Raspberry Pi thread

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Hush
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Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

Just got a model B+ (bought one of those kits on Amazon which came with a case and power supply)

For now I've installed RetroPie and have been messing around with roms and using different controllers and such (have used both Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers) but I'm seeing there are a lot of cool projects you can do with these things.

Has anyone done any of the more involved projects like home automation or surveillance? I'm covered on the HTPC front so I don't really need it for that.

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ChaMerZ
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by ChaMerZ »

Like I said in the xmbc thread, I just use mine to store code.

I bought the same kit on amazon. How is the usb wifi adapter working out for you? Mine is sh!t. Had to place my pi right next to the router in my basement. Now I have to ssh to it everytime I want to use it. It sucks.
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by ChaMerZ »

By the way Hush, do you code?
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Hush
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

I think I mixed up my model. I have the RPi2 w/ 1GB of RAM (the one that has 4 USB ports, HDMI and an ethernet port). The kit I bought only came with a case and power supply. I already had a micro SD card, bluetooth adapter, etc. I haven't used a wifi adapter - just been hard wiring it when needed.

RetroPie is pretty cool although there seems to be some pretty significant input lag in the SNES emulator. I've been Googling how to fix that but haven't found a concrete solution. Oh well, I own a bunch of other devices I can do emulation on, just thought it was cool to have this mini "console" that can emulate most things well.

No, I do not code personally (I just borrow other people's hard work). What kind of coding do you do?

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ChaMerZ
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by ChaMerZ »

Hush wrote:I think I mixed up my model. I have the RPi2 w/ 1GB of RAM (the one that has 4 USB ports, HDMI and an ethernet port). The kit I bought only came with a case and power supply. I already had a micro SD card, bluetooth adapter, etc. I haven't used a wifi adapter - just been hard wiring it when needed.

RetroPie is pretty cool although there seems to be some pretty significant input lag in the SNES emulator. I've been Googling how to fix that but haven't found a concrete solution. Oh well, I own a bunch of other devices I can do emulation on, just thought it was cool to have this mini "console" that can emulate most things well.

No, I do not code personally (I just borrow other people's hard work). What kind of coding do you do?
I have the RPi2 as well, but my kit came with everything.

My thing with the RPi2 is that it is still so underpowered compared to a standard desktop computer from even 10 years ago that I'm at a loss as to what to do with it. I installed NodeJS on my Raspi and I'm currently using it to host a local web server - it has been more an avenue for me to learn more server side stuff. But I haven't really done anything significant.

Also I don't know if you are subscribed to Maximum PC, but on each issue, they have a Raspi project you can do. In the last issue they had a tutorial on how you can turn your Raspi into your own personal cloud server (looked semi interesting) and on the issue before that, they had a tutorial on how you can turn the Raspi into a Tor router that you can use to browse anonymously (looked very interesting). I haven't attempted any of them because of a lack of time on my part, but when I do I will update the thread.

How do you use your Raspi? Do you have it attached to a monitor, keyboard and mouse or are you connecting to it through ssh / VNC?

VNC is a lot more convenient for various reasons. I mean you have your main PC (for gaming) attached to your big screen tv right? If you haven't set VNC up do it asap. If you need any help just let me know and I can guide you.
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Hush
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

I found an alternative to Retropie, something called Recalbox. It shares a lot of the same inner workings but it is slightly more polished and user friendly. And, for some reason, the SNES emulator doesn't have the same input lag as Retropie (I'm sure it is just a config setting, but in Recalbox, whatever the default settings are work great). PS3 controllers work out of the box, which is cool (just have to plug them in w/ the USB cable for 10 seconds, unplug and press the PS button to pair them with Bluetooth). You can also easily transfer roms because Recalbox automatically shares those folders on your network (I just need to go to my Windows PC and copy roms into those shared folders to get them onto the Pi).

To answer your question, no, I don't have my gaming PC hooked up in the living room currently. I still prefer console gaming. The games that are exclusive to PC that (A.) aren't first person shooters and (B.) don't require a keyboard and mouse aren't enough to convert me to a full time PC gamer. I like the Pi for retro gaming because it is small, low powered and with Recalbox there isn't much tweaking that needs done to get it up and running. It is fully controllable out of the box with a PS3 controller (no need to have a keyboard and mouse constantly hooked up). I have emulators for NES/SNES on my Wii U, but it's a pain to pull out a Wii remote with a classic controller tethered to it. Plus, I have to boot up the Wii U, then go into Wii mode, then the Homebrew channel to get to the emulators. It also doesn't run some of the newer system emulators, such as PSX, as well. With the Pi I just power it on, grab a PS3 controller which has already been paired, and jump right into a game.

Here is a link for Recalbox if anyone is interested: http://www.recalbox.com/diyrecalbox

I ordered a second Pi, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that one just yet. I might make a Bluetooth audio receiver for my car, since the cheap one I have currently only works part of the time.

P.S. To answer your first question, I SSH into the Pi with a Windows app that I can't recall the name of right now (I'll update the thread later). This app behaves like an FTP client and allows you to browse all the files of the Linux OS and even edit cfg files and such. I haven't needed to do any command line stuff, because as I said Recalbox doesn't require much tweaking.

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ChaMerZ
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

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Hush wrote:P.S. To answer your first question, I SSH into the Pi with a Windows app that I can't recall the name of right now (I'll update the thread later). This app behaves like an FTP client and allows you to browse all the files of the Linux OS and even edit cfg files and such. I haven't needed to do any command line stuff, because as I said Recalbox doesn't require much tweaking.
OK I see. You are probably talking about WinSCP.
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Hush
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

ChaMerZ wrote:
Hush wrote:P.S. To answer your first question, I SSH into the Pi with a Windows app that I can't recall the name of right now (I'll update the thread later). This app behaves like an FTP client and allows you to browse all the files of the Linux OS and even edit cfg files and such. I haven't needed to do any command line stuff, because as I said Recalbox doesn't require much tweaking.
OK I see. You are probably talking about WinSCP.
Yes that's it.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Willie B »

do you guys have any links for projects you'd recommend for a noob?
a specific kit?

Hush
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

For the Recalbox thing I was talking about above (a Retro game console): http://www.recalbox.com/diyrecalbox

It lists everything you will need, although I had trouble finding a kit that includes those supplies (most are missing a bluetooth adapter and include a smaller micro sd card).

I bought this kit:

http://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry ... +2+canakit

...because I already had a 16GB micro sd card, Targus Bluetooth adapter, and PS3 controllers lying around. And I hard wired my Pi so I don't need a wifi adapter.

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ChaMerZ
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by ChaMerZ »

Hush wrote:For the Recalbox thing I was talking about above (a Retro game console): http://www.recalbox.com/diyrecalbox

It lists everything you will need, although I had trouble finding a kit that includes those supplies (most are missing a bluetooth adapter and include a smaller micro sd card).

I bought this kit:

http://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry ... +2+canakit

...because I already had a 16GB micro sd card, Targus Bluetooth adapter, and PS3 controllers lying around. And I hard wired my Pi so I don't need a wifi adapter.
I bought the kit that comes with a clear case. I don't know iif I really want another Pi right now, but what I do require is more storage, so I'm thinking of picking up a 64GB micro SD for around $20, as that will give me a lot of flexibility in how I can deploy this thing.

Anyways, you seem waay far ahead of me in terms of putting this thing to practical, creative use, so be sure to update this thread, if you found out any interesting things or get involved in another project. It seems like I'm waay to busy to tinker these days =(

I was reading online that apparently the model b+ or whatever is functionally equivalent to the original xbox, graphics wise. Somehow I have a tough time believing that, lol. You should try to get halo 2 to play on your pi as a pet project. I hear you can run windows if you want (Windows is :shittylikesometp: :shittylikesometp: :shittylikesometp: though)
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

Windows 10 doesn't run on the Pi in the traditional sense:

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/win ... d-to-know/

Sounds like it is only for proof of concept/development/programming.

I picked up a second Pi so I'll update the thread if I think of a cool project to use it for.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

So the Pi 3 is out:

A 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU (~10x the performance of Raspberry Pi 1)
Integrated 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1 <--- is pretty sweet as you don't have to buy adapters separately.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by ChaMerZ »

Hush wrote:So the Pi 3 is out:

A 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU (~10x the performance of Raspberry Pi 1)
Integrated 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1 <--- is pretty sweet as you don't have to buy adapters separately.
Have you gotten the Pi 3 yet? The internal wifi adapter is pretty significant to me because the only reason I don't use my current Pi is because the adapter it came with was defective.
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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

I did get a Pi 3 since I've been building the retro game systems in the other thread.

I also picked up one of these a few days ago:

Image

Basically a USB IR receiver. I can now use my Harmony remote to control Kodi on my Pi. This thing is pretty genius as it is detected as a USB keyboard so it will work with any device that supports USB keyboards (Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, etc). When you send commands to it with a remote, your device thinks you're pressing keys on a keyboard.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by cairokid »

I've ordered a raspberry pi 3 and should be getting it soon. I went with one of the Cana kits on Amazon since it came with everything.

My idea is to run it as a Plex server to have other devices as Plex clients, if I have the terms right. I've been wanting to do this for a while now.

I was curious about using Kodi as well. How well do videos play within Kodi on a pi? I've seen videos that have Plex running within Kodi if I have that correct. Can the content on Kodi be broadcast to other smart devices, similar to Plex?

Also I'd like to setup a retro pi as well. After doing some research it seems it may be best to setup a separate pi for that. Would that make sense? I ordered a few extra things (SD cards, controllers) to eventually get that going.

I just wanted to get some input from others here since a few people seemed to use these quite a bit.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

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cairokid wrote:I've ordered a raspberry pi 3 and should be getting it soon. I went with one of the Cana kits on Amazon since it came with everything.

My idea is to run it as a Plex server to have other devices as Plex clients, if I have the terms right. I've been wanting to do this for a while now.

I was curious about using Kodi as well. How well do videos play within Kodi on a pi? I've seen videos that have Plex running within Kodi if I have that correct. Can the content on Kodi be broadcast to other smart devices, similar to Plex?

Also I'd like to setup a retro pi as well. After doing some research it seems it may be best to setup a separate pi for that. Would that make sense? I ordered a few extra things (SD cards, controllers) to eventually get that going.

I just wanted to get some input from others here since a few people seemed to use these quite a bit.
I don't recommend using a Pi as a Plex Server, as it doesn't have the horsepower to do transcoding if needed.

I'm not sure about broadcasting Kodi content to other devices, as I haven't looked into it personally.

I do know that Recalbox (an alternative to RetroPi, which uses a lot of the same internal workings) comes with Kodi built-in. So you can have the same Pi running both retro game emulators and Kodi (with the streaming add-ons, if you so desire) on the same box.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by cairokid »

Hush wrote:
I don't recommend using a Pi as a Plex Server, as it doesn't have the horsepower to do transcoding if needed.

I'm not sure about broadcasting Kodi content to other devices, as I haven't looked into it personally.

I do know that Recalbox (an alternative to RetroPi, which uses a lot of the same internal workings) comes with Kodi built-in. So you can have the same Pi running both retro game emulators and Kodi (with the streaming add-ons, if you so desire) on the same box.
Thanks Hush. I had a little bit of time to fool around with the system. I eventually was able to setup Plex and so far it has worked pretty good actually for me. I've been able to view movies on my laptop and Roku via my Plex Server on the Pi.

I installed Kodi on there as well. I haven't had a chance to add on anything to it. That didn't seem straightforward to me, but reading online I think I've found how to do that.

On another SD Card I setup RetroPie. The only thing is that I have no sound for some reason! I went through in the options and selected/forced it to HDMI, but still no luck. There must be something I have to specify in a config file somewhere. Any ideas Hush on what might be the issue?

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

cairokid wrote:
Hush wrote:
I don't recommend using a Pi as a Plex Server, as it doesn't have the horsepower to do transcoding if needed.

I'm not sure about broadcasting Kodi content to other devices, as I haven't looked into it personally.

I do know that Recalbox (an alternative to RetroPi, which uses a lot of the same internal workings) comes with Kodi built-in. So you can have the same Pi running both retro game emulators and Kodi (with the streaming add-ons, if you so desire) on the same box.
Thanks Hush. I had a little bit of time to fool around with the system. I eventually was able to setup Plex and so far it has worked pretty good actually for me. I've been able to view movies on my laptop and Roku via my Plex Server on the Pi.

I installed Kodi on there as well. I haven't had a chance to add on anything to it. That didn't seem straightforward to me, but reading online I think I've found how to do that.

On another SD Card I setup RetroPie. The only thing is that I have no sound for some reason! I went through in the options and selected/forced it to HDMI, but still no luck. There must be something I have to specify in a config file somewhere. Any ideas Hush on what might be the issue?
That's cool that Plex works well for you! I'm not sure on the sound issue with RetroPie. Again, I use Recalbox instead and haven't had any issues with it.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by cairokid »

Hush wrote:
That's cool that Plex works well for you! I'm not sure on the sound issue with RetroPie. Again, I use Recalbox instead and haven't had any issues with it.
I ended up figuring out my sound issue. I had to uncomment a line in the config file, which is what I had found online several places.

I still need to sit down and try to some add-ons installed in Kodi,but so far so good with the setups I've put together.

Hush (or anyone else), have you done any other projects with a Pi?

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

^^^

Haven't really done any other projects. As cool as the Pi is, I haven't really found any other applications of it that would be useful to me personally.

In my media set up, I use it as a complement to the Xbox One. Xbone plays Xbox games and does all the 'legal' media streaming (Plex, Amazon Prime Video, etc.) and the Pi does retro games and 'illegal' streaming (Kodi w/ add-ons).

Installing the add-ons in Kodi is super easy. Just follow this page to get all the major ones by running one wizard: https://www.tvaddons.ag/install-addons-kodi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by cairokid »

Hush wrote:^^^

Haven't really done any other projects. As cool as the Pi is, I haven't really found any other applications of it that would be useful to me personally.

In my media set up, I use it as a complement to the Xbox One. Xbone plays Xbox games and does all the 'legal' media streaming (Plex, Amazon Prime Video, etc.) and the Pi does retro games and 'illegal' streaming (Kodi w/ add-ons).

Installing the add-ons in Kodi is super easy. Just follow this page to get all the major ones by running one wizard: https://www.tvaddons.ag/install-addons-kodi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for that link Hush. I eventually got around to installing the add-ons. I haven't tried them out too much, but they seem to work. I'll have to dig in on them eventually. Thanks again.

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Re: Raspberry Pi thread

Post by Hush »

cairokid wrote:
Hush wrote:^^^

Haven't really done any other projects. As cool as the Pi is, I haven't really found any other applications of it that would be useful to me personally.

In my media set up, I use it as a complement to the Xbox One. Xbone plays Xbox games and does all the 'legal' media streaming (Plex, Amazon Prime Video, etc.) and the Pi does retro games and 'illegal' streaming (Kodi w/ add-ons).

Installing the add-ons in Kodi is super easy. Just follow this page to get all the major ones by running one wizard: https://www.tvaddons.ag/install-addons-kodi/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for that link Hush. I eventually got around to installing the add-ons. I haven't tried them out too much, but they seem to work. I'll have to dig in on them eventually. Thanks again.
Really the only add-on I use often is Exodus... unless a link is dead there I may try a different one.

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