The initial design and testing of the Waiter ECC Operator touch screen used the Raspberry pi 3 B+ as the main microcomputer. Although it will certainly handle all the tasks that are programmed, we decided to upgrade to the newer version, a Raspberry pi 4 two gig version (Rpi4). The Rpi4 is faster and has more memory and should easily handle any future upgrades to software and features that we can envision.
We’ve been testing with the Rpi4 and have shipped several production units to the beta testers. So far everyone is happy and there haven’t been any issues reported. These seem to run warmer than the Rpi3 so we are installing cooling fins on the four chips that are producing the most heat.
The new control circuit boards arrived and are being built by our team of elves (me and the wife). These version have also been shipped to the beta testers. They reported back two minor issues that we’ll resolve at the next circuit card purchase. In the meantime these only effect the beta testers.
We’ve also performed some preliminary testing of a “Remote” touchscreen. These are basically identical to the main Operator touch screen with these two differences; The remote screen isn’t set up as an access point nor does it have MQTT broker installed, these are only on the main screen. The remote screen connects to the main screen via wifi. This will be great for having one screen in the back of the motorhome and the other in the front.