[klug] Raspberry Pi?

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Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:07:37 PM1/14/15
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Anyone do much with a Raspberry Pi? I'm just getting ready to get into it since I've found some projects I think it would be fun to build.

-B

Jared Bell

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:09:39 PM1/14/15
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I've got a bit of experience with one. Did a thermometer and humidity sensor and then put it on a php script. What you thinking about starting?

On Jan 14, 2015 2:07 PM, "Bret McHone" <dbmc...@gmail.com> wrote:
Anyone do much with a Raspberry Pi? I'm just getting ready to get into it since I've found some projects I think it would be fun to build.

-B

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Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:27:33 PM1/14/15
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I'm thinking about an automated hydroponics greenhouse (small scale at first) to learn the mechanics and coding for everything.

Andrew Messersmith

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:29:43 PM1/14/15
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I had a neighbor who got in some trouble for doing that.  Not sure if he was using a rPi,  but he was within 5000 feet of a school so it didn't pay off for him in the end.

Jesse Merritt

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:33:13 PM1/14/15
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I've done many RPi projects.  If you're comfortable with Python you won't have any trouble.  Keep in mind the RPi is 3.3v without the ability to drive high current loads so you need some transistors and relays to switch things on and off. 
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Jesse
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Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:38:29 PM1/14/15
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No worries. I'm using it as a learning platform. I'm also going to get the TNC-Pi for my radio. I'm sad to say it has taken me this long to discover this stuff.

Markus Iturriaga Woelfel

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:38:40 PM1/14/15
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On Jan 14, 2015, at 2:29 PM, Andrew Messersmith <amesse...@gmail.com> wrote:

I had a neighbor who got in some trouble for doing that.  Not sure if he was using a rPi,  but he was within 5000 feet of a school so it didn't pay off for him in the end.



I would assume if you limit your growing to legal plants, that wouldn’t be an issue? :)

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Ernie Fulton

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:48:38 PM1/14/15
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Keep in mind the Raspberry Pi does not have a Real Time Clock. If you plan to run strict scheduling from the Pi, you will need to make sure NTP is working before actions run.

Ernie Fulton

Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 2:54:26 PM1/14/15
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Hehe, this will be a legitimate herb garden.. ie... Oregano, cilantro, thyme, dill, etc...  I plan to use an auto siphon type system with a persistently running pump. The pi would be used to monitor water levels, flow, temp in multiple areas, etc..

If it works out well then I will probably invest in scaling up. Nothing like home grown food!  We will have a normal garden, but I want to try something a little different.

I'm in the county with a bit of acreage and my land is zoned agricultural/residential. So I shouldn't have any issue growing legal plants.

-B

Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 3:05:23 PM1/14/15
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I appreciate the heads up on that one. I'm still in the investigation/planning phase. I still have to get approval for the project from my wife, but I already have some good plans for the basic system to keep it cheap and a place to put it.

With my current skill set the networking and design won't be a problem. I just have to relearn to code, find the right parts, and fit verything together to do what I want.

Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 3:51:24 PM1/14/15
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Do you have any recommended/favorite resources for reference material or specific manufacturers for parts?

-B

Jared Bell

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Jan 14, 2015, 4:33:27 PM1/14/15
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Honestly, some parts should be easily found on common sources like amazon, and for circuits and small relays take a look at spark fun. Just make sure you get all digital sensors. Pi's don't have analog input.

Cale Mooth

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Jan 14, 2015, 4:58:26 PM1/14/15
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Sounds like a fun project. You all mentioned Python, but you can really run just about any language. I've played around a lot with Node.js and the Pi runs a node server surprisingly well. 


This is my next Pi project that I'm slowly collecting pieces for:




Cale Mooth
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Brian Zachary

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Jan 14, 2015, 7:23:29 PM1/14/15
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It's nowhere near as cool as all the custom stuff, but I just started using a Raspberry Pi B+ as a home theatre interface. I'm a cable cutter and use the MythTV backend running on a little dual core Celeron Zotac ZBOX to record over-the-air TV from my HD HomeRun digital tuner.

The Pi is connected to the TV via HDMI and running OpenELEC, which includes a pretty slick MythTV frontend for scheduling/viewing recordings or watching live TV. The killer app for OpenELEC in my opinion is the remote control compatibility. I have fought the LIRC wars (and lost) but every remote I've tried has "just worked" plug-and-play style with OpenELEC. Incredibly, even my no-frills non-programmable Sony TV can control the OpenELEC GUI - like any sufficiently advanced technology, it is indistinguishable from magic :)

Jesse Merritt

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Jan 14, 2015, 10:10:19 PM1/14/15
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Sparkfun.com and Adafruit.com are good places for parts in low quantities.  Make sure you get a good quality power supply that can do ~1A.  The newest model is the B+ and it's worth the few extra dollars.  If you want Wifi then I have used this dongle before and it worked out of the box

And yes, there are a ton of programming languages that will work.  I mentioned Python because it's the most common development platform.  You can probably use whatever you're most comfortable with.  It's a fun little platform.
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Jesse
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Reed Wade

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Jan 14, 2015, 10:14:44 PM1/14/15
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On 15 January 2015 at 08:29, Andrew Messersmith <amesse...@gmail.com> wrote:


 

but he was within 5000 feet of a school so it didn't pay off for him in the end.


Yes, definitely more efficient to just buy weed from the neighbour kids if possible than to go through the hassle of growing your own. Quality will vary tho.

--

A friend at work made a little render farm with a stack of 6 or 8 rPi's -- it was very slow but cool.

I keep wishing I had a need for one.

-reed
 

Bret McHone

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Jan 14, 2015, 10:15:42 PM1/14/15
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Ernie Fulton

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Feb 9, 2015, 4:24:55 PM2/9/15
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In case anyone wanted to pick up some Rasperry Pi documentation, O'Reilly is running a 50% sale this week:

Use discount code: WKRSPB


Ernie 

Bret McHone

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Feb 9, 2015, 4:30:26 PM2/9/15
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I appreciate the link!

I'm working on getting this going on my pi right now: http://publiclab.org/wiki/near-infrared-camera

I bought a NoIR camera with the infrablue filter and it's pretty slick!

Thanks,
Bret

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