Raspberry Pi & accessories - purchase guide in India

All the Raspberry Pi accessories are home yesterday. In India there are lot of online purchase options for raspberry pi and accessories from leading online sellers like ebay.in, amazon etc... I would like to tell you from where I collected it rather than where all it can be purchased( That will be gross, since there are whole lot of providers around here)

 


Raspberry Pi B+ SoC

• https://www.crazypi.com
• http://kitsnspares.com

Both these sites sell comparitively less priced B+ boards than ebay/Amazon during the time of my purchase. I chose CrazyPi and got the delivery within a week of the order.


Clear Case for B+

• amazon.in

There are better cases available in amazon and CrazyPi.com. The one that I chose was cheaper though good looking. B+ got two LEDs on the board with red and green color. FYI, A transparent/acrylic  case will defenitely look geeky, than the clumpsy plastic case


SD card

• http://www.amazon.in

Out of the a whole list of SDcards that Pi can run i just chose - Sandisk Ultra microSDHC 16GB Class 10 Memory Card with Adapter. If you need to know the entire list of SD cards supported by the Raspberry Pi, following page will be handy - http://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards


USB Wifi Dongle

• http://www.amazon.in

This is seems to be the cheapest wifi dongle that the B+ can run. Need some work around for installing the firmware for the B+, still range is almost similar to my Xperia mini's antenna.

If you are looking for some other options here is your handbook - http://elinux.org/RPi_USB_Wi-Fi_Adapters



USB BlueTooth dongle

• www.amazon.in

Initially I worried whether it will get detected by the rPi, however even during the boot itself you can see the trace of this dongle getting noticed by the Pi.



HDMI cable (if your tv supports hdmi)

• www.ebay.in

Get a cable that is fast and long enough. Ebay got more options than other stores


HDMI to VGA adapter (optional)

• www.crazypi.com

Ordinary HDMI to VGA converters dont work with the Pi. You can get one from carzyPi store that have Digital to analog signal conversion chip. This adapter is completely different from the regular hdmi vga converters available in ebay.


5V/750mA Power adapter ( aka your smartphone's charger)

• www.crazypi.com

If you want a dedicated power adapter, a NOKIA Lumia's power cable will be the easy option that can output 5 Volts and ~750 mA. In all other cases your smartphones charger will be the alternative.

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Tata docomo internet in ubuntu

Tata docomo offers basically 3 kinds of gprs based internet plans for use in Kerala. They are providing reasonable browsing speeds but still Idea is faster among other counter parts.

Connect your mobile phone using the data cable or bluetooth to the Ubuntu box. If you are using datacable then opt for the 'phone mode' ('Nokia mode' in Nokia phones) from the popup menu shown in the phone when connected to the pc. The network manager will launch the new broadband wizard in the pc automatically. You can manually access this by clicking on the 'Add' button under the 'Mobile Broadband' tag in the NetworkManger.

During the wizard you can find TATA DOCOMO listed under Mobile Service providers belonging to India. This case is true for versions of Ubuntu released after Ubuntu 9.10. For older versions of Ubuntu TATA DOCOMO might not be listed. In this case you can select any of the service provider (idea, airtel...) and editing it after completing the wizard. For editing the connection, select the 'edit' button under the 'Mobile Broadband' tag in the NetworkManager. You have to change the feilds such as Access Point, Number, DNS servers etc... with new values as follows.

Connection name    :     tata docomo
APN                         :     TATA.DOCOMO.INTERNET
Number                   :     *99#
DNS server             :     8.8.8.8

To change the DNS server, first click on the 'IPv4 Settings' tab and select the 'Method' as 'Automatic (PPP) addresses only'. Then fill the 'DNS servers' feild with the above given value. Check in the box corresponding to 'Connect automatically' and click on the apply button to finish the configurations.

Connection using the Bluetooth:

If you are using past versions of ubuntu till maverick Meerkat (10.04 LTS) then you may have to install an application called blueman for using mobile internet without any hazzles and terminal based configurations. Blueman provides a simple interface for accessing the mobile internet via bluetooth. Installation procedures have been discussed in another post in  crack bytezz. Click on the 'setup' button and then select 'Dialup Networking' in the 'connect to' window popped up and forward to finish the procedure. The connection can be setted up as specified above

 

Dialling the connection

Now dial the connection from the Network Manager applet in the taskbar as shown in the figure.

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How to connect Idea gprs without Nokia PC suite in Windows

There is no need of a software like Nokia pc suite for accessing internet on the Windows machine if you have a modem on your mobile phone. This post describes about connecting to internet with a nokia phone with modem on your computer


Connect the mobile to the computer using bluetooth or data cable from the phone. Select Nokia mode on the phone if connection is made through the data cable. Pair the phone with the bluetooth of the computer if the connection is via bluetooth.


 

On Mobile phone


Select Menu  >>  Settings  >>  Connectivity  >> Packet data   >>  Packet data settings



Click on Edit active acces point to edit the access point. Set the following values

 

       Alias for access point       ::     internet

       Packet data access point  ::     internet


Set the active access point as curreently defined access point called 'internet'.

 

On computer with Windows XP/Vista/7


Select Setup a connection or network from Network and Sharing center.


Click on Set up a dial-up connection 

Select the bluetooth modem corresponding to your phone

 Change the fields on the screen as follows


          Dial up phone number :  *99#

          Connection name         :  idea internet 

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Quick tip : Laptops

Tip 1: wifi/bluetooth switches in laptops

If you have partiular switch for wifi bluetooth in you laptop then put it always in the ON state physically. They are not so sturdy and are easily prone to complaint. So frequently using these switches will decrease its lifespan.

Better check out your Oparting systen services to enable/disable this services instead of always looking for the switches

Tip 2 :When you buy a laptop

When you are going to buy a laptop give the irst preference to Processor, Motherboard and display instead of looking for the features like good speakers, vibrant color pattern etc...This is because the first three constitutes the important and pricest component in the machine...

Tip 3 : Avoid drinking coffe (conditions apply !!!) 

Try to avoid using moist content near your laptop. It's always a problem to many of the electronic devices...(No restrictions for bear...)

Tip 4 : Using laptop

Avoid using laptop over smooth surfaces like bed cloth etc... This can close the air vents under the laptop preventing the hot air  to flow outside. The system will get heated up, then the fans increase their speed to compensate this speed by increasing the heat further more. Don't make your laptop angry ! ! !

Tip 5 : Use your brain mouse

Use a mouse instead of using a touchpad in your laptop. Coz, mouse is cheaper than a touchpad when you have to replace

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