I think the 2.4 GHz would be good for my situation. Sounds like a Pi 4 to tinker around with then? Even if I use that for the deployment I'd be fine, unless I want to keep using that for new projects -- but this is the only one I have in mind right now.Pi 4 WiFi at 2.4 GHz has good range, the full length of a house, and at 5 GHz has less range, across a big room, but more speed.
Your workload with almost no processing would run on a Zero 2 which has similar WiFi. Develop on Pi 4. Deploy to Zero 2. You would be stuck in command line or, if you do not start anything else, could run the Pi OS with GUI. On one project, I used a Zero 2 with the Pi OS GUI and VLCed in. It worked. Could browse some documentation for configuration but nothing that used JavaScrap.
Had to use a lightweight Web browser.
If your code uses only 100 MB, the OS uses about 200 MB and the lightest Web browser about 100 MB, all fitting in .5 GB of memory. Enough to check progress and fiddle with settings.
This would free up the Pi 4 for the next project.
Looking at the alternatives, there is not really much in between the Pi 4 and Zero 2 in any brand. If you need WiFi for difficult locations, you need MIMO which means a plug in WiFI device. If you need uninterruptible, an old notebook with a working battery would be good. I use a tough old thing that was among the first mSATA notebooks with USB 3. Second hand in our area, it would sell for less than a new Pi 4 8 GB with power supply.
If I deploy the Pi 4 I might also be able to use it for other things if it's a bit more powerful.
So that said, if this is the move -- do I just need to grab one of those starter kits?
I see https://vilros.com/products/vilros-rasp ... alloy-case
and https://vilros.com/products/vilros-rasp ... tarter-kit
Anything in either of those I wouldn't need? I see that I'd probably be getting much more HD space than I'd need, but I could always end up using that extra for something.
Uninterruptible being always on without the worry of a power cut? I would be okay without the need for this, but definitely nice to think about this situation.
I've got a bunch to learn along the way, but if the hardware of the Pi 4 is right, that's a huge step. I just want to make sure I get the right model for what I'm trying to do. I can always change up the microphone and speaker options as I figure this out.
Statistics: Posted by POD319 — Thu May 16, 2024 10:35 pm