Hi everyone, in the “RPi’s Supported” section of the Raspberry Shake documentation (Technical Specifications), it states:
“We do not recommend using the Raspberry Pi Zero (any version). Be aware that this version of the Raspberry Pi computer introduces high amplitude RF noise into the Raspberry Shake, seriously compromising the seismic signal by introducing high amplitude low-frequency spikes.”
According to this, the Pi Zero generates high-amplitude RF noise that compromises the quality of seismic signals. Does anyone know why the Pi Zero behaves this way compared to other models like the Raspberry Pi 3 or 4? Is it due to design, components, or something else? I’d appreciate any technical insights or shared experiences. Thanks!
We suspect (from our tests with the Pi Zero) that either how power is managed on such a small board, or increased interference from the onboard WiFi module, or a combination of both was the reason behind the increased RF interference we detected.
This is also why we, in a more general way, recommend not to use the onboard WiFi on our Raspberry Shakes.
Considering the increased RF interference with the Pi Zero, are there any practical ways to mitigate this issue? For instance, would applying electromagnetic shielding (EMC shielding) to the board or specific components help reduce the noise levels? Alternatively, could adjustments in the setup or external hardware potentially minimize the interference?
I’d appreciate any suggestions or insights on this. Thanks again!
To my knowledge, we have not tried to apply a shield to individual components, but it could be considered if you want to experiment a bit and see what kind of results this solution could provide.
I think our development team has tested different configurations and possible setups (I don’t have details on such tests), but with no luck, as the interference levels were always above the acceptable limits, introducing too much noise in the recorded seismic signal.