Raspberry Pi Catch-All

Ah, okay, I think this is the problem:

320 × 480 resolution for sharper display

Only 320 pixels wide means that most modern-ish games will only fit maybe half their display, left to right. (most assume 640x480).

Scumm games were mostly 320x200 res, though, so at least in theory, you might be able to get it running. However, the image will need to be stretched to 320x480, which is kind of weird, and I'm not sure whether the program has that kind of scaling option in its settings. It can scale to 640x480, so scaling to 320x480 would require only a tiny bit of a logic change (ie, render 1:1 horizontally, rather than 2:1, while not changing vertical scaling), but whether they've actually implemented that in the code, I have no earthly idea.

If I were trying to do that, what I'd do first would be to hook up the Pi to an HDMI monitor, and prove to myself that the interpreter worked, and that the game ran well at 640x480, proving the Pi was fast enough. If I liked those results, then I'd dig into rendering at 320x480 on the small screen, because that's probably the hard part.

However, if I didn't have access to HDMI, then I'd be trying to figure out the 320 thing first.

I got access to HDMI. I will try it on that. Thanks

So I ran into a fun project to do. I'm going to make a magic mirror for my wife. I ordered a 24" monitor, going to de-bezel it and stick it to a two-way mirror, attach it to a Pi (And Pi Camera) and stick it all in a frame. This will recognize my wife when she uses the mirror, send her custom messages, display the weather forecast, time, a calendar, and a whole host of other options. It can even connect to Alexa, which she already has. Pretty nifty!

Nice! Sounds like something Tony Stark would have in his bathroom.

Rallick wrote:

So I ran into a fun project to do. I'm going to make a magic mirror for my wife. I ordered a 24" monitor, going to de-bezel it and stick it to a two-way mirror, attach it to a Pi (And Pi Camera) and stick it all in a frame. This will recognize my wife when she uses the mirror, send her custom messages, display the weather forecast, time, a calendar, and a whole host of other options. It can even connect to Alexa, which she already has. Pretty nifty!

Are you following a guide of any sort or just doing it from scratch yourself?

I'm using a guide, loosely. I'm out shopping right now but I'll post a link when I get home.

I NEED IT NOW ;P

(Thank you.)

Yes, please post the guide. This sounds like an amazing project!

I don't know if this is the one Rallick is using, but it's a pretty popular one

That's not the guide I'm following, though it looks good. I'm actually using two versions of the same guide - this one for the physical construction of the device. He has since updated the software part to be more modular, for which I will be going here, and for the complete library (as far as I can tell), here.

I've gone with an acrylic two-way mirror, as that reduces weight and increases strength, and is clearer in allowing the light of the monitor to pass through, resulting in a sharper image. It is more prone to scratching, but given that it's going to be hanging on a wall it shouldn't need to be cleaned or moved quite so often, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem.

I have already ordered all the items, and I'm excited to get started. I already have the pi so I can start installing the software, though I think I probably should study for my semester finals first... Damn school getting in the way of fun projects!

What is the current RPi people are buying? I want it to have wifi and I want to be able to attach some type night vision camera to it. Thanks!

Depending on how much processing power it needs, either a Pi Zero W at the low end or a 3 model B+ at the high end (unless there's a really good deal on the original 3 model B).

Unless you know otherwise, you probably want a 3B+.

Regrettably, the original 3 model B is still the most likely one to find at your local Target, but at least you wouldn't be gouged on shipping.

Amazon has some Raspberry Pi Starter Kits on sale for 20%+ off today.

And with the Steam Link in beta on the Raspberry Pi, it could prove to be a great time to get one.

I'm not supposed to know, but the wife ordered me a B3+ for Xmas. I originally didn't know what I was going to do with it and just added it to my Amazon wish list as a way to play around with hardware programming, but the closer I get to completing my Computer Science degree and the more established I become as a Systems Engineer working on the aircraft, computer, and radio systems that I used in the Air Force, the less interested in Software Engineering I become. To be clear - the degree plan itself has been extremely useful, I just have no desire to write code day-in and day-out. I do enjoy scripting from time-to-time.

With the release of the beta software for Steam Link, I think I have my first Pi Project laid out for me. After that, who knows?!

muraii wrote:

And with the Steam Link in beta on the Raspberry Pi, it could prove to be a great time to get one.

I saw that today on YouTube and though "Wow, that's a great project for tonight". Especially since I have a Raspberry Pi right by my desk at home not doing anything significant...

Really interested to hear if a Steam Link Pi performs any differently than the now-discontinued Link devices.

I mean, Links were selling for $5 and even $2.50 for quite a while there. Granted, the Links are all sold out now.

My current Pi project is refining presence detection for when I enter and leave my office.

I've written a Python script that looks for my cell phone's Bluetooth MAC address, and when my presence changes from being outside the room to entering the room, it sends a command over the network to all my Wifi-enabled LED strip controllers to turn them on, and sends the "turn off" command when I leave the room.

vypre wrote:

the closer I get to completing my Computer Science degree and the more established I become as a Systems Engineer working on the aircraft, computer, and radio systems that I used in the Air Force, the less interested in Software Engineering I become.

Not sure if this will be of interest to you, but may be for others. With a USB antenna you can set up your raspi to receive ADS-B and MLAT information from airplanes with PiAware! You can pull up a website that shows the airplanes that your antenna is picking up and see who's flying around you. Plus the data funnel into Flightaware systems so you can see how your site stacks up against others in the region.

I did a project on this during my graduate degree that led to some really cool work on fleet management and tracking runway operations.

ActualDragon wrote:

Not sure if this will be of interest to you, but may be for others. With a USB antenna you can set up your raspi to receive ADS-B and MLAT information from airplanes with PiAware! You can pull up a website that shows the airplanes that your antenna is picking up and see who's flying around you. Plus the data funnel into Flightaware systems so you can see how your site stacks up against others in the region.

I did a project on this during my graduate degree that led to some really cool work on fleet management and tracking runway operations. :-D

That IS cool. I'll have to take a look at it when I get the chance. Thanks for the tip!

What was your degree in?

vypre wrote:
ActualDragon wrote:

Not sure if this will be of interest to you, but may be for others. With a USB antenna you can set up your raspi to receive ADS-B and MLAT information from airplanes with PiAware! You can pull up a website that shows the airplanes that your antenna is picking up and see who's flying around you. Plus the data funnel into Flightaware systems so you can see how your site stacks up against others in the region.

I did a project on this during my graduate degree that led to some really cool work on fleet management and tracking runway operations. :-D

That IS cool. I'll have to take a look at it when I get the chance. Thanks for the tip!

What was your degree in?

Civil engineering, specifically transportation. I usually do work around road travel but this was a fun diversion.

bobbywatson wrote:
muraii wrote:

And with the Steam Link in beta on the Raspberry Pi, it could prove to be a great time to get one.

I saw that today on YouTube and though "Wow, that's a great project for tonight". Especially since I have a Raspberry Pi right by my desk at home not doing anything significant...

Welp, that went nowhere fast. For some reason, whenever I start streaming, my TV just goes black and displays a 'signal not compatible' message. Switching from 1080 to 720 did not change anything. Oh well. Maybe it's because I was using a Pi 3 instead of a Pi 3 B+...

bobbywatson wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:
muraii wrote:

And with the Steam Link in beta on the Raspberry Pi, it could prove to be a great time to get one.

I saw that today on YouTube and though "Wow, that's a great project for tonight". Especially since I have a Raspberry Pi right by my desk at home not doing anything significant...

Welp, that went nowhere fast. For some reason, whenever I start streaming, my TV just goes black and displays a 'signal not compatible' message. Switching from 1080 to 720 did not change anything. Oh well. Maybe it's because I was using a Pi 3 instead of a Pi 3 B+...

According to this article, it should work on the Pi 3 as well: https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/04/...

Do you have the "Stretch" OS running?

Has anyone on here made a garage door opener/monitor with their Pi? I see various solutions on the web and plan on doing one soonish.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:

Has anyone on here made a garage door opener/monitor with their Pi? I see various solutions on the web and plan on doing one soonish.

-BEP

I've been considering it. I already have a webcam setup.

lunchbox12682 wrote:
bepnewt wrote:

Has anyone on here made a garage door opener/monitor with their Pi? I see various solutions on the web and plan on doing one soonish.

-BEP

I've been considering it. I already have a webcam setup.

Cam to watch the garage door or just one in general to watch the house? What cam? Is it good in the dark? What's its middle name?

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:
lunchbox12682 wrote:
bepnewt wrote:

Has anyone on here made a garage door opener/monitor with their Pi? I see various solutions on the web and plan on doing one soonish.

-BEP

I've been considering it. I already have a webcam setup.

Cam to watch the garage door or just one in general to watch the house? What cam? Is it good in the dark? What's its middle name?

-BEP

This one is in the garage pointed towards the doors. I grabbed a Wyze cam since they are so cheap. No issues so far, but it is cloud based viewing. So there are security/privacy issues, but none I can't accept at the moment.

vypre wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:
bobbywatson wrote:
muraii wrote:

And with the Steam Link in beta on the Raspberry Pi, it could prove to be a great time to get one.

I saw that today on YouTube and though "Wow, that's a great project for tonight". Especially since I have a Raspberry Pi right by my desk at home not doing anything significant...

Welp, that went nowhere fast. For some reason, whenever I start streaming, my TV just goes black and displays a 'signal not compatible' message. Switching from 1080 to 720 did not change anything. Oh well. Maybe it's because I was using a Pi 3 instead of a Pi 3 B+...

According to this article, it should work on the Pi 3 as well: https://www.engadget.com/2018/12/04/...

Do you have the "Stretch" OS running?

I am running a fresh install of Retropie, so yes, it is stretch. I will try again tonight with my computer monitor, we'll see if I get better results. (I'm not optimistic.)

Edit: Oh, hey, look at that, commenting the 'overscan_scale' setting in /boot/config.txt fixes the issue, and it seems to work now. I will want to test it on a wired connection though, because the 2.4Ghz wi-fi on my Pi3 is definitely not fast enough. (I tested it with Assassin's Creed II.)

Edit 2: While it's a clear visual downgrade on my fairly old TV (the colors are off somewhat when running from the Pi, and there is an overscan issue), it does run pretty well with a wired connection between the Pi and my wireless router (although my desktop computer is on my 5GHz wireless network). I tested it with Assassin's Creed II, Tomb Raider Legend, and Persona 3 running on PCSX2. All of them seemed playable.