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FULL Windows 10 available for Raspberry Pi!

FULL Windows 10 available for Raspberry Pi!

Windows 10 on Pi! We never thought we’d ever see the day that full Windows would be available for Raspberry Pi. While you’ve been able to install Windows 10 IoT for a few years now, it’s a far cry from the full Windows desktop experience. A simple installer Unofficial for now This (unofficial) Windows on ARM project lets you install an ARM64 version of Windows 10 to a Raspberry Pi 3/3B+/3A+ with very little hassle. The WoA installer uses some other files to create an SD card on your Windows 10 machine that you can then plug into your Pi – simple! Just head to the project’s GitHub page to get started. We’ve not had a proper chance to give it a go yet, but look forward to a guide and other coverage of it in future issues of The MagPi, and here on our blog. The post FULL Windows 10 available for Raspberry Pi! appeared first on The MagPi Magazine.
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Vintage television with Raspberry Pi TV HAT

Vintage television with Raspberry Pi TV HAT

When Martin Mander’s portable Hitachi television was manufactured in 1975, there were just three UK channels and you’d need to leave the comfort of your sofa in order to switch between them. Today, we have multiple viewing options and even a cool Raspberry Pi TV HAT that lets us enjoy DVB-T2 broadcasts via a suitable antenna. So what did nostalgia-nut Martin decide to do when he connected his newly purchased TV HAT to the Pi’s 40-pin GPIO header? Why, he stuck it in his old-fashioned TV set with a butt-busting rotary switch and limited the number of channels to those he could count on one hand – dubbing it “the 1982 experience” because he wanted to enjoy Channel 4 which was launched that year.

Attaching a TV HAT to a CRT Vintage Television Martin is a dab hand at CRT television conversions (he’s created six since 2012, using monitors, photo frames, and neon signs to replace the displays). “For my latest project, I wanted to have some fun with the new HAT and see if I’d be able to easily display and control its TV streams on some of my converted televisions,” he says. It’s now being promoted to his office, for some background viewing as he works. “I had great fun getting the TV HAT streams working with the rotary dial,” he adds. Although Martin jumped straight into the HAT without reading the instructions or connecting an aerial, he eventually followed the guide and found getting it up-and-running to be rather straightforward. He then decided to repurpose his Hitachi Pi project, which he’d already fitted with an 8-inch 4:3 screen. The boards, screen, and switches installed inside the repurposed Hitachi television Fast Facts: Vintage Television An Ethernet-connected Pi 2 acts as a TV server Streams are sent to a Pi-infused retro television A rotary dial changes channels on the 8-inch display A Python script handles channel changing Standard and high-definition streams are possible Change the channel “It’s powered by a Pi 3 and it already had the rotary dial set up and connected to the GPIO,” he explains. “This meant I could mess about with the TV HAT, but still fall back on the original project’s script if needed, with no hardware changes required.” Indeed, Martin’s main task was to ensure he could switch channels using the rotary dial and this, he says, was easier to achieve than he expected. “When…
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TinyPi Pro review

We first looked at the TinyPi – originally called the Pi0cket – way back in The MagPi #59 when it was just an interesting little project. Now the maker, Pete Barker, has put together a little kit so you can make your own extremely small game system. This article first appeared in The MagPi 78 and was written by Rob Zwetsloot And we do mean small – it’s designed to be the same size as a Pi Zero, albeit just shy of 20 mm deep. It’s a pretty remarkable kit in that sense: fitting a D-pad, six face buttons, and two shoulder buttons, while also including a screen and speaker in the chassis is both impressive and a tight squeeze. As mentioned above, it does come as a kit, and you need to supply your own Pi Zero for it (GPIO pins not required), as well as a microSD card to install an operating system to. For a project kit this small, you’d usually be required to do a little soldering yourself to ensure everything fits as intended. Not so with the Tiny Pi – in fact, the only fastening you need to do is with eight screws connecting to four spacers, and an Allen key to tighten them is supplied in the kit. Tiny build With something this small, you also might imagine it to be quite fiddly – and the tweezers included with the kit will hardly allay those fears. However, the only really fiddly part was attaching the (quite small) battery. The tweezers worked perfectly for that, while everything else just dropped, slotted, or clipped into place. The packaged instructions make the build look simple, and it mostly is: unfortunately, a couple of bits are neglected in the explanation, although we’re assured that there will be very fleshed out online resources by the time its released, as well as some tweaks to the included instructions. Tiny power Thanks to a combination of RetroPie and the power of a Pi Zero, the TinyPi Pro has the means (and oomph) to play a wide range of emulated and homebrew games. The RetroPie setup is easy, but you need to know how to skip the controller configuration once all the available buttons are used (tip: hold down any button). While there are more than enough buttons for the majority of games you’ll be able to play on the TinyPi Pro, actually using…
Source: TinyPi Pro review

The Computer Mouse with Pi Zero W, keyboard, and screen

The Computer Mouse with Pi Zero W, keyboard, and screen

When the Raspberry Pi Zero first launched, we all thought about stuff we could make with it. Some of those can be found way back in issue 40’s Pi Zero launch feature. However, one we didn’t talk about was Eben Upton’s idea: the Raspberry Pi co-creator wondered if there was a way to play DOOM with a plug-and-play mouse. While perhaps a little tricky with no keyboard, it’s an interesting idea, and we’ve seen versions of it since then. This project by Thomas (aka Electronic Grenade) takes the concept to a whole new level though by putting an entire computer into a mouse.

Fast facts The computer mouse took about two months to complete The 3D-printed parts took an entire month to design The screen is only 1.5-inch, and can fold down for easy transport Two mice were used for parts in the build Thomas has also built a Raspberry Pi-powered laptop The Computer Mouse: Keyboard, check. Monitor, check “My latest project is called ‘the computer mouse’,” Thomas tells us. “It is a fully fledged computer in the shape of a mouse. It has a keyboard, a screen, and works like a normal mouse. This project uses the Raspberry Pi Zero W along with an OLED display and a Bluetooth keyboard.” With the ease of setting up Bluetooth devices, and the ability to connect to a wireless network without any dongles, the Pi Zero W was the natural choice for Thomas. “I thought of this idea after seeing a project where somebody put a Raspberry Pi and a battery into a keyboard,” he explains. “It had an HDMI cable coming out of the keyboard that plugged into a monitor so that it could be used as a fully fledged computer. After seeing that, I thought it would be neat to try and do the same but with a mouse. But instead of having to plug it into a monitor and keyboard, both of those things would be part of it. “When I started, I envisioned it looking like an ordinary mouse, but with a sliding keyboard and a fold-out monitor. After I got the mouse and all of the parts, though, I realised that it wasn’t going to fit into the mouse. So I started designing my own mouse in Fusion 360, which is a 3D CAD program. After multiple redesigns, I printed it out and put all…
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Inky wHAT review

What’s a wHAT? A wide HAT, that’s what. The Inky wHAT’s 4.2-inch screen has 4.7 times the display area of the Inky pHAT, and 5.4 times the number of pixels. So it’s far better for displaying detailed images and longer text. A small female header on the rear breaks out ten GPIO pins, including I2C and SPI – handy for attaching sensors and other components. Mounted display We tested the black/red/white version (it’s also available in black/white). As the wHAT comes fully assembled, you just need to mount it on your Pi using the supplied metal stand-offs, and a GPIO header extender to boost the height for full-size Pi models. Care must be taken not to put too much force on the fragile glass screen, however. A single command installs the Inky Python library and code examples, including a couple specifically for the larger screen. A famous quotes program shows how to reflow text to fit the display, while an image dithering script converts any picture by resizing and changing the colour palette; the latter works best with simple graphics – photos are still recognisable but a bit grainy. The clearest results come from creating your own images in GIMP, using an indexed colour palette. It takes around 25 seconds to do a full screen refresh: there’s a fair bit of flickering, then the images gradually appear. So it’s only really suitable for projects needing an occasional screen update, but – as an e-ink display – only uses any power while refreshing. Verdict 8/10 Due to the lengthy screen refresh time, it’s not usable for every project. However, its larger display is ideal for a weather report, calendar, news headlines, or to-do list. The post Inky wHAT review appeared first on The MagPi Magazine.
Source: Inky wHAT review

Raspberry Pi official retail store opens in Cambridge

Raspberry Pi official retail store opens in Cambridge

Raspberry Pi has opened an official retail store in the Grand Arcade, Cambridge. The new store sells a wide range of Raspberry Pi boards, accessories, kits, and merchandise. More importantly, it has interactive product demonstrations and breakout areas for people to learn all about digital making with Raspberry Pi.

We visited the store for a special preview event, and it’s packed full of Raspberry Pi goodness. At the store, we caught up with Gordon Hollingworth, Director of Software Engineering at Raspberry Pi – one of the people instrumental in designing the store – to ask why Raspberry Pi was opening a retail environment. The idea is to “reach out” to customers interested in coding, making, and electronics, and introduce them to Raspberry Pi. The concept is about trying to get closer to a less connected demographic, people who aren’t involved with technology, and show them that coding isn’t an inexplicable dark science reserved only for a few. Instead show them that it is possible, with the right instructions and an inquisitive nature, to learn about computers and coding. Rather than just sell products, the vision is to “promote and display” the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi computer and ecosystem. Gordon Hollingworth, Director of Software Engineering at Raspberry Pi, tells us all about the planning and development of the new store Inside the Raspberry Pi retail store In the centre of the store are benches lined with Raspberry Pi computers. These are used for training and education. On the walls are six project booths, each demonstrating a different Raspberry project that people can make: Scratch GPIO control. Use Scratch to light up an LED. Get hands-on with coding. Use Python and buttons to control LEDs. Play with sensors. Use Python to control a Sense HAT. Make your home smarter. With a camera and distance sensor. Build an arcade machine. With a Picade console running PICO-8. Build an all-in-one multimedia centre. A Kodi setup displaying how to create a media centre with a Raspberry Pi. The coding projects have a Raspberry Pi with a breadboard and components. Customers use a keyboard and mouse to control the project, and follow instructions on a small Raspberry Pi-controlled touchscreen to the side of the project. Inside the Raspberry Pi retail store The project booths are “really important,” says Gordon. And a lot of time has been spent to ensure the experience is just right. I…
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Build a Raspberry Pi telephone exchange

Build a Raspberry Pi telephone exchange

Traditional private telephone exchanges (PBX) are essential for businesses but come at a premium. Even a simple system can cost thousands to implement. Yet, with the help of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and the popular open-source telecoms platform Asterisk, the humble Raspberry Pi can match the features of the most expensive PBX systems. Small businesses can get up and running with a two-phone PBX including all the cool features for under £100. At home, why not have phones for your study or kitchen? Leave a voicemail for the dog! This article first appeared in The MagPi 78 and was written by PJ Evans You’ll need 2 × VoIP devices (like the Cisco SPA504G) RasPBX Image Wired Ethernet and switch iOS/Android device (optional) Step 01 Choose your device One of the great things about VoIP phone systems is the flexibility. You’re not constricted to a traditional phone. There are three main options. We’re using the popular Linksys SPA941 and Cisco SPA504G SIP VoIP phones. These are older devices, so you can pick them up on auction sites for as little as £10. Many other types of phone are available, including DECT-style cordless. Alternatively, you can use an ATA converter that adapts a traditional PSTN phone to VoIP (although you lose some features). Finally, ‘soft’ phones such as Zoiper can run on iOS/Android devices or on your computer. Step 02 Network setup VoIP systems rely on fast networks with low latency to maintain audio quality. As a result, many VoIP devices, including our choice of phones for this tutorial, do not feature WiFi. For best performance, we’re going to wire everything up ‘the old-fashioned way’ using a small Ethernet switch. Most VoIP phones feature a passthrough Ethernet connector, so you can chain other devices without using up all your switch’s ports. The phone can be set to take priority over the data if required (QoS or quality of service) so phone calls still work if you’re downloading the latest Fortnite update. You’ll need an Ethernet switch – if you run out of ports, most VoIP phones have a pass-through connector to chain other devices Step 03 Prepare the phones If you’ve procured your phones second-hand as we did, they’ll probably need resetting before going any further. VoIP is not one protocol but many working together and the range of possible settings runs into the thousands. To avoid frustration later on, it’s…
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Puitar: Raspberry Pi electric guitar project

Puitar: Raspberry Pi electric guitar project

When Behruz Farshi picked up his brother’s old electric guitar, he began to ponder the endless possibilities if he turned it into a digital instrument. The result is Puitar: an electronic guitar that’s easy to play. The Puitar can output MIDI sounds, including a piano Puitar is currently monophonic, but a polyphonic version is possible The matrix requires more GPIO pins than the Pi Zero has… So an IO Pi Plus board is used to expand the number of pins Power is supplied by a battery pack with a switch Upon first attempting to play the guitar, Behruz found it very hard work on his fingers: “I was thinking it would be nice to have some kind of instrument that can be played casually, but still is every bit of the real thing,” he tells us. Well, a digital guitar wouldn’t need as much tension in the strings and also it could make any sounds you program it to make! So I ordered a Pi Zero and made a prototype. Additionally, this was Behruz’s first Raspberry Pi-related project, as he explains: “I chose it because it is small, has all the hardware to make it convenient to do something quick, and runs Linux.” Armed with his new Pi Zero, Behruz took around four days to develop both the hardware and the software for his project, with the most time-consuming aspect being the hardware element of the fretboard: “As the idea was to use real guitar parts and space is very limited, it was not easy to assemble it.” Mounted in a recess in the rear of the guitar, the Pi Zero plays digital notes through a mini speaker Puitar: Building an electric guitar with Pi Zero The Puitar features a keypad matrix of 22 frets and six strings. When the player presses a string on a fret, they are connected, which means electricity can flow between them. This is detected on one of the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins and the appropriate note is played. “To find out which frets are pressed, we loop over the strings, setting [them] high, one at a time and checking which fret turns to show high,” explains Behruz. “The rest is a simple software project to make sounds for the pressed frets.” To create the matrix, he drilled holes in the fretboard and soldered wires to the frets from below. After building the first prototype,…
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HiFiBerry DAC+ ADC

Unlike most Raspberry Pi audio HATs, the HiFiBerry DAC+ ADC features an analogue audio input, so you can record, as well as play, sound. That’s perfect for compact audio production projects. Physical setup is easy, but you’ll need a Linux 4.18.12 kernel to use the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) hardware. For full kernel upgrade and boot configuration instructions, see the DAC+ ADC data sheet on HiFiBerry’s site. This article first appeared in The MagPi 78 and was written by K.G. Orphanides The Burr-Brown PCM5122 DAC chip is a popular choice for reasonably priced computer audio hardware, and with good reason. It’s a pleasure to listen to and, via a stereo RCA output, really sings through high-quality speakers. There’s no on-board headphone amp, though. The ADC – a Burr-Brown PCM1861 – has a 3.5 mm stereo input. This is, by default, configured to accept line-level audio, such as you’d get out of your mobile phone or the line-out connectors on most audio gear. You can use it to digitise analogue media such as cassette tapes, turn your Pi into a portable instrument effects box, or record from a mixing desk. Singing its praises You can also connect dynamic microphones – we tested this with a Shure SM58 – if you adjust a jumper switch to enable 32 dB gain. It works perfectly for vocal recording, karaoke parties, or even enabling a software audio passthrough to make an improvised public address system. Note that the DAC+ ADC can’t provide the phantom power required by either studio-grade ‘true’ condenser mics or compact electret mics. Additional headers on the board allow you to hook up external amplifiers and balanced inputs. Verdict 9/10 The DAC+ ADC handles lossless music, games, MIDI soft synths, and sound production brilliantly. If you want a compact board to add full audio functionality to your Pi, this is it. The post HiFiBerry DAC+ ADC appeared first on The MagPi Magazine.
Source: HiFiBerry DAC+ ADC

Pi Wars 2019 tickets on sale

Pi Wars 2019 tickets on sale

Cambridge Computer Laboratory (CCL) is gearing up to host a weekend of space-themed action when it plays host to Pi Wars 2019. Visitors on the last weekend of March (30 & 31st) will witness all manner of furious Raspberry Pi robot challenges in CCL’s William Gates Building. For the uninitiated, Pi Wars is an international, challenge-based robotics competition. Teams build Raspberry Pi-controlled robots and compete in various non-destructive challenges to earn points. Pi Wars 2019 Get tickets for Pi Wars 2019 Thanks to the creativity of teams around the world, the Pi Wars stage is packed with a wild array of moving creations. Manoeuvring Pi-mobiles round obstacle courses will be trickier than ever due to new obstacles and brand-new tracks, all designed by the Pi Wars organisers Tim Richardson and Michael Horne. Tim tells us, “I’m particularly looking forward how the robots tackle the Spirit of Curiosity course – a completely new, fetch-and-carry course for this year which has been the hardest build so far.” There’s also a new autonomous maze course, an obstacle course, and a kink in the straight-line speed test, keeping each challenge fresh for previous entrants. More than 150 teams applied, and £5 spectator tickets can be bought in advance at piwars.org. Tickets on the day are £7 apiece. If you’re a volunteer or under 18 years old, you get to enjoy Pi Wars for free. Adam and Natalie test out Brian Corteil’s latest Coretec robot Volunteer for Pi Wars To become a Pi Wars volunteer, sign up here. You’ll only be expected to help for two to three hours, after which you’ll have plenty of free time to enjoy the rest of the event. Tim and Mike Horne – and The MagPi crew – are very excited to see how this year’s Space Exploration theme will be interpreted by Pi Wars entrants. Tim tells us that more than one six-wheeled Curiosity-evoking vehicle will be make its debut. Pi-based challengers will be judged by ex-Robot Wars judge Dr Lucy Rogers, as well as a yet-to-be-announced additional celebrity adjudicator. Prizes are available for the best robots in each group See also: Pi Wars 2018 winners! Pi Wars: How to win the Olympics of Raspberry Pi robotics Tiny 4WD Robot Rover: new Pi Zero robotics kit from Pi Wars designer The post Pi Wars 2019 tickets on sale appeared first on The MagPi Magazine.
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