Adventures with Raspberry Pi - The Beginning
Years ago, the Raspberry Pi was announced and I jumped on the first pre-orders. It seemed like such an amazing piece of technology. Before it started shipping, I began to wonder what I would actually do with it, and how I would find any time to spend with it. I ended up cancelling my pre-order.
Over the next eight years, I would occasionally read news about the Pi or about interesting projects people were creating with it. I continued to get more tempted by this amazing little computer. Early last year, we acquired a couple of Pi 3 Model B's for a work project. I was amazed how far it had come, and how productive you could be. Then the Pi 4 was released, and eventually the Pi 4B with 8GB RAM. For $75 US, you get a 64-bit, 1.5GHz quad-core, 8GB RAM computer with ac WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 5, USB 3, and dual HDMI outputs. Of course you need to add a few accessories (micro-SD card, power, HDMI cable, display, and case), but it is pretty crazy how much you get for so little. I bought a complete 8GB Pi 4 kit with power, HDMI cable, and case for $103 US. I already had a spare micro-SD card for it, and a monitor.
The case in the kit was not particularly appealing. I very nearly went in on a Kickstarter campaign for a case when I discovered the Argon ONE Pi 4 case. It was out of stock, but within a couple of weeks I managed to get it from Amazon for a mere $25 US. I'll be going into more detail (with photos), but let me tell you that so far I am really happy with this case (and with the 8GB Pi 4B).
If you visit the link to the Argon ONE product page, it lists the main reasons I really like the case. It's an aluminum case that makes contact with the Pi's chips, and therefore the whole case provides passive cooling. There is a fan too, should the heat build up. The room I run the Pi in is fairly cool so the fan rarely spins up. The case includes a board that redirects all of the Pi's ports to the back of the case. Normally some of the ports are at the back, and others (power, HDMI, audio) are at the side. Having them all at the back makes things a lot tidier. The case adds a power button to the Pi, and it is incredibly convenient. Finally, one of the appealing things about the Raspberry Pi is that you can use GPIO pins to connect a myriad of sensors for the truly interesting and engaging projects. The Argon ONE case has a magnetic cover for easy access to those pins, meaning you get a great looking professional case, but can still engage in those fun projects.
As much as I really like this case, getting things together was a little stressful. The first step is to plug the board that redirects the ports into the Pi. That took a fair bit of pressure, and I was worried I was going to slip and snap something. After I thought I had it plugged in, I realized it wasn't squared up and had to push it together even more. I was thankful when I realized it was together and all of the holes lined up properly with the case.
The next step was to apply the thermal pads to the aluminum columns on the top of the case. This too was a little stressful, though not as bad as the above step. There are thin plastic protective covers on the thermal pads that need to be peeled off (a challenge for my big hands). The pads also don't match up to the size of the chips on the Pi nor the columns on the case. Getting them applied undamaged in the proper position is a little tricky.
Once those two steps are done, the rest of the assembly is straightforward. The GPIO pins on the Pi line up to the top of the case. After pushing them together, simply put in some screws to secure them, and screw the bottom of the case to the assembled top. The bottom of the case is a translucent black plastic. This allows a power light to shine through.
With the case fully assembled, I'm ready to move on to some Pi projects.