Daily Archives: July 28, 2014

An Exquisite Raspberry Pi Enclosure

There are countless types of enclosures available for the inexpensive credit card sized Single Board Computer – the Raspberry Pi, popularly known as the RBPi. All have their unique capabilities and advantages. Some are made of wood, some of paper while most others are made of plastic.

The molded enclosure from Hammond Electronics is specifically designed to house the RBPi model B. The exquisitely molded container is shaped like a book and is available in black, grey and translucent blue. The stylishly rounded design has apertures for all the IO interfaces and accessories supported by the RBPi. The enclosure is actually two parts made to fit one on top of the other, holding the RBPi between them. No screw-fixings are involved, and a specific sequence is required to get the bottom, the RBPi and the top fitted together perfectly.

On opening the 1593HAMPI enclosure assembly, you will notice the bottom half has some stationary clips on its inside. Holding the bottom half in your palm, slide the RBPi board in at an angle against these stationary clips. Once in place, push down firmly on the RCA jack of the RBPi, until you hear the board click into position. Now the RBPI is securely held in the bottom part of the enclosure.

Take the top part of the enclosure and touch its rounded ends to the corresponding rounded ends of the bottom part, on an angle. Still holding the bottom part firmly, push down on the outer edge of the top part, until you hear a snapping sound. On turning the assembly around, you will see a clip from the top part jutting through an opening on the bottom part. This holds both the halves together. In case you would like to separate the two parts of the enclosure, simply pull back the clip from the bottom part and the two halves will come apart.

Hammond Electronics offers self-adhesive rubber feet, which you can fit in the circles on the bottom part of the enclosure. They will prevent the encased RBPi from sliding off. One of the most popular accessories of the RBPi is the camera module. You have a choice of two methods for mounting the camera module. Screw the camera to the inside of the top part, which has a hole provided for the lens. However, if the camera must remain outside the enclosure, you can fit it through a slot in the top. The camera will now be standing at right angles to the assembly.

Access to the GPIO header is provided through a cutout on the mating line between the top and the bottom halves. The sides also have apertures of the right size and shape for all the ports. Therefore, you can easily access the HDMI interface, the micro-USB power-in connector, the RCA ports for audio and video, the SD card, the RJ45 LAN and the two USB ports. The base has two captive slots so that you can attach the enclosure to a surface. For stand-alone applications, the rubber feet are helpful.

Meet the Prettier Raspberry Pi Model B+

Just as soon as you thought you knew as much as there is to know about the most popular single board computer, the tiny versatile Raspberry Pi or the RBPi, acquaint yourself to a prettier cousin. There is an update to the familiar RBPi Model B and it is called the RBPi Model B+. Raspberry Pi Foundation, the manufacturers of the RBPi, have incorporated several improvements requested by users in the new model.

Although the RBPi Model B+ retains the same controller, has the same amount of RAM and runs on the same software as the Model B, there have been several cosmetic changes. The most notable improvements in RBPi Model B+ are:

— GPIO has 40 pins; the first 26 pins retain their pinout as in Model B.
— Four USB 2.0 ports with better hot plugging and overcurrent behavior; Model B has 2 ports
— A micro SD socket (push-push type); Model B has SD card socket of friction-fit type
— Power consumption 0.5-1.0W; Model B power consumption 0.55-1.65 W
— Better audio with separate low-noise power supply
— Improved form factor. Compared to Model B, the USB connectors align with the board edge and composite video moved to the 3.5 mm jack. Model B+ has four mounting holes.

Even with all the above improvements, the price of the RBPi Model B+ has been retained at $35. So what happens to the Model B now? According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, Model B will remain in production as long as demand for it continues.

In its lifetime of two years, the RBPi SBC has gone to many places such as floating in space, deep under the sea and controlled complex machinery. Considering that the initial goal of the project was to educate children in Computer Science, RBPi has definitely marked a place of its own. RBPi has revolutionized the landscape of education for children and adults alike. People have learnt more about Computing and Electronics with RBPi.

Since the RBPi B+ model has the same architecture as the earlier Model B, the Foundation assures compatibility with the existing projects and software developed so far. According to the feedback received from the community, RBPi Model B+ is a more refined product.

Measuring 85x56x17mm in size, the RBPi B+ is slightly smaller than the form factor you are accustomed to with the Model B. Additionally, an improved layout backs up the size reduction. The organization of the board is neater and there are several improvements.

For example, there are now four USB ports as opposed to the two earlier. This is because the RBPi Model B+ uses the new LAN9514 chip. The Model B had its ports dotted all around the perimeter of the board. In contrast, the Model B+ has concentrated its ports only on two sides. The RBPi Model B+ with its four USB 2.0 ports supporting higher currents can now attach external portable USB2 hard drives. For those who had to counter the USB reboot issue on the Model B, can now rejoice since RBPi Model B+ has more stable USB hot swapping of USB devices.