Yes 'boxes' for the electronics are mostly missing. There is just the official Pi case for the main board, but they are just a piece of plastic for me and mostly just to do isolation and preventing the cat (or rats) to disturb or ruin the setup. I actually use plastic containers from supermarket food (yogurt, milk, salad, etc) quite a lot initially for testing/prototypes. Decades ago same trick with glass base and metal lid but that rusts after many years.I think it would be cool to have a range of Raspberry pi local-only/non-cloud home automation items, with a nice supported Python API for controlling them - things like temperature sensors, smart plugs, smart switches, RGB bulbs, etc.
Particularly for mains-powered stuff, I'd much rather have an officially supported device than take something apart and manually flash new firmware onto it. But even the bluetooth temperature sensors I'm using I've cobbled together the packet parsers from random sources online and a supported API would have made that easier.
Also, I'd quite like a small range of project boxes, with mounting points for a pi (zero or pico) and a bit of veroboard/breadboard/something, so it's possible to put together a finished pi+electronics project without having to also get into 3d printing and pcb design.
That is also what happens to some prototypes, no time spent on proper cases when software and electronics work. Recyclable plastic also does not last long (UV radiation). Small holes are also a problem: viewtopic.php?p=2099177#p2099177 Dead Pi because PCB cannot resist acid/urine of ants. It is of course a way to make more profit for RPL as I needed a new Pi (actually a spare Pi3B + USB3 enclosure to replace the BananaPi (with SATA) that is in that nest.
For 230V AC mains, I wished a cabled control, so not Wifi like the Shellys or Sonoffs. There are products but cost more than an RPI4 or so. From decades ago I still have several TIL111 opto couplers, so I made 1 set myself for a 10W device that cannot run on 12V DC (electric fence equipment). But is a lot of work, won't do that again, I would just buy a new one now solar+battery operated (but they get stolen easily, that is another problem).
In general, I try to avoid mains power as much as possible. I also have 3-phase 400V AC, but that is yet another level. I don't have a lot of measurement data, but many electronics devices waste more energy in standby than a new modern SoC (<= 8nm) based device in operation(because mostly idle anyway). So long term and high energy prices, it is easy to see what should be done. It might be for RPL that they do the opposite because it sells what people want, not what is best from other insights.
About manually flashing I could also add that I would like a DIY RPi, so like Sonoff and Shelly that you can easily remove existing firmware and flash your own. I know for Shelly it is rather easy (not done yet), for my Sonoffs POW indeed open the plastic case after you read the warnings how to prevent electrocution and search for an FTDI cable.
Statistics: Posted by redvli — Fri Sep 19, 2025 5:39 am