Using GPIO pins on a Raspberry Pi 4 running emteria.os

ema1

Hello,

I have installed emteria.os on a RPi4 so that I can run a digital signage player app built for Android but managed in the cloud. I think it is a cheap and simple solution. However, I am worried about the RPi4 getting too hot as it is behind the signage TV and both will be always on.

As well as adding a heat sink, I want to connect a cooling fan with 5V wire, ground wire and control wire to the GPIO pins so that the fan turns on when the temperature hits a certain threshold.

I'm afraid I do not have any programming experience. Is this possible to do? Searches on the web have not given me any simple solutions, or solutions I understand.

Thanks in advance.

smieschek

Hi @ema1
That's certainly possible, but without any programming experience it might be tough. Have you thought about just letting the fan run all the time? That way you just have to connect it to GND and 5V. Probably the simplest solution.

ema1

Thank you @smieschek . Yes, I had thought of that, but I was concerned the fan would wear out too quickly. It's just the Pi 4 case fan. With regard to programming, I'm happy to learn, but need to pointed in the right direction with a big picture overview of everything I need in terms of software/hardware, as well as any sample code that does a similar thing.

smieschek

I think you will be able to find plenty of resources explaining GPIOs on RPi. What might be interesting is our serial sample app to see some GPIO interaction from an android app: https://github.com/emteria/samples_apps_Serial
Good luck!