Project changed and was completed December 2015

 29 July 2022
Well about 10 years have gone by since my last post.

I changed the whole idea to NOT be a ceiling mounted eBook reader, and instead I made a media centre for my nieces. It was a pretty huge success as it kept them entertained for about 3 years.
I had loaded it up with about 150 kids movies and a bunch of kids TV series totaling about 2500 episodes.

See this pdf to get a bit more of an idea of the build detail.

All up it cost me about NZ$750. Not that cheap.

I have it back from my neices now and am thinking of upgrading from a RasPi2 based media centre to a RasPi4 based media centre with dual boot, so it can be used as a general purpose computer running some linux based OS for RasPi.

Also thinking about adding a NAS box to it internally so that I can access remotely and do multiple things. Maybe something like an Asustor NAS box with EZ-Connect feature. Also can run "Transmission" remotely.

CHROMECAST with Google TV

Another thing I have done is to connect up a "ChromeCast with GoogleTV" (I call it "Chromecast4") to a television and install "Kodi" on it with access to a NAS box. This is a lot cheaper than what I did above, but of course did not exist at the time. I love how this cheap piece of kit can turn a dumb TV into a Smart TV for only about NZ$120. I particularly like the speech recognition and the fact that you can install KODI on it.

I connected the Chromecast4 to the router via Ethernet cable just to make it a bit speedier.

I had to upgrade the wattage of the wall wart USB adaptor.

I used a Doss Universal 5V DC 3.4A NZ plug to USB (NZ$25.16 delivered from Amazon)
 - 2x USB outputs
 - Universal AC voltage input: 100~240V AC
 - 5V DC 3.4A total 17W max output
 - 3.4A high-power output for high capacity devices
 - Efficiency level: VI
 - Approval number: GMA-502199-EA


It needed the extra power (17 Watts max.) otherwise the Chromecast4 would not boot into an operational mode. Instead it booted in to some special low power mode that had a simple animation indicating that the Chromecast4 was not receiving enough power.

I also used a "Cable Matters" USB-C to Ethernet adaptor with power delivery cable, to connect the Chromecast4 to Ethernet.(NZ$36.36 delivered from Amazon)

To be honest it was not much more speedy over Ethernet compared to WiFi.

It was slightly quicker across the board, but was mainly noticeably faster when fast forwarding through video clips. It would start playing at the advanced-to spot quite a bit more quickly. But you are only saving a second, maybe 2. But it is nice to free up the WiFi for others in the house.

My Chromecast4 to Ethernet setup

I tried using a BobjGear USB2.0 Fast Ethernet adaptor (type 1) but that did not work on Chromecast4. Probably is fine for earlier Chromecasts. It uses the ASIX AX88772A chipset which I think is the one that talks nicely to the Chromecast.

I also tried using a powered SMAYS 3 port USB2.0 hub with Ethernet and that also did not work.

I strongly suspect that only the USB-C cabling can carry enough current to power both the Chomecast4 and an Ethernet adaptor. Note, I am talking about the power rating of the CABLE.

Anyway I got there in the end. But I did waste a bit of cash on wrong parts to get there.

I hope this info is useful to others wanting to connect their Chromecast4 to Ethernet.

I know that Google do a special Ethernet kit for just that, but I cannot seem to be able to buy one.

I suspect they have stopped making them, and they were for a USA wall outlet not NZ, although an adaptor is not much money.

<EDIT> I just checked and it looks as though at long last Google are selling them again. <FacePalm>

Hardware recieved

I paid for my Raspberry Pi via credit card to Element 14 on June 13: NZ$55.50
I received the card on Friday 20th July 2012
Today I went to Jaycar electronics and bought:
16GB uSD Card. $30
SD to uSD adaptor. $5
USB - AC adaptor. $19
USB (A) to micro USB cable (2 metres) $11

I already have:
Ethernet cable
HDMI cable
3.5mm to 2xRCA cable

So for a total cost of $120.50, I am up and running.
I can put the uSD card into my mobile phone and connect that to my computer to write to it.

So I downloaded and installed raspbmc OS to uSD card.

Then connected it all up to the TV and stereo and router in the lounge.
It booted up and connected to the internet and installed the OS and then rebooted into raspbmc, sweet as!

Now I just need to add some video to the SD card and try running that.
Also need to sort out how to access a hard drive full of media etc.
Also need to get a web browser functional on it.

Monitor and mounting

Ceiling mounting:

I have found a wall mounting bracket that might fit the bill.
Well in this case its going to be Ceiling mounted of course.

Something like the above bracket for about NZ$70 is available that allows you to rotate the monitor into portrait mode for reading.
I might look into extending the arms so that the monitor can drop about 800mm from the ceiling. The one shown above has the front of the monitor about 400mm max. down from the ceiling.
I should be able to rig up a rope and a few pulleys to make the monitor easy to raise and lower.
Perhaps at a later stage if necessary I could motorise that movement.

Monitor Specs

I want to use a monitor with these features
1) LED LCD. Low power consumption and hopefully better for reading at night?
2) 16:10 aspect ratio. I may end up using this monitor for other things an I just like 16:10. [16:9 Sux]
3) 24 inch display size. A good size I think.
4) Matt panel. I do not like the reflective panels.
5) HDMI input. Just for convenience as the RasPi has HDMI out.
6) VESA mounting system. So I can buy a mounting rack to fit onto it.
7) Optionally, I guess it would be nice if it had some speakers built in, but this is not really required.

So far, the only monitor that I can find that meets all of the above criteria is the
HP ZR2440w at about NZ$500. An add on "speaker bar" is available (NQ576AT) for NZ$28

The RasPi is set up to handle 1920x1080 output.
I need to find out if it will be fine with 1920x1200 output.
Just checked the spec table and it supports 14 HDMI resolutions from 640×350 to 1920×1200 plus various PAL and NTSC standards
I will probably wait until I actually have possession of my RasPi until I buy anything else for this project.

A project without the hardware

I'm only one day into this project and I can tell you something:

Trying to get motivated about a project WITHOUT the core hardware is pretty difficult.

Sorry, but I had to get that out of my system.

Project definition: eBook Reader

What am I going to do with my RasPi?

I like the idea of making an eBook reader that bolts onto the ceiling above my bed so that I can read books in the winter without having my arms outside the covers, getting all cold.
This is a fairly simple project.
Maybe the ceiling mounted screen can act as a night clock and alarm clock as well.

I will also use it as a web browser of course and will watch movies on it, and probably a whole lot of other things as well.

But for now, I just want it to be a good eBook reader.
1) I guess the main thing to sort out is having a very black screen when not in use, but still powered up.
Using an LCD screen as a night time eBook reader is probably a bad idea as the supposedly "black" background will just give off too much light I suspect. I will have to do some testing with various devices.
I do not want my eyes to hurt when reading 50 -100 pages at night.

2) It would be nice if I could raise and lower the screen to get the distance from eyes to screen as comfortable as possible for different sized text, and movies, and web browsing.

3) Hopefully I can get it up and running in time to read "The Hobbit" before it comes out at the movies in December 2012. Hopefully, I will receive my RasPi before then? Possibly not? Well, at least I'm in the queue.

Registered my interest at RS and Element14

Wednesday 9th May 2012 approx 11:00am
Today I registered my interest in buying a Raspberry Pi (model B) with RS and Element 14 (formerly Farnell)
Now I have to wait in the queue until they email me so that I can buy one.

So that's all I can do? 

Well not quite. I can probably do the following:

-2) Start being more geeky by starting list counts with numbers like negative two.

-1) Think about what I am going to use the RasPi for.
00) Start a blog.
+1) Find out what size and brand/model of SD Card to buy and buy it.
+2) Find out what brand/model of USB WiFi dongle works best and buy it.
+3) Buy a second hand 24" screen that is 1080p with appropriate connections.
+4) Think about what OS and apps I want to put on it.
+5) Make up a 4xAA battery pack to power it (rechargable) and think about a power supply that plugs into a wall socket.
+6) Learn about Python programming language.
+7) Look into available case options and think about some funky case ideas.

+8) Think about being less geeky so that people reading my blog don't roll their eyes too much.

+9)  I need to source a solid state hard drive and figure out how to attach it. Why SSD? Well I want this thing to be TOTALLY quiet, and also very low on power consumption. No moving parts.

10) At this stage I am hoping NOT to need a USB hub. there are 2 USB ports on the model B RasPi.

 I will use one for a WiFi dongle and the other for wireless keyboard and mouse. That's it.