What "Extras" (aka Essentials) To Order

[MashaT22]

Hi all!

I'm a noob to dev boards. Never touched one. Never even seen one up close (unless you count through my computer screen). No RasPi's, no nothing. Pine64 is literally going to be my first (cue the "aww" in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . awwwwww!) I am very curious about tech and learning, so when I saw Pine64's campaign, features, and price point, I decided it was time for me to dive in and see what dev boards are all about. Whether I'll end up using Pine64 for making, gaming, programming, a spare computer and/or a host of other possibilities remains to be seen.

Success often depends on starting off on the right foot. I'm a very, VERY patient person by nature, and I know I'll screw up as I'm experimenting with my Pine, but I'd like things to go well from the moment I get started.

That said, while I'm waiting on my Playbox Rewards to arrive (with the upgraded 2gb Pine64), it occurred to me that I probably won't have everything I need to get started out of the box. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I figure it's best to ask people who know what they're doing. When I open the box, will I have all the necessary cords for and doodads for things like the included LCD touchscreen, wifi/BT card, etc.? I know a power supply is included, but there's no mention of other cords.

I'm also interested in add-ons and their accompanying cords and doodads. I'm not sure if I'm getting in over my head from the start (please speak up if you think I am!). but I've been checking out:

Power

• I've been looking at the 8000mAh battery. I assume that would be good for when I don't want to be tethered to a cord, like when using the Playbox setup or making some projects, right? (You can be honest if you don't think this or anything else I'm mentioning is needed . . . again, I'm a noob who is just figuring, lol.)
  
• One of the RTC battery backups, but I don't know if the AAA battery or coin cell is better.
  

Accessories

I think I'm mostly good here. I have headphones, etc. However . . .

• If I already own a Bluetooth keyboard with mouse touch pad (no dongle) that I use with a Dell tablet, can I use that? Let me know if you need to know the brand of the keyboard/mouse I own. Or must I go with a dongle setup for keyboard and mouse for using with Pine?
  

Adapters and Cables

I have no clue if I need any of the adapters/cords listed, whether for the basic items I'm getting or the modules I'm thinking about (see below).

• I may already have spare HDMI cables around the house, so I would think those would be fine if I need one.
  

Modules

The modules scare me a bit! I have no clue what some of them do and whether I'd need them . . . and if I get them, then what do I need from the above categories to plug 'em in and make them work? I'm sort of interested in getting:

• Adding the 5 mp camera seems like a useful thing. I think it just plugs into the main board, right?
  
• Push Button is like an off/off switch (unless there are other uses I'm unaware of). That seems like a handy no-brainer.
  
• Zwave seems neat for home automation, but is that too complicated for a newbie to try?
  
• What are POT boards and what's the difference between the two types listed?
  
• What's a USB serial programmer?
  
• What's the Wifi remote module used for?
  

Here's another thing I should mention: I'm getting a bunch of stuff from the LattePanda campaign on Kickstarter where I pledged for the Hardware Dev Kit. (I know Pine has Windows in their Pipeline, but I decided that in the unlikely event that I find Pine a bit out of my league to start, then I'll have a more familiar Windows-based dev board.) I don't know any of LP's items (ie: sensors, etc.) will be compatible with Pine64 or are redundant with any of Pine's add-ons. If any experts here know how to determine this, it might help me a great deal. I've included a link to the campaign page above in case you need more specs info, but the reward I'm getting is the $209 Dev Kit (which includes the items in the $149 Enhanced Kit) and essentially comes with:


Well, thanks SO much if you read to this point! I am really interested in learning to use my Pine for all sorts of things. I don't want to open the box when it arrives and feel like wtf did I get myself into?! Hopefully, all will go well once I'm setup and learn the basics. I appreciate any input on what I need or may be useful to get started! This way I can already put in an order for those items rather than waiting for my Pine to arrive.

Thanks a million! 

[Rumen]

I'm pretty new to these as well, but it you plan on using any external hard drives you will want to get a powered usb hub as the ports on the pine64 (or the raspberry pi) dont have the juice to spin it up.

You may want to pickup the wifi/bluetooth module so you don't have to burn one or two of the usb ports adding in wireless capabilities.

For your usb power adapter you will want to make sure its 5v/2a minimum or you may run into power issues.

Other then that you will need an HDMI cable and a flash card (make sure to get a class 10 from a reputable brand like Samsung or Kingston)

Above all else be prepared to sink in time and frustration, pretty much all the software distributions are in alpha state and should be researched for your use case before installing (for example at current the Debian and Ubuntu releases do not have bluetooth support at all)