Introduction

We need to get a little dirtier. So far, we played it safe with physical computing recipes. But how far can you go by just plugging in some wires into a breadboard? To make the BBB a really useful tool, we have to heat up the iron—the soldering iron—and make some nice, shiny joints. Many great add-ons, such as PCBs, sensors, headers, and peripheral devices arrive at your doorstep unsoldered, full of fiddly bits, or just downright unsuitable out of the box. So, soldering is a must on the microcomputing landscape.

However, this is only one part of the picture for this chapter on picture, sound, and video. We will also explore different advanced methods to add a range of capes, PCB add-ons, and some USB devices for more complex recipes using digital sound, pictures, and video and look at the following:

• Wiring up a mini sound amplifier and speakers

• Creating a high-quality audio platform with Volumio

• Using videos and displays in projects that include these devices:

  • OLED PCB

  • Mini LCD cape...