Subj : Bluetooth Keyboard To : Ky Moffet From : Barry Martin Date : Sun Sep 15 2024 19:11:00 Hi Ky! > KM> Yep, but this wasn't a kit, it's all assembled and ready to use. > KM> All you need do is plug it in pick the OS to install at first > KM> boot (it has 'em stored in ROM, apparently). > Almost sounds like an updated version of the NOOB sd card. (L-o-n-g > time ago so not recalling details; think it had an option screen at > initial setup.) KM> A bunch of 'em have OS options in ROM, but most have to go KM> download it. This was onboard. Both options have advantages but probably with the on-board not required to have an Internet connection, plus if the OS needs to be reinstalled in a decade the 'download link' is internal, not reliant on a lin k which may be altered in the future. > KM> They also make a mini screen with a mount for the unit. > I've seen the option or something similar. A tiny screen could be handy > to monitor voltage, memory, temperature functions and the like (I'm > thinking something like a 2" screen). The other day I set up a Pi using > a 12" screen -- basic setup not bad but past that with stuff like > raspi-config -- ergh! KM> Where did I leave my portable monitor?? This screen is about 8" KM> and clearly meant as a utility screen. Naked girder type mount, KM> like you'd put on the back of a workbench. Ah! 8" diagnonal not all that bad. LIS, I was thinking along the lines of a 2- or 3" screen. > > I'd suggest going with a Raspberry Pi Foundation approved supplier. > KM> Oh, if you're doing a lot with it, yes. But the point here was > KM> ready to use out of the box, which I don't recall any others > KM> doing. For people who just want it to do something like your > KM> MythTV controller without having to assemble hardware, much > KM> easier than having to puzzle it together first. > True. I have to remember I'm used to electronics, having started > mid-elementary school. KM> Same as "Just build your own PC" gets baffled looks from even KM> experienced users. I don't do it enough to feel comfortable "just pointing" to the parts I want: I need to do research to check they'll fit. Maybe 'Dave' knows it's a PCIe x16, I need to check the specs its x16 and not x1. > The single-board/micro-computer market has taken off! It's kind of > funny how big corporate has embraced what started off as a "kids toy" to > get children interested in programming. KM> Rather, someone discovering that the little boards used to KM> control appliances and camera banks not only had other uses, but KM> were also cheap to make, and salable to the maker market who no KM> longer had to scour dead appliances and defunct security systems KM> to acquire their control boards. But far as I've seen, never KM> marketed as a toy, nor as a programming lure. AFAIK never a toy; RaspberryPi.com's lead page: "Enabling all young people to realise their full potential through computing" and the rest of the page (as far as I scrolled!) is more orientated to kids/youth. As for the business/industrial side, definitely. On one of the local TV stations I'm pretty sure I've seen the huge blurred pixel and OS Boot Screen (with Raspbery Pi logo) off to stage right when doing a weather segment. Usually that monitor is displaying something weather-related; all computers require rebooting eventually! > > the advertising blurb said specifically will work with Raspberry Pi > > (back then the version 3). Power supply mostly worked -- sometimes the > KM> Anything that's 5V should work, including plugging into random > KM> USB port (tho older ports may not deliver enough amperage). > They preferred using the power port as it was protected by a polyfuse > (would reset itself) where the USB ports were not protected. (Voltage KM> Like a dedicated charging port. Silver's mainboard has one, red KM> plastic tab to indicate. Probably. As I recall they do say the USB ports can be used but those ports are not protected. > would be fine, it's an over-current condition, like any fuse/circuit > breaker.) ...Undervoltage will cause throttling; overheating will cause > capping -- and eventually melting the polyfuse like what happened with > the two Pi's I had in the Storage Area in summer! KM> Ooopsie! They loved the winter! KM> But that's probably why one should use an actual adapter that was KM> meant to charge or power something like a cell phone. Gonna be KM> protected. I think more voltage-stable and more within the narrow voltage range the Pi wants for Input. IIRC RPi5 wants 5.1 volts and the prior versions 5.0v. I don't recall the tolerance (ñ percentage) but it is rather narrow. I've fiddled a bit with my box of USB chargers, supplies (is there an 'etc.'?) and most are in the upper 4,x range, and have a somewhat unstable output. Good enough for chargers, not good for running computer stuff. > Right. The Pi isn't for everything. LISB4, I'm sticking with the Pi > because more or less interchangeable. KM> If you're already invested in one line, yeah, easier to KM> interchange parts and code if you stick to that line. IMO right! I've experimented with a update (hardware, software) up here on a clone of a working unit; change the IP address(es) so not compflict. Get the test unit the way I want, swap cards (or sometimes the whole unit - plug in the cables) -- all done! Argh! Change the IP address(es) back -- now all done! > KM> Chris shows how (including the control code) to build stuff like > KM> a weather station and a simple robot using even the $15 Pi Zero, > KM> which has all the brains of a paperclip. > Are you referring to Clippy??!! > https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2022/08/origin-story-of-cl > ippy-the-microsoft-office-assistant KM> Clippy may be smarter. :O Oh-boy! > For some projects one doesn't need much. I have Pi3 running X10, and > old protocol for controlling lights, etc. Most of the time it just sits KM> Somewhere around here I have one of the free X10 controllers they KM> would send you, 20 years ago. Never used it, tho. Hmm: which one? > KM> Glah, I just drowned my mouse in tea, tho it doesn't seem to > KM> mind... maybe it can swim.... > I was thinking dunking the mouse IN the tea mug -- I'd be impressed at > that trick!! KM> I would be too. It got a good dousing, tho, then had to swim for KM> it. Good Grief! 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