Introduction to Raspberry Pi 3 B+
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Introduction to Raspberry Pi 3 B+. It is a small board computer, introduced by Raspberry Pi foundation in 14th March 2018 and is the most recent version of the Pi boards.
It is a modified form of its predecessor Raspberry Pi 3 B that was introduced in 2016 and came with CPU, GPU, USP ports and I/O pins. Both versions are almost same in terms of functionality and technical specifications; however, there are some exceptions in the B+ model as it comes with USB boot, network boot, and Power over Ethernet option that are not present in the B model.
Technology has been evolved over time with the purpose of making lives easy and convenient. This device was a major development in the technology that made computer learning too easy that anyone with little effort can make their feet wet with the process.
In this tutorial, I'll discuss each and everything related to Raspberry Pi 3 B+, its main functions and features, benefits and everything you need to know, so you find all information in one place without wrestling your mind on the web surfing. Let's dive right in.
Introduction to Raspberry Pi 3 B+
- Raspberry Pi 3 B+ was introduced by Raspberry Pi foundation on 14th March 2018. It is an advanced version of Raspberry Pi 3 B model that was introduced in 2016.
- It is a tiny computer board that comes with CPU, GPU, USB ports, I/O pins, WiFi, Bluetooth, USB and network boot and is capable of doing some functions like a regular computer.
- Features of the B+ version are almost same as B model; however, USB and Network Boot and Power over Ethernet facility only come with B+ model. Also, two extra USB ports are added to this device.
- The SoC (system on chip) combines both CPU and GPU on a single package and turns out to be faster than Pi 2 and Pi 3 models.
Improvements
- The model B+ stays ahead in terms of processing speed and comes with an improved wireless capability.
- The dual-band WiFi 802.11ac runs at 2.4GHz and 5GHz and provides a better range in wireless challenging environments and Bluetooth 4.2 is available with BLE support.
- The top side is painted with metal shielding, instead of plastic in the earlier models, that acts as a heat sink and drains the excessive amount of heat if the board is subjected to the high temperature or pressure.
- This B+ model is three times faster than Pi 2 and 3 which is a major development in terms of speed, capable of executing different functions at a decent pace.
- The ethernet port comes with 300 Mbit/s which is much faster than earlier version with 100 Mbit/s speed. It is known as gigabit ethernet based on USB 2.0 interface.
- Four pin header is added on the board that resides near 40 pin header. This allows the Power over Ethernet (PoE) i.e. provides the necessary electrical current to the device using data cables instead of power cords. It is very useful and reduces the number of cables required for the installation of a device in the relevant project.
- PoE works only in the presence of PoE hat.
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Pinout
Following figure shows the pinout of Raspberry Pi 3 B+
- 40 Pin header is used to develop an external connection with the electronic device. This is the same as the previous versions, making it compatible with all the devices where older versions can be used.
- Out of 40 pins, 26 are used as a digital I/O pins and 9 of the remaining 14 pins are termed as dedicated I/O pins which indicate they don't come with alternative function.
- Pin 3 and 5 comes with an onboard pull up resistor which 1.8 kO and Pin 27 and 28 are dedicated to ID EEPROM. In B+ model the GPIO header is slightly repositioned to allow more space for the additional mounting hole. The devices that are compatible with the B model may work with the B+ version; however, they may not sit identically to the previous version.
Hardware Specifications
CPU: The CPU is a brain of this tiny computer that helps in carrying out a number of instruction based on the mathematical and logical formulas. It comes with a capacity of 64 bit.
Clock Speed and RAM: It comes with a clock speed of 1.4 GHz Broadcom BCM2837B0 that contains quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 and RAM memory is around 1GB (identical to the previous version)
GPU: It stands for graphics processing unit, used for carrying out image calculation. Broadcom video core cable is added in the device that is mainly used for playing video games.
USB Ports: Two more USB ports are introduced in this new version, setting you free from the hassle of using an external USB hub when you aim to join a number of peripherals with the device.
MicroUSB Power Source Connector: This connector is used for providing 5V power to the board. It draws 170 to 200mA more power than B model.
HDMI and Composite Connection: Both audio output socket and video composite now reside in a single 4-pole 3.5mm socket which resides near HDMI. And the power connector is also repositioned in new B+ model and lives next to HDMI socket. All the power and audio video composite socket are now placed on the one side of the PCB, giving it a clean and precise look.
USB Hard Drive: The USB hard drive is available on the board that is used to boot the device. It is identical to the hard drive of regular computer where windows is used to boot the hard drive of the computer.
PoE: B+ model comes with a facility of Power over Ethernet (PoE); a new feature added in this device which allows the necessary electrical current using data cables.
Other Changes: The B+ version comes with little improvement in the features and poses slightly different layout in terms of location of the components. The SD memory slot is replaced by a micro SD memory card slot (works similar to the previous version). The status LEDs now only contain red and green color and relocated to the opposite end of the PCB.
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Technical Specifications
- CPU is 64 bit with 1GB RAM (random access memory)
- Contains Broadcom BCM2837B0 chipset
- Comes with 1.4GHz Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A53, 4 cores
- Consists of 40 pin header (26 GPIOs)
- Stereo audio and composite video is supported by 3.5mm jack connector
- 4 USB 2.0 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- PoE (power over Ethernet) is a major feature incorporated in this device that lacks in B model
- 2-pin reset header
- Micro SD socket, used to enhance the memory capacity of the board
- MicroUSB power connector, used for transferring power to the device
- HDMI
- CSI camera interface
- Comes with WiFi and Bluetooth facility that were not present in previous Raspberry Pi 1 and 2 versions
- DSI connector for official screen
Mechanical Dimensions
Following figure shows the dimensions of Raspberry Pi 3 B+
- The mechanical dimensions of this B+ are same as B version i.e. 85mm x 56mm. (Width x Height)
Applications
Raspberry Pi comes with a wide range of applications and works as a regular computer in some cases.
- Tablet Computer
- Home Automation
- Controlling Robots
- Coffee Projects
- Arcade Machine
- Media Streamer
- Internet Radio
- Cosmic Computer
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