Raspberry Pi++
Raspberry Pi’s come in various sizes and models. From the less powerful Raspberry Pi Zero to the most powerful Raspberry Pi 5. The alarm system software has been tested on a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a Raspberry Pi 3. The alarm system is an embedded system so unless the developer would like a graphical interface such as a web page, the software will run just fine on a Raspberry Pi Zero W. I built a development system using a Raspberry Pi Zero W. The ‘W’ version was chosen because it comes with on board WiFi. This saves the expense and hassle associated with adding a WiFi dongle. Once the hardware and software has been written and tested, it can be run on a Raspberry Pi Zero. The hardware can be configured to run from boot (power up). The latest revision of the operating system will run on any Raspberry Pi model. For that reason, I was able to develop the hardware and software on one system and test it on another. The book Building a High Tech Alarm System with Raspberry Pi, tells the reader how to configure the operating system to boot to the CLI or Command Line Interface, and then run a Python program which is the alarm system software, when power is applied to the system. My development system consisted of a Raspberry Pi Zero W connected to a TV monitor with audio input on the HDMI connector. This is because the Pi Zero W outputs its audio on the HDMI connector. A mini-USB to USB hub was connected to the mini-USB port on the system. This allowed me to connect a keyboard and mouse to the system. The RFI card reader was also connected to the hub. The IO connector is the same on all of the Raspberry Pi boards so the system can be connected to the alarm panel motherboard with a standard ribbon cable. Once the hardware and software were developed and tested using the development system. The hub and monitor were removed. The hub was replaced with a single mini-USB to USB adapter because only one USB port is required for the RFI card reader. An HDMI to audio adapter must be connected to the HDMI port and amplified speakers connected to the audio adapter. This is so that the user can ‘hear’ the system speak it’s messages.
William Pretty
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About the author...
Bill began his career in electronics in the early 80’s with a small telecom startup company that would eventually become a large multinational. He left there to pursue a career in commercial aviation in Canada’s north. From there he joined the Ontario Center for Microelectronics, a provincially funded research and development center. Bill left there for a career in the military as a civilian contractor at what was then called Defense Research Establishment Ottawa. That began a career which was to span over 30 years. Over the years Bill has acquired extensive knowledge in the field of technical security and started his own company in 2010. That company was called William Pretty Security Inc. and provided support in the form of research and development, to various law enforcement and private security agencies. In 2014 he retired to pursue a career in writing. He has several books for sale on Amazon, for the electronics hobbyist.