovidesuperiorperformanceonasingleboard,thankstothegrowinglistof enthusiasts, who are looking to come up with more sophisticated projects andapplications.

The Pi 2 therefore addresses the demand for opportunities for programming andprocessingspeedfor5millionRaspberryPisowners.Itperformsexceptionallywellandbetterthananyofitspredecessor.Itwasclearlydesignedtomakeitpossibletoworkonmodern day and future applications like media streaming and the Internet of Thingsprojects.

The Pi 2was verywell received by enthusiasts of thisminiature computer.More than500,000piecesof the latestRaspberryPi2havealreadybeenbought.Thehighnumberdevicesthatflewofftheshelf isavoteofconfidenceinthecapabilityandreputationofthelastdevice,aswellasallthepreviousones.

Some of the things that are uniquely different with the Raspberry 2 are: A newmorepowerfulprocessor,moreonboardRAM,highernumberofGPIOpins,extraUSBslotsandanoverallbetterperformance.Itisdefinitelythebestsingleboardcomputerthathasbeenreleasedtodate.

It is important tomake a point of reading this book. Itwill help you to implement theprojectsmoreseamlessly.Youwillhaveadeeperunderstandingandyoucandecide foryourselfwhyyouneedthelatestRaspberryPi2.WhetheryourelearningtheRaspberryPi2,usingitforeducationpurposesorarejustanenthusiast,youcanmakethemostofitbyusinginformationavailableonthisbook.

Developinggamesordoingarangeprojectsisnotthatcomplicated.However,youneedtounderstand a few of the technical aspects of setting up and successfully executing thetechnicalaspectsoftheRaspberry.Thisbookaimstoprovidealltheinformationneeded.It is suitable for beginners and also useful for enthusiasts, who want to gain a deeperunderstandingofthedevice.

THEEVOLUTIONOFRASPBERRYPI2

TheFirstRaspberryPihada700Megahertzchip.Thechipwasasinglecorewithchipsvery similar to the modern day cell phone. Even though this processor may not seempowerful,itwassimilarinpowertothecomputersthatwerecommonplaceinthelate90s.

Raspberry Pi 2 has a processor chip that is more powerful than all the Pi 1 modelsincluding the B+ model, which preceded it. The latest processor is a BCM2836 900megahertzchip.Itisaquad-corechip,unlikeallthemodelsthatprecededitwhichweresinglecore.

Theothermaindifference is thememory.ThePi1modelshad512kilobytesor lessofmemory.Thenewdevicehasa1GBboardmemory,whichisdoubletheratingofthePi1B+model,whichhada512kilobyteRAM.

Despitethedifferences,thePi2issimilartothepreviousmodelinanumberofways.Themanufacturerswantedtokeepthesize,weightanddimensionoftheoriginal.Itisthesamecreditcardsizecomputerbutwithbetterfeaturesandperformance.

There were advantages of maintaining some of the similarities. It was important tomaintain backward compatibility with the previous versions. This would make oldtutorialsusefultothosewhoownedthecurrentversionoftheRaspberryforthenewchiptowork.

Majorchangescouldalsomakethenewversioncompletelydifferent.Afterseveraltests,theBCM2836900megahertzchipwasthebestversionthatcameup,whichaddressedalltheseissues.

Justlikethepreviousmodels,itdoesnthaveaheatsinkorfan.Itdoesnotneedcooling,unlessitisoverclocked.Manyoftheinputfeaturesremainedthesame,withonlyafewmodificationstoimproveperformance.Therefore,ifyouhadanyofthepreviousmodels,gettingstartedwiththePi2isgoingtobemucheasier.

TheUniqueFeatures:ThefollowingisasummaryoftheuniquefeaturesofthePi2:

14HDMIvideoresolutionthatrangesfrom650x350to1920x1200.BCM2836quad-coreprocessorrunningona900Megahertzsystem.1GBonboardmemoryforbiggerandbetterapplications.

40PinGPIOtoexpand.SimilarlayoutandFootprinttomodelB+.TheonlymodelwithA10/100Ethernetportforinternetconnectivity.4USBportsthatcansupportanumberofdemandingdevices.Switchingregulatorstohelpconservepower.

MODELA

Thiswas the first version of theRaspberryPi. Themain purpose of thismodelwas tocreatesomethingthatwouldfacilitatelearningofcomputerscience.ThelatestRaspberryhasafewsimilarities. Itwasdesignedtoweigh,andhavedimensions thatareabout thesameastheoriginal.

ThemaindifferenceistheGPIOpins.RaspberryPi1Ahadeightpins,whilethelatestPi2has5timesthatnumberof40pins.TheaudioandvideoinputonthelatestRaspberryPi2hasalsobeenchangedsignificantly.

MODELA+

Thismodelwasdesignedtobea lowcostversionof theoriginalmodelA.It issmallerandweighslessthananyothermodeloftheRaspberry.Itisalsothecheapestversionuptodate,cheaperthantheoriginalmodelA.Theformfactorwassmallerandneater.Ithadonly one USB port, compared to the current Pi 2s 4 USB port. However, someimprovementsweremadeontheearlierversion,forexamplethepushmechanismfortheUSBportwaseasierandmoreconvenienttouse.

MODELB

Added featureswere 2USBports unlike 1 on theA+.GPIOgrew to 40pins from26,which is the same as the current Pi 2model. It has lownoise power supply, and has anumberofsimilaritiestothePi2.IthasanEthernetcapability,thesamenumberofGPIOpinsasPi2,andalsoweighsthesameasthelatestRaspberrymodel.

MODELB+

It is themodelwith thehighestnumberof similar features to the latestRaspberryPi2.Therearestillanumberofkeydifferences.TheB+modelhasonlyhalfthememorythatisavailableonthelatestPi2model.ModelB+doesnothaveaCPUthatisaspowerfulasthelatestmodel.TheModelB+onlyusestheCPUthatisonthe700MegahertzchipthatisonallotherPi1models.

SHOULDYOUBUYTHELATESTRASPBERRYPI2,IFYOUHAVE

PREVIOUSMODELS?

Thisisanimportantconsiderationtomake.Afterall,someofthepreviousmodelsliketheB+ have powerful features that can almost match the previous models. However, thedecisiontogoforthelatestRaspberrypi2willdependonanumberofvaryingfactors.

Oneofthefactorsisthekindofprojectsyoucando.ThelatestPi2modelmakesiteasiertodoawider rangeofprojects.TheRAMprovidesenoughmemory formorepowerfulgames.The40GPIOpinsmakeitpossibleforyoutodoverysophisticatedprojects.

Whatwecanconcludeisthatthedeviceyouchoosewilldependonwhetheryouwanttodoalittlebitoftinkering,orwhetheryouwanttobeabletodospecificprojectsthataremorepowerful.ThePi2givesyoutheabilitytodothelaterandisonly$35.

GETTINGSTARTEDBOOTINGANDCONNECTIONS

Justlikesettingupacomputerforthefirsttime,startingupandconfiguringtheRaspberryPi2neednotbecomplicated.ThereareafewthingsyouneedtonoteifthisisyourfirstRaspberry Pi computer. However, if you follow the instructions, you will set up yourRaspberryinnotime.

AFEWTHINGSYOUNEEDTOKNOW

SDCardandOperatingSystem:Whensettingup thedevice,youneed toensure that

youhaveamemorycard.Youwillneedthiswheninstallingtheoperatingsystem.Whatmostenthusiastsdois tobuythememorycard,downloadoneof theOperatingSystemsdesignedforthePi2onthememorycard,andtheninstallitfromthere.

Alternatively,youcaneitherbuyacardwithoneoftheOperatingSystems(eitherNoobsor Raspbian) already preinstalled. This may be easier for someone, who has to buy amemory card for this purpose. Buying one that has an operating system alreadypreinstalledmakesiteasier.

Peripheraldevices,KeyboardandMouse:YournormalkeyboardandmousewillworkontheRaspberryPi2.

Cables: Youneedcables forconnecting themonitorandTV.Youcanconnect thePi2withanyofthelatestmonitorswithHDMIcapabilities.Additionally,youcanconnecttotheolderportsusing theotherports available foroldermonitors. IfyouchooseHDMI,you will need to use 3.55mm jack or compatible speaker. Also, since the Pi 2 is hasEthernet10/100capabilities,youmaywanttoconsidergettingacableforthat.

PowerSupply:Youwillneedtosupplypowertothedeviceusinga5VmicroUSBcord.It is important to note that the use of a reliable cord is essential. When the powerfluctuatesbelowthe5Vrating,thePitendstobehaveerratically.

STARTINGTHEDEVICE

Onceyouhaveall these things inplace, it is time to startyourPi2.Hereare themainstepsyouneedtotake.

1. PlugtheUSBkeyboardandthemouse.2. InsertthememorycardwiththeappropriateOSforthisdevice.3. TurnthemonitoronandmakesurethatAudioisavailablethroughyourearphones

orspeakerswith3.5mmjacks.4. YoumayconnecttotheInternetthroughtheEthernetport.Youmayalsochooseto

ignorethisstep,ifyoudonotseetheneedforanInternetconnectionatthistime.5. PowerthedevicebyconnectingtotheUSBcable.Thiswillautomaticallystartyour

device.Itistimeforyoutotakethenextimportantstep.6. Choose the OS to install. You can get instructions on installing either Noobs, or

RaspbianOnline. Once you have installed theOS, the final step is to login. Thedefaultusernameispiandthepasswordisraspberry.Bothofthemareinsmallcapsandnoletterswillappear,sincethisisafeatureonmostoftheLinuxsystem.

7. TolaunchtheUserinterfacetypestart.Youmaystartusingthedevice.

CHAPTER2:SOMEOFTHECOMMONPI2PROJECTS

TheRaspberryPi2isapowerfuldevicethatcanbeusedforawiderangeofprojects.Itisalmost as powerful as an ordinary computer, but it is more affordable because all theunnecessarypartshavebeenremoved.Theotheradvantageisthatitissmallandcompact,makingitidealtotinkerandcreatedevicesofvaryingsizes.Hereareanumberofprojectsthatyoucandoathome.

MEDIACENTERWITHXBMCANDRASPBERRYPI2

TheXBMC(XboxMediaCenter) is free andopen source software that youcanuse toplayandvievideosavailableonPodcasts,Internet,anddigitalmediafilesbothonlineandinthelocalnetwork.ItwasoriginallyusedontheXbox,butisnotavailableformostoftheotherdevices.

YoucanmakeuseoftheRaspberryPi2andtheXBMCsoftwaretocomeupwithaverypowerful Media center for your home. The media center will be capable of playingstreaming content from any of the media services, like Hulu, Netflix, and HBO Goamongst other services. You can also stream Podcasts from a wide range of platformsonline.

TheRaspberrymediacenterwillbeabletorecordanyliveTVyouneedrecordedthroughthesoftwarePVRcapabilities.YoucanrecordvideoandwatchthemthroughyourhouselocalWi-Finetwork.

Youmayneed tobuyacaseandaremotecontrol, ifyoudonotalreadyhaveaHDMI-CEC TV. This is necessary, if you want to create something functional and morepermanent.Ifyouonlywanttotinkeraround,theavailablesoftwareandthePi2devicewillbesufficient.Thereareseveral tutorials thatcanhelpyou learnhowtosetupyourownmediacenterathome.

Link:

http://mymediaexperience.com/raspberry-pi-xbmc-with-raspbmc/

MINIATUREBALLOON

Miniature ballooning gives enthusiasts a chance to view the world from very highaltitudes,whichissometimesreferredtoasnearspace.Youcantakephotosthroughaminiature camera installed on the balloon. This gives you the opportunity to take verycaptivatingandbreathtakingphotos.

This project is moderately complex. The thing that complicates it is tracking. After

sendingtheballoonhighuptothenearspace,youneedtofinditwhenitgetsbacktoearth, so that you can retrieve yourRaspberryPi 2 andother components you investedwhenassemblingittogether.

Youmayhoweverchoosetoduplicate thePiintheSkymodeldevelopedbysomeofthe enthusiasts, who have successfully flown a miniature balloon into the open space.SomeoftheirmodelsusethePi1modelAtoconservepower.ItwillstillworkwiththePi2,unlessyouwanttouseitforspecializedmissions.Themodelsimplifiestrackingandassembly.

Foryourinformation,thisprojectrequiresproperplanningtomakeitasuccess.Youhavetoplanandmapoutthetakeoffandlanding.Therearehoweveralotoftutorialsyoucanreadtoensurethatyouavoidlosingtheballoonwhentheballoonsare

Link:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/pi-in-the-sky-2/

MINECRAFTSERVERRUNNINGONRASPBERRYPI2

Minecraftisapopulargamemostlybecauseitiseasytoplayandstillaninterestinggametoplay.OneofthereasonsyoumaywanttorunMinecraftontheRaspberryPiisthatitisadedicateddeviceforkidstoplayonandleavesyourlaptopandcomputerfreeforothermoreimportantapplications.

Italsoprovidesapowerfuldedicatedserverthatcanimproveontheplayexperience.Youcanbuildagameontheserver,andleaveitfreeforfriendsandfamilytocontinuewiththebuild.

YouwillneedaRaspberryPi2withanSdcardof4GBorhigher.Youwill alsoneedUSBpowerAdaptorandEthernetcable.TheotherthingsthatyoumayneedaresoftwareliketheSoft-floatDebianwheezy.OtherthanthePi,mostofthesethingsarefree.Thereare also a lot of resources online that will guide you on coming up with your ownRaspberryPiMinecraftserver.

Links:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Raspberry-Pi-Minecraft-Server/

http://www.howtogeek.com/173044/how-to-run-low-cost-minecraft-on-a-raspberry-pi-for-block-building-on-the-cheap/

RaspberryPiDrone

OneofthethingsthatpeopleuseDronesforistorecordoverheadfootagewithacamerafittedDrone.Thiscangiveexcellentphotos fromangles thatyoucouldnot takephotosbefore.Thiscancomeinhandywhenhiking,camping,orwhenonvacation.

ADronemadeforhomeandpersonaluseusesanRVremotecontrol.WhatthismeansisthattheremustbeaclearlineofsightwhenflyingtheDrone.However,theRaspberryPiDronehasthecapabilityofflyingonautopilot.

Youcangivethedroneamap,anditwillfinditswaywithoutyourinput.Thankstotheinbuiltcomputer in the formofRaspberryPi2.Thecomputercomputes thepath that itneedstoflythroughonitsown,andwillfinditswaybackusingtheGPRSfeature.

ThistypeofDronehasanumberofapplications.Forexample,somehumanitarianrelieforganizationswant tousesuchDrones to facilitate theirhumanitarian reliefefforts.Thefact that theminiature plane can fly on its ownwithout line of site or the RV remotecontrol,meansthattheDronefliesfurthertogatherinformation.Itwillalsohelpcutdownontravelandtransportationexpenses.

Link:

https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/01/16/make-an-open-source-raspberry-pi-drone-with-navio-piday-raspberrypi-raspberrypi/

AutomatedPetFeeder

Sometimespeoplehave to leave theirpetsbehind,whengoingonavacation.Themainconcernforthesepetownersisonhowtoefficientlyandeffectivelyfeedthepets.Oneofthecommonoptionsistoleavealotofcatordogfoodonabigbowl.Theproblemisthatthismaynotbeanefficientwaytofeedthepetandthefoodoftengoesbadquickly.

One thing thatmay demonstrate the importance of a pet feeder is the fish.You simplycannotaddhugeamountsoffoodintothefishtank.Thiscanseriouslyaffectthemarineenvironment that the fish are living in. Automating the feeding system is thereforeimportantforthehealthofyourpets.

With theRaspberry Pi feeder, the system can be fully automated, such that the food isdispensedfromalargecontaineratspecifictimesofdayornight.Theotheroptionistodispensethefoodtothecontainersusingacertaintrigger.Forexample,whenanemailissent,thefoodisdispensedontothecontainer.

AnotheradvantageofthePi2petfeederisthatyoucanaddmorefunctionality.Youcanplace a camera near the feeder to see if your dogs and cats are happy.Another featurewouldbetoaddinputandoutputaudio,sothatyoucantalktoyourdog.

Link:

http://drstrangelove.net/2013/12/raspberry-pi-power-cat-feeder-updates/

MobileComputer

Thisisquiteanambitiousproject.However,it isperfectforteachingonhowcomputersworkonyoungonesinyourfamily,oratschool.Itisalsoafunprojectforanyenthusiastwishingtotrysomethingnew.

Thetotalcostoftheportablecomputeryoumakemayexceedthatofothercomputersinthe market, unless you use very cheap devices. However, many enthusiasts still enjoydesigning theirowncomputers fromscratch. It ismoreeducational and fun todo it theRaspberryPi2way.

Cameras

Camerasarenotonlyimportant,whenusedontheirown,buttheyarealsoimportantasadd-onsforotherprojects.Apetfeederprojectcouldbecomemoreinteresting,ifacameraisaddedon topof theexistingfunctionality.Thesameis trueforaDrone. Itmakes theDronemoreuseful.

OnethingyououghttonoteabouttheRaspberryPi2isthatitiscamerashy.Thismeansthat thePi2 shutsdownevery time thecamera flashes.This isdue to thecomponentssensitivitytotheXenonflash.Thereareseveralwaysyoucangoroundthis.

AccordingtooneofthefoundersoftheRaspberryPiEbenUpton,theoptionsarethree.Oneofthemisnottouseflash.ThesecondistoavoidXenonflash,whichisresponsiblefor this phenomena referred to as CameraShyness. The third is to conceal the powersupplywithanopaqueobjecttoavoidtheshutdown.Youcanalsobuyacaseforallthecameraprojects.

Link:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2394321/raspberry-pi-foundation-has-a-simple-fix-for-pi-2-camera-flash-glitch

HandheldGamingConsole

Youcandevelopgames toplayon theRaspberryPidevicewithpython.Even ifyourenotgoodatprogramming,thereareonlinetutorials,whichgivestepbystepinstructionswhicharesimpleandstraightforward.

Tomakethisevenmoreinteresting,youcandevelopaconsoletogowithit.ThesizeofthePimakesitpossibletosqueezethecomponentsontoacasethatisjustaboutthesizeoftheOLDGameboyconsole.

Link:

http://www.xodustech.com/projects/raspberry-pi-gameboy-pocket

HDCCTVCamera

Another interesting project you could come up with is the CCTV camera. With theRaspberryPi2, it ispossibletocomeupwithaverysophisticatedipbasedsurveillancesystemcapableoftakinghighqualityphotosandfootage.

The project can be housed in a dummyCCTV camera shell tomake itwaterproof andmore usable in a semi-outdoor environment. The beauty of this project is that you can

changecomponentsandmakeitmoreinterestingbyaddingpartsandcomponentstoit.

Links:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/turn-your-pi-into-a-low-cost-hd-surveillance-cam/

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/video-cameras/ip-cameras/1401648/raspberry-pi-projects-make-a-cctv-security-camera-system

RaspberryPiRobot

OneoftheeasiestwaystobuildarobotisbyusingtheRaspberrypiboardandanumberofcompatiblecomponents.YouwillneedaRaspberrypiwithavailableUSBforpowerconnections,apowerdistributionboardtoenabletherobottobepoweredbyabattery,andothercomponentslikeaWi-FiRooter.

Link:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-robots-with-Raspberry-Pi-and-Python/

CHAPTER3:USINGTHERASPBERRYPI2FORYOURPROJECT

TheRaspberryPi2 isessentiallyaminiatureLinuxcomputer thatmakes itpossible foryoutocomeupwithverysophisticatedproject.Thereareotheroptionsavailablethatyoucould use. It is therefore important to examine some of those options, so that you canunderstandthevalueoftheRaspberryPiandimplicationsofusingit.

DIFFERENCESBETWEENTHEARDUINOBOARDANDRASPBERRYPI

TheArduinoboardissimplyaprogrammableboardthatcanbeusedbythecomputertointeractandcontroltheoutsideworld.SomeofthecommonusesoftheAurdinoboardistoswitchoflightsremotely.Manyoftheseboardshaveexternalportsandpinsthatallowyoutodoalot.

TheAurdinoboardissufficientforsinglepurposeandsimpleapplicationsasstatedabove.They are also cheaper than the Raspberry. They can therefore be used for beginnerprojects,ortoenhanceprojectscreatedbythePiandPi2boards.

ThemainadvantageoftheRaspberryisthatitismulti-purpose.Itcanbescaledtoincludemorecomponents.Youcanaddacameratoarobotyouhadalreadybuilt.Theboardalsosupportsmultipleprocesses.ThelatestRaspberryPi2hasa1GBRAM,whichmakesitverypowerful.

Another advantage of the Raspberry is that you can change the SD card and thereforechange storage and the operating system. Changing the operating system is as easy aschangingtheSDcard.ThiswayyoucanhaveanumberofMemorycardsthatyouwillbeusingforprojectsthatworkbetterwithadifferenttypeofOperatingSystem.

Tochoose the rightRaspberryPiboard,youneed to learn the featureof each.Will theprojectneedtoutilizemultipleUSBports?Is512KilobytesofRAMsufficient,ordoyouneeda1GBRAM?

You can choose to play it safe by simply going for the latest device, which is theRaspberryPi2.TheRaspberrypi2hasallthenecessaryfeaturesyouneedformostoftheprojects.Additionally, you can simply checkwhat other enthusiasts are using andwhattheyvelistedontheirblog.

THINGSTHATWILLHELPYOURPROJECTTOBESUCCESSFUL

Justlikeanyproject,thereisalwaysthepossibilityofthingstakingawrongturn.Atsuchtimes,itseemslikeitsallbadluck.However,likeanyotherproject,itisimportanttotakestepstoreducethechancesofthingsgoingwrong.ThereareafewthingsyouneedtonotebeforeembarkingonanyRaspberrypiproject.Hereareafewofthem:

ModelofyourRaspberry

ItmayseemtoacasualobserverthatthemodelsfromthefirstRaspberryPiAtothelatestPi2are thesame.Indeed theyhavemanysimilaritiesandareofabout thesameweightandsize.However,therearecleardifferencesthatmustbenoted.Thiswilldependontheproject. Ifyouwant tomakeaDroneoranyformofflyingmachine,weightandpowerconsumptionarekey.

Forsomeprojects,Internetconnectionisimportant.OntheotherhandotherprojectsneedmoreoftheGPIOpinstocontrolaperipheraldevice.USBportscomeinhandyforthoseprojectsthatneedtoperformmultipletasksandworkwithmultipledevices.

MemoryCard

ThememorySDcardisanimportantpartoftheRaspberrysystem.Youuseittoinstalltheoperatingsystemandtoaccess thesameOS.This is importantbecauseitgives theusertheabilitytoquicklyandconvenientlychangetheoperatingsystem,simplybychangingtheSDcards.

TheSDcardisuseful,butitcanalsocauseunprecedentedproblemsforsomeusers.ThemainproblemiswhenusingalowqualitySDcard.SuchSDcardsmayfunctiononyourphone,butmayoftencauseproblemswiththeRaspberryPi.

Youcanavoidthisproblembydoingtwothings.Oneofthethingsyoumustalwaysdoisto buy a class 10 SD card. Second, only use quality imager to download and burn theOperatingSystem,ifyouchoosetodownloaditinsteadofgettinganOSloadedMemorycard. The one imaging software you should always use is theWin 32 Disk Imager, ifyoureusingWindows.

PowerSourceandMicroUSBCable

A5VmicroUSBcablepowerstheRaspberryPi.ThiscableissimilartotheonesusedonAndroidphones.Thispoweroutletwasa choicemadeby themanufacturers, since it ispopularlyusedbymanymodernelectronicdevicesaroundtheworld.

Themainproblemisthattherearemanypoorqualitycables.ThisoftendeliverslessthanadequatepowersupplytotheRaspberryPi2.IfthePi2failstoreceivetherightamountofvoltage,itoftenshutsdown,anditmayalsomalfunctionpermanently.

UseaCase

Technically,thereisnoneedforacase,andthePiboardwillworkjustasitis.However,accidentsdohappen. Itmayfall,orwatermayspillon it.Youneed togetacasefor it,whichcostsonlyabout$10.Evenasyouorderthecase,youneedtoprotectit,andhandlewithcare.

VersatileandFlexible

Asithasbeenmentionedintheprojectsection,theversatilityandflexibilityofthisdevicemakesitstandout.Youcanaddmultiplecomponentstoit.Itsabilitytoworkwithothercomponentsmakesitso.

Due to its flexibility, the price of the project can raise to unprecedented levels. Someprojectslikemakingaminicomputercanbecomemoreexpensivethanbuyingtheactualcomputer.Thiscanonlybeaproblem,ifyouaretryingtousetheprojecttosavemoney.Otherwise, it ismore interesting and fun to assemble a Raspberry computer or do anyotherprojectonyourown.

CONCLUSION

Thisbookwasmeanttohelpyougetstartedandrunsuccessfulprojects.ThesubjectissowideandnoteverysingleaspectoftheRaspberryPidevicecanbeincorporated.

There are many online resources, where you can learn more about this device.Raspberrypi.orghasmanystepbysteptutorialsthatareeasyenoughforbeginners.Italsohasinformationoneachofthemodels,andcanhelpyoucomparetheirfeatures.Forumsare also quite educative. You can ask questions and there are many Raspberry Pienthusiasts,whowillbewillingtoansweryourquestions.

Withallthoseresourcesandthisbookasthestartingpoint,youwillbedoinginterestingandeducativeprocessesinnotime.Goodluck.

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Chapter 1: Introduction To Raspberry PiChapter 2: Some of the Common Pi 2 ProjectsChapter 3: Using the Raspberry Pi 2for Your Project***Model of your RaspberryMemory CardPower Source and Micro USB CableUse a CaseVersatile and Flexible