I was gifted a Raspberry Pi 5 not too long ago, and it sat idle for a bit, I finally decided to put it to use.

One of the coolest things about the Pi 5 is its support for HATs (Hardware Attached on Top). There are tons to choose from, but one caught my eye: a HAT that combines PoE and NVMe SSD storage. Since I've had microSD cards fail on me in the past, upgrading to NVMe feels like a solid move for reliability and speed. And with PoE, I can power the Pi and provide internet through a single Ethernet cable - keeping the setup clean and simple.

A GeeekPi P33 HAT on my Raspberry Pi 5, powered by an Ethernet cable.

I recently snagged a used 8-port 150w Ubiquiti PoE switch. It's a bit older, but perfect for powering a few of my PoE devices including this.

Next up: I'm planning to connect the Pi to an RTL-SDR antenna to track planes flying overhead using ADS-B signals. Being in Seattle, I get plenty of SeaTac airport traffic right above me, so there's always something interesting to monitor. I'll also run a few lightweight Docker containers alongside for experimenting.

Eventually, as I continue my Kubernetes journey - this Pi will eventually join the cluster as a node. I'm excited for all tinkering to come with this device!