4 ms·

Ask HN: What cool projects do you suggest I build with a Raspberry Pi 2W

24 points by vivegi 4y ago

I just got a Raspberry Pi 2W. What are some cool project ideas for building with it?

h2odragon 4y ago
I want to put one on a model train, with camera; possibly with pan & tilt on the camera. have it stream video, offer camera controls, maybe put audio output on it. I wanna do this in N scale. I doubt i'll ever get the full vision of the idea realized but i've got a few seconds of footage from train POV as it runs around the table from a taped together prototype test and that may be enough to keep me interested in the idea.
- saidinesh5 4y ago
  Do check out OpenHD. People use it to fly FPV Quadcopters and flying wings... With raspberry pi the latency is still ehh so it's more for fixed wings than fpv quads as of now.. But it's still fun. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mWYgangOs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mWYgangOs
- minhmeoke 4y ago
  If you want a simple off-the-shelf solution, Eachine TX06 or similar 5.8GHz FPV cameras + Skydroid receiver are cheap (~$15 + $25 shipped) and offer decent image quality (PAL or NTSC resolution) that you can view on many phones. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrK3tGIC33E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrK3tGIC33E - https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=Eachine+TX06 https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=Eachine+TX06 - Eachine TX06: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800455864759.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800455864759.html - SkyDroid Receiver: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800153959032.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800153959032.html For pan/tilt, you could wire up a servo motor to an RC receiver.
BeatQuestGames 4y ago
If you make music, my project lets you send midi over Bluetooth via the PI https://github.com/Mylab6/PiBluetoothMidSetup https://github.com/Mylab6/PiBluetoothMidSetup
jtode 4y ago
Get a few RGB bulbs and install Home Assistant, instant disco! https://www.home-assistant.io/ https://www.home-assistant.io/
ewuhic 4y ago
Almost same question, but quite tangential: I'd like to have a plant watering system with least complexity involved. I would assume a fish tank pump plugged into any PC. The plugging part however is not quite-well thought out, neither the output to multiple pots. Could you suggest some ideas? Arduinos, valves, etc? The watering is not automatic and should happen with a push of a PC keyboard key.
- 35mm 4y ago
  I recommend you look into Blumats [1] - no electronics required watering system. [1] https://blumat.com/ https://blumat.com/
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- arwhatever 4y ago
  I’ve recently contemplated a submersible pump in a bucket (to limit the water in the event of a leak), and just using one of those $10 cloud-enabled switchable plug outlets, with fan-out drip tubing and a suitably-sized flow regulators going to each plant. Eventually perhaps building in some moisture sensors and some pi/arduino logic to then control the pump.
- FastMonkey 4y ago
  You can get watering timers in home depot, you could try hacking one of those? The hard piece to get is probably the electronic valve.
- minhmeoke 4y ago
  The easiest solution would be to buy a smartplug and integrate it into one of the smarthome ecosystems like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit. For a more DIY solution you can install Node-RED onto a Raspberry Pi for a GUI flow editor: https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node-red-plus-a-dash-of-mqtt/ https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node... Alternatively, if you'd like to do everything on the Raspberry Pi, use its GPIOs to control a relay module with optocoupler isolation (~$4) which can turn the pump on or off: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2251832713449142.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2251832713449142.html If you're more hardcore, you could flash a smartplug like Sonoff S31 with Tasmota and add rules that trigger based on various events (eg: timer). https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Rules/#rule-variables https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Rules/#rule-variables https://tinkerman.cat/post/sonoff-s31-now-serious https://tinkerman.cat/post/sonoff-s31-now-serious
sandreas 4y ago
You could try to build a bluetooth / wifi audio receiver (!) with push buttons for Play, Pause, Forward, Rewind, etc. I always wanted to try this for having bluetooth to aux in my car, but I never finished it. Here is a project, that tried to accomplish this: https://github.com/BaReinhard/Super-Simple-Raspberry-Pi-Audio-Receiver-Install https://github.com/BaReinhard/Super-Simple-Raspberry-Pi-Audi... And my personal notes and scripts: https://github.com/sandreas/raspberry-bluetooth-receiver https://github.com/sandreas/raspberry-bluetooth-receiver
alexk307 4y ago
Buy a bunch of cheap sensors from Amazon and learn to interact with them. Learn what I2C is, and learn how to chain a bunch of devices together. Get a few relays or servos and you can learn how to start interacting with the physical world through machines. Find a recurring task in your life and automate it
- dontbenebby 4y ago
  Something like "The Clapper" but more elaborate, to scare away burglars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clapper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clapper I'm very anti "internet of things" but I used to wire that to an AM/FM radio and/or lamp so it would give the appearance of someone waking up if you jiggled the door handle at night, after one too many times exactly that happened when I was home. (Just before I came to town a white woman had gone missing, so I was surprised at how many weirdos they let just wander around under the pretense they were selling magazines or Jesus or whatever.)
  - UncleEntity 4y ago
    Out of morbid curiosity…what is the alternative to letting people wander around? —edit— And the doorknob thing, just balance an aluminum can on it so it makes a terrible racket if someone messes with the knob. Wakes you up, they’ll hear it and having a shotgun handy will make them seriously reconsider their life choices if it comes to that.
    - dontbenebby 4y ago
      > Out of morbid curiosity…what is the alternative to letting people wander around? Citing them for disorderly conduct, ticketing them if they blow a stop sign or something, or otherwise making them feel unwelcome if someone reports they're literally wandering around trying doorknobs under the pretense they're selling something
- kkielhofner 4y ago
  +100 There’s something so fun about using small, cheap, and efficient hardware for interacting with the real world. It’s also a good stepping stone to the world of esp32 (which is more suited to most tasks like this, IMO). Warning to OP: it can get really addictive! Next thing you know you have entire collections of random microcontrollers, SBCs, and drawers full of relays, sensors, servos, etc!
irq-1 4y ago
Attach a battery, a camera, a 1 inch screen and a big button -- make a doorbell.
minhmeoke 4y ago
Automate parts of your home life with Node-RED: https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node-red-plus-a-dash-of-mqtt/ https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node... Alternatively, if you are interested in making or playing back music, one idea is to turn the Raspberry Pi into a MIDI synthesizer: MiniDexed: 8 DX7 Tone Generators - https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t94ceMHJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t94ceMHJo MT32-Pi: Roland MT-32 emulator - https://github.com/dwhinham/mt32-pi https://github.com/dwhinham/mt32-pi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaSD_wbzJRw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaSD_wbzJRw Optionally, buy a PCM5102/PCM5122 or ES9018K2M I2S DAC to improve the output sound quality: https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/76188/how-to-make-pcm5102-dac-work-on-raspberry-pi-zerow https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/76188/how-to... PCM5102 (~$7): https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=PCM5102+DAC https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=PCM5102+DAC ES9018K2M (~$12): https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=es9018k2m+i2s&SortType=price_asc https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=es9018k2m+i2...

24 points by vivegi 4y ago

I just got a Raspberry Pi 2W. What are some cool project ideas for building with it?

I want to put one on a model train, with camera; possibly with pan & tilt on the camera. have it stream video, offer camera controls, maybe put audio output on it. I wanna do this in N scale. I doubt i'll ever get the full vision of the idea realized but i've got a few seconds of footage from train POV as it runs around the table from a taped together prototype test and that may be enough to keep me interested in the idea.

saidinesh5 4y ago
Do check out OpenHD. People use it to fly FPV Quadcopters and flying wings... With raspberry pi the latency is still ehh so it's more for fixed wings than fpv quads as of now.. But it's still fun. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mWYgangOs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mWYgangOs
minhmeoke 4y ago
If you want a simple off-the-shelf solution, Eachine TX06 or similar 5.8GHz FPV cameras + Skydroid receiver are cheap (~$15 + $25 shipped) and offer decent image quality (PAL or NTSC resolution) that you can view on many phones. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrK3tGIC33E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrK3tGIC33E - https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=Eachine+TX06 https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=Eachine+TX06 - Eachine TX06: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800455864759.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800455864759.html - SkyDroid Receiver: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800153959032.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2255800153959032.html For pan/tilt, you could wire up a servo motor to an RC receiver.

BeatQuestGames 4y ago

If you make music, my project lets you send midi over Bluetooth via the PI https://github.com/Mylab6/PiBluetoothMidSetup https://github.com/Mylab6/PiBluetoothMidSetup

jtode 4y ago

Get a few RGB bulbs and install Home Assistant, instant disco! https://www.home-assistant.io/ https://www.home-assistant.io/

ewuhic 4y ago

Almost same question, but quite tangential: I'd like to have a plant watering system with least complexity involved. I would assume a fish tank pump plugged into any PC. The plugging part however is not quite-well thought out, neither the output to multiple pots. Could you suggest some ideas? Arduinos, valves, etc? The watering is not automatic and should happen with a push of a PC keyboard key.

35mm 4y ago
I recommend you look into Blumats [1] - no electronics required watering system. [1] https://blumat.com/ https://blumat.com/
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
arwhatever 4y ago
I’ve recently contemplated a submersible pump in a bucket (to limit the water in the event of a leak), and just using one of those $10 cloud-enabled switchable plug outlets, with fan-out drip tubing and a suitably-sized flow regulators going to each plant. Eventually perhaps building in some moisture sensors and some pi/arduino logic to then control the pump.
FastMonkey 4y ago
You can get watering timers in home depot, you could try hacking one of those? The hard piece to get is probably the electronic valve.
minhmeoke 4y ago
The easiest solution would be to buy a smartplug and integrate it into one of the smarthome ecosystems like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit. For a more DIY solution you can install Node-RED onto a Raspberry Pi for a GUI flow editor: https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node-red-plus-a-dash-of-mqtt/ https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node... Alternatively, if you'd like to do everything on the Raspberry Pi, use its GPIOs to control a relay module with optocoupler isolation (~$4) which can turn the pump on or off: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2251832713449142.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2251832713449142.html If you're more hardcore, you could flash a smartplug like Sonoff S31 with Tasmota and add rules that trigger based on various events (eg: timer). https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Rules/#rule-variables https://tasmota.github.io/docs/Rules/#rule-variables https://tinkerman.cat/post/sonoff-s31-now-serious https://tinkerman.cat/post/sonoff-s31-now-serious

sandreas 4y ago

You could try to build a bluetooth / wifi audio receiver (!) with push buttons for Play, Pause, Forward, Rewind, etc. I always wanted to try this for having bluetooth to aux in my car, but I never finished it. Here is a project, that tried to accomplish this: https://github.com/BaReinhard/Super-Simple-Raspberry-Pi-Audio-Receiver-Install https://github.com/BaReinhard/Super-Simple-Raspberry-Pi-Audi... And my personal notes and scripts: https://github.com/sandreas/raspberry-bluetooth-receiver https://github.com/sandreas/raspberry-bluetooth-receiver

alexk307 4y ago

Buy a bunch of cheap sensors from Amazon and learn to interact with them. Learn what I2C is, and learn how to chain a bunch of devices together. Get a few relays or servos and you can learn how to start interacting with the physical world through machines. Find a recurring task in your life and automate it

dontbenebby 4y ago
Something like "The Clapper" but more elaborate, to scare away burglars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clapper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clapper I'm very anti "internet of things" but I used to wire that to an AM/FM radio and/or lamp so it would give the appearance of someone waking up if you jiggled the door handle at night, after one too many times exactly that happened when I was home. (Just before I came to town a white woman had gone missing, so I was surprised at how many weirdos they let just wander around under the pretense they were selling magazines or Jesus or whatever.)
- UncleEntity 4y ago
  Out of morbid curiosity…what is the alternative to letting people wander around? —edit— And the doorknob thing, just balance an aluminum can on it so it makes a terrible racket if someone messes with the knob. Wakes you up, they’ll hear it and having a shotgun handy will make them seriously reconsider their life choices if it comes to that.
  - dontbenebby 4y ago
    > Out of morbid curiosity…what is the alternative to letting people wander around? Citing them for disorderly conduct, ticketing them if they blow a stop sign or something, or otherwise making them feel unwelcome if someone reports they're literally wandering around trying doorknobs under the pretense they're selling something
kkielhofner 4y ago
+100 There’s something so fun about using small, cheap, and efficient hardware for interacting with the real world. It’s also a good stepping stone to the world of esp32 (which is more suited to most tasks like this, IMO). Warning to OP: it can get really addictive! Next thing you know you have entire collections of random microcontrollers, SBCs, and drawers full of relays, sensors, servos, etc!

irq-1 4y ago

Attach a battery, a camera, a 1 inch screen and a big button -- make a doorbell.

minhmeoke 4y ago

Automate parts of your home life with Node-RED: https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node-red-plus-a-dash-of-mqtt/ https://hackaday.com/2020/01/15/automate-your-life-with-node... Alternatively, if you are interested in making or playing back music, one idea is to turn the Raspberry Pi into a MIDI synthesizer: MiniDexed: 8 DX7 Tone Generators - https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed https://github.com/probonopd/MiniDexed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t94ceMHJo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3t94ceMHJo MT32-Pi: Roland MT-32 emulator - https://github.com/dwhinham/mt32-pi https://github.com/dwhinham/mt32-pi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaSD_wbzJRw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaSD_wbzJRw Optionally, buy a PCM5102/PCM5122 or ES9018K2M I2S DAC to improve the output sound quality: https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/76188/how-to-make-pcm5102-dac-work-on-raspberry-pi-zerow https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/76188/how-to... PCM5102 (~$7): https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=PCM5102+DAC https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=PCM5102+DAC ES9018K2M (~$12): https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=es9018k2m+i2s&SortType=price_asc https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=es9018k2m+i2...