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Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

raspberrypi.org

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Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#81

Post by achalkley »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #78
moonchrome wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a programmer who used to like taking things apart and playing with solder in school seeing these kinds of things fill me with enthusiasm and joy - and then I remember I need a wired power supply or a battery and suddenly enthusiasm is gone :( I wish we had wireless power transfer - for these kinds of things losses wouldn't even matter.

Yeah, powering stuff sucks. With ESP8266 you've pretty much eliminated the need for a data line for home automation, but you still need a power line. My current solution (to be deployed in a week or two, after I get home): $2 Chinese fast charger with 4 USB ports (2x 2A, 2x 1A). I had a chance to test them personally before buying; they're decent enough for the task and cheap enough to buy a bunch. You can then use e…

Got a link to the fast charger?

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#82

Post by achalkley »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #52

Arduino Uno for $2, NodeMCU for $3, RPi for $5... please let this trend continue. A year or two, and we'll basically have computronium - simple dev boards powerful and cheap enough to just tile your house with them. I've recently figured out that there's no point in designing your own PCB for placing sensors at home, when you can get an Arduino and an ESP8266 for $5; add power (and some ~$0 of voltage regulation) and…

You can even flash Espurino (JavaScript runtime) on ESP8266/NodeMCU boards. It's a crazy world!

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#83

Post by callesgg »

That is pretty great, i do which that it had wifi built in. As generally you need an Internet connection, and the usb port for a keyboard.

Plugging in a USB hub fixes the issue, but then it would be smarter to just buy a normal PI.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#84

Post by TeMPOraL »

teh_klev wrote: post #53
smarx007 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't be ridiculous. $5 will get you 80% of these peripherals from eBay. Especially if you're on the budget.

Sure if you fancy the risk of your house going up in flames because you bought some dodgy no-name power supply knocked out in a Chinese electronics sweatshop.

How big is that a risk, though? Serious question - because I'm really considering using Chinese USB power supply units as power sources for my home automation project. I've been using one of those units for the last 5 days with no visible problems - no overheating, no noise, etc.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#85

Post by vincentkriek »

frigo_1337 wrote: post #22

I don't see anything about Ethernet/Wi-Fi. Am I missing something? I understand they had to cut some features to reduce the prize. But networking is such a fundamental requirement for these types of systems, you'd think that it would be the last feature to be excluded.

I agree, if this would include an ethernet port it would be the cheapest embedded linux board with wired networking. I would really like such a device and am kinda sad it doesn't exist. Like a ESP8266 but wired.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#86

Post by fulafel »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #84
teh_klev wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure if you fancy the risk of your house going up in flames because you bought some dodgy no-name power supply knocked out in a Chinese electronics sweatshop.

How big is that a risk, though? Serious question - because I'm really considering using Chinese USB power supply units as power sources for my home automation project. I've been using one of those units for the last 5 days with no visible problems - no overheating, no noise, etc.

For that application it is better to get officially imported ones (eg. CE-marked in Europe), where at least the importer is vouching that the design meets minimum safety requirements.

See http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-ap... for some horror stories about crap USB chargers.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#88

Post by TeMPOraL »

achalkley wrote: post #81
TeMPOraL wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, powering stuff sucks. With ESP8266 you've pretty much eliminated the need for a data line for home automation, but you still need a power line. My current solution (to be deployed in a week or two, after I get home): $2 Chinese fast charger with 4 USB ports (2x 2A, 2x 1A). I had a chance to test them personally before buying; they're decent enough for the task and cheap enough to buy a bunch. You can then use e…

Got a link to the fast charger?

It's this model:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/4-Port-2A-USB-Fast-Charger-Mo...

The price on Aliexpress is stunningly high though; I bought it for something like $2-$3 in person. I guess this is one of those cases (I've noticed a few), where Chinese just leave the same price numeric value but change the unit from CNY to USD.

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#89

Post by TeMPOraL »

fulafel wrote: post #86
TeMPOraL wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How big is that a risk, though? Serious question - because I'm really considering using Chinese USB power supply units as power sources for my home automation project. I've been using one of those units for the last 5 days with no visible problems - no overheating, no noise, etc.

For that application it is better to get officially imported ones (eg. CE-marked in Europe), where at least the importer is vouching that the design meets minimum safety requirements. See http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-ap... for some horror stories about crap USB chargers.

Mine[0] has CE on the back, but this is China, they print anything and everything on the back...

[0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10632118

Re: Raspberry Pi Zero: the $5 computer

#90

Post by oAlbe »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #52

Arduino Uno for $2, NodeMCU for $3, RPi for $5... please let this trend continue. A year or two, and we'll basically have computronium - simple dev boards powerful and cheap enough to just tile your house with them. I've recently figured out that there's no point in designing your own PCB for placing sensors at home, when you can get an Arduino and an ESP8266 for $5; add power (and some ~$0 of voltage regulation) and…

> Arduino Uno for $2

Are you sure about this? It doesn't sound... legal.

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