I got one of these1 for christmas, a pair of relays that plug direct into a raspberry pi. They're rated for 230v so this means you can wire something (a light, a stereo, a central heating system) to the relay that would normally be plugged directly in to the mains (put the relay in between the power source and the device where you might put any switch) and then you can control that switch with a bit of code. Exciting but dangerous. I tried this out a few days ago, but it didn't work, nfw. I was being extra safe to start with, not using 230v but using a low powered lamp from IKEA to try it out with. Realised after that I was using an led light and I probably connected it the wrong way round, so tried again yesterday and all was good! I used a battery as my power source instead of the mains, so still not tried it with real mains power, but I will do soon...
Not sure what to use it for first, possibly going to get a heat belt for the home brew and use this to regulate the temperature.
It's cold and damp and miserable today. Lunch will be mostly flapjacks and brownies.
raspberry pi: Credit card sized super cheap computer, awesome.
Paul Clarke's blog - I live in Hythe in the far South. Married to Clare + dad to two, I am a full stack web developr, and I do js / nodejs, some ruby, python, php ect ect. I like pubs, running, eating, home-automation and other diy jiggery-pokery, history, family tree stuff, Television, squirrels, pirates, lego, and TIME TRAVEL.