Raspberry Pi single-board computers (SBCs) have revolutionized what’s possible with maker hardware, acting as a bridge between an Arduino’s offerings and a traditional desktop computer. However, as cool as Raspberry Pi SBCs are, they do have a few weaknesses, such as lacking the ability to read voltage signals, and not having a real time clock. One might also require a few more digital inputs and outputs depending on project requirements.
While you could piece something together yourself, perhaps even integrating an Arduino board for its capabilities, the Analog Digital RTC HAT for Raspberry Pi takes care of this for you, as an all-in-one PCB. As creator Jastrzab notes, it adds all the things that the Raspberry Pi lacks, plus increased digital IO.
The device’s ADC pins are 5V tolerant, as are the digital inputs and outputs, which can be appealing for a number of situations. A total of 8 analog and 8 digital ports are provided – you will, however, need to provide a CR2032 coin cell battery, along with a 40-pin header to complete the build.
