Frequently asked questions

Below are answers to the most frequently asked questions for our expansion boards and services.

Knowledge Base

Ordering from AB Electronics is a simple process.

Browse the different categories on the menu and when you find what you want to buy. Enter how many you want to purchase in the quantity box and click Add to Cart. If the item has several options, then there will be a drop-down menu next to the option label which you can use to select the one you would like.

Once you have found all the items you would like to buy click on the “Cart” icon at the top of the page will take you to the basket page where you can make changes to the quantity for each item or remove it from the basket. When you are happy with your order click the “Checkout” button. Please note that all prices are in GB Pounds.

If you are a new customer, you can enter your delivery address and other personal details. You can optionally add a password after your purchase so you can sign in to view your order status and shop again without having to enter all of your details again. If you have shopped with us previously and entered a password on the registration page you can sign in using the email address and password you provided taking you directly to the checkout page.

The checkout page gives you an overview of your order with delivery costs and any discounts shown on the order total. If you have a voucher code or any special requirements you can enter them on this page. We provide two payment options, a secure payment gateway where you can pay with your credit or debit card.

Once you have completed your payment you will be sent a confirmation email with the details of your order.

If for any reason your payment fails you can try your payment again by selecting the “Account” icon at the top of the page and click on the latest order. When the order details page loads you will be presented with two buttons for paying with your credit/debit card or with PayPal.

All of our orders are shipped using Royal Mail First Class for UK orders and Royal Mail Airmail for overseas.  You can find out more on our Shipping and Delivery page.

Orders placed before 10am will normally be sent out the same day on weekdays and orders placed on the weekend will be sent out on the following Monday.

We produce several different Raspberry Pi boards designed to cover different electronic needs.

RTC Pi:  This board contains a real-time clock with a backup battery and is used to keep track of the time when your Raspberry Pi is switched off.  The battery will keep the internal clock running for several months.  If you have a project which needs to keep track of the date and time then this board will be useful for you.

IO Pi:  The IO Pi is a digital expansion board which allows you to control 32 separate ports.  Each port can be set as an input or output so you can use it to switch other devices on or off or it can detect if there is a voltage on the pin.  All of the pins are digital which means they are either on or off (5V or 0V).

ADC Pi:  This is an analogue to digital converter board which means it measures an analogue voltage between 0 and 5 volts on the input pin and converts it into a digital number which can be used by the Raspberry Pi.  The ADC Pi contains 8 analogue inputs and is useful for measuring positive voltages.  If you want to measure a voltage greater than 5 volts then you should use a voltage divider circuit to divide the voltage down to a level between 0 and 5 volts.

ADC Differential Pi:  The ADC Differential Pi is similar to the ADC Pi in that it is an analogue to digital converter used to measure analogue voltages.  The difference between the two boards is while the ADC-Pi can measure a voltage between 0 and 5 volts the ADC Differential Pi can measure a differential voltage between -2.048V and +2.048V.  This makes the Delta-Sigma Pi useful for measuring the potential difference between two points in an electronic circuit where the potential difference may be positive or negative.

We can provide bulk or educational discounts and do so on a case by case basis.  If you would like more information on the discounts that we can provide please contact us using any of the methods on the contact page.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup SPI on the Raspberry Pi

SPI and Raspbian Linux on a Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup SPI on the Raspberry Pi

SPI and Raspbian Linux on a Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup the serial port in Raspberry Pi OS

Serial Port setup in Raspberry Pi OS

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup the serial port in Raspberry Pi OS

Serial Port setup in Raspberry Pi OS

Please use the following knowledge base article to setup I2C on the Raspberry Pi

I2C Part 2 - Enabling I²C on the Raspberry Pi

You can download our code libraries and demo code from the Code and Languages page in the Knowledge Base.