Category: Raspberry Pi

raspberry pi 4b 2gb – more working observations

whbeebe
Arduino IDE configured to communicate with Circuit Playground Express

Working with the Raspberry Pi 4B continues. I installed the Arduino IDE version 1.8.9 (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software) and was able to quickly start it and have it working with a Circuit Playground Express. I found a sample C++ program on GitHub (https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPlayground/tree/master/examples/FidgetSpinner) and created a simple project, compiling it, but not uploading it. That will come later. I just wanted to check out the basic installation to see if it worked up to a point, and it all does. My only comment is that when you download the IDE that you choose the ARM 32-bit version. It’s a standard tar file, no compression. Once untarred, then execute install.sh. It will not only place everything where it needs to be, but set up permissions, groups, and add a menu entry under Programming.

The IDE seems fully functional. One aspect of using the IDE natively on the RPi 4B with 2GB is that compiles are noticeably slower than they are on my MacBook Pro. But that’s to be expected, and the time taken is not excessive. Just noticeable.

During this period of testing I’ve also managed to force Raspbian to hit the swap space. Unlike the 1GB RPi 4B, the 2GB version’s use of swap is one to two orders less than the 1GB version with the same application load. Right now I’m seeing 4.5MB out of 2GB of swap being used, or essentially next to nothing.

Finally, I installed two more software packages, Swift for ARM and PowerShell Version 7 Preview 2 for ARM.

In order to install Swift on Raspbian Buster, you neeed to add a reference to the repo, then install Swift from that repo. Those steps are:

curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/swift-arm/release/script.deb.sh | sudo bashsudo apt install swift5=5.0.2-v0.4

Once installed you can run this basic test:

pi@raspberrypi:~ $ swiftc --versionSwift version 5.0.2 (swift-5.0.2-RELEASE)Target: armv6-unknown-linux-gnueabihfpi@raspberrypi:~ $

You can read about Swift ARM here: https://swift-arm.com/
Note that you should check to see what the current version of Swift ARM is when you install. I chose 5.0.2-v0.4 because that was what was published in the announcement on the web site.

PowerShell Core for Raspbian Buster is available as a regular tar file here: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases

Once downloaded, create a directory on your login home. In my case I simply created ~/powershell. Step into it and untar the newly downloaded archive into the newly created directory. Once untarred simply run pwsh. For example:

pi@raspberrypi:~/powershell $ ./pwsh PowerShell 7.0.0-preview.2Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.https://aka.ms/powershellType 'help' to get help.PS /home/pi/powershell> $PSVersionTableName   Value----   -----PSVersion  7.0.0-preview.2PSEdition  CoreGitCommitId7.0.0-preview.2OS Linux 4.19.58-v7l+ #1245 SMP Fri Jul 12 17:31:45 BST 2019Platform   UnixPSCompatibleVersions   {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}PSRemotingProtocolVersion  2.3SerializationVersion   1.1.0.1WSManStackVersion  3.0PS /home/pi/powershell>

And that’s about it.

One more thing. The Flirc case runs warm, but not excessively so. CPU temperatures seem to run between 45°C and 50°C. I’m still working on a 40-pin ribbon cable connector that will easily fit inside the case over the GPIO header.

the flirc raspberry pi 4 case

whbeebe
Flirc case with Raspberry Pi 4, 2GB, installed

Pros

  • Solid aluminum case with excellent finishing. Every exit hole was clean and properly centered over every port. Nothing blocked up.
  • Excellent quality plastic top and bottom finishing. Bottom includes pre-installed feet.
  • Build-in heat sink for the processor. Conducts heat away from the processor and into the entire aluminum case.
  • Extremely easy to insert the Raspberry Pi 4 and fasten case and Pi together.
  • Insertion and removal of the SDXC card through the case is the best I’ve ever seen and experienced in a case.
  • Processor temperature in this case is a good 30°C less than running it in the official Raspberry Pi 4 case. As far as I’m concerned the official Raspberry Pi 4 case is a waste of your money.

Cons

  • Can’t use a flat cable with a standard header to plug into the the GPIO port. The distance between the posts used to hold the Pi on that side match the holes, but are too thick and as a consequence too close together.
  • CPU temperature is not as low as I had hoped. The processor runs about 10°C cooler than allowing it to run opened up. I had expected around 20°C.

Overall

If you want to buy one for yourself then here’s the link: https://flirc.tv/more/raspberry-pi-4-case

The problem with the GPIO flat cable connector is with a continuous flat cable. I’m sure if you’re using a subset of the GPIO pins and using individual wires bundled together you won’t have a problem. I’m in the process of looking for a special flat cable with a header to use with the Flirc case.

I paid $12 for the case. I’ve certainly spent more for less. I know that the official red-and-white Raspberry Pi 4 case is $5. But I still say, considering how much heat the Raspberry Pi 4 dumps out, that you’re better off with a Flirc case than the official enclosure. Even with heat sinks attached, the official enclosure has no venting; the system will just cook itself inside the official case unless you remove the top like I wound up eventually doing.

The Flirc case is not the one case to rule them all. If I need cooling beyond what Flirc currently offers then I’m going to have to use an active cooling solution, i.e. something with a fan. But for the time being, using this Pi as an official itty bitty computer, the Flirc case is superb.