Safe-Power-Monitor 1.0.3

Background

Based on the original GBZ-Power-Monitor by Nullcorn, this power monitor script accompanies the Safe Shutdown PCB by Camble. Compatible with various power supplies, it monitors the power switch and reacts to low battery alerts in the form of video warning(s) and gracefully shutting down to prevent SD card corruption.

The script can log events to a log file to help with troubleshooting and is on by default.

Requirements

• Raspberry Pi Zero (or Model B+, Raspberry Pi 2 and Pi 3)
• Adafruit Powerboost 1000C or a generic BangGood/GearBest power supply module.
• Safe Shutdown PCB (PowerBoost or BangGood Edition)
• A mini DPDT slide switch (SK-22H07 included with Safe Shutdown PCB) or an original DMG slide power switch.

Dependencies

• Retropie 3.7+ or latest Raspbian
• Python 2.7 and Python Module RPi.GPIO (comes installed with Retropie 3.7)
• omxplayer (comes installed with Retropie 3.7)
• Must be run as a sudoer user (the default Pi user on Retropie 3.7 is a sudoer)

Installation

You will need to connect the PI Zero to Wifi and from another computer on the same WiFI network, SSH in (or use Putty on Windows):

ssh [email protected]

Default password is 'raspberry'.

Copy the Safe Power Monitor script and video assets with the following command:

cd ~;git clone https://github.com/Camble/Safe-Power-Monitor.git

If you are using a generic power supply, or want to change the GPIO pin numbers, edit safe_power_monitor.py:

sudo nano ~/Safe-Power-Monitor/safe_power_monitor.py

Make your changes to the variables at the top of the script and press Ctrl+X to quit. Press 'Y' to save.

Editing /boot/config.txt automatically

Each time the script is run, it checks your /boot/config.txt for the keep-alive line. If it does not exist, it will add it and reboot.

For safety, the script will create a backup first. If for whatever reason, it cannot create a backup, an entry will be written in the log advising you make the amendment manually.

The script will make a temporary copy (/tmp/config.txt) and append the keep-alive line to it. This will then be copied back over /boot/config.txt.

If you would prefer to make the change manually, follow the steps below. If not, skip to "Running the script"

Below is an extract from the log file.

2016-12-24 13:15:02 [11] Safe Power Monitor script running.
2016-12-24 13:15:02 [80] Reading /boot/config.txt took 0.3671 seconds.
2016-12-24 13:15:02 [81] No dtoverlay line found for keep-alive in /boot/config.txt
2016-12-24 13:15:02 [82] Backup successfully created /boot/config.bak
2016-12-24 13:15:02 [83] Successfully amended /boot/config.txt. Rebooting...
2016-12-24 13:15:16 [11] Safe Power Monitor script running.
2016-12-24 13:15:16 [80] Reading /boot/config.txt took 0.2362 seconds.
2016-12-24 13:15:16 [30] Adafruit PowerBoost is selected.

Editing /boot/config.txt manually (optional)

At the command line, type:

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

Add the following line:

dtoverlay=gpio-poweroff:gpiopin=22,active_low="y"

Press Ctrl+X to exit, and press 'Y' to save.

Running the script

If you are happy you have configured the script correctly, add it to the startup process to complete the installation.

Note: if you chose to let the script alter /boot/config.txt for you, it will reboot at this point.

echo "@reboot /usr/bin/nice -n 19 /usr/bin/python ~/Safe-Power-Monitor/safe_power_monitor.py" >> mycron; crontab mycron;rm mycron

If you would prefer to test the script first, run it once without adding to startup.

Note: if you chose to let the script alter /boot/config.txt for you, it will still reboot at this point, but will not run on startup.

python ~/Safe-Power-Monitor/safe_power_monitor.py

Keeping Up-to-Date

You can make sure you have the latest updates by issuing this command

cd ~/Safe-Power-Monitor;git pull origin master

Links

Thread to order Safe Shutdown Switch (PowerBoost edition): http://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1293

Thread to order Safe Shutdown Switch (BangGood edition): http://sudomod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1706

Feel free to contact me on the Sudomod forums (www.sudomod.com/forum) or on the Sudomod Discord channel (https://discordapp.com/channels/188359728454303744/188359728454303744)