July 20
This just in. Got this from the mail. My Raspberry Pi case. Funny I got my case and I do not have anything else to do with it except take a picture and to blog on.
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My first package. I can almost taste it. |
Introduction to the Pi
We have this neighbor gadgets shop that has an e-commerce site. One of the curious stuff they have is the Raspberry Pi, no clue whatsoever i started googling the item and got interested with what it can do. With the price that’s less than a 3 thousand, it really was what projects are made of...
Lucky when i checked on the manufacturer site, i realized my neighborhood price was kind of high and I bought the latest pi with less than 2k! Got it from RS Components, paid for it via bank transfer last week, though my purchase is still a work in progress, I was expecting this case delivery on Thursday, and my actual pi
next Tuesday, so far this supplier is reliable enough, plus seeing their inventory of stuff, i might be a regular.
I have prepared a small drawer box to house my tools, cables and whatnots as a portable workshop. I am just rarin’ to go.
Frustrated Computer Engineer
I was a confused young lady when it was time to choose a career. I was for the most of my elementary and high school wanted to be an astronaut, i wasn’t into reachable ambitions then, my next ideal was to be a computer engineer. It was sad to realize that the nearest I can get to be an astronaut sans space program was to be a meteorologist, and the poster boy of meteorology at that time was the weatherman Amado Pineda. I didn’t want to be a weather girl and my father didn’t want me to go to the nearest engineering college so i just went with the flow, went to do an exam with a school my papa approved, didn’t realize they also had engineering (that is what you get from not researching about colleges and options beyond the space program.) there but ended up in mascom since the person in front of me said so.
I have no regrets with my educational background.
And now after years, i have to say this is the best time to handle the frustrations. Glad to have the universe ready for learning frustrated frogs like me. There are e learning sites (free at that.) and I enrolled in CS50 in
Edx.org though i am having a hard time being consistent with schedule and slow internet. and there is the raspberry pi. Not that i will be, or i should be, i will be good to myself without the strict pace, but whenever i can, i will do this projects and hopefully it will be a good bonding moment for kiddie and mommy.
and if it will be a project placed in the backseat.. oh i won’t go there…
Package number 1
The Pi case. Ordered the item in RS, wanted the black one but was not available. I didn’t want to wait obviously. Even with the white, it didn't disappoint. I was actually shocked and more excited to really start the project. The form factor is smaller than i have expected. Not much to say. It is a case.
Prepared stuff from my old stash.
Still thanking my neighborhood store and some sites for the reference of things they sell i.e. things most probably a must to build basic for my pi.
Wi-fi
Power supply (am readying my power bank and available cables for compatibility.)
Camera (checking if usb webcam can hack it, or my old nikon camera as option.)
Case (bought)
Micro sd flash (from a decommisioned android phone)
Options for screen connections which includes using ipod cable (ready with an hdmi and an ipod cable for tv and lcd video options)
LCD (an old one from previous computer i donated, it has only vga and dvi inputs) i can't even remember the model but it is an asus.
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Ipod cable, Generic Bluetooth dongle (should it work with my bt keyboard), usb wifi dongle ASUS wl 167g |
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Hoping it would work with an old LCD screen with DVI / VGA inputs and built in speaker |
I have gathered my old stuff to make replacement parts and eventually will be buying later when my experiments need upgrade or my options really couldn't hack it.
All set.. Excited for the coming weeks...
July 22
Package number 2
I finally got my pi. RS components, i am impressed. It is supposed to be here on the whereabouts of
July 28, it's just the due date of my case, which was delivered 2 days earlier.
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When the case arrived, i already had the idea how small it was, the actual unit even if it was expected still was amazing. This is a computer? (compare the ipod sock i use to as my iphone case :) |
The box though was a bit flattened, the inflated plastic didnt seem to work its cushioning function. Hmmm.. What's wrong with bubble wrap! It would have been a good stress reliever (writing on hindsite) while waiting for formats, boots and installs i will go through today.
I got it in the office so i really, really was looking forward to home that day, in addition to playtime with j which i hope to be compact but complete...
When i got home j was already asleep so the night was made to be a project day.
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The case is 3 piece, no screws required. My pi in its case. |
I had prepared the sd process by doing sd reformat and downloading the noob files and starting fresh install in the sd. Check.
The powerbank (a romoss sense 4) proved to be very useful. With my usual android cables, working and checked that it is with compatible voltage 5v and at least 1 amp. Check.
The interface was easy to navigate, my almost 7 years in hardware is doing me well, besides it was really basic and I have been doing research prior to purchase. Plug in sd, stereo jack, usb keyboard, power... Lets get ready to rumble..
I was planning to do a composite display connection using 2 options, our family tv or with an old 7 inch crt tv i had since early 2000, using an old ipod video cable i really thought i will be repurposing a lot of my old gadgetry and circuitry lying around. But with the 2 setups i planned it seem the video signals were not working.
Google and forum research.. I have initially read that the ipod video cable was supposed to work, possible problems would only be mix up of left and right audio or the red and white rca assignments. But i was doubting it was the only problem.. I have in it's original purpose used the cable with the ipod video and i know it should at least have an effect on its static when i plug unplug the cable if its only issue was function assignments. This seem a dead connection. I checked continuity with the multimeter and realized that it had the ground-video-red-white assignment pattern, actually a dreaded sign that it was non compatible. Boo-hoo. I really need to get a dvi adaptor since my existing lcd, another repurpose from an old pc set up only has vga and dvi outputs.
Before i close, i also have repurposed a usb keyboard from an old android tablet (when i mean old, it was pre froyo) so i can keep my setup really tight and compact.
Official day 1 done.
July 23
Day 2
I finally got my hdmi to dvi early in the day so i was really looking forward to working on my pi.
In addition to the pi and its case, these are the only 2 things i bought. A dvi to hdmi adaptor and a power supply based on the spec. I will never mess around with power. Check.
So when i got home, after our play session with j, i immediately setup my pi.
The hdmi with dvi to my asus lcd worked like a charm, i went passed the rainbow screen but had trouble with my sd.
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My basic setup, keyboard generic cdrking, my pi, usb dongle, a samsung oem phone charger, cables, cables, cables |
Because of possibly the many boots of yesterday without the benefit of the monitor, i was having an error that says i have 0 memory, i could not install anything because of this.. Google /forum. Rom error and reset is needed, I needed to reflash the noob disk. Check.
After that i went passed installation, i have my memory back and i am in preconfig..
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My original keyboard, small and compact, but my settings were not correct :( so it doesn't respond in the command prompt. |
But, i am stuck in the blue screen when all of a sudden, it seems that my usb keyboard is not working.. Probably i chose a keyboard that is the standard full desktop keyboard so the buttons on my android layout keyboard was not plotted well. No fear, as i had an old keyboard somewhere in the depths of my oh my i realize i do not throw things away. Changed the keyboard without booting and we are all set.
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installing OS |
After working with the gui interface, i then just played around with the desktop, looks like english to me.. I wanted to check if i can also use my old Asus usb wifi stick with it. Good that the units indicator lights are working i only had to configure with the system, after a little playing around and with my preschool vocabulary of networking i managed to make my wifi happen, check.
I have successfully started my pi. Hurray!
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The Pi's desktop! Hurray! |
So all in all, to set up this project :
I only bought 4 things
The pi case (optional cosmetic)
The pi
Hdmi to dvi adaptor
Power supply (can use my lying around stuff but i dont want to play around with this, actually optional)
This is actually part of the fun for this project, resurrecting and repurposing found objects in the house.
Next step.. Understanding linux and go finish your cs50 course.
P.S.
Pictures and tech specs to follow (updated.)