New products news plus a fixed-wing drone and a Raspberry Pi Zero security camera all in today's Raspberry Pi Roundup
Retro Gaming Bundle
We have announced the launch of a Pi Hut Retro Gaming bundle that is ideal for those looking to get into the world of playing retro games on the Raspberry Pi. The bundle, which retails for £60, includes:
- Raspberry Pi 3
- 2 x Pi Hut USB SNES-style Gamepad / Controller
- Blank 16GB Sandisk Class 10 MicroSD card – ideal for a RetroPie install!
- MicroSD to USB adapter
- Official Raspberry Pi PSU
- Black Raspberry Pi 3 Case
- 2M HDMI cable
I think £60 is very good for what you get!
You can take a look and buy it here.
Fixed-wing Drone
Iker Zubi has written up instructions for building a fixed-wing drone using a Zero and the PXFmini add-on board. There’s a bill-of-materials and pictures of the build at each stage. He reckons the whole thing comes to about $150 (although personally I would add on a Pi camera to get video footage and photographs). Still, that’s not bad for a drone and it looks like a lot of fun! Take a look at the project page here.
NatureBytes
A good few months ago, a new company called NatureBytes ran a Kickstarter to fund their Raspberry Pi-powered nature camera system. They delivered on their pledges in the middle of last year and they’re now at a point where they have a retail package available. This package is now sold at The Pi Hut. The kit requires some assembly, but this is well in the capabilities of non-technical people. I bought my in-laws a kit for Christmas and they had it up-and-running within a day and a half and love the results.
The kit comes with everything you need:
- Weatherproof case
- Electronic assembly holder (compatible with all Raspberry Pi models).
- Nylon attachment strap
- Raspberry Pi A +
- Raspberry Pi v2 Camera module
- PIR sensor
- Jumper wires (3 different colours)
- Li-ion battery (8800 Mah)
- Seed LiPo Rider
- SD Card (8GB micro SD)
- USB flash drive 2.0 (4GB)
- Real time clock
- USB cable
The battery is enough to run the camera for 3-4 days (courtesy of the A+’s relatively low power requirements).
All in all, it’s a great, quality package that easily competes with other solutions out there. The case, in particular, is fantastic and very solid. Highly recommended.
The kit costs £130 from The Pi Hut – this may seem costly, but you get plenty for your money and it’s a well-thought-out product from very clever people!
Motion Security Camera
Mark West, a Brit now living in Norway, was convinced that he had some unwanted visitors in his garden. So, he decided to press into action a Raspberry Pi Zero as a security camera solution. He shopped at The Pi Hut and got hold of the Zero, the Pi NoIR Camera and a ZeroView sucker-mounting plate, together with some other components from various places. He then wrote Raspbian onto his SD card and then installed popular imaging solution Motion. He’s documented the entire process on his blog. There are also a couple of follow-up posts: here and here.