So you’ve just purchased your first Raspberry Pi and you’re finally ready to set things up and get a project started: it’s an exciting situation and we’ve been there before! If you’ve done your research, then you already have the basics: a Pi with Jessie installed, some hardware, and just maybe a mind full of new project ideas.

Now imagine that you could fast forward into the future to when you’re a maker-pro: what advice would you give yourself? That’s exactly what we’ve done here. We asked veteran Cayenne users what tips they would give themselves as first-time project makers. We narrowed them down to the most helpful, so here it is: the top five tips for Raspberry Pi beginners.

1. Understand the hardware: even though you don’t need to know coding if you’re using Cayenne with your Raspberry Pi project, walking through some tutorials will make life a lot easier as you begin your maker projects. Get to know your Pi and its hardware through sites like Adafruit, or The MagPi magazine. You can also find documentation and tutorials on Cayenne for compatible hardware. The key thing is to make sure you know the limits of your hardware and understand how your Pi “thinks.”
2. Starter hardware kits are your friend: finding starter kits or robot kits for your Pi means saving money on bundled hardware that might include motors, sensors, and other hardware. Some great kits sell for as little as $12, and you’ll usually find the hardware less expensive in a package than by purchasing separately. Just about any activator that is compatible with Pi will work on Cayenne for sensors and extensions.
3. Know your resources: it goes without saying that RaspberryPi.org is an asset when it comes to getting to know your Pi and how it works. You’ll also find great help from the Community of makers who use Cayenne. They’re really active, so introduce yourself in the group to see what other users are doing, or to check out the latest product updates and tutorials, and, of course, to get help if you get stuck!
4. Always do controlled shutdowns: It’s a computer, albeit very small, so you’ll avoid many headaches if you shutdown or restart your Pi using the appropriate command on the desktop, or the sudo command (like sudo halt or sudo reboot) for more advanced users. This will keep your Pi and your SD card in top shape. Our pro-users also suggest shutting down and unplugging the Pi when connecting new hardware, just to be on the safe side.
5. Take breaks: If you hit a brick wall, take a break! It’s easy to overlook basic problems if you’re tired. You could encounter errors if you’re low on disk space, or if your SD card goes bad, or if a seemingly innocuous breadboard connection turns out to be the bane of your existence. When you come back refreshed and troubleshoot successfully, you’ll have even more reason to be proud of your project when (not if) it works.
6. Bonus: We couldn’t resist one more: the default username for the Raspian operating system is “pi,” and the default password is “raspberry”. Hopefully, we’ve just saved you some time on Google.

In a nutshell, if you know your hardware, save money with a starter kit, introduce yourself to the Community, do controlled shutdowns, and take plenty of breaks, you’ll become a Raspberry Pi expert in no time!

Want to try out our free drag and drop project builder for Cayenne? Whether you are new to making projects or a pro, all you need are just great ideas and your Pi hardware. You can sign up free here.

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Gamoxristos has developed an automation system to manage hot water tanks, solar hot water collectors, heat pump and an oil burner. With Cayenne’s data visualization capabilities, he is able to collect data to analyze and optimize performance. By keeping a close eye, he can evaluate trends and even predict failures.

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In honor of Pi Day, myDevices is sponsoring a Call for Projects Competition in which the maker of the winning project using Cayenne, our IoT Project Builder, will be provided an all-expenses paid trip* to demonstrate their project in myDevices’ booth at Maker Faire in San Francisco on May 21-22.  To enter, interested developers should:

1) Sign up for Cayenne

2) Build a Raspberry Pi project using Cayenne to connect to the Internet and any variety of sensors, actuators, and extensions

3) Incorporate Cayenne features such as customizable dashboard, scheduling, triggers and alerts

4) Provide a 150-word description of how the project was made from start to finish

5) Provide a video or pictures of the completed project in use

Submit project with Cayenne username to projects@mydevices.com by April 28, 2016. Winners will be announced on May 2, 2016. Three runner-up presentations will also be selected to receive a Raspberry Pi 3 and a year’s supply of cayenne pepper.

*For rules and regulations, go to Cayenne Call for Projects folder located at community.mydevices.com

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So you get a Tortoise as a gift and then what? Well, that is exactly the predicament dadyargentino was in not too long ago. First thing, research! What do Russian Tortoises eat? What is the best habitat environment? Dadyargentino discovered that temperature and lighting were very important in raising a healthy turtle. Not too hot, not too cold, and up to 12 hours of UVB light is what he needed to know to kick-off this project. A Raspberry Pi, light sensor, temperature sensor and Cayenne are the perfect components for this very helpful Tortoise monitoring system.

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In just three weeks since its launch at the IoT Evolution Expo, adoption of Cayenne has grown dramatically—amassing thousands of users and continuously growing. The team behind Cayenne credits strong support from Raspberry Pi maker communities and media such as EDN Network, IT Business Edge, ReadWrite, Silicon Angle, the M2M Connectivity, and more.

Cayenne’s debut and award for Best IoT Edge Gateway Solution at IoT Evolution Expo’s Battle of the Platforms showcased its ability to make project building on single board computers accessible to non-coders and more streamlined for advanced users.

EDN Networks commented, “with a platform and front end like myDevices and Cayenne, starting development for the IoT is going to become incredibly easy, promoting an explosion of innovative ideas.”

Cayenne allows users to connect, visualize, and control sensors, actuators, and more—all without the need to code. Cayenne discovers and installs hardware connected to Raspberry Pis, allowing users to set up triggers and alerts using the drag-and-drop dashboard interface.

IT Business Edge said Cayenne’s dashboard is “a simple set of tools that enables the organization to jumpstart an IoT project quickly.”

Cayenne’s pairing with the low-cost Raspberry Pi and other hardware places IoT projects within reach for a larger base of makers. Readwrite magazine explains that “Cayenne’s support for Raspberry Pi could make it popular with tinkerers who like that cheap hardware platform for simple projects and prototypes.”

But the benefits of easy IoT project building aren’t reserved for makers and hobbyists. Cayenne also enables professionals to demonstrate proof-of-concept projects in minutes instead of hours or days.

Kyt Dotson of Silicon Angle wrote that, “on the business side, Cayenne makes it easy to do cost-effective prototyping,” which keeps costs and building times down so professionals can focus on innovation and building.

Given the progress that IoT has seen as an industry, M2M Connectivity magazine claims that “now is the time for companies that specialize in the IoT to step forward with solutions that will help bring the IoT forward. This appears to be exactly what myDevices, an IoT solutions company, is thinking as the company…announced Cayenne, a robust platform designed specifically for IoT projects.”

In just a short amount of time, Cayenne has been well received by IoT gurus and amateurs alike due to its: accessibility to makers of all levels, simplicity and ease of use, and business applications that help move IoT forward. We’re excited to be making a difference and we look forward to leading the evolution of “easy IoT”.

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