Helpful Stuff

Using Pimoscope

Automate on bootup

The RaspberryPi can automate a cron job to run pimoscope when rebooting. This is helpful because you only need to power the RaspberryPi without the need to SSH into the RaspberryPi and type command line instructions.

Use crontab -e to edit the cron file, and crontab -l to view. Be sure to use full path to the virutalenv where you have installed pimoscope, in the example below the full path is /home/pi/Software/ENV:

@reboot sleep 60 && . /home/pi/Software/ENV/bin/activate && pimo ate

Agent on Raspberry Pi

pimoscope can also run knilb on the Raspberry Pi:

(ENV) pi@raspberrypi:~/try-pimo $ pimo ate -c http://app.knilb.com <PASSKEY>

Using Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi foundation has created an ecosystem of hardware that can easily be used as Automated Test Equipment. However, getting started can be overwhelming if you are new, and full of fun diversions if you are familiar.

This page is a reference for what you’ll need to get going using a headless Raspberry Pi.

What hardware to use

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

and a case, too.

SD card with NOOBS

for a clean installation of Raspbian OS.

NOOBS is an acronym for New Out Of the Box Software, and it is an installer for the OS. NOOBS greatly simplifies loading Raspbian. These cards are readily available to purchase from online stores like Adafruit and Pimoroni

RaspberryPi OS (formerly Raspbian) is the official OS for Raspberry Pi. It is based on Debian and is a Linux based OS. You’ll want to know a few basic Linux commands.

How to use GPIO

The Raspberry Pi has readily-available GPIO pins that can be used to make an Automated Test Equipment device. There are many software packages to expose the GPIO and the choices can become confusing. The recommended packages are listed here:

Pimoroni

provides well-documented compatible software for the ExplorerHAT and AutomationHAT. Pimoroni on Github.

GPIO Zero

is recommended for use without Pimoroni hardware. It is well-documented and built by folks at the Raspberry Pi foundation. GPIO Zero on Readthedocs

How to go Headless

Headless means without a monitor, keyboard, or mouse; simply the Raspberry Pi connected to a network.

Tip

Recommended to initially configure Raspbery Pi using a traditional setup using monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Then deploy as headless. This makes a few things easier. Raspbian does not enable SSH by default during installation of the OS, so remote access is not possible from a fresh install from NOOBS.

Ethernet

just use Ethernet. At some point WiFi sounds like a great idea. It is not when headless.

Find IP address of Raspberry Pi from Laptop

using ping or nmap.

Remotely login to Raspberry Pi from Laptop

using SSH.

Copy files to Raspbery Pi from Laptop

using SCP.

Helpful Linux commands

Linux commands will be the way to control your Raspberry Pi when you log in remotely.

Create a new user

using adduser even though NOOBS creates a default user pi with password raspberry. The default user pi will become a good reference if you muck up something. You may also need to run commands using sudo as Root.

Starting pimoscope from reboot

using cron. Not recommended to use systemmd or rc.local.