The Raspberry Pi Model B+ Q&A thread

[gordon@drogon.net]

First of all, Congrats for getting out of beta The new revision looks awesome.

Question: Will unpowered HDMI>VGA converters be safer to use with the B+? I gather it was just a matter of 1 diode before...

Yes. The HDMI hotplug supply now has a current limit device on it, similar to the USB output current limit.

What is the current limited to?
Is that limit shared with anything else?

The 5v to the HDMI socket is fed by an AP2331W current limiting device. This limits the maximum current to 400mA.

-Gordon

[neo19880715]

Hi,there.
I bought two screens from amazon for my model B PI. the one is 3.2 inch the other is 3.5inch,both of them work great,but i don't know if it will be work fine for model b+ ? Any suggestion ？

3.2inch： http://www.amazon.com/JBtek-320x240-Dis ... B00LGOS00G

3.5inch： http://www.amazon.com/JBtek-Version-480 ... B00L15FOF4

[RaTTuS]

Hi,there.
I bought two screens from amazon for my model B PI. the one is 3.2 inch the other is 3.5inch,both of them work great,but i don't know if it will be work fine for model b+ ? Any suggestion ？

3.2inch： http://www.amazon.com/JBtek-320x240-Dis ... B00LGOS00G

3.5inch： http://www.amazon.com/JBtek-Version-480 ... B00L15FOF4

should be fine have you tried it ?

[mrpi64]

Hi all, if you have any questions or comments on the new B+ board, please add them here!

But first, my impressions...

The most noticeable addition is an extra two USB ports, which is achieved by replacing the old ethernet/USB 2 port hub chip with a four port version. Hand in hand with this is better power circuitry so the ports can now supply more power, which should help with hotplugging and high power devices (USB Hard drives should now work).

The SD card is now uSD, with a higher quality connector and less 'sticky outness'

All connectors are now on two sides of the board, and there are now mounting holes at each corner.

The GPIO connector now exposes more GPIO's (all of them I think!)

So, evolution rather than revolution, in order to maintain as much backwards compatibility as possible. Hopefully most of the points that people have complained about over the last couple of years have been addressed!

Enjoy!

Won't the extra USB connector make the board non-compatible with boards that utilised this "gap", e.g: PiFace?

[GadgetUK]

So with B+ here, and A+ in the wings, will existing B, and A models become EOL ?

[hampi]

So with B+ here, and A+ in the wings, will existing B, and A models become EOL ?

If you have a model B with a powered USB hub already I do not see reason to buy a B+ now. Main effort in these projects is always the software and that can take many man-years to write and debug. Does not really matter on which version of Raspberry Pi board you run the software.

[fruitoftheloom]

So with B+ here, and A+ in the wings, will existing B, and A models become EOL ?

http://www.raspberrypi.org/introducing- ... el-b-plus/

"We think you’re going to love Model B+, but to ensure continuity of supply for our industrial customers we’ll be keeping Model B in production for as long as there’s demand for it."

Would assume that would apply to A as well

Also Raspbian Wheezy June 2014 will install on all versions...

[RaTTuS]

So with B+ here, and A+ in the wings, will existing B, and A models become EOL ?

Eban has said that the B's will still be available for the foreseeable future [there are plenty of uses out there for that form factor] , the Model A may be the first to vanish but there are still being made

[GadgetUK]

Ok, thats interesting. Looking at both Farnell and RS here in the UK, both are listing B as out of stock, with RS having a supply date on December 2014.

[jamesh]

Because of a supply problem, all manufacturing capacity was aimed at B+, so there is a lack of A and B's out there right now. This should be fixed soon as manufacturing continues.

In fact there is probably also a lack of B+ right now too as sales have been rather good and the large stockpile depleted quickly! (No figures available so don't ask!)

[RaTTuS]

is there anywhere in the system that can tell us what the supplied voltage is on the board ?
without measuring via an external device.

[ShiftPlusOne]

is there anywhere in the system that can tell us what the supplied voltage is on the board ?
without measuring via an external device.

The power LED goes off when the voltage drops below ~4.6V, but that's about it.

[gordon@drogon.net]

is there anywhere in the system that can tell us what the supplied voltage is on the board ?
without measuring via an external device.

The power LED goes off when the voltage drops below ~4.6V, but that's about it.

A possibility might be feeding the 5v supply on the GPIO connector back into a gpio pin via a resistor divider, capacitor and another resistor - then you can run 1-bit timed ADC in software on the Pi. Would need calibration/tuning, but ought to be very effective.

Might give it a go later if I have time/energy...

-Gordon

[RaTTuS]

are there test points on the b+ ?

[ShiftPlusOne]

are there test points on the b+ ?

All over the bottom of it.

[MaxK1]

Are they documented yet?

[ShiftPlusOne]

Are they documented yet?

I don't think so.

[rpdom]

Are they documented yet?

I've had a quick look at them and think I've worked out the most obvious ones.

PP10 seems to be the PWR LED
PP13 seems to be the ACT LED
PP22 and PP23 look to be the LAN LEDs
PP24 to PP26 are connected to the A/V jack
PP29 to PP34 are actually labelled and look like they go to a position for an additional connector under the HDMI socket.
(PP29=TMS, PP30=TRST_N, PP31=TCK, PP32=TD1, PP33=TD0, PP34=GND)
Because of the size of PP37 to PP40, I think they are connected to the various power rails, but I can't see to confirm this.

I should get a meter out and confirm some of those, or someone else could do it.
There are loads more that I haven't checked.

The LED test points would be useful to someone who wanted to fit their own external LEDS on a case, with a suitable transistor driver.

[plugwash]

Won't the extra USB connector make the board non-compatible with boards that utilised this "gap", e.g: PiFace?

As with the ribbon cable issue you should be able to get arround this by inserting a stacking header between the Pi and the expansion board.

Boards that use I2S will probablly need to be redesigned.

[MrEngman]

Are they documented yet?

I've had a quick look at them and think I've worked out the most obvious ones.

PP29 to PP34 are actually labelled and look like they go to a position for an additional connector under the HDMI socket.
(PP29=TMS, PP30=TRST_N, PP31=TCK, PP32=TD1, PP33=TD0, PP34=GND)

From the labels they appear to be JTAG signals.



MrEngman

[Lob0426]

Is the change to a Micro SD going to cause price problems in other parts of the world?
Here in the U.S. the price of comparable SD and Micro SD are very similar.

[redhawk]

Price wise they should be pretty close although I suspect SD cards are going to be slightly higher due to their frequent use in digital cameras vs mobile phones.

I'm surprised the RPF have decided to go Micro I was under the impression SD cards were chosen exclusively for the Pi so that kids couldn't lose them.
In any case I'm happy they've had a change or heart Micro SD cards feel more robust and since the spring loaded holder protects the top there's no chance of getting the bends as has been the case for some unlucky Model B owners.

Richard S.

[jdb]

Is the change to a Micro SD going to cause price problems in other parts of the world?
Here in the U.S. the price of comparable SD and Micro SD are very similar.

No.

There are tens of millions of uSD cards produced annually.

[jamesh]

I think the price point of decent uSD connectors now means it's a good option. It much smaller and doesn't stick out (as much) which is a bonus and prevents breakage. My personal thoughts are that they are much easier to lose than SD cards, so that might be a problem with school children. As for price, uSD are going to be the cheaper option from now on I think - most cards you buy now are uSD with an adapter, so that's a non-issue.

[Lob0426]

I agree that the Micro SD port, in the Model B+, appears to much more robust than the plastic unit in the Model A and B. The shorter overhang means less leverage against the connector. The Micro SD is used in a lot of cell phones but the larger storage size units are more expensive than a SD card. 32GB and above start getting expensive here locally, especially if you want more than a class 2. Fortunately I have several here at any particular time. They are easier to lose. I try to never put them away without being in a plastic carrier or in a device. They disappear into a drawer pretty easily! Dropping one onto a carpet can be a chore also.

As to the 26 pin cables and clearance. In the past I have glued the connector closed on one side, then trimmed the cable with a hobby knife, to fit between the pins. So this might be an option here as well. I am sure there will be 40 pin cobbler and T-cobblers, as well as other models, available in the near future .

FYI:
It appears that my B+ order has shipped from Newark Element/14 even though the confirmation stated 8/5/14. So changing the shipping method did not hold up my order. I was afraid it would.
Standard shipping was $13.23
I chose USPS priority at $6.41
Both claim 2 to 3 days delivery. USPS to this area will be more like 4 days.
Total cost at $44.04 rather than $50.86 so I saved $6.82

There are now less than 200 in stock now. 373 available for same day yesterday evening. They are going pretty fast, as usual.