Pi zero w?

[John Bostwick]

So now the pi zero and wifi are working, should the A+ case work with it. And is there any downside to using the zero compared to the other pi's.

 

[Bryan Mayland]

I would use the Zero variant of the case.

I think the W is great. The wifi seems to be stable across days of operation. Unlike the A+ which can have USB disconnects, the wifi on the W is connected to a different bus. The only downside I can see is availability, but apparently MicroCenter has giant crates of them. Oh I guess it is also slower than the Pi3, but I don't think anyone would be able to tell the difference.

 

[RalphTrimble]

I think the rPi zero-w is awesome, and it seems lightning fast compared to the B and A models I've been working with.

 

[John Bostwick]

I have one, will probably set up this weekend. I would like to go to the Pi zero W when building heatermeters, but the 1 per customer limit makes it a no go, and probably will never transition to the cheaper Pi.

 

[Steve_M]

The folks at the raspi foundation said that its only 1 per customer while they ramp up to meet demand, so it won't stay that way.

 

[Y Falls]

quick question, does the Rpi zero w work with the 4.2 version of the HM?

 

[SteveCK]

No it does not. I think....now I've confused myself!

 

[RalphTrimble]

quick question, does the Rpi zero w work with the 4.2 version of the HM?

Yes it does

 

[Y Falls]

Awesome, thanks for the prompt reply!

 

[RalphTrimble]

Just remember that you need to solder a header to the rPi zero-w before you can connect it to the HM board. On the HMv4.2 to run the newer rPi models you had to move one transistor to the other side of the board (the one that is at the end of the rPi header), with the rPi zero you can solder in only the first 26 pins on the header (making the shorter header found on the older rPi models) and you wont have to move that transistor.

 

[SteveCK]

Is the Zero W compatibility fairly new? Last I knew it was Zero only, not Zero W

 

[RalphTrimble]

I have a zero-w here working on a HMv4.2, not sure if it is snapshot or release version but it is working.

EDIT:

Model Raspberry Pi Zero W Rev 1.1
Firmware Version LEDE Reboot SNAPSHOT r3799-1300671 / LuCI Master (git-17.078.53745-180f2d6)
Kernel Version 4.9.14
Local Time Wed May 3 00:30:09 2017

 

[Y Falls]

Sweet, thanks Ralph! That's a standard download I can get from the wiki , correct?

 

[RalphTrimble]

I got the software by following the links in this thread https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?69266-New-Pi-Zero-Wireless!/page4 from when Bryan made the updates to support the zero-w. I assume since it works Bryan will build the support into the release version eventually if he hasn't already.

EDIT: I guess the way it's going now you can just load https://heatermeter.com/dl/ to find various versions of the software.

 

[John Bostwick]

No it does not. I think....now I've confused myself!

The 4.2 and 4.3 are basically the same.

 

[RalphTrimble]

It's just that one transistor on the 4.2 that interferes with the extra pins on the newer pi headers that is at issue, and you can move the transistor to the other side of the board if need be (or leave those extra pins off when you solder the header to the pi zero). Otherwise V4.2 and 4.3 are basically the same, functionally the same, but Bryan did change the button circuit from 3.3v to 5v so he didnt have to send another voltage to the LCD board I believe.

 

[Bryan Mayland]

Is the Zero W compatibility fairly new? Last I knew it was Zero only, not Zero W

About a month now, but looking at that post I realized I never specifically said that Zero W support was actually in so that's my fault. But yes, the Zero W works great in the snapshot firmware!