Raspberry Pi Zero W Essentials Kit

Jargon buster

Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.

BLE

BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy, a Bluetooth mode designed for low power use and broad compatibility with modern phones and computers. It connects well to battery-powered and mobile devices, including Apple hardware, though it behaves differently from Bluetooth Classic and its serial-style profiles.

HDMI

HDMI is a common digital video and audio connection used by computers, media players, and many displays. If a display kit has HDMI input, it is usually much easier to test with a single-board computer because it can act like a normal monitor.

Headers

Rows of connector contacts on a fixed pitch (commonly 2.54 mm) used to link a board to a breadboard, jumper wires, or another board. They come as male pin headers and female socket headers; when a module ships with pre-soldered headers it can be used straight away, whereas bare pads require soldering the pins yourself.

RAM

RAM (random-access memory) is fast, temporary memory a device uses for working data while it is running; in its common volatile form, its contents are lost when power is removed. Some devices offer a mode that applies settings to RAM only, which is handy for testing changes temporarily because they are not stored permanently and disappear at power-off.