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Which Pi ? - Printable Version

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Which Pi ? - gandalf - 12-11-2021

Hi to all.
I have to buy a raspberry. which one ? Pi Zero 2 ? 3B+ ? 4 ?

It will be used only for robo-tank and reef-pi.

I'll connect a touch display, so I need that kind of support (i think all Pi would support this)


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-11-2021

I recommend the Pi 3B+ as you want to connect a touch screen. The Zero 2 doesn't quite have enough punch, when the full OS is loaded and web browser is open it crawls.


RE: Which Pi ? - gandalf - 12-12-2021

thank you.
what about the v4?


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-12-2021

Sorry not sure what v4 you are referring to. Either way the Zero 2 can't run a web browser, at least not the default. I tried installing another browser but it was so slow and laggy I gave up.

Overall it might be best not to run full desktop OS as there's more to go wrong so could be less reliable. The lite OS is stripped down so a lot less processes on the Pi running.


RE: Which Pi ? - gandalf - 12-13-2021

i was referring to Rpi 4

anyway, in this video which display are you using?
https://youtu.be/ikczyiS09JQ

is this robo-tank based on reef-pi or ferduino?


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-13-2021

The Pi 4 works good to, the downside to it though is it gets quite warm, if you use it you'll want to put a cooling fan like this in the case.

https://amzn.to/3Gk5HCu

That video is my old controller before I was involved with reef-pi, it's the same idea as a Ferduino. It used two Arduino Due's but the downside was very limited web access, the display was slow making it feel old school and it cost quite a bit more. The app I'm working on now is a continuation of that controller but on a Pi this time, in the end all the features on that controller plus more will be available.


RE: Which Pi ? - gandalf - 12-14-2021

great! i would like to test your software
but Rpi touch display are usually wired with a ribbon cable, harder to handle in a tank (if you don't want to put the controller phisically attached to the display)

are you thinking to a better solution? in example a dedicated wifi tablet with a custom version for the app ? like fullscreen mode and so on.

anyway, do you have a video showing the dosing pump management? calibration, scheduling, .... it's the first thing i need


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-14-2021

You can test it but remember it's far from finished. The software from the video you posted won't work on the controller, only the new app.

For display you would use an HDMI touch screen, something like this. There's a lot of sizes and brands available.

shorturl.at/eBEQ6

Any device with a web browser can be used to access reef-pi or my app, most people use a phone or tablet. There are ways to put the Pi in Kiosk mode, I personally haven't done this but you can find info on the web. Running the browser full screen will look like that video.

Sorry I don't have any other videos than what's on youtube, the scheduling on my app is limited and can be cumbersome to setup multiple doses per day. Again it's best to use reef-pi for a live tank and until you get familiar with the controller. If you get 2 SD cards you can swap cards and go from reef-pi to mine quickly to play etc...


RE: Which Pi ? - gandalf - 12-14-2021

thank you.

(the short link is not working)


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-14-2021

Well here's the long one. :)  If you search for HDMI touch screen you'll see a bunch.

https://www.amazon.ca/7inch-HDMI-LCD-case-Display/dp/B0894Q5VH3/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3MZLOO9G32WZX&keywords=hdmi+touch+screen&qid=1639498803&sprefix=hdmi+touch+scr%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A37H965O2U1BLV&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQ0lVMVQyNkpaQjNHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTc2MDAwMjJDSTRRQzZaM1QzTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzkzMjI5MjNMNlNIOVUwWkM3WiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=


That wasn't so bad, forum actually shortened it.


RE: Which Pi ? - Coloredrock - 12-23-2021

(12-13-2021, 03:59 PM)Rob F Wrote: The Pi 4 works good to, the downside to it though is it gets quite warm, if you use it you'll want to put a cooling fan like this in the case.

https://amzn.to/3Gk5HCu

Hi Rob, that like does not work.... do you mind suggesting another one.

Thanks!


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-23-2021

Hi Coloredrock, crazy links, this time it seems to work for me. Here's the long version.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R9HWVZY/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=5302020-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B08R9HWVZY&linkId=7afe30fbd40d2e61d9d793d40fc5c31f


RE: Which Pi ? - Coloredrock - 12-23-2021

Thank Rob.

I all ready have a pi 4 and also want to play around with Grafana/InfluxDB

Eric


RE: Which Pi ? - Rob F - 12-23-2021

Granfana does look nice, I wish it wasn't so complicated otherwise I would make it more known. I think it's a good idea to use Pi 4 for it, sounds like it uses lots of resources.