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Raspberry Pi is the cheapest credit card sized computer designed and developed by a UK based organization called Raspberry Pi foundation with one specific goal in mind and that is; Promoting and teaching of computer science in schools.
It has become so popular and effective tool for teaching computer science in schools that Google has started providing grant to the foundation behind the Raspberry Pi.
Without wasting any time, let’s have a look at what hardware components are required to turn on this device and where to get them from.
Raspberry Pi Revision 2 Motherboards
First thing first and that is the Raspberry Pi motherboard itself. However, getting it is a challenge by itself. The Raspberry Pi has two authorized distributors, Premier Farnell/Element 14 and RS Components.
When I ordered it through Element 14, I wasn’t able to get it even after waiting for three months so I had to turn towards resellers and then finally I got my Pi from a local store, Corpshadow. When you buy from reseller you have to pay little extra but it pays off when you get it within two days. You can also buy it from SparkFun, if you live in the US.
Power Supply
The most critical part is the power supply. Pi requires 5V/700mA DC power feed to run it, but practically speaking, you need a power supply with at least 5V/1A power, especially if you are going to connect any accessory to Pi USB connectors.
USB to Micro USB Cable
Most of the power supplies for pi have a regular USB interface just like many smart phones’ power supply does these days, where Pi supports Micro USB connector for its power input. So, you will need a USB to Micro USB cable like shown below.
HDMI Cable / RCA
For video output Pi provides two options. You can either utilize HDMI connector to connect to your TV/Monitor or RCA connector to connect to your TV. If you want to connect your Pi with your HDMI supported TV, then all you need is a HDMI to HDMI cable. If you want to connect to your monitor by using its DVI interface, which is the most common option then you will need a HDMI to DVI or HDMI to VGA cable. RCA connector is the last option which I have never used myself but what I have heard from educators who have used it is that RCA has the poorest display quality.
Class 4 SD Card
Pi uses a very smart solution for its storage. Instead of using a hard drive, it uses an SD card which you might not even need to buy if you have one already, but make sure that you have a Class 4 SD card or your Pi will not work. Unfortunately, the SD card of my camera was not class 4 SD card which caused me a lot of grief.
SD Card Reader
Once you have the correct SD card, the next step will be to store the operating system on it. This is also a very common peripheral to find. If you have a laptop, most probably it will have an SD card reader. Once again, you will have to be careful over here as well. I spoke to a teacher at work who had problem writing image of operating system on the SD card through his laptop’s integrated SD card reader just because his card reader won’t support writing the operating system’s image onto an SD card. But, then he was able to get an SD card writer from a dollar store.
Keyboard and Mouse
Raspberry Pi revision 2 comes with two USB 2.0 ports which you can use with your existing keyboard and mouse, but if you want to save one connector for future use then you can buy a combination of keyboard and mouse like the one I got from Canada Computers.
Conclusion
As long you have all the required components to go with your Pi connected together then the only thing which remains is to put an operating system on it which you get from Raspberry Pi.
21st Century Classroom: 7 Skills students need for their future >>
It has become so popular and effective tool for teaching computer science in schools that Google has started providing grant to the foundation behind the Raspberry Pi.
Without wasting any time, let’s have a look at what hardware components are required to turn on this device and where to get them from.
Raspberry Pi Revision 2 Motherboards
First thing first and that is the Raspberry Pi motherboard itself. However, getting it is a challenge by itself. The Raspberry Pi has two authorized distributors, Premier Farnell/Element 14 and RS Components.
When I ordered it through Element 14, I wasn’t able to get it even after waiting for three months so I had to turn towards resellers and then finally I got my Pi from a local store, Corpshadow. When you buy from reseller you have to pay little extra but it pays off when you get it within two days. You can also buy it from SparkFun, if you live in the US.
Power Supply
The most critical part is the power supply. Pi requires 5V/700mA DC power feed to run it, but practically speaking, you need a power supply with at least 5V/1A power, especially if you are going to connect any accessory to Pi USB connectors.
USB to Micro USB Cable
Most of the power supplies for pi have a regular USB interface just like many smart phones’ power supply does these days, where Pi supports Micro USB connector for its power input. So, you will need a USB to Micro USB cable like shown below.
HDMI Cable / RCA
For video output Pi provides two options. You can either utilize HDMI connector to connect to your TV/Monitor or RCA connector to connect to your TV. If you want to connect your Pi with your HDMI supported TV, then all you need is a HDMI to HDMI cable. If you want to connect to your monitor by using its DVI interface, which is the most common option then you will need a HDMI to DVI or HDMI to VGA cable. RCA connector is the last option which I have never used myself but what I have heard from educators who have used it is that RCA has the poorest display quality.
Class 4 SD Card
Pi uses a very smart solution for its storage. Instead of using a hard drive, it uses an SD card which you might not even need to buy if you have one already, but make sure that you have a Class 4 SD card or your Pi will not work. Unfortunately, the SD card of my camera was not class 4 SD card which caused me a lot of grief.
SD Card Reader
Once you have the correct SD card, the next step will be to store the operating system on it. This is also a very common peripheral to find. If you have a laptop, most probably it will have an SD card reader. Once again, you will have to be careful over here as well. I spoke to a teacher at work who had problem writing image of operating system on the SD card through his laptop’s integrated SD card reader just because his card reader won’t support writing the operating system’s image onto an SD card. But, then he was able to get an SD card writer from a dollar store.
Keyboard and Mouse
Raspberry Pi revision 2 comes with two USB 2.0 ports which you can use with your existing keyboard and mouse, but if you want to save one connector for future use then you can buy a combination of keyboard and mouse like the one I got from Canada Computers.
Conclusion
As long you have all the required components to go with your Pi connected together then the only thing which remains is to put an operating system on it which you get from Raspberry Pi.
21st Century Classroom: 7 Skills students need for their future >>
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I have read up on this Raspberry PI and I think its great what they have come up with.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, without any doubt! Excellent piece of hardware with exceptional price.
ReplyDelete