On Top
The resourcefulness of private and commercial users has led to the creation of many practical and novel extensions for the Raspberry Pi. We provide an overview of some useful supplementary circuit boards.
The resourcefulness of private and commercial users has led to the creation of many practical and novel extensions for the Raspberry Pi. We provide an overview of some useful supplementary circuit boards.
As people rushed to purchase a Raspberry Pi [1], many users developed additional circuit boards to support new applications. These user-created boards range from the simple to the complex, and many of the boards are now produced for the general public.
Companies have also gotten into the game of developing add-ons for the Raspberry Pi. As a result, solutions exist for almost every task, including a camera module that functions via sensors, control boards that assist with home automation, and even small sound cards. In this article, I look at some of the more popular and interesting add-ons, many of which can be purchased from sta ndard electronics stores (see Table 1 for an overview).
Table 1
Product Overview
Product | Description | Type | Manufacturer | URL | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BitScope Micro |
Oscilloscope |
USB device |
BitScope |
EUR127/$145 |
|
Bluetooth Stick |
Bluetooth 4.0 adapter |
USB stick |
Conrad Electronic |
http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/448876/Bluetooth-Stick-40-Conrad-Raspberry-Pi-kompatibel |
EUR10/$11 |
C-Berry |
Flat screen display |
Circuit board |
Admatec |
EUR40/$44 |
|
EnOcean Pi |
Wireless module for EnOcean devices |
Circuit board |
EnOcean |
EUR35/$39 |
|
Explore-NFC |
NFC module |
Circuit board |
NXP and Element 14 |
EUR35/$39 |
|
Gertboard |
Additional connections |
Cable connection/Circuit board |
Gert van Loo |
EUR50/$56 |
|
HiFiBerry Amp |
Audio amplifier |
Circuit board |
HiFiBerry |
EUR60/$67 |
|
HiFiBerry |
Sound card (DAC) |
Circuit board |
Modul 9 GmbH |
EUR25-30/$28-33 |
|
Ionas Server |
Cloud server |
Mini server |
Ionas OHG |
EUR250/$280 |
|
Camera Module |
Camera module |
Cable connection (CSI) |
Raspberry Pi Foundation |
EUR30/$33 |
|
MEMS Sensor Board |
Sensors |
Circuit board |
Element 14 |
http://www.element14.com/community/community/designcenter/mems-sensor-board |
EUR30/$33 |
PiFace Digital |
Interface card |
Circuit board |
PiFace |
EUR22/$24, EUR50/$56 |
|
Pi UPS |
Uninterruptible power supply |
Circuit board |
CW2 |
EUR30/$33 |
|
RaspBee |
Zigbee adapter |
Circuit board |
Dresden Elektronik |
http://www.dresden-elektronik.de/funktechnik/solutions/wireless-light-control/raspbee/ |
EUR30/$33, EUR48/$53 |
RasPiComm |
Interface module |
Circuit board |
Amescon |
EUR50/$56 |
|
RaZberry |
Z-Wave Adapter |
Circuit board |
Z-Wave.me |
EUR60/$67 |
|
Real-Time Clock |
Real-time clock |
Circuit board |
PiFace |
EUR9/$10 |
|
RS232/GPIO Shield |
GPIO shield |
Circuit board |
LinkSprite |
http://store.linksprite.com/rs232-gpio-shield-for-raspberry-pi/ |
EUR20/$22 |
StromPi |
Serial interface power supply |
Circuit board |
Joy-it |
http://www.conrad.de/ce/de/product/1244339/Raspberry-Pi-Erweiterungs-Platine-StromPi |
EUR25/$28 |
Unicorn Hat |
LED matrix |
Circuit board |
Pimoroni |
£24/EUR33/$36 |
|
Wolfson Audio Card |
Sound card |
Circuit board |
Wolfson |
EUR40/$35 |
Typically, hardware extensions are attached to the GPIO pins of the Raspberry Pi. Users connect the boards either with a flat ribbon cable or put the extensions directly on the Rasp Pi. The results give the appearance of a hardware sandwich. The Raspberry Pi Foundation even offers specifications for these kind of piggyback boards [2]. The specifications prescribe the use of an EEPROM chip for communicating how an extension uses the GPIO pins and the type of hardware that is on the board.
An extension that adheres to these specifications is called Hardware Attached on Top, abbreviated as HAT. However, a specification is only intended to be a recommendation. Therefore, even if a manufacturer advertises a Raspberry Pi extension as a HAT extension, it does not necessarily have to comply with the Foundations's specifications.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation itself has contributed one of the best-loved extensions. This is the official camera module (Figure 1), which can shoot images at 5Mpx and record videos with a resolution of 1080p30, 720p60, and VGA90 [3]. Access to the camera exists via the command-line tools (raspistill
or raspivid
), Video4Linux (V4L), or a corresponding library. Users connect the camera with a flat ribbon cable to the Camera Serial Interface (CSI) port of the Raspberry Pi. The module costs just under EUR27/$30. For an additional EUR3, you can purchase a version of the camera module that is capable of capturing infrared radiation [4] and night-time images.
Pages: 8
Price $15.99
(incl. VAT)