Which Raspberry Pi and which setup to choose for my 10 year old son?

[hadi2009]

He had a Pi 0 w for a week but it broke while he was trying to solder some pins on it so I need to buy him a new one.

He managed to flash Raspberian Buster Lite on the SD with an empty ssh file and wpa_supplicant.config and used a headless setup to access it on wifi through the command line. He was unable to get the full Raspberian Buster with desktop for unclear reason to me.

He knows scratch and used Arduino. He seems to be better in electronics than coding. I expect him to continue enjoying the electronic parts more than coding. He doesn't know Python yet.

I don't expect any major projects. I expect simple stuff.

Does it help his learning curve to buy a stronger Pi or just stick to the Pi 0 w? Does it help his learning curve to buy a raspberry pi kit or can he use the old parts he had for his arduino? Price will not be a major issue. I appreciate any suggestions.

[W. H. Heydt]

Given what happened, you might look at the Pi0WH, which is a Pi0W with the header pins already in place. As a better (in my personal opinion) option would be a Pi4B. Since he's unlikely to be doing really heavy development work, the 2GB model would probably do just fine.

[echmain]

Wait, what’s going on here?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 1&t=259943

[hadi2009]

Wait, what’s going on here?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 1&t=259943

I noticed that my son posted the same question.

[hadi2009]

Given what happened, you might look at the Pi0WH, which is a Pi0W with the header pins already in place. As a better (in my personal opinion) option would be a Pi4B. Since he's unlikely to be doing really heavy development work, the 2GB model would probably do just fine.

What will a Pi 4 B add for someone just trying to learn compared to the cheaper ones?

[davidcoton]

What will a Pi 4 B add for someone just trying to learn compared to the cheaper ones?

1. Faster, more capable (may not be relevant)
2. A degree of future-proofing, particularly with 64-bit OSs (generally thought to be the future)
3. More robust than Pi0 models

[bensimmo]

It adds the ability to use it as a stand alone desktop.
Enabling the use scratch properly, use the web and everything runs quicker including programming from the desktop.
Then tag in a PiZero when you buy it for smaller projects.

He may also want to look at Microbits and or Adafruit CircuitPython Express (this last one can be done as part of the RPi Hackspace magazine subscription)
They lend themselves to electronics tinkering with all the sensors etc packed in. (Worth a look at)

Edit
Adding https://hackspace.raspberrypi.org/
Worth a look through the PDF downloads, as electronics is of interest, the magazine may be interesting.

[hadi2009]

It adds the ability to use it as a stand alone desktop.
Enabling the use scratch properly, use the web and everything runs quicker including programming from the desktop.
Then tag in a PiZero when you buy it for smaller projects.

He may also want to look at Microbits and or Adafruit CircuitPython Express (this last one can be done as part of the RPi Hackspace magazine subscription)
They lend themselves to electronics tinkering with all the sensors etc packed in. (Worth a look at)

Edit
Adding https://hackspace.raspberrypi.org/
Worth a look through the PDF downloads, as electronics is of interest, the magazine may be interesting.

Thx a lot.

If I buy something like the following :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raspberry-Pi-4 ... SwHwddVw30

and I have spare keyboards (one USB wireless and one with USB wire) and a spare wireless USB mouse and an LCD with HDMI-HDMI cable, do I need anything else for the connections (any adapters needed) or am I good to go?

I think some people recommended the official power supply to make sure I'm providing the correct power. Can you provide a link and some explanation ?

[fruitoftheloom]

It adds the ability to use it as a stand alone desktop.
Enabling the use scratch properly, use the web and everything runs quicker including programming from the desktop.
Then tag in a PiZero when you buy it for smaller projects.

He may also want to look at Microbits and or Adafruit CircuitPython Express (this last one can be done as part of the RPi Hackspace magazine subscription)
They lend themselves to electronics tinkering with all the sensors etc packed in. (Worth a look at)

Edit
Adding https://hackspace.raspberrypi.org/
Worth a look through the PDF downloads, as electronics is of interest, the magazine may be interesting.

Thx a lot.

If I buy something like the following :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Raspberry-Pi-4 ... SwHwddVw30

and I have spare keyboards (one USB wireless and one with USB wire) and a spare wireless USB mouse and an LCD with HDMI-HDMI cable, do I need anything else for the connections (any adapters needed) or am I good to go?

I think some people recommended the official power supply to make sure I'm providing the correct power. Can you provide a link and some explanation ?

My advice is to purchase from Official Re-sellers, regards Official Power Supply it was designed specifically for use with the 4B:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/

[bensimmo]

You're on the RaspberryPi website, all the information is on here.
But this is in the HELP page.
https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/pat ... spberry-pi

You'll need a micoHDMI (μHDMI) convertor but the lead itself doesn't cost a lot.
Buy from official retailers and the official PSU is used as it's cheap and works (you'll need a Pi4 version as it has a different power connector).

Though i'm in the UK and things may be easy to come buy.


My children started on the Pi1B+,( it is PiZero speed) and they got by but Raspbian has higher demands on the desktop now and scratch and web browsing are painful now.
They used the Pi3' a lot (as do the PiJam I go to) but with the Pi4 life is much nicer. I have the 4GB version but would buy 2GB from now on as I've looked at memory usage browsing, programming, office and playing video all at once and only uses about 1.5GB most of the time.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/

My son then uses (as I do) the PiZero without the Desktop and SSH to the command line (as you've done) for little projects.
My other son just likes programming directly on the Pi3B or 4B.

[bensimmo]

If I have the USA way of selling right, the Pi4 2GB should be $45 excl tax.
Check out Adafruit or other official retailers. They'll have the hdmi cable and Pi4 power supply to.

You son will then also have a nice personal computer to learn other things on too.

[W. H. Heydt]

If I have the USA way of selling right, the Pi4 2GB should be $45 excl tax.

That's correct. US prices are quoted without sales tax, as that varies by state (and some don't have any at all).

[boyoh]

My advice is don’t keep buying bigger and better
Pi , until you have mastered the first one. So stick
To learning basic electronics on a breadboard
Get a learning kit and a 0/12v 3a adapter ,
Do not use your Pi as the power supply.
You will then have a better understanding of
How to inter face with the Pi GPIOs. Just remember
There will be more coders than Electronic engineers
in time

Regards BoyOH
Retired Electrical / Electronics ‘Technician