No doubt you’ve heard of the Pi Zero by now, we’ve reserved this place to curate all the frequently-asked-questions, tips and tricks you might need to get started.
Hardware
What spec is the Pi Zero?
The Pi Zero is effectively the same as the Model A+, however it’s shrunk in size and the larger ports have been replaced with mini versions of themselves.
It’s officially a 1Ghz CPU (with an overclock by default) and 512MB RAM.
How to I get HDMI out?
You’ll notice that a full-sized HDMI cable wont fit in the Raspberry Pi Zero. You need either a Mini HDMI to HDMI cable or adaptor. Our Raspberry Pi Zero bundle includes the two adaptors you’ll most likely need.
How do I connect a USB peripheral?
You’ll notice the port marked USB is actually a tiny Micro USB port which wont fit your normal USB keyboard or WiFi dongle. You’ll need a full-sized USB to USB “On The Go” adaptor, which will let you plug one USB peripheral in- such as a WiFi dongle or a keyboard.
If you want to use more than one USB device you’ll need to connect a USB hub. This may or may not need to be powered depending on what peripherals/power supply you use, but I’ve had success using the USB hub/WiFi adaptor from our shop with our starter kit mouse and keyboard.
Software
My Pi Zero wont boot!
As far as we know, and from our own testing, the Pi Zero doesn’t like NOOBS and will not boot SD card images using alternative OSes that are specifically prepared for your Pi 2. The best way to get set up and running is to download and flash a clean install of Raspbian Jessie.
One thing- on your homepage it says ‘limited-edition’ - does this mean that only a finite amount will be made? I’m desperate to get my hands on 10, after cycling round all my local WHSmiths this afternoon to no avail.
Regarding NOOBS, the latest just released on the RPF’s website, version 1.5.0 with the 2015-11-21 Jessie image included works on the RpiZ.
I suspect this is not a coincidence that it has been released today, so yes, I would have thought quite likely that earlier versions will trip over themselves, although the prior download image probably worked.
No matter as indeed no pre-flashed cards are going to play ball, but a fresh image should!
Got my Pi Zero and am looking forward to having a play with it this weekend, is there somewhere to download the pinout diagram as I didn’t get one with my order?
Would it be possible to stock some longer screws (and spacers) for use with the Pibow Zero case and pHats? At the moment I have my Zero in one of your cases, but if I add a pHat to it then the screws don’t reach high enough to also secure the pHat in place, so it could get bend and damaged if something hits it.
If the screws were longer (say 25mm or 30mm) and there were also some small cylindrical spacers to go between the pHat and the case top then everything could still be very securely held.
I can find them on the web, but they’re mostly in large packs (usually 100, although a few do them in 10’s) but they’re priced to match that and it’s more than would be needed.
Bought one of you neat cases for my RPiZ at the RPi birthday event.
Just looking into adding GPIO pins to the RPiZ. Will a COM0002 or ADA2223 from your shop, fit in from the bottom of the case allowing me to push it into a T-Cobbler and/or take jumper leads from the top?