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This guide has been created to explain how to get started with a Raspberry Pi. A wide variety of tutorials are already available for this, including the official guide from the Raspberry Pi foundation, so this guide shall focus on using the existing DCS iLab resources.

For information on the resources in the iLab, and where you can buy them, see the 'iLab Resources' page.

For more guides and websites, take a look at the 'Links' page.

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Contents

• Using Raspbian
• Getting Started with Pi-Face
• Getting Started with Gertboard (Coming Soon)

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Using Raspbian

Raspbian is the Operating System installed by default on the iLab's SD cards. It is a variation on the Debian Linux distribution, so it should be familiar to everyone with UNIX Terminal experience.

1. Plug in the Raspberry Pi with the SD card connected.
2. When the terminal loads, login with the username 'pi'. The password is available at the iLab sessions.
3. You can now use the Raspberry Pi as a normal Linux machine through this terminal view.
4. To load the Raspbian GUI, type 'startx'.
5. Before unplugging the Raspberry Pi, shut it down by typing 'sudo shutdown now'.

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Getting Started with Pi-Face

Pi-Faces are brand new, and we have had access to them before they were placed on general sale. Because of this, tutorials and resources are hard to find, however this guide should give you everything you need to get started. This guide has been created based on the draft instructions provided on the Pi-Face website and developer's blog.

1. Connect The Pi-Face

The Pi-Face is easy to attach to your Raspberry Pi, as it simply sits on top connecting using the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins. A fully assembled Pi-Face, with Raspberry Pi, is shown in the picture above. The Pi-Face uses the power from your Raspberry Pi, so there is no need for an additional power supply.

Important: Before you connect the Pi-Face to your Raspberry Pi, ensure that the power is disconnected.

2. Ensure Your Raspberry Pi Is Up To Date

Now connect the power to your Raspberry Pi and login as normal. You do not need to login a 'root', so logging in as a default 'pi' account will work fine.

If you are not already on the terminal, please load a terminal window. This is done by selecting 'LX Terminal' for those of you with Raspbian.

In the terminal, type:
sudo apt-get update

This command updates all of the software packages on your Raspberry Pi to make sure everything is up to date.

3. Enable The SPI Driver

The SPI Driver is used by the Pi-Face to communicate with the Raspberry Pi, however this driver is not enabled by default.

To enable the SPI Driver, first load the /etc/modprobe.d/raspi-blacklist.conf file using your preferred text editor, say nano for example:
  sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/raspi-blacklist.conf

Then add a # add the beginning of the line which reads blacklist spi-bcm2708, so it reads # blacklist spi-bcm2708.

Finally, save the file. If you are using nano, this is done using Ctrl-X followed by Y to save and Enter to confirm the file name.

4. Download The Installation Script

Manchester University, the devleopers of the Pi Face, have kindly provided a handy installation script to download everything you need to get started.

To download this script, type:
 wget http://pi.cs.man.ac.uk/download/install.txt

Then, to run the script in the terminal, type:
 bash install.txt

This step may take quite a while to complete, as the script downloads everything you need, so now is the perfect time for a tea break.

5. Reboot Your Raspberry Pi

Once the script has completed, you will need to reboot your Raspberry Pi.

To do this, type:
sudo reboot
or sudo shutdown now -r

6. Test Out The Pi-Face

The easiest way to test that the installation worked correctly is to use the built-in Pi-Face graphical emulator.

If you are not already using a Graphical Interface, start one by typing:
startx

To open the simulator, type the following into a terminal window:
~/piface/scripts/piface-emulator

All done. You can now use the Pi-Face Emulator to test your Raspberry Pi. For more information on how to use the Pi-Face Emulator, take a look at our Using the Pi-Face Emulator tutorial.

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Getting Started with Gertboard

Coming Soon....

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