Raspberry Pi 4 and Monarco HAT? Looking for testers!
Get the Monarco HAT board with a discount and help us test it with Raspberry Pi 4.
Why is testing needed?
The youngest member of the Raspberry Pi family, the Raspberry Pi 4 minicomputer, has been on the market since June 2019. It brings a more powerful quad-core CPU, two HDMI ports for dual display solutions, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 and bigger RAM (up to 4GB).
Alongside these changes the connectors have been moved to new locations, resulting in the need of a new enclosure for the Monarco HAT and Raspberry Pi 4.
![Monarco HAT in an eclosure for Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 3](https://www.monarco.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/monarco-hat-raspberry-pi-3-vs-4-461x315.jpg)
From the perspective of the Monarco HAT, the most important news is the increased heat generated by the new and more powerful CPU, which is our main concern and the primary reason for extensive testing.
Our internal testing shows that the Raspberry Pi 4 works well with the Monarco HAT in applications and projects for which the Monarco HAT was designed for, i.e. data acquisition (DAQ), data logging, monitoring of machines and processes, collecting data from legacy PLCs, (I)IoT gateway, etc.
Under light load (*), the CPU temperature settles around 66.5°C in Raspberry Pi 4, compared to 62.5°C in Raspberry Pi 3B+. In both models we use the latest Raspbian Desktop OS with no tweaks. As you can see in the image from thermal camera below, there are only slight differences also in the surface temperatures of the metal enclosures.
*) 3000 high-pass filters (LLC blocks), executed each 5 milliseconds by REXYGEN runtime core
![Infrared photo of Monarco HAT on a DIN rail, Raspberry Pi 3 and 4](https://www.monarco.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/raspberry-pi-4-3-din-rail-infrared-composed.jpg)
When a synthetic stress test is started, temperatures rapidly grow to 85°C where the CPU is throttled (CPU frequency is lowered to reduce power) to avoid further overheating and damage (see the time plot below). CPU throttling happens significantly sooner in RPi4 (32 seconds) compared to 220 seconds in RPi 3B+. It is important to keep in mind that the full CPU power induced by the stress test is about 4 times higher in the case of RPi4. Ambient temperature during the test was 25°C, the devices under testing were mounted in vertical position on a DIN-rail.
Playing a bit more with the RPi4 we observed it's no problem to overheat it while e.g. watching Full HD videos on YouTube, but that's hardly the case in typical projects in industrial automation.
How exactly can you help us?
- 1Get Monarco HAT and metal enclosure for Raspberry Pi 4Use this special occasion to get our products with a discount.
- 2Use Raspberry Pi 4 with Monarco HAT in your projectBoth completely new projects and upgrades of existing projects are highly welcome. It does not matter what software and tools you are using for programming, we want to hear from all of you.
- 3Provide feedbackLet us know the results of your testing. We're looking for projects where the thermal management of Raspberry Pi 4 poses a problem.
- 4Get your rewardYour feedback is invaluable for us and we'll be happy to reward you for providing it.
Willing to participate? Welcome on board!
Use your discount code before Wednesday, January 29th 2020, 12:00 Central European Time, and enjoy your 30 EUR discount.
Choose one of the options below.
Assembled kit
- Monarco HAT add-on boardAnalog and digital I/Os, RS-485 and 1-Wire bus for the Raspberry Pi
- Metal enclosureA robust and compact enclosure to mount the Raspberry Pi 4 and Monarco HAT on a DIN-rail
- Raspberry Pi 4Quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM (optional upgrade to 4 GB)
- 16 GB micro SD card, preinstalledTranscend Ultimate microSDHC Class 10 UHS-I 600x, flashed with the latest Raspbian Desktop OS
- Fully assembledEverything is assembled and ready for use. You just provide a 12V/24V power supply and you are ready to go.
- Additional 40 EUR for providing feedbackWe'll reward your feedback with additional discount.
Assembled kit with temperature probe
- All hardware items from Assembled kitYes, you simply get them all. See above.
- Temperature probe1-Wire temperature sensor (DS18B20) in a stainless housing for your temperature-related experiments. Range -55°C to 125°C.
- Fully assembledEverything is assembled and ready for use. You just provide a 12V/24V power supply and you are ready to go.
- Additional 40 EUR for providing feedbackWe'll reward your feedback with additional discount.
Barebone kit
- Monarco HAT add-on boardAnalog and digital I/Os, RS-485 and 1-Wire bus for the Raspberry Pi
- Metal enclosureA robust and compact enclosure to mount the Raspberry Pi 4 and Monarco HAT on a DIN-rail
- Additional 40 EUR for providing feedbackWe'll reward your feedback with additional discount.
Are you in? Let's do it!
Help us test the Monarco HAT with Raspberry Pi 4 and get your rewards.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Anything from the list below on your mind?
I've never used Monarco HAT. Is this for me?
I'm already using Monarco HAT with Raspberry Pi 3B+ or older. Should I care?
Will I need some special hardware or equipment for testing?
Can I get only the Monarco HAT add-on board and the metal enclosure?
Can I get the Monarco HAT without the metal enclosure?
Are you using some passive heat sink or a fan?
What Raspberry Pi models are supported?
Can I use multiple HATs with a single Raspberry Pi?
When will I receive my Monarco HAT?
Is there any new or updated HAT which is the subject of testing?
Will you still support older Raspberry Pi models?
I'm already using Monarco HAT with Raspberry Pi 4. How can I help?
- Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
- 1-Wire is a trademark of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.