Tutorial - How to set up simple home automation system - Part II

The Raspberry Pi

On this page

• The Raspberry Pi B/B+
• Essential Hardware
• Essential Software

The Raspberry Pi B+

The Raspberry Pi B/B+ is a mini-computer:

• plug a mouse and keyboard into the USB ports,
• attach a monitor or TV to the HDMI port,
• insert a micro SD card with Raspbian,

and you have a fully functional computer running Linux.

Internet access can be via the built-in Ethernet port, or you can plug a wifi dongle into one of the USB ports.

In February 2015, the Raspberry Pi foundation announced the Raspberry Pi 2. It has the exact same layout as the model 1 B+ and runs Raspbian, so this guide works for both models.

Essential Hardware

A Raspberry Pi comes without any other hardware, so there are some extras you'll need to gather. You might have some of these lying around, or you could buy a starter kit that has most of these included:

• A micro SD card of at least 4GB
• A micro SD card reader. Some computers (especially laptops) come with an SD card reader. With amicro SD card adapter you can use it to read & write micro SD cards. Alternatively, you can buy a USB micro SD reader.
• A 5V power adaptor to power your Pi (at least 1000-1200 mA)
• An HDMI cable to connect a monitor to your Pi*
• A USB keyboard and mouse you can spare for a few minutes*
• If you want to connect to your wifi instead of via a cable, a wifi dongle
• And if you want to fit your Pi in a nice case, you'll find plenty of options in various online shops (or you can 3D print one)

* Not entirely essential. You could connect your Pi to your router, find its IP address, and do everything through a terminal window on your main computer.

Product links to Amazon.com, with the price at the time of writing:

• CanaKit Raspberry Pi B+ Complete Starter Kit with WiFi Adapter ($59.95)
• CanaKit Raspberry Pi 2 Complete Starter Kit with WiFi Adapter ($79.95)
• Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard with Mouse Touchpad ($17.99)
• Transcend USB 3.0 SD + Micro SD Card Reader ($6.29)
• Edimax Wifi USB adapter ($8.99)
• Raspberry Pi 1500mA Power Supply ($6.99)

A micro SD USB reader, a micro SD adapter, and an SD card slot in a laptop.

Essential Software

Assuming you have a Windows computer, there are a few (free) programs you'll need:

• Win32 Disk Imager, a free tool you can use to write to and read from a (micro) SD card.
• MobaXterm, a free terminal program that lets you connect to your Pi from your computer.
• The latest Raspbian image, the OS of choice for your Pi.

Mac Alternatives (I don't have a Mac so I can't recommend any):

• Win32 Disk Imager alternatives
• MobaXterm alternatives