Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 13-2:
Connecting the
Slice of Pi to a
breadboard
he connections for an XBee wireless interface could also prove useful if you are considering using
the Pi in an embedded computing project. When combined with a compatible transceiver—such
as an XBee, RF-BEE or RN-XV module—it allows for wireless access to the Pi's UART serial port.
Such access could be used to read sensor details from the Pi, take control of the Pi's software or
even control a Pi-powered robot from a remote location.
Finally, the prototyping area provides an alternative to breadboards or stripboards for
smaller circuit designs. If you are considering developing a small add-on module for the
Raspberry Pi, such as a sensor board for reading temperatures or detecting moisture, the
required components can be soldered directly to the Slice of Pi. hanks to the low cost of the
board, this provides an easy way to create bespoke add-on modules for the Pi that are entirely
self-contained, with no wiring required—just connect the Slice of Pi to the Raspberry Pi's
GPIO port and the device is ready to go (see Figure 13-3).
he disadvantage of the Slice of Pi lies in its simplicity. Its compact size means that it is
unsuitable for the creation of larger or more complex prototypes, and while the header lay-
out provides some protection against short circuits, there's no protection against the use of
5 V components that can damage the Pi's 3.3 V logic circuits. he labelling is also diferent to
that used to typically describe the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins, which can lead to confusion
when using a GPIO library not written with the Slice of Pi in mind. Table 13-1 provides a
translation from one labelling system to another.
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