step-1.md

Fido Wifi Step 1: Getting the parts together and setting up the Raspberry Pi

Parts list

For deployment

• Raspberry Pi Zero W Starter Kit ($35) includes the following.
  • Raspberry Pi Zero W (has built in WiFi and Bluetooth)
  • Micro USB Power Supply
  • Mini-HDMI male to HDMI female adapter
  • USB to Micro USB adapter
• Raspberry Pi Zero Case ($5)
• 8GB Micro SD Card Class 10 ($6)
• Yocto-Temperature USB Sensor ($39)
• USB to Micro USB Cable to connect the sensor to the Pi ($6)

Don't have Wifi reception where you want to sense temperatures? Here's a couple options.

• Wifi just out of reach of the Pi's built in Wifi? Use a Wifi USB dongle ($15).
• Need to go a little farther? We're experimenting with hooking a directional antenna ($50x2) into your Wifi USB Dongle on one end and another on your router.
• Is the source of Internet really far away? Like a mile? $100 to $150 will get you the hardware to far a Wifi Bridge to extend range up to a mile. We're still looking for simple tutorials on this but here's a start. Plug your Pi directly into the ethernet of the bridge. If you have a Pi Zero, use an Ethernet USB adapter ($14).

Don't have power where you want to sense temperatures? The PowerCore+ 26800 ($70) with 96 Watt Hours capacity can theoretically run Raspberry Pi Zero W for 9 days (26.8Ah capacity \ .12A idle = 223 hours = 9 days) and a Raspberry Pi 3 for 3 days. Power usage is cited from Raspberry Pi FAQ but this needs to be confirmed with a Fido running in the field. If you are using a Wifi Dongle, power usage will increase power consumption. Need more Watt Hours? Goal Zero has a number of batter models with more but the cost gets up there.

For installation

• USB Hub so you'll have enough USB ports to plug everything into your Pi Zero when being configured. When deployed, you'll just need the one USB port on the Pi Zero for the sensor.
• Micro USB Card Reader for writing software to Micro SD Card ($6)
• USB Keyboard and Mouse for navigating your Raspberry Pi ($8)
• You'll need a way to view HDMI out of the Raspberry Pi. You might be in one of 4 scenarios:
  1. You have a Monitor with HDMI in and an HDMI male to HDMI male cable. Nothing to buy!
  2. You're not afraid of the command line so you can add a blank ssh file to your SD Card at /boot/ssh to enable SSH on your Pi. When you Pi boots you can then SSH into your Raspberry Pi with the ssh [email protected] command, password is raspberry. If you have a Pi Zero, you will need an Ethernet USB adapter to connect to the network for your first time.
  3. You have a Monitor with VGA in with a VGA male to VGA male cable: buy an HDMI to VGA adapter ($20)
  4. You have a Monitor with DVI in and a DVI male to DVI male cable: buy an HDMI male to DVI female adapter ($10)
  5. Last resort: buy a monitor with HDMI in ($100)