I'm not sure if it was my issue but my DS3231 RTC had a dead battery in it. I had two in my box of unused stuff so I swapped in the good battery from my spare RTC. No errors doing updates or my tweaks etc. I'll have to let it run for a while to see if it glitches. I think I'll just let it run over night and see if its still working in the morning.
On my headless setups I don't usually bother. My Pi 400 and my breadboard rig I try to keep updated. Not sure why I did on this one to be honest. It's not going to be connected to a network so no real need. And all its going to be running is that THP.py file. But hey, its no fun unless you make extra work for yourself right?
I think extra work is my middle name !
I ordered one of these LIPO Shims for my PICO on that last Pimoroni order. It has built in battery charging, and Python code for monitoring battery state. Just luck I saw it before placing the order.
LiPo SHIM for Pico – Pimoroni
I already have the Display Pack, and ordered the Explorer pack with it. My plan is to solder on my header, then remove the black base part off of the pins used by the shim. Then solder it on nice and close to the PICO. I should then have the full normal length of pin to use for whatever I plug the PICO into.
hard as I try, I cant envision the outcome of this ...but i'm trying ,lol
(My plan is to solder on my header, then remove the black base part off of the pins used by the shim. Then solder it on nice and close to the PICO )
I could have worded that better. What I will do is solder headers on the Pico, but before I do that I'll split (break) them into an 8 pin and a 12 pin header. The 8 pin ones will go on the end of the PICO that the shim attaches too. Once they are all soldered in place I'll pull the black plastic base off of those first 8 pin headers leaving just the pins. The shim goes on where the black base used to be, right up close to the PICO. I'll likely put a female header on top just to hold the pins in place while I solder the shim in place. It will be as it is on the product page, but without the black base between it and the PICO. They will be back to back with nothing in-between them.
Last edited by alphanumeric; 18 Apr 2021 at 18:42.
I will take pics. Order hasn't been filled or shipped yet, it was Friday night when I placed it. I got the order received confirmation so I'll assume it will be filled and shipped Monday some time. I went the Standard 5-10 business days shipping which means ~ two weeks for delivery.
• 1x LiPo SHIM for Pico
• 1x Pico Explorer Base
• 3x Raspberry Pi Pico - Board Only
• 3x Captain Resetti (Pico Reset Button)
Just for clarity, this "PICO" LIPO shim isn't a powerboost, it doesn't send 5V to the PICO. It just sends the battery voltage to the vsys pin.
Supported input power is 1.8–5.5V DC, so that voltage provided to VSYS is absolutely fine. You can run the PICO from battery without the shim, just keep it within the 1.8 to 5.5V limit. Three double or triple A batteries should work OK. Even 4 NiCad batteries should be fine. The LIPO shim lets you recharge your LIPO from the PICO's USB port, which is why I bought one. No having to unplug the battery to recharge it on a separate charger.
And it has an on off button to turn power off to the PICO.
My weather clock built from spare parts, A Pi A+ and Sense Hat, that had glitched, has been running fine now for a couple of days. I guess it was the dead battery on the DS3231 that caused my error? Or the Lexar SD card? I won't know if was the SD card until i try that card in another Pi. I have a spare Pi Zero to test it in, just have to find my round 2it.
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