Credit: https://github.com/PiSupply/Ryanteck
The Raspberry Pi might be the poor relation to the PC in performance, but that diminutive single-board computer wins hands down in one area. While a PC’s interfacing options are limited to USB, video, audio and wired and/or wireless networking, the Pi adds the all-important GPIO. That, in turn, enables it to be used to control and monitor external electronics and sensors, and thereby work in conjunction with pretty much any equipment.
Thanks to the Ryanteck RTk.GPIO board, all that changes, and an ordinary PC can, like the Pi, be used with external electronics and hardware. Here we’re going to see how to use the RTk.GPIO, irrespective of whether or not you’re a Raspberry Pi user. If you’re a Pi user, this board enables you to migrate some of your projects to your PC, or use some of your Pi HATs – the add-on boards that plug into the Pi’s GPIO connector – with a PC. Alternatively, if you’re firmly in the PC-only camp, the RTk.GPIO gives you the opportunity to get some experience of real-world interfacing.
Add-on hardware
While PCs don’t have a general purpose input/output (GPIO) port as standard, various hardware solutions are available to add this missing functionality. Traditional products that do this are generally referred to as data acquisition, or DAQ, devices, and connect via USB or occasionally plug into the motherboard. They usually provide digital and analogue I/O so, in that respect, are more powerful than the Pi’s GPIO. However, they don’t offer any level of compatibility with the Pi GPIO, so migrating projects or HATs isn’t easy. However, the biggest drawback is cost. Products start upwards of £100 and rise to several thousands.
