Install VNC on the Pi with "sudo apt-get install tightvncserver".Set the host name to something like "MyPi".On the Pi, use the command "raspi-config" to setup defaults.Login to the Pi using "ssh where ? is the IP number from above.Using the "Attached Devices" page on the router, find the IP address of the new Pi.Make sure there is an Ethernet connection to the Pi. When complete, run "sync" to flush the pipes. The dd command takes about five minutes.Write the to a SD card with "dd bs=4M if=-wheezy-raspbian.img of=/dev/sdb".
Download the latest Raspbian (Debian Wheezy).This module makes it easy to get real-time weather from either Yahoo,, or NOAA.įirst things first, here is a checklist to setting up a raw Raspberry Pi: Here is a link where you can download the module. The extra Python module is called "pywapi".
All the software is written in Python with just one added Python module. To setup a new Raspberry Pi with the needed software is not that hard. If anyone is interested in the arcade case post a comment below and I'll upload the DXF files. This time, however, I chopped up an old USB cable so soldered wires on the Pi was not required. So, I used the same trick of using a USB car charger again. The HDMI monitor also requires a 12Vdc feed. Turns out, it's a major pain in the neck trying to plug things in and out of the Pi since there is not much room between the Pi and the side walls. If I ever make a Gen 3 design it would defiantly include a removable / slide out tray for the Pi. I loosely based my arcade enclosure on the iPad arcade box. My local hacker space i3Detroit has a really nice 150 watt cutter that can make mince meat of 4.5mm acrylic. Since the cuteness of the lunchbox was long over it was time for some laser cut acrylic. By definition, an open frame anything needs a frame to mount in. Plus, while the lunchbox at first seemed cute later it seemed kinda cheesy.īack on eBay I found a nice looking $54 dollar HDMI open frame monitor with a resolution of 800圆00. The small font on the display was more fuzzy than I would like. While it all kinda worked I was not really satisfied with the quality of the video on the composite display. As a final hack, I soldered a pair of wires directly between the car charger and the Raspberry Pi - not my best idea. The 12Vdc also goes to the USB car charger which steps the voltage down to a regulated 5Vdc.
Therefore, the lunchbox has an external 12Vdc wall wart power supply. For around $6 bucks I found a 5Vdc by 2 Amp car changer. To resolve this, I bought a cheap USB car charger from Amazon. The Raspberry Pi, of course, needs 5Vdc as the supply voltage.
The display has a reported resolution of 656 by 416 pixels which defiantly makes displaying a lot of useful information a challenge! The display requires 12Vdc as the supply voltage. I picked up the one in the picture on Ebay for $22 bucks - simply search on "4.3 Inch TFT LCD Car Rear View Monitor Car Monitor". My first thought was to use a little composite video display. What's needed is a permanent counter-top display that the kids are not going to swipe like the iPad. Plus, just when I go to look at the weather, I discover someone has taken the iPad / weather display. However, it's a pain to load and unload the iPad in and out of the arcade cradle case. Our family (OK, mostly me) has enjoyed having the family iPad on the kitchen counter, when not in use, quietly showing the current outside weather conditions. However, it's a good start and it looks really cool on my desk. This build could easily be extended to provide much more than simply the weather. Actually, to call this build a "weather station" is a bit of an under statement.
This Instructable will show you how to build a really cool Raspberry Pi Internet-based weather station. Thank you so much go to Gene Liverman at PiWeatherRock for take Up the mantle on this project. So here is the link you will want to follow: HOWEVER, there is an alternative project that does basically the same thing (only better - this Instructable was always just a hack). The weather services for the weather data, used in this Instructable, no longer work. This Instructable has fallen out of date.