RPiBlog

MyPi is a feature rich embedded motherboard for use with the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and is specifically designed for use in Industrial IoT applications.

By using the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, the platform is fully compatible with existing Raspberry Pi ecosystem. This in turn will allow you to leverage the seemingly endless libraries of code, application notes and peripherals that are already available.

Product Features:
· Integrated 10/100 Ethernet Adapter

Pimodules has come up with a new UPS PIco with the name UPS PIco HV3.0A. The UPS PIco HV3.0A is an advanced uninterruptible power supply for the Raspberry Pi® 3 that adds a wealth of innovative power back-up functionality and development features to the innovative micro-computer! With it's pre-installed peripherals, it can be used as all-in-one tool that allows you to implement projects with ease and simplicity.

               It is specially designed for the Raspberry Pi® 3 but it's also compatible with all other models. It comes equipped with 3 User Keys, 3 User LEDs, 3 different types of high capacity batteries, 2 x 3 pins bi-stable relay (Zero Power), as also 3 x A/D 12 bit converters pre-adjusted to 5V, 15V and 30V conversion.

Power Specifications:

Pimodules have implemented a Dynamic Power Tracking feature that can automatically adjust battery charging current according to power availability ranging from  50mA – 1000 mAh. This feature has been especially designed to support Solar Panel Powering Raspberry Pi® Systems, as the output from solar panel can vary according to weather conditions. UPS PIco HV3.0A can accept external voltage input ranging from 7 V DC up to 28 V DC !! This makes it ideal for use in Cars, Trucks, Buses and any industrial applications where voltage is usually higher than 24V DC. The External Supply Powering Input is equipped with Over Current protection, Over Voltage as also with Zero Voltage Drop Inverse Polarity Protection in order to use all available energy from the solar panel.


Product Overview:

The UPS PIco HV3.0A is equipped with a standard 450 mAh 15C LiPO battery specially designed to enable safe shutdown during mains power failure. The included battery provides enough power to keep running the system for 5-8 minutes. Additionally, you can also upgrade the battery capacity to 4000mAh, 8000 mAh or 12000 mAh batteries (optional on special request). With 12000 mAh batteries on board, you can use your Raspberry Pi for more than 32 hours without a power supply connected!

The UPS PIco HV3.0A 450 mAh Stack Plus design supports 2 types of lithium cell chemistry: LiPO as also LiFePO4. LiFePO4 batteries are useful in applications where temperature environment is more restricted which can range from -10 degrees up to +60 degrees. In addition, the LiFePO4 chemistry offers a longer cycle life than other lithium-ion cells out there. It can achieve up to 2000 cycles!!

With additional Terminal Blocks Add-on UPS PIco HV3.0A 450 mAh Stack Plus offers a professional I/O connectivity for any industrial application including 12V level converter for both Serial Ports (one of them must be selected). The current supply delivered via GPIOs to the Raspberry Pi® is 2.6A. In addition to this, a independent supply of battery backed output of [email protected] mA, [email protected] mA is available for the devices connected to the Raspberry Pi®. This is useful for devices that needs to be kept on power on mode even if Raspberry Pi® is shut down or not powered (i.e, WiFi Routers, Motion Detectors, HDDs etc).


Peripherals

1. RTCC: UPS PIco HV3.0A comes with a integrated Hardware Real Time Clock and Calendar, which keeps time even when the system is running without access to the Network. The Hardware RTCC is backed up and powered from the integrated system battery. The RTCC current consumption is only 1 uA. The integrated Hardware RTCC enables a new extremely usefully feature – the Events Triggered RTCC Based System Actions Scheduler. The Events Triggered RTCC Based System Actions Scheduler allows to timely start up, or shutdown the Raspberry Pi® on various internal or external events that include, 1-wire, IR, A/D, RTCC, temperature, Opto Coupled Input or just on requested Time Stamp.

2. Relay: The Zero Power Bi Stable Relay offers two independent sets of NO terminals. It can switch loads up to 1A, Due to unique design, no power is required when Bi Stable Relay is in Set/Reset state, making it ideal for battery powered applications.Two independent 3 pins sets are offered (NC, NO, COM) which are switched at the same time.

3. Monitoring: You can now monitor high voltage signals safely with the Opto Coupled interface, which can be read as digital or as analogue input. It's 12 bit buffered A/D comes with built-in ESD protection. In addition, you can monitor system health such as Battery Voltage, External Powering Voltage, Raspberry Pi Voltage, Current Consumption, System Temperature and 1-wire interface.

4. IR Receiver: The UPS PIco HV3.0A can also be equipped with an optional Infra-Red Receiver which is routed directly to GPIO18 via the PCB. This opens the door for remote operation of the Raspberry Pi® and UPS Pico!

5. Sound Transducer: The embedded Electromagnetic Programmable Sounder can be used as a simple buzzer but also as music player due to implemented sound generator and dedicated programmer interface.

6. Secondary Serial Port: With UPS PIco HV3.0A you can have access to a integrated secondary serial port which is compatible with both 3.3V & 5V TTL logic level. When used with Terminal Block it can support up-to 12V TTL logic level conversion. Their software driver is under development and will be delivered within 1 month after system delivery.

7. LEDS: UPS PIco HV3.0A comes with six independent LED's to inform user about system status.

Finally, the UPS PIco HV3.0A features an Automatic Temperature Control PWM FAN controller, and can be equipped with a micro fan kit, which enables the use of the Raspberry Pi® in extreme conditions including very high temperature environments. The FAN speed is automatically adjusted according to system temperature conditions semi linearly (8 levels) from 0 % (FAN is OFF) up to 100% by increasing and decreasing rotation speed. This guarantees a always cool Raspberry Pi® with low noise level.


Technical Specifications:

Product Comparison Table:   UPS PIco HV3.0A_Product_Comparison.pdf

ExpEYES (Experiments for Young Engineers and Scientists) is a science and experimentation platform designed by the PHOENIX project, which forms part of the Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC) in New Delhi, India. It can be described as an ultra low cost electronics lab capable of being used as an oscilloscope and a signal generator.

It lets you develop science and electronics experiments, demonstrations, and projects without getting too involved in the nitty-gritty details of electronics or computer programming. In other words it basically converts your Raspberry Pi into a portable science and electronics laboratory.

 Features:

● 12 bit Analog Input/Output
● Digital I/O
● Time interval measurements
● Waveform Generation
● USB Powered
● GUI for 50 experiments
● Python Programmable
● Works as a Test Equipment
● 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.5 cm3, 60 gm.
● Open Hardware

expEYES is powered by an AVR ATmega16 MCU , running at 8 MHz. It uses FT232RL chip to communicate with the Raspberry Pi. expEYES is capable of acting as a four-channel oscilloscope with 12-bit analogue resolution, microsecond timing resolution and a 250 kHz sampling frequency. It also comes equipped with an built-in signal generator.

Interfacing with Raspberry Pi

First, update your system's package list by entering the following command in LXTerminal or from the command line: 

sudo apt-get update

Next, run the following command 

sudo apt-get install expeyes 

ExpEYES has a number of dependencies that are required for it to run under Linux, as well as a number of other recommended libraries. To avoid any problems later, you can run the following command in order to make sure that they are all installed:
 
sudo apt-get install python python-expeyes python-imaging-tk python-tk grace tix python-numpy python-scipy python-pygrace

expEYES Hardware Availability

ExpEYES is currently available from the following firms:-

1.  Fab.to.Lab (Ships Internationally) (Cheapest Online)
2.  Pi-Supply (Ships Internationally)

 

The UniPi board is designed to fit on the cheap and easy to use Raspberry Pi mini computer. If has 8 changeover relays, 14 digital inputs, single channel 1-wire interface, 2 analog inputs 0-10V and one analog 0-10V output. Furthermore the second I2C port of the RPi features 5V level converter and ESD protection, so you can easily connect other devices. The same applies to the UART! 

Numato’s 8 Channel Bluetooth GPIO module is low cost easily deployable solution for connecting your PC to other electronic circuitry through Bluetooth. A USB Bluetooth Dongle or Bluetooth integrated PC/Laptop would be sufficient to communicate with this device. 8 TTL compatible GPIOs available and 6 Analog input channels (shared with GPIOs). 10 Bit Analog input resolution. All GPIOs can be individually configured as input or output. 20ma Source/Sink capacity per IO.

Unfortunately all the 17 pins of Raspberry Pi are digital which can either output HIGH or LOW. But by using a simple circuit (poor man's A/D converter) you can measure multiple level of values using a single GPIO pin. It consists of a basic “RC” charging circuit in which a Resistor in placed series with a Capacitor. The voltage across the capacitor rises when voltage is applied across the RC network. Using the formula [t = RC ] where t is the time,R is resistance in ohms,and C is capacitance in Farads and the time taken to register a HIGH on a GPIO pin we can roughly estimate the analog value.

Algorithm:-

Step 1: Set any GPIO pin as an output and set it Low.This ensures that no charge is present in capacitor and both the terminals are at 0V.

Step 2: Now set the GPIO pin as an input.This will starts a flow of current through the resistors and through the capacitor to ground. The voltage across the capacitor starts to rise. The time taken will be proportional to the input.

Step 3: Read the value from GPIO pin and keep incrementing a counter variable until the value is LOW.

Step 4:  At some point the value from GPIO will register a HIGH. When it does return the value of the counter.

Step 5: Set the GPIO pin as an output and repeat the process as required.

Python Implementation:-

#!/usr/local/bin/python
# GPIO   : RPi.GPIO v3.1.0a

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
import time
GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)

# Define function to measure charge time
def RC_Analog (Pin):
  counter = 0
  # Discharge capacitor
  GPIO.setup(Pin, GPIO.OUT)
  GPIO.output(Pin, GPIO.LOW)
  time.sleep(0.1)
  GPIO.setup(Pin, GPIO.IN)
  # Count loops until voltage across capacitor reads high on GPIO
  while(GPIO.input(Pin)==GPIO.LOW):
        counter =counter+1
  return counter

# Main program loop

while True:
  print RC_Analog(4) # Measure timing using GPIO4

Example Circuit:-





Note:- The above technique will only work with sensors that act like resistors like photocells, thermistors, flex sensors, force-sensitive resistors, etc.

It cannot be used with sensors that have a pure analog output like IR distance sensors or analog accelerometers.


Source:- Adafruit