Thanks to Maximilian Batz from http://www.pi3g.com/, who sponsored two Raspberry Pi B models for the cause of Apollo-NG, it was time to see what more could be done with them. This essentially forked two subprojects:
Raspberry Pi based autonomous Antenna Tracker (following a MAVLink enabled UAV/Drone)
Raspberry Pi based geiger-counter
The Tracker is working but still in alpha state (built as a mockup) and not released yet but after a combined amount of 10 days the PiGI – Raspberry Pi Geiger-Müller Interface was finished, including the prototype boards. Some basic documentation is done, the github repo is online and basic prove-of-concept code is finished. It goes to show how amazingly fast we can dive into new technologies today and come up with a new thing without having any prior knowledge how to build a geiger counter. Sharing knowledge via Internet simply rules 🙂
The fun thing about this project was that it also served as a test to determine if the lab, tools and equipment carried by Apollo-NG would be sufficient to build it. During the development and building, no technologies could be used to make it. Only tools/resources that are available and run on a 12V power rail (including soldering)….
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit, be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Have you tried the new “Adafruit Raspberry Pi Educational Linux Distro” ? It’s our tweaked distribution for teaching electronics using the Raspberry Pi. But wait, there’s more! Try our new Raspberry Pi WebIDE! The easiest way to learn programming on a Raspberry Pi.