Support for Pi 4?

[Francesco_F]

I read in a different post that the BrickPi case does not fit the Raspberry Pi 4. But case aside, does the shield coming with BrickPi 3 (to connect Lego motors and sensors) work with a Raspberry 4?

The Raspberry Pi 4 comes with 4 GB of RAM, which makes it very interesting.

[cyclicalobsessive]

Raspbian for Robots - Buster - Pi4

We are releasing an experimental version of Buster today! You can read about the changes here: https://www.dexterindustries.com/raspbian-buster-and-the-raspberry-pi-4/ Why experimental? Because there’s a LOT to test! We tested basic functionalities and it’s all good. Is it possible that some rare sensor out there will not work out of the box? Yes, it’s possible. If you feel inclined to try this new Raspbian for Robots - Buster we will be paying close attention to bugs reported through suppor…

[Francesco_F]

This is great news! Are you testing the BrickPi3 drivers/software with Pi4, or do you plan to produce a new version of the drivers/software specific for Pi4?

[cyclicalobsessive]

Are you testing the BrickPi3 drivers/software with Pi4?

(I’m a GoPiGo user, never seen a BrickPi3…)

If you search the Pi4 posts, I believe Dexter Industries mentioned the BrickPi3 testing was complete.

[cleoqc]

Also newest BrickPi case will fit a pi4 although we don’t have it in stock at the moment.
On the other hand, the old one fits just as well. What you are not getting is the second hdmi screen, the first one seems to be accessible just fine.

So unless you want your brickpi to use two screens, then the current brickpi case works just fine.

[Francesco_F]

Nice!
Just to be sure: I have the “old” BrickPi+. Could I use the shield that came with it and slap it on top of a Raspberry Pi4, or do I need to get a BrickPi 3?
Also, the newest BrickPi, to fit the Pi4, will it come with the same shield as the BrickPi 3? In other words, will the newest BrickPi only change the case?
(By “shield” I mean the board that connects to the Pi GPIO and allows connecting Lego motors and sensors, not sure if this is how you call it).

[cleoqc]

(in raspberry pi world, it’s called a HAT, but I get what you’re saying from the Arduino world )

There is no new BrickPi coming, there’s a new BrickPi3 case, but not a new HAT. And the case has minimal changes to it. You won’t be able to tell them apart by visual inspection. Sorry if I was misleading there.

The BrickPi+ has not been tested with a Pi4. However I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I don’t have the BrickPi+ case near me at the moment. I’ll have to investigate if it will fit a Pi4.

[jimrh]

Also newest BrickPi case will fit a pi4 although we don’t have it in stock at the moment.
On the other hand, the old one fits just as well. What you are not getting is the second hdmi screen, the first one seems to be accessible just fine.

So unless you want your brickpi to use two screens, then the current brickpi case works just fine.

@Francesco_F,

Another concern putting a Pi-4 in any kind of case, designed for it or otherwise, is HEAT.

I have a Pi-4, 4g, inside an Element-14 case for their 7" Pi touchscreen and - when running - it goes into thermal throttling almost immediately. I cobbled up a Rube Goldberg style heat-sink with a from-my-parts-bin tiny 5v fan. That keeps the temperature out of the stratosphere, but there is still little allowance for cooling in the case - no ventilation slots, etc. God Himself help me if I do anything more complicated than clipping my toenails with it. (Actually, I can do a pretty good job watching Youtube on it.)

AFAIK, (I don’t have one, my 'bot’s a GoPiGo too), the case is plastic, so it should be amenable to a sharp (hot?)-knife to make any additional modifications to it. This also includes un-masking the second HDMI connector.

Let us know what happens! Pictures, or it didn’t happen!! ()

Jim “JR”