Raspberry Pi Big Birthday Weekend #PiParty – videos of talks

David Ferguson attended the Raspberry Pi Big Birthday Weekend (Pi Party) this year and recorded many of the talks taking place in the auditorium. He’s uploaded all the videos to YouTube, and listed a couple of others by Alan O’Donohue, and created a playlist of them. View the playlist here. Great if you weren’t able to attend some, or all, of the talks – Thanks David & Alan!

My Music Box presentation video can be seen below:

Make your stairs blinky and respond to the weather with ultra-bright LEDs and a Raspberry Pi

CAS co-ordinator Lorraine Underwood wanted to add some bling to her staircase. So she turned to a strip of Neopixel-type LEDs and a Raspberry Pi Zero. She added a weather feed so that different parts of the staircase light up depending on the weather outside. To find out how she did it, and to see a complete list of parts that make up the project, visit her blog.

New IndieGoGo campaign brings the power of infrared to your Raspberry Pi

Bulgarian Leon Anavi previously had success with the Anavi Flex board on IndieGoGo. Now, he’s seeking to raise $500 for his board, the Anavi Infrared pHAT. The board has the following features:

  • 2x 5mm IR transmitters (IR LEDs)
  • IR receiver (IR photo sensor)
  • Slots for up to 3 plug and play sensors
  • UART pins for debugging

… and comes fully assembled. The pledges start at $9 USD plus shipping for the board alone, and there are further pledge levels giving you sensors to plug in, and multiple boards. Delivery is expected between July and September.

To take a better look at the campaign and to pledge, visit IndieGoGo or watch the campaign video below:

How to add an external antenna to your Raspberry Pi Zero W

Brian Dorey noticed that there were three unpopulated pads on the Pi Zero W near the zero-ohm resistor and realised what it was for – to place a U.FL RF connector. This connector allows you to add an external antenna to the Zero W and increase its wireless range. By moving the resistor so that it connects to the pads, it disconnects the internal antenna and allows you to add your own. He’s written the modification up on his blog and you can read that here. Obviously, doing this will void your warranty and will make it hard to reverse the action, but as long as you’re aware of that, that’s fine!

Berlin’s first Tech Jam and Coding Evening are coming up soon in March and April!

James Mitchell has announced the launch of Berlin’s very first Tech Jam, on 1st April. At the event, there will be workshops, talks and a sharing of projects. The Jam is an all-inclusive event aimed at parents, teachers, students, makers, families… basically anyone interested in looking at and learning about tech. It’s a platform-independent event, not just Raspberry Pi, and has a special emphasis on open technology. The event runs from 12-6pm at Technische Universität Berlin Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin. If you want to contribute to the event in any way, from showing a project, to helping with a workshop, to being a marshal, email raspberryjamberlin@gmail.com and James will get back to you. Tickets are available from Eventbrite via the Raspberry Jam Berlin homepage.

On 11th March, at FabLab Berlin (Prenzlauer Allee 242 10405 Berlin), the group is also holding a Coding Evening.

This Coding Evening is a regular meeting for people looking to work in small groups for a given project based around the Raspberry Pi or other electronic devices.

This is a just-turn-up event. So whether you have a project in mind or not, turn up and get involved. It runs from 1-6pm. Please bring your own equipment! More info is available here.