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Raspberry Pi users rejoice

The Raspberry Pi is a fantastic single-board microcomputer.

Well, when I say "Raspberry Pi" I actually mean all the variants and models of this computer, and there are quite a few. In fact, one could say that there's one for every occasion.

The big problem with these machines is that you simply can't buy them.

Supply chain issues combined with soaring demand has meant that they have long ago disappeared from the shelves of distributors and retailers alike.

I was lucky enough to buy a bunch of RPi 4 boards before the lockdowns and at the time they were super-cheap. If I'd felt like scalping I could have since flogged these units off for three times what I originally paid for them in fact.

However, relief from the pi-drought is on the horizon!

The Raspberry Pi foundation has said that by the end of the year, availability should be "almost" back to pre-pandemic levels.

That is indeed great news for all those who have been desperately trying to get their hands on one, possibly for a year or two.

However, don't expect to find your local supplier loaded to the rafters with Pi4s in the next few weeks because the foundation says they'll be rolling out some of the smaller Pis first. For example, I see that some local suppliers are suggesting that the Pi Zero 2W should be back in stock early next week. Woohoo!

Unfortunately some of the more desirable products, such as the RPI4 and compute modules are still not due to be readily avialable until early next year but at least there is some light on the horizon.

My ADSB alarm is based on RPi SBCs, with a version for the RPI4 and one for the Zero 2W so at least folk can start making the system based on the latter pretty soon.

Many people have asked my why I haven't opted to use one of the RPi alternative SBCs for my ADSB alarm and the answer is pretty simple...

I've yet to find an RPi-alternative that has *all* the features of the real thing and which isn't almost as expensive anyway. There are also some "gotchas" with the documentation associated with some of these alternatives and I've seen some with quite significant changes in the board between several samples of what is supposedly the same product.

The great thing about the RPi is its community and the level of third party hardware and software. For example, just try finding a widely available LCD that will reliably work with the third-party alternatives via the GPIO port and you'll be left scratching your head. Quite a few of the alternaive-Pi options don't even have GPIO connectors that are Pi compatible.

As I think I've said here before, the RPi4 is a brilliant piece of kit and almost all the software development for my ADSB alarm has been done on the Pi itself. It's just hardly worth the time to use a PC and cross-compile code when, with the addition of a wireless keyboard and mouse, the Pi is a pretty respectable development platform all on its own.

So geeks and computer tinkerers of the world rejoice... a new dawn for the Pi is just around the corner.

Will you be buying another Pi or two as soon as stocks appear on shelves?

Is the Pi Zero 2W perhaps the most under-rated and best-value of all the offerings so will you be grabbing a few of those super-cheap four-core offerings just because you can?

Carpe Diem folks!

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