Category: Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Pushbutton Shutdown/Startup

This is extracted from a single post by user RonR in a thread about FreePBX for the Raspberry Pi on DSLReports. I though it might be useful to many Raspberry Pi users:

Raspberry Pi Pushbutton Shutdown/Startup

The attached script will install shutdown and startup capability using a SPST NO momentary pushbutton
switch connected to GPIO header pins 5 and 6. Pressing the button on a running system will initiate
a graceful shutdown (shutdown -h now). Once shut down, pressing the button will restart the system.

1. Copy install and gpio-shutdown.dtbo to the Raspberry Pi.

2. Make the install script executable:

$ chmod +x install

3. Run the install script:

$ sudo ./install

4. Reboot

For additional info, see:

http://www.stderr.nl/Blog/Hardware/RaspberryPi/PowerButton.html

The script can be downloaded from RonR’s original post or directly from https://www.dslreports.com/r0/download/2324182~6a03744946c51bfa4876b6ecd8d4528c/PushButton.zip

FriendlyElec releases Ubuntu Linux-ready NanoPi M1 Plus — a $30 Raspberry Pi killer

Image from manufacturer’s site

… there is a new Raspberry Pi competitor that is quite affordable. In fact, some folks may view it as a Pi-killer. The $30 FriendlyElec NanoPi M1 Plus has an arguably superior design and layout, plus important integrated features like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It even has an IR receiver, onboard microphone, 8GB storage, and both power and reset buttons. Best of all? It is ready to run Debian, Ubuntu Core, and Ubuntu Mate from the start.

Source: FriendlyElec releases Ubuntu Linux-ready NanoPi M1 Plus — a $30 Raspberry Pi killer (BetaNews)

How to Boot Up Raspberry Pi 3 from External Hard Disk

Raspberry Pi is built to boot up and run from the SD card. This tutorial shows you the steps to boot up and run Raspberry Pi from an external hard disk.

Source: How to Boot Up Raspberry Pi 3 from External Hard Disk – Make Tech Easier
Related article: How to boot from a USB Mass Storage Device on a Raspberry Pi 3 – Raspberry Pi Documentation

A short guide on configuring your Raspberry Pi to automatically run x11vnc server at startup

Hey guys, I thought I would share a short guide I made about configuring x11vnc to automatically launch every time the Pi boots up. I had such a hard time getting it to work and thought I should spread the knowledge. I’m a noob with Linux and the Pi, so I thought this would be really beneficial to any other noobs who are trying to get their Pi to run headless. I am using Raspbian Jessie so I’m not sure how well this will work with other distros.

This short guide assumes you already have a VNC viewer and know how to configure it. These instructions outline how to configure your Raspberry Pi to automatically start the x11vnc server every time it is booted. This way, you will be able to remotely connect to your Pi any time you launch your VNC viewer.

Source: Here is a short guide I made on configuring your RPi to automatically run x11vnc server at startup (Reddit/Raspberry Pi)

Raspberry Pi as a SOCKS proxy and SSH file server Tutorial

A couple redditors showed interest in how I set up my Pi as a SOCKS proxy and recommended I make a separate post as a tutorial, so I’ll do my best to explain everything.

Background

SOCKS stands for Socket Secure, and is essentially just a middle man for a server and client for send information between. The best description I’ve heard of it is “It’s a poor man’s VPN.” It essentially works the same, but each service has to be configured to work with it (i.e. I have Firefox on my Mac working through my SOCKS proxy but not Chrome and Safari). Why would you want a SOCKS proxy over a VPN? From my experience, it runs better on a Pi, and I can also do multiple things over SSH (such as also run a file server). Having to configure each service to run through it can also be a pro or a con, depending on if you want everything to work through it or not.

Basic Overview

There’s really not much to setting everything up; it’s a pretty straightforward process. For those just looking for something short and sweet, here are the basic steps I followed. I’ll go over each more in depth below.

Source: RPi as a SOCKS proxy and SSH file server Tutorial (Reddit/Raspberry Pi)

Raspberry Pi: Extending the life of the SD card

I realized after posting this that it is a repeat post, but those new to the Raspberry Pi might not have seen the original post, so here it is again:

SD cards are said to have a finite life. If you are planning on running a Raspberry Pi 24x7x365, there are some steps that you can take with GNU/Linux to extend the life of the card: here are some ideas.

Source: Raspberry Pi: Extending the life of the SD card | ZDNet

OAuth 2.0 Support for Asterisk 13, so XMPP connections to Google Voice can be made using the more secure oAuth authentication

If you are running Asterisk 13 (or are ready to upgrade to Asterisk 13) and are using it to connect to one or more Google Voice accounts, you can now use oAuth authentication instead of the problematic username/password, without resorting to the use of a pre-built distribution that may contain features you don’t need and don’t want. The details are here:

OAuth 2.0 Support for Asterisk 13

Also, if you have a Raspberry Pi and would like to make a clean build of Asterisk and FreePBX, the same author (RonR) has provided instructions here. Just be sure to select Asterisk 13 when installing if you want to use the oAuth 2.0 support:

FreePBX for the Raspberry Pi

Or, if you’re sick of FreePBX and are ready to try a new interface to Asterisk, he has you covered there as well:

XiVO PBX for the Raspberry Pi

All of the above links are to threads at DSLReports. Note that the install scripts in the last two links can take some time to run, especially on an older model Raspberry Pi where they could take a few hours to complete (I believe you must have a Raspberry Pi 2 at a minimum to use the XiVO build). But when you are through, you’ll have a nice clean install, without the extraneous and mostly non-useful stuff found in a certain pre-built image.

7-Port USB Hub For Raspberry Pi

UUGear 7-port Hub UUGear have just released a new 7-port USB hub add-on board for the Raspberry Pi. It is an updated version of the device they released in 2014. It has the same footprint as the Pi and can be attached to all Raspberry Pi versions which currently includes Models A, B, A+, B+, 2B, 3B and Zero. Unlike most other Pi add-ons boards this product is designed to be mounted underneath the Pi which keeps the top surface free for messing about with GPIO pins and the camera interface.

Source: 7-Port USB Hub For Raspberry Pi (Raspberry Pi Spy)

Odroid C2 Bests Raspberry Pi 3 in Several Ways | Hackaday

It’s been a big week in the world of inexpensive single board computers, and everyone’s talking about the new Raspberry Pi 3. It blows away the competition they say, nobody can touch it for the price.

Almost nobody, that is.

With a lot less fanfare on these shores, another cheap and speedy 64-bit quad-core ARM-based SBC slips onto the market this week, Hardkernel’s Odroid C2. And looking at the specification it seems as though the Pi 3 may be given a run for its money.

Source: Odroid C2 Bests Raspberry Pi 3 in Several Ways | Hackaday