Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Review
Pi Rtc Dio
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As I expected, the I2C based MCP23017’s on Pi Rtc Dio worked immediately – I used the Python SMBus library to blink the green LED’s 🙂
Unfortunately there is some issue with either the device tree, hwclock or the pcf8563 kernel module, as the real time clock that works fine on previous Raspberry Pi’s could not be set or read by hwclock.
I was not defeated, I quickly whipped up two python scripts to read and set the real time clock.
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Pi Jumper
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Here you see Pi jumper mounted directly on the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, with a PCF8591 analog to digital module plugged into its 5V I2C header. Worked fine after I compiled WiringPi.
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I re-compiled RPi.GPIO, and used it to blink the LED’s on the breadboard I plugged a Pi Jumper Plus into.
Due to the IDC header width, I plugged the IDC cable onto a EZasPi prototyping board I’ve added a small breadboard and round female headers to for small experiments.
EZasPi
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Here is a better view of EZasPi prototyping board onthe Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.
Adding the small 170 point breadboard and 2×13 round female pin sockets lets hook up a single chip (or two smaller ones) right on top of the Pi, without an off-board breadboard.
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WiFi USB Stick Compatibility
I wanted to see how many of the WiFi sticks I have on hand were compatible with the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.
| USB WiFi Stick | Chipset | Pi 2B |
| Netis WF-2111 | Realtek RTL811f | YES |
| Patriot PCBOWAU2-N | Realtek R8712u | YES |
| LEGUANG LG-N19 ? | Ralink rt2x00 | YES |
| RetailPlus+ WL-6203 | Realtek RTL8191S | YES |
| KEEBOX W150NUv1.0 | Ralink rt2x00 | YES |
| EdiMax EW-7811Un | Realtek RTL8192cu | YES |
| WiPi OYR-COMFAST88 | Ralink rt2800usb | YES |
| TP-LINK TL-WN725N | Realtek RTL817X | NO |
Seven out of eight is pretty good!
Actually there are drivers available for the TP-LINK TL-WN725N on the forum, but they have not made it onto the Raspbian image yet.
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