Raspberry Pi

[fd3]

I have come into possession of an old Raspbery Pi (~6 years old) NOS.  I was thinking this might be something that might interest #1 son (11) but I have f-all idea what you can do with them, so it's not clear to e why this might interest him.

[Wowbagger]

I have quite a recent one which acts as a repository for data from my weather station. I don't know what to do with them either, but my son does.

http://tickfield.thewalkers.org.uk/weewx/ refers.

[rusky]

Get him to build a retro pi console that way he learns how to use it and can play paperboy and other 80's games 

[Kim]

It's a computer; you can do all the usual computery things with them.  Main differences between a Pi and a typical PC:

- It's cheap.
- It's slow and limited in RAM (especially an older model, which will be barely usable for normal desktop applications like web browsing).  The hardware is optimised for cost in a way that makes network and USB performance underwhelming.  Using an SD card as a system disk also makes it fairly sluggish.
- It can't run Microsoft Windows, but is well supported by several Linux OSes, and some geekier alternatives.
- It's got lots of lovely IO that you can use for connecting sensors, blinkenlights, robotics projects, bonkers art projects, etc.
- It doesn't use very much electricity, which means you can plausibly run it from batteries for electronics project stuff, and also makes it a reasonable choice for lightweight server applications.
- It's cheap, consistent and readily available, which means that lots of people have used it as a basis for the sort of things you can do with an embedded Linux system.  Think media players, emulating classic gaming systems, weather stations, time servers, etc, etc.

It was conceived as cheap hardware for kids to learn to program on.  Think of it as the BBC Micro for the 2000s (at ZX Spectrum prices), and you've got the right sort of idea.

[fuaran]

Can set up a webcam, if you have anything interesting to point it at. Either using the Pi camera modules, or most USB webcams would work.
If you want to make it clever, can set it for motion detection. Or just take regular photos, then make a timelapse video.
Plus infrared lights, if you want some sort of night vision.

Or a nice project here for making a wildlife camera. Put it in a plastic box with a battery, then can leave it outside. https://mynaturewatch.net/
I had a Pi connected to a camera in a nest box.

[tonycollinet]

I'm making one of those (birdbox cam) for spring.

Alternatively - here is a list of 9 pages of projects:
https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/projects

[aidan.f]

Sonic Pi sound synthesiser great introduction to programming concepts The first tutorial gets the user to produce a farting sound which should appeal to most 11y olds. Despite the name it's hardware agnostic.

[Davef]

Think of it as the BBC Micro for the 2000s (at ZX Spectrum prices), and you've got the right sort of idea.

It is no coincidence the first version was called the “model B”

[Gattopardo]

Think of it as the BBC Micro for the 2000s (at ZX Spectrum prices), and you've got the right sort of idea.

It is no coincidence the first version was called the “model B”

There was a model A, but that came later

Have collectted a few boards with intentions and all doing nothing.

Haven't even built the pi hole I promised to.

Have the idea of automated heating for the GF house in France but she never bought the bits so it never happened.

[Davef]

Think of it as the BBC Micro for the 2000s (at ZX Spectrum prices), and you've got the right sort of idea.

It is no coincidence the first version was called the “model B”

There was a model A, but that came later

Have collectted a few boards with intentions and all doing nothing.

Haven't even built the pi hole I promised to.

Have the idea of automated heating for the GF house in France but she never bought the bits so it never happened.

The two versions of the bbc micro were called Model A and Model B. The raspberry pi has many links to Cambridge university computer lab, as did the BBC micro. David Braben wrote the bbc micro game Elite back in the 80s.