In every release of Raspberry Pi, the system gets a bit improved than the previous one. This time, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is released. If you’re a fan of the Raspberry Pi computers, you’ll notice that their release schedule is around 1-2 years each. The previous version (Pi 3 Model B) was released about 2 years ago. This time, the 3^rd-generation of the awesome SBC got an upgraded edition.

What’s new?

The device contains all the features of Pi Model B with some upgrades. Here’s the list of all the system specifications of the newest release.

• Processor – Broadcom BCM2837B0, Cortex-A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @ 1.4GHz
• RAM – 1GB LPDDR2 SDRAM
• Wi-Fi – 2.4GHz & 5GHz IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth – 4.2 (BLE support)
• USB – 4 USB ports (2.0)
• Gigabit Ethernet (via USB 2.0, 300 Mbps max)
• CSI port (for Pi camera)
• DSI port (for Pi touchscreen display)
• MicroSD port
• Full-size HDMI
• PoE (Power over Ethernet) support, requires additional PoE HAT

Interestingly, the price of Pi 3 Model B+ is same as its predecessor, making it an absolute choice for the Pi 3 series.

All the new hardware upgrades allow faster networking performance that can be sustained for quite a long time.

Why use Raspberry Pi?

There are many reasons that Pi is the best of all SBCs available in the market. First of all, it’s really cheap despite having all the awesome hardware power. It’s not just a circuit board; it’s a full-size computer, just a smaller size. That makes the versatility and usability sky-high.

For example, it can work as an alternative to any circuit board with lots of versatility. I created my own Windows 10 pocket PC with it. It’s easily programmable. Let’s take a look at things you can do with a Raspberry Pi.

If you’re new to Pi products, you can easily get started with NOOBS (New Out of Box). This the recommended edition of Pi operating system. There are also lots of other Linux distros out there that are designed for running in Raspberry Pi.

If you want to read the entire changelog of Pi 3 Model B+, check out the long post.

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For Linux lovers, Fedora is a very popular choice. It’s an upstream source of Red Hat Linux. Fedora is also a nice choice for servers. For my Raspberry Pi 3, I love using Fedora. Fedora officially supports the ARM architecture, making it an excellent choice. However, installing Fedora on Raspberry Pi is slightly different and requires patience.

If you want to have your favorite Fedora on your Pi, get started with the following tutorial. Take a note that I’m using Raspberry Pi 3 & Fedora 27 (currently, the latest).

1. Prerequisites

Fedora supports Raspberry Pi Model B 2 and 3. There are a few other things you need to install Fedora on it.

• A good SD card
• HDMI monitor/TV
• USB keyboard & mouse
• A good power supply

2. Download Fedora for ARM

From Fedora 25, Raspberry Pi is officially supported. Raspberry Pi uses ARM processor. There is official Fedora builds for the architecture.

Download your favorite Fedora image from Fedora. Fedora also contains the image list. If you’re looking for Aarch64 images, click here. Don’t forget to verify the downloaded image(s). It’s important, as any single bit corruption might change or break the system.

3. Writing the image to SD card

Depending on your PC’s operating system, there are several methods to write the image to the SD card. The easiest solution is using Windows PC. Win32 Disk Image is the best tool. Connect your SD card, open the tool, select your image and click “Write”.

If you’re planning to prepare the SD card under Linux, you have to follow the following steps

• Install “arm-image-installer”

dnf install –y fedora-arm-installer

• Now, it’s time to write the image out.

$ sudo arm-image-installer

Usage: arm-image-installer <options>

   --image=IMAGE    - xz compressed image file name
   --target=TARGET  - target board
   --media=DEVICE   - media device file (/dev/[sdX|mmcblkX])
   --selinux=ON/OFF - Turn SELinux off/on as needed
   --norootpass     - Remove the root password
   -y		    - Assumes yes, will not wait for confirmation
   --version	    - Display version and exit
   --resizefs	    - Resize root filesystem to fill media device
   --addconsole     - Add system console to extlinux.conf
   --addkey=        - /path/to/ssh-public-key

Example: arm-image-installer --image=Fedora-Rawhide.xz --target=Bananapi --media=/dev/mmcblk0

For list of supported boards please check SUPPORTED-BOARDS file.

For Raspberry Pi 2, use the following command:

--target=rpi2

If your device is Raspberry Pi 3, use the following command:

--target=rpi3

For the manual procedure, follow this command:

xzcat Fedora-IMAGE-NAME.raw.xz | sudo dd status=progress bs=4M of=/dev/XXX # Location of your media (will be sdX or mmcblkX depending on hardware)

If you’re a macOS user, follow this in-depth guide here.

4. Resize the root partition

The root partition is shrunk to minimum size. If you need to resize it, you can do that easily. I recommend increasing the size, 8GB minimum. This is my personal opinion, allowing to perform every task more smoothly.

The easiest way is to resize before first boot. Run this command:

gparted /dev/XXX

Another way is to complete the initial setup and then, perform the resizing. Here’s how to do it.

# enlarge the 4th partition (this example uses mmcblk0)
growpart /dev/mmcblk0 4
# grow the fileystem to fill the available space
resize2fs /dev/mmcblk0p4
# resize root partition for the server image (which uses xfs)
xfs_growfs -d /

5. Booting Fedora

Now, it’s time to boot Fedora on your Pi. Follow the following steps.

• Insert the SD card into Raspberry Pi.
• Connect keyboard, mouse, network cable and monitor.
• Power up the Raspberry Pi.
• After the loading, Fedora will boot up and “Initial setup wizard” will appear. Follow the wizard to set your time zone, language and create users.

Once complete, you’ll be prompted with a login screen or “getting started” guide.

6. Use your PC

Now, your Raspberry Pi is your perfect companion with the latest Fedora 27. Use everything as normal.

The entire step-by-step, in-depth guide is here.

Enable Wi-Fi & Bluetooth

If you’re using Raspberry Pi 3, Wi-Fi module is already present. Fedora supports the default module. To enable this, you need to run the following command and reboot. Then, Wi-Fi should work just fine.

sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RPi-Distro/firmware-nonfree/master/brcm80211/brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.txt -o /lib/firmware/brcm/brcmfmac43430-sdio.txt

For Bluetooth, it’s currently untested. There’s a pretty big chance that the present software will crash the entire device. I don’t recommend to use it. However, if you’re interested anyway, use the following command.

hciattach /dev/ttyAMA0 bcm43xx 3000000 noflow -

Alternatively, you can download FedBerry, a custom Fedora distribution that’s optimized and organized specially for Pi 2/3. The good news is, this one supports all the built-in hardware of your Raspberry Pi. It’s available on several desktop environments – LXQt, Xfce, minimal and Barebone. Check out FedBerry here.

Enjoy your Raspberry Pi as your brand new PC.

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Python programming language is used to run this device. It is a super affordable device for kids around the world to gain knowledge about coding and hardware hacking. Nowadays, Raspberry Pi has achieved more popularity. Besides kids, adults also find many potentials in this mini bundle of skillful computer power. Widely it is using in various industries, home automation projects, and robotics. Its notable usage is in education. From school to private sector, people use this for providing a basic computer and act as a teaching support. If you have an interest in technology, here you will get the best available Raspberry Pi projects.

There are several Raspberry Pi devices available. Different ones are differently powerful. However, any of them is compatible with most of the projects. DIY Raspberry Pi projects are very fun and insanely satisfying. Raspberry Pi 3 is the latest version of this projects series. It is more powerful than Raspberry Pi Zero, Raspberry Pi 1, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi Zero W, and Raspberry Pi Zero W. Choose your favorite one.

Ready? Here, I’ve picked the best and rewarding Raspberry Pi projects in 2018.

Top Pi Projects

• Build an AI assistant

To release a hardware kit, official Pi magazine “The MagPi” became a partner with Google. Google Assistant SDK and Google’s Cloud Speech API will help us to integrate natural language voice commands in this kit. This hardware kit also contains cardboard case, button, speaker and microphone to home our own Lo-Fi version of Google Home. Here’s the complete guide.

• Write your own game

Raspberry Pi is one of the best platforms for novice programmers to learn and understand coding in a deeper level. For your help, the Raspbian OS comes with a lot of pre-installed programs. For dipping our toes in the water of programming, creating our own game is one of the best projects. Creating a game is fun, straightforward and at the end of the project, we can acquire a practical outcome that we can show off to family and friend circle. Visit this link to get a complete guide how you will write your own Raspberry Pi game.

• Create a Wi-Fi extender

A Raspberry Wi-Fi extender is one the inexpensive and power effective technique of increasing the range of your Wi-Fi network. To increase the reach of your Wi-Fi signal you need a microSD or SD card, a USB Wi-Fi dongle and Raspberry Pi 2 or 3. Pay a visit this link to know how you will set up this project. Here’s another awesome project on such Wi-Fi extender.

• Make a Kodi streamer

Kodi is able to turn any PC, tablet or smartphone into a streamer or digital set-top box. This open-source tool provides users the capability to stream from a home network, local storage and form the internet. To create this project, you need microSD card and a simple task list to follow. Don’t be afraid if you are not familiar with RaspBMC. RaspBMC is one of the default operating system options pre-packages with the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s “NOOBS” installer. Take a look here how you will make your Kodi Streamer.

• Create a dedicated Minecraft machine

Minecraft is hugely popular with children. If your kids play Minecraft and they monopolize your PC or tablet, a Raspberry Pi can be a cheap, durable machine. Because of the huge popularity, the latest version of Raspbian OS contains a pre-installed custom copy of the game. For that, you simply need an inexpensive monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Here’s the tutorial on how to create a dedicated Minecraft machine.

• Build a camera trap

It is a funny project and you can use this to snap animals in your garden. All you need is a few extra supplies – Raspberry Pi (B), NoIR camera, 25m extension lead, IR lamp, Drybox (Amazon) and longer camera lead. Visit here to get a tutorial how you will build a camera trap.

• Build your own smartphone

Usually, you can buy a phone easily but creating your own phone is fun, isn’t it? If you are tired of choices among Windows phone, iPhone, and Android, you can easily create PiPhone with Raspberry Pi. Some additional modules like GSM/GPRS are needed. However, you’ll have the true fun. Check out the full tutorial here.

• Build your own cloud storage

Raspberry Pi is a really powerful device in a small pack. The normal cloud storages offer you very little disk space where you can build your own cloud storage with Raspberry Pi and normal storage devices easily! As storage, you’ve plenty of options – microSD to external HDD. Here’s the full tutorial on building your personal Raspberry cloud storage.

• Build your own IP camera

Raspberry Pi is suitable for lots of purposes for sure. If you’re not willing to invest money in buying Google Nest Can, Netatmo Welcome or Netgear Arlo, you can build your own PiCam easily. Here’s the perfect DIY guide for you.

• Build your own Game Boy

Remember the days when Game Boy was skyrocket with all the funny games? Developed by Nintendo, it was a major hit. Wanna get it back? Let’s build your own Game Boy with Raspberry Pi! Here’s the complete tutorial on Raspberry Game Boy.

This is really a versatile tool for noobs and pros seamlessly. Just get one and you’ll feel the power. I’ve already created my cloud storage and enjoying it a lot – a 2TB cloud storage. I’ve also shared it with my neighbors (for charge, of course…:-))

Feel free to share your experience with others or ask any question in the comment section below. Didn’t see your favorite Raspberry Pi project? Just share it. Have a great day, friends!

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