Could You Still Build a Raspberry Pi Sense HAT Today?
Could you still build a Raspberry Pi Sense HAT today?
The Sense HAT, the sensor board Raspberry Pi flew on the ISS as the Astro Pi, is still on sale, and Raspberry Pi says it will build them until at least January 2028. The 2015 design cannot be reproduced from authorized stock today. Its motion sensor, the LSM9DS1, is obsolete, and it is the part the whole board depends on. This audit reads the public schematic and checks each active part against public manufacturer and distributor status.
Obsolescence X-ray / interactive board
Raspberry Pi Sense HAT: which parts can you still buy?
Hover or tap any part for its lifecycle status and second-source note. Four of the eleven audited BOM lines are obsolete: the three ST sensors and the 64-placement Cree LED matrix, which went end of life in 2017. A fifth line, ST’s LED driver, is NRND. Ten of the eleven lines are drawn here; the eleventh, the DMG2305UX column drivers (Q1-Q8), is audited but not shown separately.
The three numbers
The board is still for sale, but four of its eleven audited BOM lines are no longer manufactured. Three findings define the audit: four of eleven lines are obsolete (a fifth is NRND); the keystone, the LSM9DS1, is obsolete with zero second sources and no single-chip replacement; and all four ST parts are obsolete or not-recommended, joined by the Cree LED matrix that went end of life in 2017, before the 2020 respin.
BOM ledger · 11 lines
| # | Component | Function | Maker | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSM9DS1 | 9-axis motion (accel + gyro + mag) | ST | Obsolete− |
| FindingSole-source, obsolete, and the board's keystone 9-axis feature. ST recommends the LSM6DSO (6-axis, which drops the magnetometer); a full rebuild adds a separate LIS2MDL. It requires a multi-chip redesign; no drop-in exists. | ||||
| 2 | LPS25H | Pressure sensor | ST | Obsolete+ |
| 3 | HTS221 | Humidity + temperature | ST | Obsolete+ |
| 4 | CLU6A-FKW | 8x8 RGB matrix, 64 placements | Cree LED | Obsolete+ |
| 5 | LED2472G | RGB LED-matrix driver | ST | NRND+ |
| 6 | ATtiny88 | LED + joystick controller | Microchip | Active |
| 7 | CAT24C32 | ID EEPROM | onsemi | Active |
| 8 | SN74AHCT245 | 3V3 / 5V level shifter | TI | Active |
| 9 | DMG2305UX | P-channel MOSFET, LED column drivers (8 placements) | Diodes Incorporated | Active+ |
| 10 | HLE-120-02-F-DV-BE-A | 40-pin socket strip, stacks onto the Pi | Samtec | Active |
| 11 | SKRHABE010 | 5-way navigation switch | Alps Alpine | Active |
Each flagged row opens to its finding; the filter isolates a single status. A line is audited when the schematic names one manufacturer’s orderable part number, whatever the part does. Eleven lines meet that test, including the LED matrix, the header and the joystick. Only the EEPROM and the level shifter resolve to a type several manufacturers build; the other nine lines each resolve to one maker. Resistors, capacitors and the BAV99 diode name no manufacturer and are not audited. The board has no on-board regulator; it runs off the Pi’s rails.
The keystone & the obsolete set
The LSM9DS1 is the keystone: obsolete, sole-source, and carrying the board’s headline 9-axis feature. Four audited lines are obsolete and each blocks a faithful build, but the LSM9DS1 is the one with no single-chip replacement. ST’s own recommendation splits the function across two parts, so replacing it is a redesign rather than a substitution.
No single-chip replacement
ST’s product page names one recommended part, the LSM6DSO, but that is 6-axis (accel + gyro) and drops the magnetometer. A full 9-axis rebuild adds a separate magnetometer (DigiKey lists the LIS2MDL).
Sole-source and already gone
The part has zero second sources and is already obsolete. ST no longer sells it new, and no other supplier offers a drop-in. Any rebuild is a multi-chip, board and firmware change that must be qualified in the target board.
Keystone = the one part the whole BOM hinges on. For the Sense HAT that is the LSM9DS1: obsolete, sole-source and with no single-chip drop-in, it alone determines whether the board is buildable.
ST lists it obsolete, sole-source. The 2020 V2 board re-spun this one part, swapping the LPS25H for the newer LPS25HB, the only sensor the redesign actually replaced.
ST lists it obsolete and offers no in-house replacement; its product page directs new designs to a Sensirion part, the SHT40. A Sensirion swap is a cross-vendor change: a different driver, footprint and part to qualify.
One schematic line covers all 64 LEDs, so the entire display rests on it. DigiKey lists every CLU6A-FKW orderable as Obsolete with zero stock and an end-of-life date of 27 October 2017. That date is the one worth noting: it precedes the 2020 V2 respin by more than two years, so the redesign carried forward a part that had already been discontinued. A replacement has to be selected and qualified against the driver, the footprint and the optical result.
Still buyable, but ST lists it not recommended for new designs, the manufacturer’s own signal that it is on the same end-of-life track the three obsolete sensors already reached. It is single-vendor and ST-proprietary, so there is no second source.
Forecast & verdict
Forecast. Among the parts still being made, the LED2472G driver carries the nearest-term risk: ST lists it NRND, single-vendor with no second source, the same status the three obsolete sensors held before discontinuation. The DMG2305UX column drivers are active but quoted at a 40-week factory lead time, which is a scheduling constraint rather than a lifecycle one. The header, the joystick and the remaining logic are the safest lines on the board.
The verdict: not buildable as drawn. Three ST sensors and the RGB LED matrix are obsolete, the ST LED driver is NRND, and the keystone LSM9DS1 has no drop-in. Raspberry Pi keeps shipping only by assembling from shrinking stock, so the assembly stays in production after its parts stopped being made.
The 2020 V2 redesign did not remove the risk: it swapped only the pressure sensor, kept the obsolete LSM9DS1 and HTS221, and added a colour sensor (ams-OSRAM TCS34725) now itself under a discontinuation notice. The path forward is to qualify the LSM6DSO plus a magnetometer such as the LIS2MDL, and budget the requalification.
Frequently asked
If the Sense HAT is still for sale, how can a part be “obsolete”?
Obsolete describes the chip, not the finished board. The manufacturer has stopped making the LSM9DS1, LPS25H and HTS221, so no new ones enter the supply chain. Raspberry Pi can keep assembling boards from stock it already holds, but that stock only shrinks, and a fresh build of the design cannot be started from authorized parts.
Can I still use the Sense HAT I own?
Yes. Obsolescence describes buying parts to build or repair the design. A board already in service keeps running.
Why is the LSM9DS1 the one that matters?
It is sole-source with no form-fit-function second source, and it is already obsolete. The other obsolete sensors are also sole-source, but the LSM9DS1 carries the board’s headline feature (9-axis motion) and cannot be replaced by any one part, so it is the part the whole design hinges on.
What would replace the LSM9DS1?
ST’s product page recommends the LSM6DSO, but that part is a 6-axis accel and gyro and drops the magnetometer the LSM9DS1 also carried. A full 9-axis rebuild adds a separate magnetometer (DigiKey lists the LIS2MDL as a recommended substitute). The rebuild is a genuine redesign with new footprints, new firmware and library work, and it has to be qualified in the target board. No drop-in exists.
Is the V2 board any safer?
No. The 2020 V2 replaced the pressure sensor, but it kept the obsolete LSM9DS1 and HTS221, and the colour sensor it added (the ams-OSRAM TCS34725) is now itself under a discontinuation notice. V2 carries the same keystone risk as V1, plus a fresh one.
Which parts are safe to source?
The EEPROM (CAT24C32) and the TI level shifter (SN74AHCT245) resolve to a type several manufacturers build, so they are not a sourcing risk. The Samtec header, the Alps joystick and the Diodes column drivers are each single-maker orderables but all three are active, the drivers on a 40-week factory lead time. The ATtiny88 microcontroller is single-vendor but still in production. The LED2472G driver is still made, but it is NRND, so it is a part to design away from over time.
The LEDs are just LEDs. Why are they audited at all?
Because the schematic does not name a generic RGB LED, it names CLU6A-FKW, one manufacturer’s orderable part number, repeated 64 times. A part is exempt from this audit only when it has several sources and several manufacturers; being a passive, a connector or an LED exempts nothing. On that test the LED line is audited, and it comes back obsolete, with an end-of-life date of 27 October 2017.
Why does Raspberry Pi say it stays in production until 2028?
The 2028 date is a build commitment for the finished assembly, not a guarantee on each chip. It means Raspberry Pi has arranged to keep assembling boards, presumably from secured stock, even though the underlying sensors are no longer made. It does not mean the sensors can be bought new.
Method & sources
- Scope
- Every BOM line where the schematic names one manufacturer’s orderable part number, whatever the part does. Eleven lines meet that test: seven ICs, the RGB LED matrix, the MOSFET column drivers, the header and the joystick. Resistors, capacitors and the BAV99 diode are named by value or generic type, are built by several manufacturers, and are not audited.
- Power
- The board has no on-board regulator; it runs off the Pi’s rails.
- Checked
- Status read from manufacturer and distributor pages. The LSM9DS1 obsolete status is corroborated on DigiKey. The LED matrix, header, joystick and column drivers were checked on 2 August 2026.
- BOM source
- Traced from the public Raspberry Pi Sense HAT schematic (V1 and V2).
- Forecast
- Tiers are labeled analysis. They are not manufacturer commitments. No public last-time-buy date was found for the LSM9DS1, so no obsolescence-clock date is asserted. Every lifecycle status can change; re-check on publish day.
Sources · public, primary
- LSM9DS1 obsolete, ST
- LSM9DS1 obsolete and no longer manufactured, DigiKey
- LPS25H obsolete, ST
- HTS221 obsolete (directs to Sensirion SHT40), ST
- LED2472G NRND, ST
- CLU6A-FKW obsolete, end of life 27 Oct 2017, DigiKey
- CLU6A-FKW second orderable, same obsolete status, DigiKey
- TCS34725 colour sensor discontinuation notice, ams-OSRAM
- ATtiny88 in production, Microchip
- CAT24C32 active, onsemi
- SN74AHCT245 active, Texas Instruments
- DMG2305UX product page and change notices, Diodes Incorporated
- DMG2305UX authorized stock and 40-week factory lead time, Mouser
- HLE-120-02-F-DV-BE-A part status active, DigiKey
- SKRHABE010 supply status Standard, Alps Alpine
- SKRHABE010 part status active, DigiKey
Lifecycle, package and availability data is vendor- and distributor-reported, not independently audited. Availability was checked from public sources on the audit date; lifecycle status changes without notice. Confirm every detail with the manufacturer before committing.
About the author
Editorially independent and from public sources only; lifecycle, pin and rating data is vendor-reported, not independently audited. Alternates are candidates to validate in your own design. Confirm every detail with the manufacturer before committing.