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.
Here’s a nice 3D printable project for you. fgebhart has used a Raspberry Pi Zero, some prototyping board, an alphanumeric display, an amplifier and a 3D-printed enclosure to build a smart alarm clock.
It has the following features:
You can find the files for the 3D printing here, the code here and an Instructable on how it all fits together here. An assembly and demo video is below:
If you are scared to solder, or don’t want to go to the expense of buying one, there are a few things that you just can’t do with the Raspberry Pi. It’s true that many add-on boards come with their GPIO headers fitted, but some (like the Pi Zero and pHATs) need them soldering on. Well, Pimoroni to the rescue. They’ve developed GPIO Hammer Headers – you take the header, press it into the relevant holes, put a plastic jig around it and then… hit it with a hammer. The headers have special little “nubbins” that go through the holes and then grip the back side of them. Ingenious! You can buy the headers for a few pounds from the Pimoroni website.
Nic Hughes is organising another East London Raspberry Jam. The Jam will take place in Barking Library from 12-4pm on Saturday, 11th February. There are workshops planned and an opportunity for Show and Tell. Nic’s a great guy and it would be great if you could support him by attending the Jam if you’re in the area. Get your free tickets here.
NinjaBunny9000 has created a life-sized replica of BMO from Adventure Time. The case is 3D printed and the buttons on the front are routed via the innards of a generic SNES controller. The battery can last for around 24 hours and he has added a wireless games controller as well for the full range of controls. The software side is RetroPie and is displayed on an 8-inch screen. You can see more photos of the build on his Imgur page.
Constantine Zlatev, Kostadin Ilov and Velina Ruseva have taken a disabled shotgun and some salvaged industrial components and created a musical instrument. Called The Last Gun, is controlled by a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino and uses compressed air to play different tunes through the barrel of the gun. Determining what is played is done based on a graph of US arms exports from the 1960s to 2010. If the amount of exports rises, the tune becomes more sombre; if the exports fall, a more upbeat tune is played. You can see more pictures on Constantine’s blog here and watch a video below:
