Supported hardware
Raspberry Pis
The following Raspberry Pi models are tested and verified by us:
- Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (wireless + ethernet)
- Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ (wireless + ethernet)
- Raspberry Pi Zero (using a USB ethernet adapter)
- Raspberry Pi Zero W (wireless)
- Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W (wireless)
Our current custom image is not yet supported on the Raspberry Pi 5.
If you want to use a Raspberry Pi 5, you can show the dashboard using a browser window.
Displays
Out of the box, the MoBro image already supports all kinds of displays connected via HDMI with no further configuration.
Displays connected via the GPIOs will also work as long as they do come with a driver that works for standard Raspberry Pi OS.
There is no guarantee that all displays will work properly even if they do come with a driver.
Points to consider
Before making your choice on which Raspberry Pi model to use, here are some points you should consider:
Pi Zero (W) Limitations
The Pi Zero (W) is sufficient to run the MoBro application and is also tested by us.
However, due to its vastly slower hardware when compared to the Raspberry Pi 3 and 4 there are some limitations you need
to consider when choosing which Pi to use:
- time taken from boot up until the application is started will be longer
- loading the dashboard will take considerably longer
- animation for some widgets may be a bit choppy
- switching between the dashboard and screensavers will be slower
- animated screensavers may be choppy
Temperature
Some of the available widgets do make heavy use of charts, graphs, etc. which is rather CPU intensive on the Raspberry Pi.
Hence, we do recommend using at least a heatsink if you plan to have your dashboard running continuously for a prolonged time. This is especially true for newer models like the Raspberry Pi 4, as they generally run quite a bit hotter.
If you don't want to add a heatsink or other cooling measures, we do recommend you keep an eye on the temperature to make sure it remains within save ranges.