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I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

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Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#171

Post by chasd00 »

haradion wrote: post #139
mattkrause wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPIO pins. If you want to connect a "regular PC" to the real world, you can get a USB DAQ but even the cheapo LabJack, NI or MCC models are at least a hundred bucks.

A little microcontroller with USB support (I like the Raspberry Pi Pico) can help with your GPIO woes.

with circuit python (basically Micropython) from adafruit you can open a screen session to the USB port and get a REPL interface. I wonder if you could set something up to script input and output from REPL (i'm not a python expert). If you could then you'd have a little pipe to the micro-controller where you could enter python and have it execute and return a value. From there you have all the GPIO and other features available on the microcontroller available to you on your computer.

I have one of adadruit's RP2040 boards and use the REPL a lot to talk to other things connected to the i2c bus. For example, controlling servos from a servo board, or getting orientation data from an IMU. Basically, i treat the circuit python REPL like a command line

https://www.adafruit.com/product/4884

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#172

Post by a9h74j »

hwc wrote: post #37

If someone would build a Linux-friendly competetor to the ARM64 Mac Mini, I would consider that for my home computer. As it is, I either have to stick with x86_64, go to Apple, or have an under-powered RPi.

Probably underpowered for your needs, but within a year or two I am expecting used Chromebooks to be up-to-date enough to include the current Linux (e.g. Debian) support. So perhaps $50 and will include keyboard, screen, and ca 5W idle consumption.

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#173

Post by rr888 »

PaulWaldman wrote: post #103
pizza234 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I recently purchased a mini PC with an Intel N5105, 16GB of Ram, 512GB NVME SSD, two gigabit ethernet ports, two HDMI ports, many USB ports, and Wifi 6. This system was $180, all in That's an unusually low price, assuming it's new. Can you give a reference of the shop where you purchased it? For example, the first price I've found of a Gigabyte Brix (a relatively common mini PC) with an N2807 + 8 GB RAM + 512 GB SS…

It is a Beelink model from Amazon a couple of weeks ago.

Presumably this one, is a good deal. https://www.amazon.com/Processor-Beelink-Computer-Support-Di...

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#174

Post by hello_moto »

kajecounterhack wrote: post #155
sbarre wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to know where you got that PC for that price. I just spent 20 minutes doing some searches in all the usual suspects (Amazon, eBay, AliXpress, and some online stores I can usually get good prices from) and the cheapest I found for the configuration you specified was around $400.. Mostly it seems to be the RAM that boosts the cost. For 8GB I can get it down to $260, but I've seen nothing even close to $180. Ed…

The prices went up recently, but another similar one is the Morefine M8S (on aliexpress). N5105, 16G ram, 512GB SSD, 3x HDMI, 3x USB 3.0, 2x gigabit ethernet, Wi-Fi6, BT5.2, USB-C charging, ~$253.

What's the use-case for this PC by the way?

I'm in the market for a cheap PC/Laptop for my kids (minecraft, zoom, MS teams, chrome, and Roblox)

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#175

Post by PaulWaldman »

rr888 wrote: post #173
PaulWaldman wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a Beelink model from Amazon a couple of weeks ago.

Presumably this one, is a good deal. https://www.amazon.com/Processor-Beelink-Computer-Support-Di...

Yup! Currently $190 with the coupon.

Amazon seems to have multiple listing for Beelink PCs with the exact same specifications, but different price points.

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#176

Post by haradion »

ozim wrote: post #160
haradion wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A little microcontroller with USB support (I like the Raspberry Pi Pico) can help with your GPIO woes.

I bet it is a bit more hassle than RPi.

Sure, in many cases. Depending on the situation, though, it may be no more hassle than any other USB GPIO device, so it's a decent enough cheap solution if you can't or don't want to use a Pi or a similar SBC.

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#177

Post by [deleted] »

doublepg23 wrote: post #78
nousermane wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it actually in stock at this price? Where I am, local price tracker, tweakers.net, also shows some listings for ~100 euro, but if you click through to the seller's website, it says there "not in stock, delivery date unknown". If you limit to what you can actually buy, it's ~200 euros, and even that - often with a week or two of lead-time.

I’ve noticed listings like that more and more lately. A dark pattern where you initially think something is in stock but is actually sold by a third party of a third party.

[deleted]

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#178

Post by isoprophlex »

AlbertCory wrote: post #154

hey HNers, this is sorta related to an idea I have, using a Pi plus an RF transceiver for reading RFID tags. Commercial ones with Bluetooth seem to run $1,000 or more. I'm helping out with a food distribution org (lfrad.org). One of their gleaners, Steve, would like an easy way to estimate the weight of the food they've collected from a supermarket. The idea we like is to attach an RFID tag to each box of food (not e…

Your current design employs passive tags. Those rfid tags are lit up by the scanner, and thus must be in very close proximity. There's nothing (that i know of) that will report its data passively over that distance.

Alternatives could be Bluetooth beacons or something bespoke, but that will require powering the tags... increasing cost and complexity of operation.

Edit: you can use computer vision approaches (like qr codes) if you have line of sight to each box. But that's not guaranteed if I interpret your problem correctly)

Edit 2: if you do use RFID but position the reader near the trunk opening and scan each box as it enters the trunk, you can keep a running total of the weight added to the car. That might strike the best cost/effort/result balance given these constraints...

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#179

Post by jstarfish »

nmz wrote: post #91
PaulWaldman wrote: post #86

What is the point for a consumer to use a Raspberry PI 4 today? I recently purchased a mini PC with an Intel N5105, 16GB of Ram, 512GB NVME SSD, two gigabit ethernet ports, two HDMI ports, many USB ports, and Wifi 6. This system was $180, all in. You can't find a Pi 4, much less one with equivalent specs for anywhere near this price. If you can find it, an 8GB PI4 is $75 and then you need to buy the case, power suppl…

You don't need to buy a case. Also, the plan was $100 for the pi4+keyboard+everything combo before all this (lets just call it the 2020 era) happened. But $100 is still a much better deal than $180.

Tangential, but I learned the other day that if you have access to a 3D printer, there are a lot of free designs for RPi cases on the STL-sharing sites.

Some of them add extra value by doubling as other desktop furniture (phone stands, pen holders, etc.).

Re: I use a Raspberry Pi as my daily computer

#180

Post by awiesenhofer »

yrgulation wrote: post #32
checkyoursudo wrote: post #6

I cannot buy a Pi 4 (8GB) locally at all. Amazon appears to offer one for 200-250 euros. For 200 euros or less, I can get a NUC-style mini PC at my local electronics store that is more powerful. I wouldn't mind trying out a Pi-as-a-PC, but new models either just aren't available or aren't reasonably priced.

A quick google search shows raspberry pi 4 8gb ram selling at 140 eur in italy, 100 eur in hungary. If you live in the eu why do you limit your searches to one country? It feels like those people complaining they cant find ps5s or gpus yet i comfortably sourced mine from various countries, new, at a decent price, even during the pandemic. If you own a small ltd you can even buy them vat free.

This! Its why I love using geizhals, you can select to show all sellers from not just your own country but all of EU,UK as well. And immediately filter for availability and shipping.
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