Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Hardware is less forgiving than software; if you make a mistake with code, you might get an
error, the program might crash, or in rare cases you might cause your Raspberry Pi to reset.
If you make a mistake in hardware, then you can cause permanent damage. As such, hard-
ware engineers tend to check and double-check their work before applying the power!
When experimenting you should beware of short-circuiting your projects. Make sure that
nothing conductive touches your circuit. Tools, metal watchstraps and jewellery, unused
wires, spare components and tin foil have all been known to damage circuits - keep your
working area clear of anything you don't need and make sure that nothing metallic can acci-
dentally touch your Raspberry Pi or circuit.
Static Discharge
You may have felt a small electric shock due to static sometimes. his occurs when a charge
builds up and then discharges to a conductor, which you feel as a small shock. If you are hold-
ing a component when this happens, that large voltage will low through the component and
may damage it. Other objects such as plastic can become charged too and then discharge
through a component. As such, you should take care to avoid this static discharge through
components or circuits. In industry, conductive work surfaces and wrist straps are earthed to
prevent static buildup. his may be an extreme solution for a hobby; you can discharge your-
self by touching something earthed like a water tap, and avoid working on surfaces that are
prone to picking up static charge like plastics - for example, avoid working on nylon carpets
or plastic bags.
You may have noticed components are supplied in antistatic bags, or static-dissipative bags or
static-barrier bags. These bags are made from special plastic designed to protect the contents
from being zapped by static discharges and conduct any charge away. Beware that some of
these bags can be slightly conductive and so may interact with your powered-up circuit.
Obtaining Components
Another diference with hardware is that you can't download everything you need from the
Internet! However, you can do the next best thing and order parts online. here are a num-
ber of online electronics retailers that supply parts, including the two worldwide distributors
of the Raspberry Pi, element14/Premier Farnell/Newark and RS Components. Pimoroni,
SparkFun, SK Pang, Cool Components, Adafruit and other web stores have a smaller range
but cater well to electronic hobbyists.
Maplin Electronics and Radio Shack have shops on the high street with a smaller selection of
parts.
