SBC Week in Review – January 29th, 2023

The review of the week is a collection of tidbits I have found around the web related to SBCs and electronics. I figured I would curate a list of things that other like-minded electronics enthusiasts would be interested in.

DPHacks Posts of the Week

I took a look at a popular SBC from Libre Computer. Le Potato is a versatile board when it comes to software support but it is not a drop-in replacement for a Raspberry Pi computer as it is not compatible with Pi accessories. Read the full post here: Le Potato Single Board Computer: All You Need to Know

Raspberry Pi Availability

Not much has changed, really. There was a small wave of Pi 3A+ going around the world. This batch is much smaller than the one we saw right before the end of the year. We have also seen a good number of Zero W’s but nothing that will put an end to the shortage. Pi computers are still very scarce and availability is only supposed to increase in a meaningful way in Q3 of this year.

Pimoroni has been having Pi 4 B kits most days of the week. If you are looking for a kit, you should definitely check them out.

I have seen many mentions of some Micro Center stores having Pi computers in stock. Stock seems to be a mix of 3A+, Zero W, and 4B. Micro Center only does in-person sales only and, unfortunately, their website is notorious for not displaying the correct stock for in-person items.

As always, Adafruit has been a reliable source of Pi 4 B’s. They have been doing drops most days of the week but they sell out fast – we are talking about 1-2 minutes here, folks. Get your rpilocator.com notifications working so you don’t miss the next drop.

Interesting Tidbits from the Wide World Web

Raspberry Pi Visits Adafruit

Liz Upton and other folks from Raspberry Pi were in NYC visiting the good folks from Adafruit. They didn’t share any details of the visit, but this can only be a good sign. Liz Upton is a co-founder of Raspberry Pi and head of Marketing. Adafruit has been a long-standing partner of Raspberry Pi and good to see the relationship is still alive even after the supply chain/chip shortage issues.

Great seeing folks from the Raspberry Pi team in NYC at Adafruit! pic.twitter.com/1vu0xG6p3y

— adafruit industries (@adafruit) January 24, 2023

Another Board from Radxa/OKdo

Radxa just announced (and OKdo has been teasing) the release of the Rock 5A board. This will be a direct competitor of the Orange Pi 5. The Rock 5A will be powered by the Rockchip RK3588S SoC, which is a paired-down version of the RK3588 chip present on the Rock 5B board.

I don’t know how I feel about this. I really wish SBC makers would focus on polishing their software/kernel support instead of putting effort into developing yet another board.

Care Package from OKdo

Speaking of Rock boards, OKdo was kind enough to send me a care package with a Rock CM3, Rock 4 C+, and a Rock 5B. I’ve already gotten the CM3 booting on my custom carrier board (designed for Raspberry Pi CM4). I’ll be using these boards – and writing about them – in the near future.

I’ll be providing feedback directly to OKdo and hopefully, they will be able to improve the user experience with these boards.

What am I getting myself into? Rock 5B. What would you like me to test? I don't see this as a "project" SBC due to its price and capabilities. Maybe it will replace a CM4 as my workshop computer. More to come. pic.twitter.com/5ecPBTpIgH

— makerbymistake (@makerbymistake) January 29, 2023

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for another update next week.