RabbitMax Flex is an add-on board, compatible with HAT specifications, for Raspberry Pi 2 /3 boards and other Raspberry Pi models with a 40-pin GPIO header. It includes headers for up to 5 I2C sensors, as well as an RGB LED, a buzzer, a relay, a button, infrared receiver and transmitter, and an optional LCD display, and as we’ve seen in my RabbitMax Flex getting started guide, a nice way to learning about hardware programming using either C or Python, or to used in home automation or IoT projects. The project has just been launched on Indiegogo.
RabbitMax Flex specifications:
- Relay – Songle SRD-05VDC-SL-C supporting 125V/250VAC up to 10A, 30VDC up to 10A
- Storage – EEPROM with some system information for identification
- IR – IR LED, IR receiver
- Misc – Buzzer, Button, RGB LED
- Expansion
- Header for LCD character display + potentiometer for backlight adjustment
- 5x 4-pin headers for I2C sensors
- Dimensions – Raspberry Pi HAT compliant
The developer has released software and hardware documentation for the board, including KiCAD schematics & PCB layout, code samples, and more on Github. The board has been tested with Raspbian, and a pre-configured Linux built with Yocto running an MQTT “mosquito” server is also available. The video below explains how to assemble the board, and quickly get started.
You should also be able to use the add-on board on ODROID-C2 development board, but you’d have to handle software support by yourself.
You can pledge as low as 20 Euros (Early bird) to get RabbitMax Flex beta board, but you may also consider pledging for kits instead as they include the LCD and one or more sensors such as the 48 Euros IoT Kit with the board, LCD display, and the three officially supported sensors reporting temperature, pressure, humidity and light data. Shipping adds 8 to 10 Euros, is only possible to North America and Europe, and delivery is scheduled for December 2016 for the beta boards, March and April 2017 for other boards and full kits. You may also find more information on RabbitMax website.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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