Category Archives: Raspberry Pi

Two Raspberry Pi HAT Controller Modules

Atomo Systems, from Hong Kong, will be producing the Atomo Modular Electronic System for building electronic projects with four parts—Control, IO, Power, and Connector. The system also includes two low-cost HAT modules with onboard ARM MCUs compatible to the Raspberry Pi (RBPi). The combined controller connector board uses a small and inexpensive MCU, similar to what an Arduino Uno uses. However, the ARM MCU is faster, has more IO, and is better compatible with the RBPi.

The idea behind building such a modular system is to allow the user to focus more on the project rather than worrying about running extra wires for power or adding more IO. The system is highly flexible and has ample system resources. For instance, if you need to solve larger problems, you can simply add more resources such as by swapping controllers rather than starting all over again.

Any electronic project needs Inputs and outputs to connect to the rest of the world. The modular electronic system comes with IO modules with a useful amount of IO. In addition to offering adequate power for most applications, you can double up the modules using the 8-module connector board.

The onboard connectors on the extended controllers offer features such as multi-channel clock generation and bus multiplexing. Therefore, you can easily keep track of the system temperature using the built-in thermistor, and drive a fan if the temperature exceeds a certain limit.

The modular electronic system needs power to work. Apart from deriving power from the USB socket, other options are also available, from 13 W to 2 kW. These include a 5.5 mm DC Barrel Plug, ATX, and POE. Voltages on tap include 12 VDC, 5 VDC, and 3.3 VDC. For driving higher power devices such as heaters and motors, the input voltage may be used directly.

All the controllers are compatible to the 40-pin HAT connector on the RBPi. They contain EEPROMs for the RBPi HAT to allow for system configuration and automatic device driver setup. Separate SPI and I2C interfaces allow addressing two PWMs, two ADCs, and four GPIOs. The MKE02Z16VLD4 MCU by NXP powers both. This is a 44-pin LQFP, 5 V tolerant, and ESD robust ARM Cortex m0+ CPU running at 40 MHz. One of the controllers is a low power module, while the other is a high power module capable of handling up to 600 W of power usage, via a 34-pin power module connector.

Compatibility with the HAT connector on the RBPi allows programming on the RBPi for updating the controllers. Additionally, you can simply use the Atomo as a modular HAT. This way, you can handle ROS robots or any other system where the RBPi is solely used for interfacing and processing, while the Atomo HAT provides the additional power, IO, or real time control the project requires.

The low power RBPi HAT combined controller and Connector boards make two IO module systems. Therefore, you can build POE powered RBPi applications for a simple RBPi powered robot. This board features 2×28-pin IO modules powered by the RBPi itself. The higher power version has a standard 34-pin power module.

VNC: Controlling a Raspberry Pi from Anywhere

Sometime you wish you could remotely control your Single Board Computer (SBC), the Raspberry Pi (RBPi). This could be because you have set up your RBPi as a home security system with a camera that you want to monitor remotely, or the RBPi is in control of some appliance that you would like to switch on/off from a remote location. Ordinarily, to access an RBPi from outside your home network, you would need to give it an IP address, and set up your home router accordingly. However, there is another method to bypass all that.

Before you begin, make sure your RBPi has the latest OS installed, and is set up to access your home network. Also, as you will be exposing the RBPi to the Internet, change its default password at the setup process. Once you have done this, you can use VNC Connect to access your SBC from anywhere.

Using VNC, you can easily connect to any computer remotely on the same network. Additionally, VNC Connect allows you to connect to any computer from anywhere using a cloud connection, and this includes the RBPi as well. Once you have set it up, the VNC Viewer app will allow you to access the graphic interface of your RBPi from any other computer or smartphone.

The most recent version of the RBPi operating system, namely PIXEL, comes with VNC Connect already present. Others can install it via the apt-get command. You will need to install both realvnc-vnc-server and realvnc-vnc-viewer. Once you have done that, run the raspi-config and set VNC as enabled. This will allow you to set up VNC Connect.

Use a browser to go to the sign-up page of RealVNC Raspberry Pi. Enter your email address in the sign up box. The on-screen instructions will now guide you to complete setting up your account with a password.

On the screen of your RBPi, you should see a VNC icon, which you can click to open. Now, click on the Status Menu and select Licensing. Here, you can enter your email address and its password you created on the sign-up page. On the next prompt, select Direct and Cloud Connectivity, to make your RBPi accessible online.

Now go to the computer or smartphone from which you would like to control your RBPi, and download the VNC Viewer application therein. Open the application, and enter your email address and its password you created on the sign-up page.

This should make your RBPi pop-up automatically as an option. You can use to open up the connection. It will prompt you for the username and password of your RBPi. By default, this is pi as username and raspberry as password, unless you have changed the password as instructed earlier. It takes only a few seconds to connect to your RBPi.

Now, as long as your RBPi is connected to the Internet, you can log into and access its graphic desktop from anywhere. That means you have complete control of any software on the RBPi, check on the status of any project it is running, or even play the games stored on your private server.

Raspberry Pi Zero Goes Wireless

The Raspberry Pi product line has added a new member, the Raspberry Pi Zero W (RBPiZW), an updated version of the RBPi Zero, with the added advantages on on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability.

Although the new RBPiZW lacks the Ethernet and full-sized USB-A ports, it is only a fraction of the size of its flagship brethren the RBPi, and less expensive as well. Almost identical to the RBPi Zero, the RBPiZW is twice as expensive, and boasts of a wireless chip supporting the 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi for 2.4 GHz only, and Bluetooth 4.0.

Both the RBPiZW and RBPi Zero use the same BCM2835 that powered the original RBPi. However, the single-core chip is now clocked at a higher speed of 1 GHz, as against 700 MHz earlier. On the RBPiZW is a Cypress wireless chip, the same the RBPI3 also uses. Although the Raspberry Pi Foundation has claimed the maximum wireless speed of the chip as 150 Mbps, in reality it generally hits about 20 to 40 Mbps.

Apart from the addition of the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, there has been no change from the RBPi Zero to the RBPiZW. The designers added the Bluetooth and wireless LAN chipsets to the board, and included a PCB antenna layout licensed from ProAnt, Sweden.

The RBPiZW contains 512 MB RAM, a HAT-compatible 40-pin header, a CSI camera connector, a Micro-USB for power, Mini-HDMI port, a USB port for OTG, and headers for composite video and reset.

Although the new RBPiZW is a trifle heavier than its predecessor the RBPi Zero is, their dimensions are identical at 2.6×1.2×0.2 inches. You can also get a new case with the RBPiZW, with three interchangeable lids. The first lid is solid, the second has an opening in it for the GPIO pins, and the third has an opening for the camera module.

As the RBPiZW (and the RBPi Zero) come without the GPIO pins installed, they are able to maintain their slim profile, despite their full-sized GPIO headers. The user can solder the GPIO pins if the project demands, but the small size of the Zero boards are an advantage when using them to build a small robot or any other small system.

Even though the price is slightly higher, the RBPiZW remains incredibly cheap and is far more useful out of the box. Measurements of the performance of the tiny SBC confirm this. However, considering general performance when comparing with the RBPi3, such as during web browsing, it may be a frustrating experience. The RBPiWZ will have long pauses as the data loads and graphics renders in the Epiphany browser.

That means the RBPiZW is geared more towards hardware and software hackers, rather than those trying for a desktop experience. Those who want a replacement for their desktop computers would do well to use the RBPi3 instead.

Another factor weighing in for the RBPiZW is its low power consumption. Considering this board is meant for small systems and tiny robots, its low power consumption is a very big advantage when powering projects with batteries. Of course, the Wi-Fi support and network performance will affect its power consumption pattern.

Lichee Pi – Another Contender for the Raspberry Pi

If you are looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous Raspberry Pi (RBPi), check out the Lichee Pi Zero. The basic board costs only $6.00 and another two dollars will get you the Wi-Fi version. Powered by the Allwinner V35 CPU, it is even smaller than the RBPi Zero, and works with the latest Linux kernel 4.10. The crowdfunding campaign offers a huge range of accessories.

The ARM-based processor on the Lichee Pi Zero, the Allwinner V35, is an ARM Cortex-A7 CPU. It has a maximum speed of 1.2 GHz, has 512 MB DDR2 RAM integrated in it, and you can boot it from the TF card or the on-board SPI Flash. The Lichee Pi Zero runs its processor at 1.0 GHz, and the board consumes less than 100 mA, so you will not need any cooling arrangements such as fans or heat sinks.

The Lichee Pi Zero is well designed for external connections, as it has plenty of pins available for the task. For instance, you can use its 30 pins to easily plug it into a breadboard, or solder all the 60 pins on it. You can also connect its TF Wi-Fi Card.

On the top side of the Lichee Pi Zero board, one can see the MPU, RGB LED, LCD backlight circuit, TF Slot, and the microUSB ports for OTG and Power. On the bottom side is the Touch Screen Controller, SPI Flash, DCDC Power, and the FPC40 RGB Connector. You can connect the Lichee Pi Zero directly to the LCD, no video cable is necessary. Therefore, if you add to the Lichee Pi Zero an LCD, a Li-Polymer battery, a wireless keyboard, and a simple holder, you can make a mini Laptop.

Like most MCU, the Lichee Pi Zero can connect to several low-speed interfaces, such as GPIO, UART, PWM, ADC, I2C, SPI, and more. Moreover, it can run other high-speed peripherals such as RGB LCD, EPHY, MIPI CSI, OTG USB, and more. The Lichee Pi Zero has an integrated codec that allows direct connection to a headphone or microphone.

The Dock for the Lichee Pi Zero is quite powerful. It offers support for a 5 MP MIPI camera, battery manager, 4 ADC-keys, Ethernet RJ45 Connector, audio jack, microphone, an additional TF slot, and multiple pins for PWM, I2C, SPI, and UART.

The Dock also has a PA slot, through which you can plug in PA modules. Several speakers are supported, including bone conduction speakers, 1-W, and 3-W speakers. The Dock will also support small sized LCD and OLD displays, such as the 2.4-inch 240×320 TFT display, or the 0.96-inch 128×64 OLED display. You can also connect a joystick and keyboard for the setup to work as a miniGameBoy.

On the software side, the Lichee Pi Zero uses the newest Linux 4.10 kernel, and is able to run the Debian Jessie with pixel. The buildroot root file system allows you to put the kernel and the root file system of the Lichee Pi Zero into 8 MB of SPI Flash. The ZeroW Dock mini laptop suit allows you to build your own laptop, with battery manager and Ethernet support.

Treat Yourself to a Raspberry Pi Zero W

The launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero W (RBPiZW) by the Raspberry Pi Foundation recently has added two features many fans of the RBPi have been requesting for a long time. The two features, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, added to the wonderful RBPi Zero have improved the functionality of the tiny single board computer.

After all, the RBPiZW is only a variant of the RBPi Zero, and therefore, does not merit a full length, in depth review. However, we will focus on the new features the RBPiZW brings to the users.

Keeping with the tradition of the RBPi family of SBC, there is no case or anything to enable the user to treat the RBPiZW as a commercial product. Just like the other RBPi products before it, the RBPiZW is a complete single board computer, bare bones, versatile, and cheap. The Foundation has created the board this way so all hobbyists and professionals can use it with equal ease to make anything they want.

As with the original RBPi Zero, the RBPiZW also has its System-on-a-Chip (SoC) near the middle of the board, while the bottom of the board has the various mini and micro ports. For instance, rather than a full sized HDMI port, the board has a mini-HDMI port for the display to be connected. At the bottom, you will also find two micro-USB ports. One is used for supplying power to the board, and the other to carry data in and out. Therefore, if you wish to connect peripherals such as a mouse or a keyboard, you will need to use a micro-USB B male to USB A female adapter.

On the left side of the board, you will find the micro-SD slot. As with the other RBPi boards of the family, the RBPiZW also does not have built-in flash memory. Therefore, for the Operating System and data storage, you must use a micro-SD card else, you will not be able to boot the tiny computer.

Although there is an Ethernet port on the RBPiZW to connect to the Internet via an Ethernet cable, the presence of the on-board Wi-Fi precludes the use of a USB Wi-Fi dongle. That means even if you do not have a ready Ethernet cable, the RBPiZW will not face any difficulty in surfing the net.

To enable to RBPiZW to start running, you will need to supply it power from its power supply through the micro-USB cable. You must also have a micro-SD card of at least 8 GB capacity and the relevant OS stored on it. If you are going to connect a monitor to the RBPiZW, you will also need a mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter, and an HDMI cable. As you have used up one USB port for power, there is only one more micro-USB port available. Therefore, to connect a keyboard and mouse, you will additionally need a small USB hub. Of course, if you have a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, the single micro-USB port is enough, and you can dispense with the USB hub altogether. For headless applications, you can also discard the monitor, and the HDMI connectors/cables.

PiRyte Mini ATX PSU: Power Your Raspberry Pi

Powering the Single Board Computer, the Raspberry Pi (RBPi) is always simple using the wall-wart type power supply and the micro-USB cable. However, there is always the possibility of accidentally shutting off power to the RBPi without going through the proper shutdown sequence. As the RBPi relies on its micro SD card to store its Operating System and working files, a sudden loss of power is sure to corrupt them and render the RBPi incapable of rebooting in the next session.

Additionally, you may be powering other boards or HATs along with the RBPi. Having a wall-wart for each of your projects not only makes the arrangement look ugly, but it is also more prone to accidents. However, a PiRyte Mini ATX power supply unit can take care of powering your RBPi and other additional project boards. Apart from being an inexpensive desktop power supply, the ATX PSU sends out a controlled shutdown command, which the operating system of the RBPi understands, and it can close down without any damage to the disk files.

The inexpensive off the shelf ATX desktop power supply unit works with both 20 pin as well as 24 pin connectors, to enable operating systems to perform shutdowns and reboots under controlled conditions—this minimizes disk file corruption.

While offering a dedicated and regulated 5 VDC supply line for back powering the RBPi, the ATX PSU has screw terminals for +12 VDC and +5 VDC for powering external user projects. The tiny PSU also provides additional prototyping area and you can access +12 VDC, -12 VDC, +5 VDC, +3.3 VDC, and Ground for any circuit you may want to assemble there.

Most importantly, the PiRyte Mini ATX PSU conforms to the HAT footprint of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. What this means is you can simply plug it on the top of your RBPi, using the 40-pin GPIO stacking header to power your RBPi and, at the same time, use other HAT compliant boards as well. The ATX PSU comes as a DIY kit, so that costs remain low.

While operating, you can see the green LED on the ATX PSU pulsate slowly during power up and reboot. It continues to pulsate slowly until the boot up script ends. If you have shut down the RBPi from the operating system, the red LED will pulse rapidly for 10 seconds before the PSU shuts the power to the RBPi. A push button is available on the PSU for forcing a hard shutdown. The red LED dims for the entire time you keep the push button in depressed state, and turns off the power to the RBPi after 10 seconds.

Electronic projects often need multiple voltages in addition to the 5 VDC and the 3.3 VDC usually available for the RBPi. The PiRyte Mini ATX PSU supplies the type of power these project use. In addition, being a HAT compliant board, it is easy to build controller stacks using additional boards on top of the ATX PSU, as stacked configurations are physically and electrically more robust.

How Vulnerable is your Raspberry Pi

The IoT revolution has brought with it many Internet-connected computing devices, including several Single Board Computers, such as the Raspberry Pi (RBPi), going beyond the traditional mobile devices, laptops, desktops, and servers. It is common to see on the network devices such as Internet radio, refrigerators, thermostats, DVRs, and TVs, apart from SBCs such as the RBPi.

As projects rush towards completion, Internet security is ignored, resulting in severe consequences—this is applicable to both commercial products and hobby projects. The online search for IoT security may reveal results suitable for commercial products, with a long intimidating list of requirements. However, the commercial arena has to deal with several regulatory consequences for security breaches. As the RBPi is a Linux computer system, security advices for larger systems apply to it as well.

Hobby projects on the RBPi are fine, but leaving your device open to an attacker will allow them to use it as a stepping-stone to attack someone else from your network. Moreover, there is always the possibility that you have some data on your device you would prefer to keep private. Therefore, you need some tools for your toolbox and some ways to think about circumventing the problem.

As all RBPis have the same default username and password, this is the first thing the attackers look for. Therefore, change the default password to something difficult to crack. Always keep the system updated, including all the packages installed. Use the commands “sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade” for Debian systems, and “sudo dnf update” for Fedora systems.

The security of your Raspberry Pi depends on what it does and what is on it. So you will have to figure out what is it that makes it a target. Attacks may come from different sources, such as an individual manually attacking your device, worms that automatically enter from the network, or viruses installed by someone operating the system.

In general, DIY IoT devices usually do not have medical or financial data, but possibilities do exist. However, there may be other type of data on the RBPi. Stored passwords may be used to attack other systems. The attacker may get access to a web interface that he/she could analyze for finding out more attack methods.

Other vulnerabilities on the RBPi can be the hardware under its control, the devices that it communicates with, or the information it displays. For instance, the attacker may take over the camera connected to your RBPi, monitor the network traffic if you are using your RBPi as a network router, display wrong messages, or vandalize the display. If not anything else, the attacker may take over your RBPi and make it a part of a botnet, or use it as an anonymous relay to attack other sites.

Using encryption for networked connections works very well—the RBPi is powerful enough to handle encryption. For instance, configure web servers to use HTTPS with SSL/TLS. For remote logins, use SSH. Use software packages for the encryption. That way, you will not have to learn to be a cryptographer, but always keep the key a secret.

NanoPI NEO Challenges the Raspberry Pi

If you were looking for Raspberry Pi (RBPi) alternative, the NanoPi NEO would be a good fit. For a starting price of about $7, and measuring just 1.6×1.6 inches, it is smaller than the smallest RBPi Zero W, and is equally capable of running Linux. At its basic price, the RAM it carries is 256 MB. However, for a couple of dollars more, there is another version available and it has 512 MB RAM on it.

The best thing about this tiny challenger to the RBPiZW is the bunch of accessories available. This includes a battery, compass, LCD, and camera add ons. In addition, the maker has also launched a case, with which, you can easily build a networked-attached storage (NAS) from the tiny computer, the NanoPI NEO.

The NAS kit for the NanoPi NEO is made of aluminum, has a heat sink, and a board to allow you to connect an SSD hard drive or a 2.5-inch SATA hard disk. The case dimensions are 6 x 3.9 x 1.9 inches, and for silent operation, there is no provision for a fan. However, it needs a 12 VDC, 2 A power supply, which you have to buy separately. The price for the case does not include the price of the hard disk, so you have a wide choice there.

On the hardware side, the internal processor is an Allwinner H3 quad core with three UARTs. The board has a micro SD card slot, one USB port, a micro USB OTG port. Two additional USB ports are available via headers. On the expansion port, there are the usual I2C and SPI available. The board has no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but has an Ethernet port. It also does not have an HDMI port, which means you need to log in through SSH. The board also does not have an audio port, but you can get audio out if you solder the 0.1-inch edge connector.

On the software side, you will need to get an ARMBIAN, especially for this board, and a specific version of the legacy Jessie installation from the Armbian site. If you flash the Armbian code into a 16 GB SD card, you can boot up the NanoPi NEO board.

Initially, you should see a dim green LED coming on, and it will brighten up after a few seconds. About 30 seconds later, you should see a blue LED start to flash regularly, along with the green. About a minute after you have plugged the board into the local net via Ethernet, you should be able to see the NanoPi NEO board in its address range.

At this stage, you should be able to log in through Putty or SSH, with login credentials as root and password as 1234, and effect an initial password change.
Although it uses the same Allwinner processor, as does the RBPiZW, the NanoPi NEO runs a lot hotter. That is why the makers are supplying a heat sink along with the case for the NAS kit.

The NanoPi NEO is a marvelous and cute little board. Another version of the board does away with the Ethernet port, but adds Wi-Fi and two USBs.

Orange Pi 2G-IoT Challenges the Raspberry Pi

If you are looking for an alternative for the ubiquitous Raspberry Pi (RBPi) or one of its siblings, give the Orange Pi 2G-IoT a second look. The Shenzhen-based maker of the Orange Pi developer board has made this one to rival the RBPiZW, the RBPi Zero W.

The Orange Pi 2G-IoT is a new design for a single board computer, available for sale of AliExpress. The device can run Android, Debian, Ubuntu, or Raspbian. It gives builders a 2G antenna to run applications for the Internet of Things, and that is where it gets the IoT in the name, while offering wireless LAN and Bluetooth for the same price as that of the RBPiWZ.

Featuring a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A5 processor running at 32 bits, the Orange Pi 2G-IoT has a 256 MB RAM, and GC860, a Vivante graphics processor. The board supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and 40-pin GPIO connector that matches the RBPi GPIO layout. Additional features include audio and video outputs and inputs, and USB 2.0 ports. There is a slot where you can insert a SIM card, while the 2G antenna supports GPRS/GSM data connections. The only two points of difference with the RBPiZW is it has double the RAM, that is 512 MB, while the Orange Pi 2G-IoT has 500 MB of on-board NAND flash to go along with the SD card slot.

With the Orange Pi 2G-IoT, you do not get a Display port, HDMI port or a VGA port. However, an LCD connector is present, where you can connect an external screen.

However, as the Orange Pi 2G-IoT is still new in the market, anyone who plans to use these devices must proceed with caution on two points. One, check if there is software support for the devices. The RBPiZW is a known entity and has a huge array of operating systems and software to run on it.

Second, those buying the board should check if there are carriers still supporting 2G. For instance, in the US, AT&T and many other carriers have killed off their 2G network, and many are planning to do so very soon. The situation is very similar in the UK. However, there are still some in other parts of the world who continue to support 2G and may do so for years to come.

These ultra-small single board computers offer a lot of options, the list continuing to grow at the lowest prices. After considering the shipping costs, we can call these the sub-$20 boards. This includes the RBPIZW that has the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the Orange Pi Zero, and now the Orange Pi 2G-IoT.

Even with all the impressive features at below $10, especially the addition of GPRS/GSM, the Orange Pi 2G-IoT is not likely to kill the sales of RBPiZW. This is mainly because of the community support the RBPiZW currently enjoys. Of course, the Orange Pis are great little computers, but if you run into a problem with them, you are likely to find less support online, as compared to what you can expect from the huge online community supporting RBPiZW.

RS485 & Raspberry Pi: Monitoring Power

Commercial data centers, lighting controls, utility rooms for buildings, and others need to keep a tab on their power consumption. The normal way to do this is by using electronic voltage meters and multi-branch current monitoring circuits. Vytas Sinkevicius wants to monitor power consumption using the ubiquitous single board computer, the Raspberry Pi (RBPi) as the main controller and the RS485 interface in a Branch Current Monitor (BCM) system.

The heart of the power monitoring system is an RBPi 3. Other parts the system uses are a Pi-SPi-RS485 Interface, a VP-EC-BCM Interface, a breakout PCB for an 18-Channel Current Sense Transformer, and a few Current Sense Transformers. Vytas will be writing the software in C, using the Geany compiler.

Electrical engineers use two types of current sense transformers for measuring current. The first type has a continuous hollow core, with the wire carrying the current passing through the hollow of the core. This type of current transformer is suitable for new constructions and requires the main power to be turned off for installations. The breaker wire has to be removed and re-connected after the current transformer is attached.

The second type of current transformer has a split hollow core, where one-half of the core may be separated from the other. Split cores are ideal for applications where the power wiring to the breakers cannot be switched off. By separating the top half of the core, the breaker wire can be placed in the hollow of the lower part, and the top half of the core replaced thereafter. Vytas is using a split-core current transformer, model type CR3110-3000, and CR Magnetics manufacture it.

The Pi-SPi-RS485 Interface provides power to the VP-EC-BCM Interface and communicates with the RBPi. As the RBPi and Pi-SPi-RS485 combination uses the Modbus RTU and RS485 protocols, they can be located as far as 4000 feet away from the actual area where power is being monitored.

The Pi-SPi-RS485 is a perfect fit for the RBPi3, as its ports match the GPIO port on the RBPi3. Moreover, as it duplicates the GPIO expansion port on the other sides of the Pi-SPi-RS485 module, additional modules are easy to add. You can fit the module directly on the back on an RBPi3, or use optional mounting hardware to connect and keep them alongside. All RS485 signals are duplicated on terminal blocks on the board, and on the RJ45 connectors as well.

Each RS485 module has its own power input (9-24 VDC) for powering remote transmitters, and its LDO regulator operating from the 5 VDC bus provides the 3.3 VDC. Therefore, this does not load the 3.3 VDC bus of the RBPi. There are on-board LED indicators for indicating the status of power and RS485 signals. Termination resistors can be selectively switched in using jumper settings provided. The module provides power to the VP-EC-BCM Interface over a CAT5e cable via the dual RJ45 connectors.

The VP-EC-BCM Interface made by VP Process Inc. does the actual power monitoring. This is a converter unit for current sense transformer with 36 channels. It has a 3-kVAC isolation between the primary circuits and the Power/RS485 Interface.