If you’ve bought a new Raspberry Pi, or just got your hands on an older model that someone else didn’t want, there are many ways to put that little computer to good use, and here are six of them.
Retro gaming galore
One of the most popular uses for Raspberry Pi computers is as a retro gaming emulation system. Which systems can be emulated depends on which specific model of Pi you have, but even the oldest ones can do a great job with retro 8-bit and 16-bit titles, or MAME arcade titles. In fact, building your own arcade cabinet with a Pi at its heart is a common project, and you’ll find lots of instructional guides on the web to that effect.
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Build your own NAS
A NAS or Network-Attached Storage device is effectively a local file server that lets you store and access data on your local network using hard drives. You can go out and buy a NAS or you can follow the official Raspberry Pi NAS tutorial and turn your old USB hard drives into a NAS using stuff you already have, or can get for just a few dollars.
Everyone loves local streaming tools like Plex or Jellyfin, but not everyone wants to dedicate an expensive computer to act as the streaming server. Well, as long as your requirements aren’t too fancy, you can use a Raspberry Pi as a Plex server.
Just don’t expect it to handle heavy-duty transcoding. The good news is that most of your client devices can probably play back videos without the need for transcoding.
Turn your Pi into a home automation hub
Home automation hub devices can cost hundreds of dollars, but if you have an old Raspberry Pi, you can run your smart home off it. The most common and effective solution is an open-source app called Home Assistant.
I Run My Smart Home Off a Raspberry Pi, Here’s How It Works
Make your home smarter on a budget with a Raspberry Pi.
Build a weather station
If you’re interested in the weather, want to contribute to weather data, or are just sick of getting rained on when you least expect it, you have the option of getting a weather station kit for your Raspberry Pi or using something like the Raspberry Pi Sense HAT, which can detect pressure, humidity, and temperature, but not wind speed. However, there are also generic wind and rain sensors you can buy, and, of course, don’t forget an outdoor project enclosure.
There are a few guides on the web, but this weather station guide for Raspberry Pi is a good place to get some ideas.
Create a home web server
Another fun project to do is hosting your own little web server using a Raspberry Pi. You can make a website that only works on your home LAN, or even host something that people from outside your home network can access. Using open source software to host your own web resources is highly educational, and it can also be a way to do something genuinely useful without having to rely on a cloud service somewhere on the internet.
Imagine having your own little bulletin board at home, or hosting content like ebooks, music, or audiobooks?
Infinite possibilities
Despite lacking in the raw power department, all Raspberry Pi devices are little miracles—single board computers that can (in principle) do anything their bigger cousins can. Just more slowly. So if you have a few old Raspberry Pis hanging around, don’t be too quick to retire them yet.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
