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I'm joining the dark side - they have Pi

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  • H Offline
    H Offline
    honey the codewitch
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

    Real programmers use butterflies

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    • H honey the codewitch

      I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

      Real programmers use butterflies

      T Offline
      T Offline
      theoldfool
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      I am not sure about "must" but I have a case with fan, breakout expansion board, expansion board 1 to 3 (requires extender with the case I use). Depends on how many/what kind of devices you want to use. I probably wouldn't load up on stuff, easy to do it as you go with one day delivery from Amazon. Newark takes longer.

      If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • H honey the codewitch

        I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

        Real programmers use butterflies

        C Offline
        C Offline
        CPallini
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        A joystick, of course. :-D

        "In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?" -- Rigoletto

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • H honey the codewitch

          I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

          Real programmers use butterflies

          R Offline
          R Offline
          RickZeeland
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          You could use it as a Git server with Gitea, see: best-git-web-interfaces[^]

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • H honey the codewitch

            I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

            Real programmers use butterflies

            D Offline
            D Offline
            DerekT P
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            honey the codewitch wrote:

            I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage

            512GB ?? That's more storage than I have on my (work, private, play, one-and-only) laptop... that I use for development, offsite backup of client software during upgrades, hosting multiple non-work databases, running MySql and Sql Server, multiple versions of Visual Studio plus all the code I've ever written (over 460 separate projects), plus all my photographs of the "digital" era (from 2005). ... and I'm still only half-full! (In 1992 I was made redundant when my employer closed down. I got my pick of PCs (at cost, based on the machine's spec) and managed to nab one with a 40Mb disk. Because of the way Win3.1 was configured it only reported a single 32Mb partition, but once I'd lugged it home I setup a second 8Mb partition too. So I had the last laugh! :laugh: )

            H 1 Reply Last reply
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            • H honey the codewitch

              I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

              Real programmers use butterflies

              S Offline
              S Offline
              Storm blade
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              I'd be cautious about using an expensive SD card in the pi, they can be damaged by powering off while being written to. I've had a few fail completely. So I'd go for having a couple of smaller/cheaper cards, rather than one big expensive one.

              1 Reply Last reply
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              • H honey the codewitch

                I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

                Real programmers use butterflies

                realJSOPR Offline
                realJSOPR Offline
                realJSOP
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                I would avoid booting from SD cards. They are prone to failure (and usually at the worst possible time). Boot from a quality 16GB thumb drive (I use Samsung Fit+ drives), and if you need the extra storage, simply connect a SSD to one of the other USB ports. Am I correct in assuming that you got a Pi4 with > 2GB RAM? I would consider running POE because the USB-C power connection is not at all reliable if you start moving the pi around. You want to avoid uncontrolled power-down events - ESPECIALLY if you're booting from a SD card. I've found that the Pi4 runs very hot. Get a good cooling solution. The best one available is the Ice Tower. I use that one exclusively. Ice Tower case with Low-profile cooler[^]. You can also get just the cooler if you have other needs like I do. If you're decide to do POE, I recommend the UCTronics POE hat. I had to order mine direct from UCTronics because I couldn't find it on Amazon.UCTRONICS PoE HAT 5V 3A for Raspberry Pi 4B, 3B+ and 802.3af/at PoE Network, with Cooling Fan[^] I also got their HDMI extender: UCTRONICS Micro HDMI to HDMI Adapter Board for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B[^] As well as their rack mounting plate (because it provides a mount point for the HDMI extender board): UCTRONICS Mounting Plates for Raspberry Pi 4 B Models, Compatible with 19 inch 3U Rack Mount, 4-Pack[

                H 1 Reply Last reply
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                • H honey the codewitch

                  I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

                  Real programmers use butterflies

                  R Offline
                  R Offline
                  RDM Jr
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  I got a couple of Pi and Arduino setups, with mounting points for both a Pi and an Arduino, plus a breadboard. Like this one, although I just got one from Amazon: Arduino/Raspberry-PI Breadboarding Platform mount | MPJA.COM[^] I know that platform works with the Pi 2B and 3B, but I haven't tried it with a 4B yet. If you're going to be mixing Pi's and Arduinos, I'd suggest adding a level shifter to protect the 3.3v Pi from the 5v Arduino signals; you can use I2C without it, but adding it means you can make wiring errors, etc. without destroying the Pi. I got a level shifter from SparkFun after seeing a classmate wreck 2 Pi's in less than 5 minutes. $3 to protect a $30 Pi seemed like a wise move after that!

                  H 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • H honey the codewitch

                    I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

                    Real programmers use butterflies

                    Mike HankeyM Offline
                    Mike HankeyM Offline
                    Mike Hankey
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    As JSOP said they do run hot, on mine I put heat sinks and put it in a case with a fan.

                    The less you need, the more you have. JaxCoder.com

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R RDM Jr

                      I got a couple of Pi and Arduino setups, with mounting points for both a Pi and an Arduino, plus a breadboard. Like this one, although I just got one from Amazon: Arduino/Raspberry-PI Breadboarding Platform mount | MPJA.COM[^] I know that platform works with the Pi 2B and 3B, but I haven't tried it with a 4B yet. If you're going to be mixing Pi's and Arduinos, I'd suggest adding a level shifter to protect the 3.3v Pi from the 5v Arduino signals; you can use I2C without it, but adding it means you can make wiring errors, etc. without destroying the Pi. I got a level shifter from SparkFun after seeing a classmate wreck 2 Pi's in less than 5 minutes. $3 to protect a $30 Pi seemed like a wise move after that!

                      H Offline
                      H Offline
                      honey the codewitch
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      I don't really use Arduinos that much. I use ESP32s. I'm starting to dabble with ARMs though I hate their toolchain so who knows if I'll continue with those. Still, I'm 3.3v everywhere. Frankly Arduinos are expensive for what they are, and not very useful for me other than as toys.

                      Real programmers use butterflies

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • realJSOPR realJSOP

                        I would avoid booting from SD cards. They are prone to failure (and usually at the worst possible time). Boot from a quality 16GB thumb drive (I use Samsung Fit+ drives), and if you need the extra storage, simply connect a SSD to one of the other USB ports. Am I correct in assuming that you got a Pi4 with > 2GB RAM? I would consider running POE because the USB-C power connection is not at all reliable if you start moving the pi around. You want to avoid uncontrolled power-down events - ESPECIALLY if you're booting from a SD card. I've found that the Pi4 runs very hot. Get a good cooling solution. The best one available is the Ice Tower. I use that one exclusively. Ice Tower case with Low-profile cooler[^]. You can also get just the cooler if you have other needs like I do. If you're decide to do POE, I recommend the UCTronics POE hat. I had to order mine direct from UCTronics because I couldn't find it on Amazon.UCTRONICS PoE HAT 5V 3A for Raspberry Pi 4B, 3B+ and 802.3af/at PoE Network, with Cooling Fan[^] I also got their HDMI extender: UCTRONICS Micro HDMI to HDMI Adapter Board for Raspberry Pi 4 Model B[^] As well as their rack mounting plate (because it provides a mount point for the HDMI extender board): UCTRONICS Mounting Plates for Raspberry Pi 4 B Models, Compatible with 19 inch 3U Rack Mount, 4-Pack[

                        H Offline
                        H Offline
                        honey the codewitch
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Thanks for all that information. I got a starter kit that includes a case and a couple of fans. I have a powered USB hub. I'd bet you good money your USB power problems were from trying drive your pi off of the PC's USB power directly. I'll give that a go for a little while and see how it goes. I'd have loved to know about your issues with SSD before I went and bought half a terabyte of it. :laugh: I'll be hooking it into my main monitor and using a full size keyboard with it since it is being used as a development machine for reasons - that's why I bought it. It has 8GB. I'll back my SD up after every session. And in any case I use source control. Since this machine is purely to speed up my development of drivers for i2c and spi devices all I'm doing with it is coding.

                        Real programmers use butterflies

                        realJSOPR 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • D DerekT P

                          honey the codewitch wrote:

                          I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage

                          512GB ?? That's more storage than I have on my (work, private, play, one-and-only) laptop... that I use for development, offsite backup of client software during upgrades, hosting multiple non-work databases, running MySql and Sql Server, multiple versions of Visual Studio plus all the code I've ever written (over 460 separate projects), plus all my photographs of the "digital" era (from 2005). ... and I'm still only half-full! (In 1992 I was made redundant when my employer closed down. I got my pick of PCs (at cost, based on the machine's spec) and managed to nab one with a 40Mb disk. Because of the way Win3.1 was configured it only reported a single 32Mb partition, but once I'd lugged it home I setup a second 8Mb partition too. So I had the last laugh! :laugh: )

                          H Offline
                          H Offline
                          honey the codewitch
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Yes. half a terabyte. I didn't want to run out of room, and it was $35

                          Real programmers use butterflies

                          D 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • H honey the codewitch

                            I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

                            Real programmers use butterflies

                            W Offline
                            W Offline
                            W Balboos GHB
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Are you sure this purchase is not a result of circular reasoning?

                            Ravings en masse^

                            "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

                            "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

                            H 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • W W Balboos GHB

                              Are you sure this purchase is not a result of circular reasoning?

                              Ravings en masse^

                              "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

                              "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

                              H Offline
                              H Offline
                              honey the codewitch
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Pi shaped reasoning, so yes I suppose =)

                              Real programmers use butterflies

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • H honey the codewitch

                                Yes. half a terabyte. I didn't want to run out of room, and it was $35

                                Real programmers use butterflies

                                D Offline
                                D Offline
                                dandy72
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Linky? All 512GB MicroSD cards I can find on Amazon right now are starting at CAD$80. Well, there are a few that go for $20-something, but those have to be crap. If you haven't done so already, I suggest you try filling that 512GB card with actual data. Then try to read it back. Only then should you trust it to have that actual capacity.

                                H 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • D dandy72

                                  Linky? All 512GB MicroSD cards I can find on Amazon right now are starting at CAD$80. Well, there are a few that go for $20-something, but those have to be crap. If you haven't done so already, I suggest you try filling that 512GB card with actual data. Then try to read it back. Only then should you trust it to have that actual capacity.

                                  H Offline
                                  H Offline
                                  honey the codewitch
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  I thought $35 was cheap, but whatever. if it's not 512GB i don't really care. i didn't look for the cheapest one or anything.

                                  Real programmers use butterflies

                                  D 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • H honey the codewitch

                                    I thought $35 was cheap, but whatever. if it's not 512GB i don't really care. i didn't look for the cheapest one or anything.

                                    Real programmers use butterflies

                                    D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    dandy72
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    honey the codewitch wrote:

                                    if it's not 512GB i don't really care

                                    I think you will care if you write to it and start encountering otherwise inexplicable failures, even if you stay well below the claimed capacity. Years ago my employer got 64GB USB sticks (when those were still a new thing) for very cheap, for a trade show, and we loaded them up with marketing material. And while we only needed just a few hundreds of MBs (if that), some couldn't be written to or read back at all. If it's too good to be true, that's usually the sort of device you're dealing with. In the end, they're not worth the aggravation, especially if you're gonna be using it as a daily thing.

                                    H 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • D dandy72

                                      honey the codewitch wrote:

                                      if it's not 512GB i don't really care

                                      I think you will care if you write to it and start encountering otherwise inexplicable failures, even if you stay well below the claimed capacity. Years ago my employer got 64GB USB sticks (when those were still a new thing) for very cheap, for a trade show, and we loaded them up with marketing material. And while we only needed just a few hundreds of MBs (if that), some couldn't be written to or read back at all. If it's too good to be true, that's usually the sort of device you're dealing with. In the end, they're not worth the aggravation, especially if you're gonna be using it as a daily thing.

                                      H Offline
                                      H Offline
                                      honey the codewitch
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      dandy72 wrote:

                                      If it's too good to be true, that's usually the sort of device you're dealing with. In the end, they're not worth the aggravation, especially if you're gonna be using it as a daily thing.

                                      I mean, I agree with that. And I appreciate the heads up. But here's the thing: A) I didn't know that $35 was especially cheap. I haven't kept up on SD prices. I literally just bought the first one I found @ 512GB on amazon. I didn't care. Now that I know they should be $80 I'll bear that in mind. B) That machine will never not be wipeable. In fact, the first thing I was going to do was copy the SD that ships with it - the one with raspian on it, to my PC. Then I am going to boot up, install VS code, clang, gcc, git, platform IO and all that. Make my dev env.. Finally, I will image a new copy of that disk to my PC. That will become my gold copy. If anything blows up, I just start over. All my source gets checked in routinely to github. It's not really an issue. C) I'm not just going to throw away $35 without seeing if it was money well spent or not That's why I say I don't care. The 512GB was me going "how can i make sure i'll never have to waste time worrying about space on this thing?"

                                      Real programmers use butterflies

                                      D 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • H honey the codewitch

                                        dandy72 wrote:

                                        If it's too good to be true, that's usually the sort of device you're dealing with. In the end, they're not worth the aggravation, especially if you're gonna be using it as a daily thing.

                                        I mean, I agree with that. And I appreciate the heads up. But here's the thing: A) I didn't know that $35 was especially cheap. I haven't kept up on SD prices. I literally just bought the first one I found @ 512GB on amazon. I didn't care. Now that I know they should be $80 I'll bear that in mind. B) That machine will never not be wipeable. In fact, the first thing I was going to do was copy the SD that ships with it - the one with raspian on it, to my PC. Then I am going to boot up, install VS code, clang, gcc, git, platform IO and all that. Make my dev env.. Finally, I will image a new copy of that disk to my PC. That will become my gold copy. If anything blows up, I just start over. All my source gets checked in routinely to github. It's not really an issue. C) I'm not just going to throw away $35 without seeing if it was money well spent or not That's why I say I don't care. The 512GB was me going "how can i make sure i'll never have to waste time worrying about space on this thing?"

                                        Real programmers use butterflies

                                        D Offline
                                        D Offline
                                        dandy72
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Fair enough. :-)

                                        1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • H honey the codewitch

                                          I finally broke down and bought a raspberry pi. I feel like it's cheating since it's a small computer, not an IoT device as such. However, it runs linux and will run GCC so I can use it to test out my driver code directly without long dev cycles i usually deal with uploading my binaries via serial. I bought a 512GB microsd card for storage I'm hooking it into my primary display and I have a keyboard i can use with it. I also have a 5" hdmi touch display i bought for my logic probe/scope, but i can use it for this too. Any other "must have" gear I should get with it?

                                          Real programmers use butterflies

                                          B Offline
                                          B Offline
                                          BillWoodruff
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Given your hardware constraints, would a limited set of named colors be useful [^] Off-topic: It might interest you to explore Pantone (subtractive) colors: [^], [^]

                                          «One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali

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