Raspberry Pi Starter Guide

Over the past few years, I've enjoyed tinkering with Raspberry Pi devices, having built everything from simple light switches to complex remote-sensor monitoring networks. One of the things that drew me in at the start was how approachable learning the technology was for a beginner. I've decided to start documenting the things I've learned and begin sharing them across a series of posts. These step-by-step guides can be followed by anyone with a little free time and hopefully will inspire at least a handful of people to get out there and build something fun!

This step-by-step guide is for setting up your Raspberry Pi for the first time.

Here's an overview of what this guide will cover:

• Introduction to the hardware
• Recommended setup software
• Initial Pi Setup
• Resources

Introduction to the hardware:

There are several models available with a range of hardware specifications. I'm going to list them from most to least powerful.

Raspberry Pi 4

As of this posting, this is the newest model available. The specifications for the model 4 make it suitable for projects requiring a beefier computer.

Specifications:

• Broadcom BCM2711, Quad core Cortex-A72 (ARM v8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.5GHz
• 1GB, 2GB or 4GB LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (depending on model)
• 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 2 USB 3.0 ports; 2 USB 2.0 ports.
• Raspberry Pi standard 40 pin GPIO header (fully backwards compatible with previous boards)
• 2 × micro-HDMI ports (up to 4kp60 supported)
• 2-lane MIPI DSI display port
• 2-lane MIPI CSI camera port
• 4-pole stereo audio and composite video port
• H.265 (4kp60 decode), H264 (1080p60 decode, 1080p30 encode)
• OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics
• Micro-SD card slot for loading operating system and data storage
• 5V DC via USB-C connector (minimum 3A*)
• 5V DC via GPIO header (minimum 3A*)
• Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled (requires separate PoE HAT)
• Operating temperature: 0 – 50 degrees C ambient

* A good quality 2.5A power supply can be used if downstream USB peripherals consume less than 500mA in total.

Raspberry Pi 3 B+

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is the final revision in the Raspberry Pi 3 range. There are several other Pi 3 board varieties available, this one being the most powerful.

Specifications:

• Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.4GHz
• 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
• 2.4GHz and 5GHz IEEE 802.11.b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE
• Gigabit Ethernet over USB 2.0 (maximum throughput 300 Mbps)
• Extended 40-pin GPIO header
• Full-size HDMI
• 4 USB 2.0 ports
• CSI camera port for connecting a Raspberry Pi camera
• DSI display port for connecting a Raspberry Pi touchscreen display
• 4-pole stereo output and composite video port
• Micro SD port for loading your operating system and storing data
• 5V/2.5A DC power input
• Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support (requires separate PoE HAT)

Raspberry Pi 2 B

This model is great for lighter projects that don't require the processing power of the bigger units, but still need at least a little bit of video processing power. As an example, it can handle retro video game console emulation up to about the Nintendo 64 level. Beyond that, it struggles.

Specifications:

• A 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU
• 1GB RAM
• 100 Base Ethernet
• 4 USB ports
• 40 GPIO pins
• Full HDMI port
• Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
• Camera interface (CSI)
• Display interface (DSI)
• Micro SD card slot
• VideoCore IV 3D graphics core

Raspberry Pi Zero (and Zero W)

These boards are GREAT for small projects, as they're much smaller than the other models. The drawback is that they are not quite as powerful. These models are also very inexpensive, which makes them great for beginners!

Specifications:

• 802.11 b/g/n wireless LAN (Zero W Model)
• Bluetooth 4.1 (Zero W Model)
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (Zero W Model)
• 1GHz, single-core CPU
• 512MB RAM
• Mini HDMI and USB On-The-Go ports
• Micro USB power
• HAT-compatible 40-pin header
• Composite video and reset headers
• CSI camera connector

Recommended Setup Hardware

You'll need a few things to install an operating system on your device:

• microSD card: Raspberry Pi devices store and read data on a removable microSD card. Depending on which operating system you choose, the basic install can run between 1GB and 3GB. If you're building a small sensor project, you could get away with using a 4GB card, but I'd recommend going with at least 8GB to start. (Keep in mind that if you use anything 64GB and above, you may have special formatting requirements, as those cards are usually microSDXC.)
• microSD card reader: You'll need a way to access the contents of the card from a computer in able to install the operating system before putting the card into your Pi. If you have a computer with a flash card reader, this is the way to go. If you don't, you'll need to buy a USB flash card reader as well.

Recommended Setup Software

Flash Card Utility:

The best program that I've come across to prepare your flash card is Etcher. The software is available for all operating systems, and takes care of erasing and formatting the card, then flashing the operating system to it. Everything is taken care of with a few clicks! You can get the software here:

Operating System:

There are several available options when it comes to operating systems for your device. All of them are available on the raspberrypi.org downloads page:

Here's a breakdown on each of the operating systems:

• NOOBS (New Out Of the Box Software): This version is for beginners and will guide you through the setup. There are versions for network and no-network installs, so make sure you pick the appropriate one if you won't have internet connectivity. Also, keep in mind that you'll need to connect a keyboard, monitor, and potentially a mouse to install this version.
• Raspbian Buster: There are three major install images for this software.

1. Buster Lite: This one does not have a desktop environment or any additional recommended software. This is just the basics, you'll be working exclusively from the command line.
2. Buster with desktop: This one has the basic software in addition to a desktop environment.
3. Buster with desktop and recommended software: Another great option for beginners, this one has a desktop environment along with additional software that beginners may find useful. There's an office-suite, a few games, and some programming tools that come in this package.

Flash the image to your card

Once you've settled on an operating system, you can use Etcher to flash it to your microSD card. Technically, this is all you need to get you up and running with your device! The first time you plug in your Pi, you'll see it boot up and start unpacking the operating system and preparing it to run for the first time.

My next guide shows how to make sure your newly-installed operating system is up to date, how to change some of the default settings, and how to perform a headless install with remote SSH connection. If you're interested, you can check it out here:

Go build something fun!

(Images and product specifications from raspberrypi.org)