Author: Matt

Flask is a Python based micro-framework for creating web pages. It can be used to present web-based interfaces on the Pi and is relatively easy to setup. It’s useful for creating dashboards and I first came across it when looking for a method of creating my paddling pool control panel. This tutorial will explain how to create a basic site to get you started. Once you’ve got an example working the official documentation can be used to move onto more advanced topics.

Once you’ve got your Kodi system running on the Raspberry Pi one of the most popular plugins you can install is the “YouTube” add-on. This plugin allows you search, browse and view YouTube content from within Kodi. This guide was created on Kodi v17.3 and assumes you have completed the basic Kodi configuration.

Once you’ve got your Kodi system running on the Raspberry Pi one of the most popular plugins you can install is “Exodus”. This plugin presents you with a whole world of streaming media sources including TV and films. It’s a controversial topic in some regions due to the legality of the organisations providing the streams. Please check the legislation in your country if in doubt. This guide was created on Kodi v17.3 and assumes you have completed the basic Kodi configuration.

This tutorial explains how to create a fresh SD card for your Raspberry using a Windows PC. It’s the technique I use to update my cards whenever a new version of Raspbian is released. Starting with a clean installation is important if you’ve got any issues or are starting a new hardware project. I recommend using SD cards with a capacity of 8GB and higher.

motionEyeOS is an awesome system for creating security cameras with single board computers. This can include systems to monitor pets or burglars. It has a number of nice features under the hood and one of those features is the ability to monitor GPIO pins and display information within the motionEyeOS web interface.

I built my first retroPie system a few months ago using a Raspberry Pi 3 and three USB controllers. I spent a bit of timing looking for MAME games that were easy to get into and didn’t require much experience or masses of time. So here is a run down of my favourite MAME games so far in no particular order …

The latest issue of The MagPi is out and it is a little bit special. It comes with a kit from Google that allows you to add voice interactivity to your Raspberry Pi projects. If you aren’t already running to the shops then carry on reading while that sinks in.

Now that I’ve got a few motionEyeOS cameras working around the house I’ve made a few tweaks to optimise the events they capture. They are both in areas that capture movement from plants and animals and this motion can create lots of unnecessary images.

As I progressed with my original security camera project I realised that I was making slow progress and I would struggle to complete the software in a sensible time-frame. So I decided to simplify everything. A lot. I settled on motionEyeOS as the basis of my system and install just the hardware I needed. If in the future I wanted to add anything else I could do so but my priority was to get something working within a few weeks. It was time to stop designing and start making with what I had not what I thought I might need.…

After the successful deployment of my first motionEyeOS Pi CCTV camera last year I was keen to get another security camera setup. I wanted to use a Pi Zero W so I could mount it inside my conservatory using a Pi Hut “ZeroView”. This is a mount for the Pi Zero that lets you stick a Pi camera to a glass window. motionEyeOS makes it so easy to setup a security camera and the difficult bit is usually the practicality of physically mounting it all. By using the ZeroView mount even this stage can be straightforward. The Pi Zero W would…

This article explains how to setup WiFi on a Raspberry Pi without needing to connect a monitor or keyboard to the Pi. Although you can configure WiFi using the graphical utility within the Raspbian Desktop this requires that you connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor to your Pi. It is sometimes useful to be able to do it before you’ve booted the Pi. This is especially useful when using the Pi Zero W or A+ models where attaching a keyboard and mouse requires a USB hub.

While researching possible upgrades for my son’s Star Wars Bounty Hunter costume I came across an excellent blog post by Dave Shevett over at Planet-Geek.com on using a Raspberry Pi to create a voice changer for a halloween costume. This looked like something I could integrate into our lovingly constructed bounty hunter helmet. The system uses SoX to record sound via a microphone, distort it and then send to an amplified speaker.

Over the weekend Cambridge Junction hosted the Raspberry Pi 5th Birthday Party. With five years under its belt and 12 million devices sold the Pi Foundation and its community had plenty to celebrate.

Alex Eames of RasPiO has just launched a new project on Kickstarter called “RasPiO Inspiring”. This is a set of programmable RGB LED boards which can be connected together to make 2D or 3D shapes.

Today a new Raspberry Pi model has been released after rumours first surfaced on Twitter yesterday. The new model is being referred to as the “Pi Zero W”. It is identical to the previous Pi Zero model but now features on-board 802.11 b/g/n wireless and Bluetooth 4.1 LE.

Although I’ve used the Pi since 2012 I’ve only recently used it as a media player. I had a spare Pi so decided to stick it behind the TV, connect it with HDMI and hook it up to my video and MP3 collection. Many years ago I used an original Xbox running XBMC. For playing media from a network this was an unbeatable combination. It played everything. Then HD content became more common and I retired the Xbox. The XBMC project spread its wings and was renamed Kodi and now supports a range of platforms including Windows, Linux, Amazon Firesticks,…

This weekend Steve Wright, a lecturer at the University of the West of England (UWE), organised the first MAAXX drone racing event. It was hosted at the UWE Exhibition Centre in Bristol and open to visitors and competitors. The concept was for teams to design, build and operate autonomous line following drones to compete against each other. The course was a netted area with an oval defined on the ground using red tape.

Now this is an ambitious Kickstarter project. Dride is an internet connected car dashcam wth voice recognition and advanced safety features.

There maybe times when you want to view a photo from the Raspbian command line. Previously I had recommended using “fim” to display images on the command line but this is no longer available from the Raspbian repository. Instead you can use the utility that it was based on called “fbi”. It doesn’t have the ascii art capability of fim but is useful for images and slideshows.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has just announced the release of a new Compute Module named the CM3. The Compute Module is the Foundations attempt to provide an easy and cost-effective way to produce Pi hardware based products.

Dataplicity is a new service that aims to simplify the process of connecting to your devices over the internet. As with many services there is a free account which allows you to try it out with paid accounts for commercial or heavy users. Once configured the service gives you access to your command line terminal from anywhere on the internet via desktop or mobile devices.

Today the Raspberry Pi Foundation announced the release of a new PIXEL image that can be booted on a PC or Mac. It’s a “live” distribution so can be run from a DVD or USB stick without needing to change your current OS. This is great for using the environment without the headache of dual booting or dedicating the device to PIXEL permanently.