Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.sys.raspberry-pi > #10038

Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops

Show all headers | View raw

In article <1men7m0.cshrvs1vzq1h1N%real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk>,
D.M. Procida <real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk> wrote:
>I'm involved in <http://na.pycon.org> in 2016.
>
>One issue we had at 2015's event is that almost no-one had access to a
>machine well-suited to the workshops. Even the University's lab machines
>were running Windows and needed a lot of basic installation.
>
>To shortcut the hours we spent installing (and troubleshooting)
>software, I'm trying to work out if we could afford to put together a
>conference workshop machine, or rather something like 50 of them, built
>around a Pi Zero:
>
>* Pi Zero
>* 8GB SD card
>* VGA adaptor (VGA displays will be readily available)
>* USB hub for keyboard, mouse and network adaptor
>* USB-Ethernet adaptor
>* pre-installed software (Git, Mercurial, Pillow, virtualenv, all 
>  Python/C dependencies, etc) 

You may want to use a pi-b, since it has a few usb ports and ethernet, this
may be worthwhile; since you may save the usb hubs. OTOH you may use the hub
to power the pi itself.

I maintain a network of these (pi-b's) by swapping sd cards made in a master.
The master is just another pi-b with a usb-to-sd card adapter, and i use plain
DD to make the cards, 

>Does anyone know whether a powered USB hub would be required for all
>those devices? How trouble-free are VGA adaptors?

They vary a lot. Resolutions supported is especially an issue.

>Any experiences writing 50 SD cards with an updated image?

Other than it taking a bit of time it is an easy task, Just see
to it that they are identical in size, or take measures to do a
partition resize; or just use the smallest card as the master.

>If we can do with unpowered hubs, that much better. 

The pi-b has two USB slots and ethernet, and is discounted now
to $25. I doubt you can get a poweres hub and usb-to-ethernet
much cheaper than $20, Besides, it is readily available now.

Otherwise, use the USB hub to power the pi-0, so you save one
power supply.

>PSUs will be sourced locally, for the Namibian mains sockets.
>
>At the end of the conference we can leave the Pis in the hands of the
>many students who will be there. All the students who actually owned
>computers had ancient Windows XP (or older) laptops that were far from
>ideal for what we were doing in the workshops.

Indeed,

-- mrr

Back to comp.sys.raspberry-pi | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Pi Zeros for conference workshops real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk (D.M. Procida) - 2015-11-29 10:11 +0000
  Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Gordon Henderson <gordon+usenet@drogon.net> - 2015-11-29 10:40 +0000
    Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk (D.M. Procida) - 2015-11-29 11:42 +0000
      Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Gordon Henderson <gordon+usenet@drogon.net> - 2015-11-29 12:39 +0000
      Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Andy Burns <usenet.feb2014@adslpipe.co.uk> - 2015-11-29 13:19 +0000
      Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Martin Gregorie <martin@address-in-sig.invalid> - 2015-11-29 14:03 +0000
  Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2015-11-29 12:06 +0100
    Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops real-not-anti-spam-address@apple-juice.co.uk (D.M. Procida) - 2015-11-29 11:42 +0000
      Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops "A. Dumas" <alexandre@dumas.fr.invalid> - 2015-11-29 15:14 +0100
      Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Theo Markettos <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> - 2015-11-29 15:39 +0000
    Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Dom <domafp@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2015-11-29 11:47 +0000
  Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Roger Bell_West <roger+csrp201511@nospam.firedrake.org> - 2015-11-29 14:53 +0000
  Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops Dave Farrance <DaveFarrance@OMiTTHiSyahooANDTHiS.co.uk> - 2015-11-30 10:28 +0000
  Re: Pi Zeros for conference workshops spuorgelgoog@gowanhill.com - 2015-11-30 13:10 -0800

csiph-web