Help with buying a Raspberry Pi

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NotVeryTechie

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Hi there all

I want to buy a Raspberry Pi for my dad for his birthday. I am based in the UK and my dad is in SA. I can buy one on Amazon and take it over to him, but the one on Amazon says it is a UK edition. Does that matter? I am afraid I don't know anything about this product. Or do I need to buy it in SA?

Hope you can help.
 
Might be easier to order it from somewhere in South Africa though...
 
NotVeryTechie said:
Hi there all

I want to buy a Raspberry Pi for my dad for his birthday. I am based in the UK and my dad is in SA. I can buy one on Amazon and take it over to him, but the one on Amazon says it is a UK edition. Does that matter? I am afraid I don't know anything about this product. Or do I need to buy it in SA?

Hope you can help.
Click to expand...

https://www.pishop.co.za/

Quick delivery and competitive price even compared to international sellers.
I'd recommend getting a few other components for him to tinker with (LED's, switches, displays, etc.) to really get to grips with the Pi.
 
If it comes with a power source, it's probably just a UK plug type, hence the version "difference"

The boards are powered off standard micro usb, so you should be able to find a replacement for that in SA. Bare in mind that the new version is rated 2.5A, so your standard cellphone charger will likely be underpowered.

Easiest would be to get it in SA and just have it delivered, with the added benefit of local warranty.

http://za.rs-online.com/ or https://www.pishop.co.za also comes highly recommended from my end.
 
Last edited:
From the item description for the Raspberry Pi 3 - Model B in the pishop:

"We only stock UK made Raspberry Pi's manufactured in Sony's Pencoed factory in South Wales."
 
Thanks guys!

Besides LED's, switches and displays, what other extras would you recommend. Bear in mind, this is a special birthday :)
 
NotVeryTechie said:
Thanks guys!

Besides LED's, switches and displays, what other extras would you recommend. Bear in mind, this is a special birthday :)
Click to expand...

Definitely get a nice case to go with it and a nice and fast 32GB SD card.

The only limits are your (his) imagination, like LEGO :)
 
@agentrfr he is very experienced. He used to be a specialist programmer (now retired) and built all sorts of electronic goodies. I call it goodies because I am totally clueless :)
 
NotVeryTechie said:
@agentrfr he is very experienced. He used to be a specialist programmer (now retired) and built all sorts of electronic goodies. I call it goodies because I am totally clueless :)
Click to expand...

Cool. Get a small breadboard along with some of these logic-level transistors (BJTs and MOSFETs). They are like R1 a pop so get 20 of each so he can do some cool stuff with them (switch relays, power motors etc.):

2N3904
FQP30N06L
2N3906
TIP120

I'm more of a MOSFET guy than a BJT guy, but old school electrical guys normally prefer BJTs.

While you are at it get a bag of arduino breakout cables, male to male and male to female so he can connect the pi to the breadboard

:)
 
Maybe get one of those R-Pi starter kits.

I would buy is online in SA. Buying it here and getting it shipped over will not be fun.

If your dad is into electronics look at the Arduino kit. There are loads of fun modules you can get with tons of sensors.
 
Honestly if you're dad has even a bit of experience i would say avoid the kits...its usually just really cheap crap that can't be used for anything other than a quick tutorial on how it works...
 
The Pi starter kit is actually quite nice for somebody who has never used a Pi before. It includes the Raspberry Pi, enclosure, SD card with NOOBS pre installed, power supply, keyboard, mouse, HDMI cable and a book with five projects.
 
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