Raspberry pi looks like a pretty good contendor against arduino - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: shims506
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:24:04 am
content: http://www.raspberrypi.org/Some of the people at my local Hacker Space has brought this up on a forum and looks promising. The device is capable of blu-ray play back 1080p and is affordable at a price tag of $25. The product is still in testing phase and proto-boards may be bought on ebay (close to around 800+ euro which all goes to help fund their project).Anyone think this may kill the arduino?

author: PeterG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:31:20 am
content: It 1200+UKPounds, i dont think Arduino is in any real danger with its $30-$50AUD boards.Regards

author: shims506
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:34:11 am
content: Quote from: PeterG on January 10, 2012, 12:31:20 amThose are the beta boards and it was up to the company to put such a hight price, enthusiast and followers bid to that price which to me is shocking.Once testing is done they announced a $25 price tag on it.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:41:53 am
content: The proceeds from the auctions are being used for charitable purposes - hence the high prices. There was an article today about how one was bought for the purposes of donating it to a computer museum.At the $25 target price, I can think of little reason to use an Arduino for anything! An Arduino WiFi shield is, what, $40+? With Linux you can use a <$10 USB WiFi dongle, and rapidly develop interfaces in Apache and PHP or whichever stack takes your fancy.

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:45:24 am
content: I see it being used for ethernet applications instead of arduino, for example. But for general tinkering or if you are a beginner etc. Arduino is still going to be the go-to board.

author: PeterG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 12:50:03 am
content: Quote from: 8086 on January 10, 2012, 12:45:24 amYes, i see Rapberry Pi as being a good Hi Performance option. There Arduino is a good general use board.Regards

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 01:01:08 am
content: I am really looking forward to getting hold of a $25 Raspberry Pi board, but it is not a replacement for Arduino - it is more of a compliment. Arduino can do networking, but it is really pushing its capabilities. On the other hand the Arduino is perfect for simple control and 16x2 LCD display type work. The Arduino can run on a surface mount or through hole processor, and you can move an Arduino project from the Arduino board to a custom project at just the cost of a $3 IC and a few other very cheap parts.Raspberry Pi on the other hand would be a nightmare to implement on a custom PCB, and the costs would probably be more than $25, since the $25 is subsidized. They are probably getting the best possible pricing from the chip suppliers.The Arduino processors run off microamps if you slow the clock down far enough, so it can be fabulous for battery low-powered applications.To have both options will be absolutely great.Richard.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 01:10:03 am
content: I never thought of Raspberry Pi competing with Arduino. One is a low cost computer, the other is a microcontroller experimentation platform. Is the Raspberry Pi going to have a whole variety of hardware interfaces and a friendly dev environment to access them?

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 01:11:34 am
content: I think it's sufficient to put it this way:Raspberry Pi is mostly about softwareArduino is mostly about hardwareThey don't really meet at all.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 01:14:27 am
content: I'm sure you can flash an LED with your 700Mhz ARM cpu if you really want to

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 02:18:05 am
content: Quote from: IanB on January 10, 2012, 01:10:03 amHardware remains to be seen, but there's no reason why a 'shield' ecosystem won't emerge.For software development.. you can run vi on it! What more could you want?It will run all of the 'normal' development tools natively, or you could cross-compile from a PC.I agree that for cheap applications, being able to move from an Arduino prototype to a bare MCU is great, but for anything that has to be Internet connected, or deal with more advanced sensors such as cameras, you might as well use Linux and everything that comes with it when it costs so little.

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 02:25:18 am
content: Quote from: Psi on January 10, 2012, 01:14:27 amOh sure, in fact that's the first thing I did with my IGEPv2 board:But it's oh so pointless.

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 03:08:56 am
content: As near as I can tell there is no ADC, no PWM, and it won't ship with I2C or SPI drivers. IO is 3.3 volt only, and there are only 8 GPIO. It also consumes a fair bit more power than the arduino, which may be an issue for some people.It looks quite promising, but it isn't exactly an arduino replacement for easy hardware hacking, at least not yet.Edit: 8 GPIO is a lie. Just like arduino, the other peripheral ports can be reconfigured as GPIO, so there are more like 17 available pins.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 03:43:22 am
content: There are Linux drivers for I2C and SPI, but it would take a tiny bit of hacking to get them working with a new board. I'm sure it won't take very long.

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 10:00:02 am
content: QuoteSure. You just download the LED loadable kernel driver. Which will of course require a new version of the extended precision math and multilingual 3d gui button libraries before you can compile it. But that'll need a new version of the C compiler that isn't compatible with the core ARM support, so you ....(come to think of it, updating Arduino past gcc 4.3 isn't looking like such a walk in the park, either.)

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 10:31:43 am
content: There is no "threat" for Arduino from Rpi and vice versa. It's potatoes and tomatoes.Off topic. I am really hopping for an XBMC version to be available with the release date of Rpi.Alexander.

author: PeterG
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 10:42:20 pm
content: If they can get XBMC working on this, then i would be interested....... it would make a nice little media box.Regards

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 11:01:51 pm
content: Actually I had read it in Wikipedia.QuoteAlexander.

author: benemorius
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2012, 11:29:19 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on January 10, 2012, 01:14:27 amNot in real time you can't.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2012, 03:35:57 pm
content: Quote from: PeterG on January 10, 2012, 10:42:20 pmAlexander.

author: steff
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2012, 02:08:17 pm
content: Quote from: 8086 on January 10, 2012, 01:11:34 amHave a look at the Gertboard. I can easily see the RPi taking off for hardware projects that require a bit of floating-point oomph (I'm looking forward to seeing what people get up to with them in the homebrew UAV/autopilot world, for instance - not having to count cycles in your Kalman filter has to be a big help in ease of implementation).Obviously, it's no replacement for Arduino as a means of prototyping things that will later just a bare AVR and the minimum of external components though.

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2012, 02:19:23 pm
content: Quote from: steff on January 13, 2012, 02:08:17 pmExactly. These are projects that need lots of processing in software. The RPi has I/O just like Arduino, but it uses unfriendly voltages, so requires extra hardware to interface to normal hobbyist stuff, etc. And of course Arduino is simpler to use, much lower power, doesnt have any need to 'boot', etc. So for simple hardware projects, Arduino wins. For processing, RPi wins.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 08:08:37 pm
content: It looks good and I'll be getting one. I am curious how they got around HDMI licensing issues?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 09:25:00 pm
content: Quote from: MarkS on January 24, 2012, 08:08:37 pmDo you mean HDCP?I doubt it implements HDCP at all. Being open source i don't see how they could.Remember HDMI is just DVI with a SPDIF sound channel and standard timing for 720p/1080p and other TV related resolutions.It does have optional HDContentProtecton but you don't have to use it unless your playing protected content.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 10:03:06 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on January 24, 2012, 09:25:00 pmNope.http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/terms.aspx

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 10:48:18 pm
content: Quote from: MarkS on January 24, 2012, 10:03:06 pmThe 5/15 cents (I don't think they do HDCP) are not an issue. The 10k - maybe this is paid by the graphics chip manufacturer? I would say that if it already has all the HDMI pins they probably have to pay it, and RPi is just adding a connector to that so it would be ridiculous if they had to pay again...

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 10:56:03 pm
content: I think the licensing is to do with labeling your product with the HDMI logo.I don't see how an old PC (pre-hdmi) with a DVI port connected to a DVI-HDMI adapter can violate the licensing.And if that's true, then they should be able to do HDMI without a licence as long as they don't use any HDMI logo or say it supports HDMI specs.

author: jerry507
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2012, 11:22:03 pm
content: I'd love to have that much processing power in my micros, but unfortunately I'm not that good with software. This platform will be great for the subset of humanity that can write linux drivers. An arduino is much more for people who are either very new at writing software or just want some of the nice bits done for them so they can hack out an easy project faster.

author: mobbarley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 02:26:03 am
content: Quote from: benemorius on January 10, 2012, 11:29:19 pmsure you can, you just need to dump the scheduler - and possibly find a data sheet........

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 11:28:29 am
content: AS more of a software person that a hardware hacker, I'm looking forward to seeing/getting one of these.There are a number of projects I'd like to start that require a cheap Linux computer to run.I have a feeling these will sell out quicker that Dave's uCurrent

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 01:53:02 pm
content: Quote from: jerry507 on January 24, 2012, 11:22:03 pmI don't think kernel-level programming will be a required skill to use the Pi in an embedded controller type of situation; theyrecently posted a videoof the GertBoard GPIO expansion board, which includes some demonstration code showing how to talk to the GPIO lines just by reading and writing files in the /sys filesystem. In the grand old Unix tradition, everything's a file!

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 01:58:54 pm
content: The kernel sources.https://github.com/raspberrypi/linuxAnd another XBMC video.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 03:45:09 pm
content: So, what are your project ideas for this? Personally I'm going to plug one behind my TV, hook up some Ir receiver, install XBMC and have a small media center, streaming videos from my NAS.Edit: Also, another idea I had was to take a USB (web)cam, really large SD card or an external HDD and use it as a dashcam in car. Should be easy to do (given a camera with available drivers), and then I still can hook up plenty of extra stuff to it (GPS for track logging, OBD for speed/gas usage logging, playing music from SD card to car speakers, ...)

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 07:49:21 pm
content: It would be a nice board for implementing GSM automations with cheap mobile phones with usb port.Alexander.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 08:45:13 pm
content: Quote from: ndictu on January 25, 2012, 03:45:09 pmA game system, similar to a Super Nintendo or SEGA Genesis in power/performance and focusing on platformers, but with HD output.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 08:53:00 pm
content: Quote from: MarkS on January 25, 2012, 08:45:13 pmThat's pretty cool! I've seen complete emulators and multiple ROMs built into some of the old controllers, but with this you get much more power so you could do more recent stuff.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 08:57:47 pm
content: Oh no, no emulator. I want to play around with something of my own design. I have always like the old-style ROM interface and this would provide it (somewhat) with either USB sticks or SD cards. Besides, I have too much respect for Nintendo and SEGA to blatantly pirate their IP.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 09:17:51 pm
content: So like creating your own game (or use some linux game) with some oldschool controller?

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 09:24:58 pm
content: Quote from: ndictu on January 25, 2012, 09:17:51 pmWell, yes. I actually would probably make it more extensible by making some sort of software API, although I have never done any Linux programming. I need to think on this more. I was originally thinking about something comprehensive and general purpose, but my original plans (from several years ago) did not involve Linux. I was going to do something like this with an ARM controller and a HDMI interface. That is actually why I brought up the licensing issue. HDMI was going to require me to pay the $10,000 fee just for technical docs and this was just going to be a home project.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2012, 09:59:50 pm
content: I also had a few ideas that were supposed to use a custom design with some ARM processor and some linux, but I can't do it as well or cheap as RPi is. Also, if I base my project on a popular piece of HW more people might try it and become involved.For example, the car dashcam will be just an USB camera, maybe USB harddrive, and then maybe some extra stuff. But the important part will be the software, which can be a collaborative work. And when I get bored with it I just unplug everything and start a new project

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2012, 12:00:46 am
content: Just BTW for people interested in playing video on this thing.Quote from:http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?p=318975&sid=99ac027ee46dc34482e19a435d166674#p318975Quote from:http://www.anandtech.com/show/4903/roku-2-xs-review-streaming-videos-and-casual-gaming-on-the-big-screen/7H.264 was already confirmed earlier by RPi guys, not sure about WMV9. Beyond that nothing is confirmed, but if Roku 2 which is supposed to be some media player doesn't support more codecs I guess there is no HW support for them. (I really hope that is not the case and RPi supports more).If there is no more HW support then using an USB optical drive for DVDs is out, so is streaming other videos from SD card/network (xvid, divx, ...)

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2012, 01:00:16 am
content: They said that the HW support will be clarified soon.I am guessing there will be extra features that the user will have to pay extra.Alexander.

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2012, 02:51:28 am
content: Quote from: mobbarley on January 25, 2012, 02:26:03 amAnyone who tries to code a 700Mhz ARM bare metal is either a genious or a glutton for pain.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 08:32:40 pm
content: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/592

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 08:39:02 pm
content: Quote from: Hypernova on January 26, 2012, 02:51:28 amDepends a lot what you want to do - if all you want is to do a simple task very quickly, an OS can be more of an encumbrance than a help.I believe the basic I/O hardware on the RPI processor will be documented, and the ARM core is of course fully documented.

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2012, 08:42:47 pm
content: I don't even use arduino or other micro dev boards anymore... I use FPGA dev boards, like the Terasic DE0 Nano or Digilent Atlys; they are so so so so much better in every respect. The rasberry pi looks like it will be obsolete before it even gets released... they're trying too hard to keep the price under 30 bucks.

author: buxtronix
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2012, 12:49:14 pm
content: Quote from: olsenn on February 02, 2012, 08:42:47 pmThe Pi is certainly not going to be obsolete. Unless your FPGA boards are credit card sized, run linux, and can have programs written from them in C, python, etc, etc...The Digilent is HUGE, and over 10x the price. The Terasic is not the same thing at all it has USB and... a bunch of IO pins.You are comparing apples and oranges. The Pi fits a segment that NOONE has anything for yet. So whilst it will be no good for hardcore FPGA devs, it's perfect for those who want a tiny embedded system, and who are already familiar with Linux. That's a big big market.

author: mobbarley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2012, 04:58:40 pm
content: Quote from: buxtronix on February 03, 2012, 12:49:14 pmYes, finding a cheap (and easy to use) embedded linux board is hard! So far i've been hacking wireless routers with openwrt just so I can use them as small systems for various things - now I can have a cheap bare PCB with a whole lot more community support.

author: tinhead
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2012, 05:38:47 pm
content: there are tons of embedded and cheap boards out there, the problem is always in front of the computer.All these FirendlyARM S3C2410/S3C2440/S3C2416/S3C6410/s5pc100 are easy to use and cheap,if you need cheaper than this buy a DPF like thishttps://sites.google.com/site/repurposelinux/df3120(and solder maybe bigger RAM for 2$)RPI might be a good thing too, currently it is only a nice try to have something US madeto "fight" all these Samsung SoCQuote from: olsenn on February 02, 2012, 08:42:47 pmi like both, FPGA and ARM (9/M3/A8), depends on need there is always something inmy "portfolio" which can be used for next project.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 01:00:51 am
content: The Pi has an OpenGL 2.0 ES capable graphics chip built in, so if you want to do graphics programming on a cheap, compact platform, you can. It would be certainly of interest for the more adventurous game and graphics programmers. I'd consider using it for a custom game console or an arcade machine.

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 01:17:54 am
content: I dunno. PI will benearly unique in that it has very good graphics capabilities, but ... if you want to teach/learn programming, it could be that "graphics" is a huge distraction...

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 01:31:10 am
content: I have an ongoing project to connect a wireless weatherstation and webcam which will be done under Linux.The Raspberry Pi is the cheapest way I can do this so look forward to its release although I imagine that the first batch will be gone pretty quickly.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 01:34:26 am
content: Quote from: westfw on February 04, 2012, 01:17:54 amIf looking at the home computer era then graphics was a big motivation for kids to start programming. And the Raspberry PI (who comes up with these stupid names?), tries to recreate the success of the home computer era.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 03:19:21 am
content: Quote from: westfw on February 04, 2012, 01:17:54 amWhy would graphics be a distraction? Distraction from what exactly?Computer graphics encompasses a whole range of programming topics, including problem solving, mathematics and advance algorithms.

author: djsb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 08:06:36 pm
content: How are people meant to program these boards? If they are meant to be as easy to program as the old BBC computers where is the equivalent programming language? I've read that maybe it's python? Any thoughts?David

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 11:32:51 pm
content: Quote from: djsb on February 04, 2012, 08:06:36 pmBasically, it's a linux machine. You can do whatever you want with it. Get a python interpreter on there and you can run python scrips. Write some C/C++/... and compile it. Or Java/Mono/... through a VM. Whatever you want. If you are really hardcore you can write your own peripheral kernel drivers. But I guess all the GPIO will be exposed in a more friendly fashion.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 04, 2012, 11:35:11 pm
content: BTW, any news on release date? Should be soon if I remember right (and if nothing went wrong). Also, since it gained so much popularity, I'm assuming it'll be on backorder forever.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2012, 08:29:18 pm
content: (Sorry about the triple post)Some news -http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/615Finished boards by 20.2., orders should start near the end of the month. They are making 10k for the first run, and limiting order to one per person, so there is some chance of getting oneAlso, they released a datasheet for the SoC they are using, but just an abbreviated version. Should be enough for low level peripheral stuff. And I'm sure the full datasheet will leak soon.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 01:32:50 am
content: I really hope their website can cope with the influx of orders, because the whole site is just a mess. Their mailing list does not work, there is no RSS feed for news, the forum is terrible, and it looks everything has been slapped together via Wordpress.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 01:36:44 am
content: I can't comment on the mailing list or the forum, but what's wrong with the RSS feed?

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 05:09:36 am
content: I tried signing up to their mailing list, and it gave me a 404.I can't find an RSS feed for the actual blog site. I know the forum has one, but i don't want my feed flooded with random forum threads.

author: Sal Ammoniac
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 05:24:31 am
content: Quote from: shims506 on January 10, 2012, 12:24:04 amThis is in no sense an Arduino killer. In fact, it's not even in the same niche at all. The Raspberry Pi is more of a competitor to the BeagleBoard.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 05:56:05 am
content: The RSS feed can be found athttp://raspberrypi.org/feed. There's no RSS icon or text link, just a <link rel="alternate"> tag that shows up an "RSS" thing in some browsers.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2012, 06:00:16 am
content: Much better, thanks. Interestingly, the RSS icon did not show on FF10. Weird.

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2012, 02:36:37 am
content: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/716Almost time!

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2012, 02:01:57 pm
content: First time I'm glad I have to wake up at 6 am (CET, so 5am GMT) tomorrow, so I can be ready to order

author: im_a_human
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 29, 2012, 10:42:32 pm
content: Im tempted to get one but i will wait for the rush to die down and the suppliers to bring there sites back up

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 29, 2012, 10:46:14 pm
content: Can you load Ubuntu 12.10 onto a Rasberry Pi Model "B" that you don't have?

author: Jimmy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2012, 01:22:41 am
content: I don't know but u can load up a vm that has the same specs and try that. Mine comes in the mail next weekNot if you are going to buy it of element 14 buy the $38 one not the $50 cut down version

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 01, 2012, 02:15:23 am
content: Quote from: Jimmy on March 01, 2012, 01:22:41 amWill wait to see if this realises. I see lots of orders but have not as yet seen anyone on the planet actually having a Pi in the postbox. And as always we poor schmucks in the antipodes will not rate high on the global delivery schedule.QuoteDon't both versions of the board have the $20 dollar E14 tax applied?

author: Jimmy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2012, 04:25:12 am
content: Quote from: Uncle Vernon on March 01, 2012, 02:15:23 amI got confirmation email of expected delivery date of 5/3/2012 so I hope it is some time next week. We pay gst so its $38 + gst delivered It is an Australian distributor with Chinese manufacturerO I apologize the $50 is the chip only no board is included

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 02:31:31 pm
content: Just noticed a credit card hit for $41.80 the cost of a Raspberry Pi which I ordered from Element 14.Hope fully this indicates that the order has been filled? I've never ordered from Element 14 before so don't know what there billing practices are.I'll find out soon, I hope.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 02:33:09 pm
content: Generally they don't charge until they ship (so if your order is delivered from different warehouses over several days, you'll be charged for each shipment separately), but anything's possible!

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 03:03:30 pm
content: Just went and checked the order on the Element 14 website and it gives a status ofback order

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 03:03:54 pm
content: Is it a credit card charge? or a hold? I can't remember but generally they put a hold on the (total amount of) funds and then actually charge you a day or so after it ships. If they ship an order in multiple lots, they have an actual charge for each lot, and reduce the hold accordingly.I've also got a *hold* for $41.80 on my card02/03/2012 AUTHORISATION ONLY - EFTPOS PURCHASE AT FARNELL IN ONE CHESTER HILLAUSAU $41.80You will usually get an email with the ETA once they know when they'll get stock, and another invoice when it actually ships. Don't forget they only had 10,000 in the initial batch, with actual demand far far surpassing that

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 07:02:20 pm
content: Quote from: metalphreak on March 02, 2012, 03:03:54 pmFrom what I read, both RS and Farnell had non or almost non in stock at all, the boards still being on the boat from China.And if I get it correctly, RS didn't dare to take orders at all, just allowing to register an interest. While Farnell initially had the balls to take orders and later switched to registering an interest only. People who managed to place an order with Farnell are now complaining on Farnell's element14 that their delivery dates are pushed back to e.g. end of April. No one who could be taken serious has come forward and claimed he got a shipping confirmation.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 02, 2012, 09:32:40 pm
content: Quote from: BoredAtWork on March 02, 2012, 07:02:20 pmHere is the problem with becoming a self appointed language Nazi, eh Bored? Glass caves, stones and all that. Hmm!

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2012, 06:11:20 am
content: From what I gathered, the Raspberry Pi foundation had a batch of 10,000 made by an assembler in china. Knowing the huge demand for it, they decided to let E14/RS handle production with their own assemblers. So while E14/RS are organising new production runs, I would assume they each got allocated a share of the initial 10,000 to start selling.

author: updatelee
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 03:08:16 pm
content: Quote from: BoredAtWork on March 02, 2012, 07:02:20 pmelement14 online status showsExpected Ship Date 13 Mar 2012on my order, we'll have to see thoughChris LeeVE6UDL

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 05, 2012, 04:14:43 pm
content: Quote from: updatelee on March 05, 2012, 03:08:16 pmLuckyI'm still waiting till they get stock

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2012, 04:25:14 pm
content: FAIL!http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/781Alexander.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 08, 2012, 04:25:49 pm
content: Delayed!Apparently the manufacturer substituted a cheaper part that the one specified on the BOM,Part in question was the Ethernet jack,Story herehttp://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/781

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 08, 2012, 04:34:32 pm
content: Definitely cheaper, it's not even gold plated!

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 08, 2012, 09:25:27 pm
content: Quote from: GeoffS on March 08, 2012, 04:25:49 pmFrom a consumer point of view it's an RP fail. Nothing in the story identifies which batches are crook, which order will be fullfilled or delayed further. Blaming a component part doesn't preclude the vendor. If a component part on my BMW fails, I still have a broken BMW until repair, same applies to RP.I'll never understand the logic in overestimating delivery in these marketing launches, sure it fans up interest but it all too often creates as many poor experiences as good ones. And we know which experiences get the most coverage.I'm keen to have a play with a RP board, but stuffed if I can understand the general frenzy and with that the inevitable Rev 1.0 headaches for all who play.

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2012, 07:24:26 am
content: >> I'll never understand the logicI'll never understand the logic of "needing" to be one of the first people to get something.This isn't even a profit-motivated project (supposedly); there shouldn't have been so much pressure to cause screw-ups of this magnitude...(meanwhile, I bought a pogoplug for $25. Shipped. In a pretty pink box, power supply and ethernet cable included.)

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2012, 08:14:37 am
content: Cheapest Pogoplug I've found is over $70

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 09, 2012, 05:00:43 pm
content: Internal magnetics? O.o Can someone please explain this to me?

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2012, 05:46:58 pm
content: Magnetics is established laboratory slang for a a tiny transformer, which is required as part of Ethernet's physical interface.

author: westfw
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 09, 2012, 05:56:48 pm
content: Quote from: GeoffS on March 09, 2012, 08:14:37 amhttp://www.adorama.com/COCPOGOB01.html

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 05:25:26 am
content: Quote from: MarkS on March 09, 2012, 05:00:43 pmHave you ever noticed the big thick black IC on network cards just after the RJ45 socket? That is where the transformers are for the interface. These newer "MagJacks" integrate that into the socket to save space.

author: MarkS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 06:14:08 am
content: Quote from: metalphreak on March 10, 2012, 05:25:26 amActually, I have never really paid much attention to ethernet, other than plugging the cord into the back of my computer. Never really cared to get into networking. Thank you for the info though. It was a term I was unfamiliar with.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 10:48:59 am
content: Quote from: metalphreak on March 10, 2012, 05:25:26 amHere's a photo of one on the PCB and a couple of depopulated modules (they're not really ICs.

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 11:58:55 am
content: http://www.raspberrypi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Side-View-Mag-Type.jpgYou can just make out the four transformer windings in this x-ray from RPi.I've never cracked one of the magnetic's "ICs" open before so thanks for sharing that picTypical Magjack internal Schematic (from a Hanrun model)

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 12:58:22 pm
content: Quote from: westfw on March 09, 2012, 05:56:48 pm$25.99 for the Pogoplug plus $59 to ship it

author: Chasm
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 03:15:48 pm
content: Yeah, the shipping cost to Europe is definitely a bit high.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2012, 05:03:13 pm
content: Quote from: Dave.S on March 10, 2012, 03:53:24 pmI don't think they used actual solder balls there. You can see similar balls popping out of vias in planes and traces. It's weird and not something I can explain

author: im_a_human
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2012, 06:54:11 pm
content: I hope if i get one of these to be able to have some kind of PC based 'C' compiler so i can write my own applications with it. I would want to write some kind of boot loader for booting into my own OS from the SD card. Then the world would be at my feet.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2012, 07:28:52 pm
content: Quote from: im_a_human on March 14, 2012, 06:54:11 pmThey run Linux. You can compile C, C++, C#, D, or just about any other language you fancy right there on the device (or crosscompile from another OS if you really must) and then run the program. They are not Arduinos; they're complete Linux PCs in a palm sized device.

author: burb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 26, 2012, 09:41:11 pm
content: Raspberry Pi - it would be great to hear what you think of it, including- board layout- price- components, manufacturing, how price is so low- what would make different- are you in the slightest interested by it- opinion opinion opinion :-)

author: WhyMe
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2012, 12:24:29 am
content: Some info here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/raspberry-pi-looks-like-a-pretty-good-contendor-against-arduino/

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 09, 2012, 02:33:59 pm
content: Quote from: WhyMe on April 27, 2012, 12:24:29 amThat is the start of this thread

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2012, 06:09:32 pm
content: Quote from: burb on April 26, 2012, 09:41:11 pmJust 5 minutes ago Farnell informed me they would now take my order - so i placed it. Price is right, the rest remains to be seen. My interest is mainly to use it as a realtime computing engine for CNC applications, path control for coordinated motion and suchlike. But it all depends. Linux would be the preferable OS but whether RTAI or any other realtime kernel can run in Raspberry will be found out only after i have it. If not then maybe a lower level kernel like the FreeRTOS could be doable. That one of course has zip device support so forget video and other civilized things unless i find a way to run that under Linux. But yes, it is interesting and possibly even useful. The investment to find out is negligible so what is there to lose?

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2012, 12:25:23 am
content: What's the availability like? Still have to wait for ages?

author: GrumpyDave
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2012, 10:47:28 am
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on May 10, 2012, 12:25:23 amPretty much, I registered my interest to buy with RS on the release day at approx 10am and have not been able to place an order yet..I received an email on the 8th saying they are still producing thousands of PI's for people in order of registration and there will be a mail next week, no dates were specified..I have no Idea how Farnell (element14) are doing as I did not register with them.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2012, 11:06:35 am
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on May 10, 2012, 12:25:23 amFarnell wrote about July/August for the order i placed yesterday. No firm commitment though.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2012, 11:09:42 am
content: I actually registered with both, because both were having problems and I thought I'd hedge my bets. element14 (Australia) rang up yesterday to say mine would be shipped on either the 25th or 28th (I don't remember which). RS continue to send me update emails, but nothing to give an indication of when they'll be available.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 24, 2012, 10:00:41 am
content: Hungry for hardware? and you're still waiting for the Raspberry Pi you ordered? well it seems there are other options on the menu now!Quotehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18163419

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2012, 10:50:39 am
content: Oh Via ? Alright all that's important to me is if it has a SATA/m-SATA connector if it doesn't then zilch for meLooks like all of them don't so they lost my father's purchase

author: Jimmy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2012, 11:28:04 am
content: I have had my r-pi for about a month nowThe layout is a little hap hazad with connectors on all 4 sides of the board some hang over the side alot. Parts of the board get quite warm but mos vregs do. It didn't like the first 3 sd cards that I had here so I had to go buy one that was in their hardware list. I haven't had a problem with it yet and for the $38 I paid for it it is awesomnow looking at thehttp://apc.io/about/Via Technologies' APC micro-PC it looks good however it dosent have and gpio like the pi but it is not marketed for the hackers like the pi is. The Pi does 1080p so the media player crowd will stick to the pi. The Via board has mounting holes so it is easyer to mount.There are many good points about both boards and cheap enough to have one of each.

author: StubbornGreek
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2012, 01:10:51 pm
content: There seem to be a number of products being introduced as "mini" computers. The RPi looks great, so does this $74 Android option below and finally, the Intel NUC is looking sheksy!http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/new-74-android-mini-computer-is-slightly-larger-than-a-thumb-drive/

author: Quiggers
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2012, 04:10:40 pm
content: I've registered but heard nothing since the original e-mail to say they recieved my request,the other mini pc's are great if you want to add internet to your home cinema but i wantthe Pi so i can use it as an embedded dev board, plus I like to support the foundations education ethos.

author: Kremmen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2012, 04:20:27 pm
content: I can't recall when i sent the original email to register for buying but it was some time ago already. However, just yesterday they (RS) sent me an invitation to place my order which i did. They quoted a 10 week delivery time - we'll see.

author: caroper
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2012, 10:21:18 pm
content: I have also had mine for nearly a month, I ordered it from RS South Africa but it was shipped by RS UK. Certainly good value for money, but it is definitely still a beta.I don't really have the time to learn Linux and Python right now. so rather than have it sit idle on my desk I loaded XBMC for Raspberry Pi and hung a usb drive off it.It makes a very usable and cheep Media Center PC.CheersChris

author: gtsili
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 08:31:20 am
content: I just received my Raspberry Pi on Friday and quickly put together an SD card with Debian and omxplayer. I am attaching a picture of the Pi playing a 1080p x264 DTS movie over my LAN. I am very happy with it so far and can't wait to try xbmc. Note the CEC capability.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 04:41:30 pm
content: Quote from: gtsili on July 01, 2012, 08:31:20 amI might try that next, I've used some old OpenELEC builds when I received mine and it was extremely slow while in the menus, playback itself was OK. I don't plan to use it as a serious media center but only as a small and simple player that I can put behind TV and remotely start a movie on it.BTW, anyone using some remote control receiver?

author: elliot42
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:38:56 am
content: Quote from: ndictu on July 02, 2012, 04:41:30 pmI've also tried OpenELEC and found the menus much more responsive with the CPU overclocked to 900MHz. I also clocked the RAM to 450MHz but it was unstable when I tried it at 500MHz. I still get freezes/crashes sometimes when using the menus or scanning for media. Video playback has been fine, I've watched a few full movies and haven't had problems while watching them.

author: gtsili
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 06:43:28 am
content: Hi guys,I have tried Raspbmc (see attached photo), that has a very smooth and easy automated installation. The menus where not that slow but the playback on high definition was very choppy and I did manage to crash it while playing a video. Under the hood Raspbmc is a very minimalistic Debian so you can ssh and tinker with thinks from the console (I did a proper nfs4 mount because I do not like the way xbmc does that). I was thinking of trying OpenELEC too. I do not like this overclocking business, Raspbmc also overclocks the CPU at 800MHz but the chips are quite hot already. I have not connected any remote control receivers yet but there are several options (either a usb one or something using the GPIO) but the one I prefer is the CEC solution. Raspbmc does not use libCEC from what little I have read. One more think I forgot to mention is that omxplayer does not need X-windows to display the movie, so memory-wise and performance-wise it will be the clear winner. I am sure that with a little bit of effort I can put together a simple ncurses program that just browses around a predefined path and uses omxplayer to play the selected movie. What the heck, you can even set up midnight commander to do that.Quote from: ndictu on July 02, 2012, 04:41:30 pmQuote from: elliot42 on July 03, 2012, 12:38:56 am

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 07:09:31 am
content: Throw a heatsink onto it. It will help in the long run

author: gtsili
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 07:38:21 am
content: I was thinking the same Dave however, both chips are a very small die with headers and jacks around them. So I need to search around for something suitably small and low profile as well as a good thermal conductive adhesive.Quote from: DaveXRQ on July 03, 2012, 07:09:31 am

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 10:19:40 am
content: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/aluminum-cooler-heat-sink-chipset-for-ram-memory-w-type-8-piece-set-35816Or this one if it fits:http://www.dealextreme.com/p/universal-southbridge-heat-sink-chipset-cooler-48616I'm aware of the size of the broadcom chip it's pretty small

author: elliot42
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 12:54:51 am
content: I haven't yet noticed any heat issues with mine. The highest I've measured the CPU at is 42 degrees Celsius (surface temperature).

author: gtsili
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 06:34:50 am
content: Thanks Dave, those are great!I suppose it depends on your ambient temperature (quite hot in Greece at the moment), the load on the CPU/GPU as well as what features of the board you are using. Add to that, a bit of overclocking and encase the board on a box with low ventilation and you have a possible problem. I have not measured the actual temperature but after an hour of playing around with it, the chips were bearably comfortable to the touch, so as a rule of thumb around 50 C. I am attaching a picture taken with a thermal camera with the board under full load playing high definition video and using the ethernet. More images and info at:http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/675/what-are-the-maximum-operating-temperatures-of-the-componentsQuote from: elliot42 on July 04, 2012, 12:54:51 am

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 07:57:15 pm
content: I'm probably going to make an enclosure for it and put a big PC fan at low speed to get some airflow, and maybe mount some heatsinks on it (although I don't really want to put on any adhesive, so maybe some clip-on heatsinks with just thermal compound). I need to get a proper thermometer gun but the chip and SD card gets quite warm.I've tried an ear thermometer but it only said 45+, a sad face and started beeping like crazy because it thought I'm going to die in the next few seconds

author: elliot42
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 01:03:52 am
content: gtsili: Interesting photo, thanks. Ambient temperature here isn't very high at the moment when I'm running it, 20C max. I don't have a fancy thermal imaging camera, just a cheap IR thermometer, but I'll keep an eye on the temperature when I'm next playing with the Pi.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 01:51:04 am
content: The ambient temperature around here is always like 36 or something else when it's not rainingThings can get crazy here... The high ambient temperature claimed my old HP laptop many timesmy 858D oncebasically fried many things due to the HAT,i mean like, where the hell have they been developing them? OHWAIT ... China

author: gtsili
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:46:29 am
content: Quote from: ndictu on July 04, 2012, 07:57:15 pmHahahahaha, I almost fell of my chair laughing with that. Epic engineering story!!!!Quote from: elliot42 on July 05, 2012, 01:03:52 amI don't have a fancy thermal imaging camera either. The original article and images are from the guys on "hack a day".Quote from: DaveXRT on July 05, 2012, 01:51:04 amOMG

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 09:00:48 pm
content: Quote from: DaveXRT on July 05, 2012, 01:51:04 amI hope you have airco over there? Singapore is pretty warm compared to other cities in that part of the world. I once visited the old fortress on Sentosa Island. Fortunately they had refill points for my water bottle!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 09:16:21 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on July 05, 2012, 09:00:48 pmYeah i do, my fan is always on full so heat is not an issue, the weather's starting to cool down since Tuesday