{"id":14575,"date":"2013-12-28T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T18:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=14575"},"modified":"2013-12-28T18:00:11","modified_gmt":"2013-12-28T18:00:11","slug":"raspberry-pi-computer-and-barometers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=14575","title":{"rendered":"Raspberry Pi Computer – And Barometers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Raspberry Pi<\/a> was released about 18 months ago, and I was fascinated by it all the way up to that release. I had one pre-ordered, and it arrived late last summer (2012). For anyone who doesn\u2019t know, it is a tiny, single-board computer which was designed to sell for $25 (or $35 for the higher-spec version). The photo below is misleading \u2013 it looks huge, but the board is only 8.5cm long, which is not much bigger than a credit card.\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

It is British-designed, and the main purpose<\/a> of the registered charity behind it was to help teaching computers in schools. As of October 2013, 1.75m Pi boards have been sold<\/a> \u2013 1m of which were made in the UK.<\/p>\n

Now, as I\u2019ve explained before, I am a gadget freak. For me, owning a gadget is about 80-90% (maybe a bit more) as satisfying as actually using it. To that end, my Raspberry Pi has remained in its original packaging since I got it last year waiting for me to get the necessary urge to take it to the next level.<\/p>\n

Changing the subject for a moment, over Christmas I was searching the web for a suitable barometer which would interface with my normal PC so that I could log the data. I \"BMP085didn\u2019t want a full weather station \u2013 I\u2019m not that big an anorak \u2013 just a barometer. But I couldn\u2019t find one.<\/p>\n

Next, I had the idea that there might be a module I could buy and tinker with. And there was \u2013 the BMP085. It contains pressure, altitude, and temperature sensors. Things were a bit confusing for a while, because the name \u201cArduino\u201d kept cropping up. Of course, after I actually looked it up<\/a>, I realised that it  is a single board microcontroller (actually, there are various models), developed in Italy, which is used to experiment with and prototype electronic systems. All of a sudden, the prospect of a nice little nerd project started to grab me by the throat, and I began to curse myself for not looking into this before Christmas because of the delayed post I would now have to live with. But after a few moments at the very shallow end of the Arduino pool, it suddenly occurred to me: I wonder if my Raspberry Pi could do this? And it turns out, it can. So it was time to get it up and running\u2026<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2013 The Parts<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

These are just to get the Raspberry Pi up \u2013 the barometer will come later (after I get the extra bits delivered):<\/p>\n