So what exactly does one do with a Raspberry Pi B/starter kit?

[Admiral Snackbar]

I've heard programmers love it.

I'm still really new to programming, so I can't inherently see the value of it.
There's still so much I want to learn though, too much actually.

So, should I buy it and maybe a book on takealot about it?

Your advice please, thanks in advance

 

[ODTech]

I've heard programmers love it.

I'm still really new to programming, so I can't inherently see the value of it.
There's still so much I want to learn though, too much actually.

So, should I buy it and maybe a book on takealot about it?

Your advice please, thanks in advance

If you have to ask you probably wasted your money. Turn it into a media centre.

For inspiration on a project read the dedicated RPi project thread.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

If you have to ask you probably wasted your money. Turn it into a media centre.

For inspiration on a project read the dedicated RPi project thread.

I didn't buy it yet hehe.

I will check it out thank you.

 

[kayvee]

Go for it. Before you rush off and buy a book, there is more than enough material on the net to give you a taster of what can be done with it.

Tons of programming examples and tutorials out there. First stop should be the Foundation's website. Join the forums and hang out.

 

[HeftyCrab]

Dont buy it from Takealot. was too expensive last time I saw. Check out RS Components South Africa. Theyre also an official distributor.

 

[ODTech]

Dont buy it from Takealot. was too expensive last time I saw. Check out RS Components South Africa. Theyre also an official distributor.

RS is actually the official importer so the price should be the best in SA.

Edit: Clarified who the importer was.

 

[Coasti]

Also try pishop.co.za, I had good service and prices there.

 

[dadecoza]

What I would use it for ...

1. Security camera with cheap usb dvr and Motion.
2. DVB-T receiver to use as a SDR with Dump1090 to monitor aircraft transponders.
3. OpenHab for home automation.
4. MQTT Broker that also forms part of the home automation and also for other IoT devices.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Dont buy it from Takealot. was too expensive last time I saw. Check out RS Components South Africa. Theyre also an official distributor.

Thank you Cheaper is always better.

What I would use it for ...

1. Security camera with cheap usb dvr and Motion.
2. DVB-T receiver to use as a SDR with Dump1090 to monitor aircraft transponders.
3. OpenHab for home automation.
4. MQTT Broker that also forms part of the home automation and also for other IoT devices.

Wow all of that is pretty amazing. The security camera one sounds very interesting, I don't know if I can afford it, but I'd definitely try that out of the bunch.

Thank you for the links and your post

I checked out your dade website and your projects look really cool, even though I didn't understand most of the code

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Go for it. Before you rush off and buy a book, there is more than enough material on the net to give you a taster of what can be done with it.

Tons of programming examples and tutorials out there. First stop should be the Foundation's website. Join the forums and hang out.

Ahh that's perfect actually. I will join those forums for sure.

 

[HeftyCrab]

Thank you Cheaper is always better.


Wow all of that is pretty amazing. The security camera one sounds very interesting, I don't know if I can afford it, but I'd definitely try that out of the bunch.

Thank you for the links and your post

I checked out your dade website and your projects look really cool, even though I didn't understand most of the code

Im also using my Rpi2 as a security camera. Plug a USB webcam in (got my Microsoft Lifecam hd3000 from takealot which was the cheapest at the time) and install a program called "motion". It checks for movement and takes a photo. You can configure the sensitivity and where the photos must be stored.

I plugged in a 16gig flashdrive and save the photos to it. I then wrote a bash script that runs via a Cron that deletes the photos if theyre older than 4days.

I did this so that the saving to the Rpi2's memory card is minimal and if something goes wrong it wont fill up the Memory cards free space and crash the system.

Before I started this I litterally knew nothing about linux/bash other than how to install it. Thats what the Raspberry Pi was designed for. For people to tinker and learn.