[dennistdk]

Just sharing a project that I finally finished.

It's basically a cheap replacement for the Poly (streamer for the Mojo) and does almost the same thing (well enough for me anyway).

Running "moOde audio" software for the Raspberry Pi zero w - http://moodeaudio.org/.

It supports the following that I personally needed to stream while not at home:
* Bluetooth
* Airplay (also in AP mode while allowing the iPhone internet access).
* Spotify support

And things like webradio, local (sd card)/network playback through webinterface/apps etc.

I needed to have it small and mobile - while battery powered for enough time to make it through a workday.

Total cost is ~$25 including SD card, pi zero w and a powerbank - a little cheaper than the Poly, but of course not as fancy, but it does basically the exact same thing.

It's using a 3000mAh battery - and it runs for around 8-10 hours.

Bonus is that I can use it to charge my phone at the same time.

 

[Adu]

Interesting proyect! How many hours last the battery?

 

[bikutoru]

Looks really cool.
Would you mind sharing parts and their source and what connects to what so I can try make my own?

 

[dennistdk]

Interesting proyect! How many hours last the battery?

So far I have had it run a full work day without any problems. The Raspberry Pi zero w uses 140-160mA (wifi/bluetooth on / hdmi off). I will try and measure it soon to be sure.
So with a typical 2600-3000mAh battery it should run for 10+ hours.

Looks really cool.
Would you mind sharing parts and their source and what connects to what so I can try make my own?

Sure. You can basically see it all on the pictures, but there are only 4-5 materials needed.

• Raspberry Pi Zero W (remember the W for wifi and bluetooth).
• microSD card (min. 4GB)
• Power bank housing for 3x18650 batteries.
• 1 x 18550 battery (usally 2600-3000 mAh).
• A micro USB cable

The power bank housing costs $2-$4 on ebay without batteries, just search for "power bank 18650". And the batteries usually the same price.
The power bank contains the needed circuitry for charging and providing power to the Pi at the same time.

Connection wise you solder two wires to the USB output port of the power bank to the PI.

PP1 - 5V USB (connects both to powerbank +5v and USB red).
PP6 - GND (connects both to powerbank GND and USB black).
PP22 - USB D+ (usually green in a USB cable)
PP23 - USB D- (usually white in a USB cable)

Now - I actually did the hardware part of the project a year ago, but it wasn't before I found the "moOde audio" software recently that I got it fully working (so it has just been sitting on a shelf for over a year).

A few pictures from the construction:

 

[maxh22]

This is a great effort, how does it sound compared to other sources? The main problem I see is that using a standard Pi board just doesn’t sound very good, it needs a hat to sound better.

 

[bikutoru]

@dennistdk Thank you for sharing instructions. Are you connecting to it through the Bluetooth or WiFi?

@maxh22 I have RPI with Volumio in my main system, usb out to another Chord dac - it sounds great with airplay, with local files or Roon it sounds sublime. I do not expect zero to be worse the only limitation might be the bluetooth, that we'll see. If it is possible to use wifi then I expect it to be very very good if not great.

 

[dennistdk]

This is a great effort, how does it sound compared to other sources? The main problem I see is that using a standard Pi board just doesn’t sound very good, it needs a hat to sound better.

I had no problem with sound quality. It sounds excellent and should be bit perfect output (and the volume is handled by the Mojo). I've listened with both my SE5U and HD800's and the sound is exactly like it should be - very enjoyable. Source wise not a problem.

However do note that you need to enable the UAC2 USB fix in the moOde UI, or you will have some sound quality issues (small skips/clicks - same problem I had when I initially tried with Volumio a year back, that made me park the project for a while).

So no need for an USB HAT or anything.

I do not expect zero to be worse the only limitation might be the bluetooth, that we'll see. If it is possible to use wifi then I expect it to be very very good if not great.

I have not had any sound quality issues with bluetooth (besides bluetooth quality itself), but the Mojo seems to pick up a little "static" noise when using bluetooth (when using some sensitive iems). I usually run it in AP mode with airplay (for better quality), but it's not an issue unless you have very sensitive iems (the Mojo is prone to picking up noise nomatter what - connected directly to the phone is much worse).

I guess one could install openaptx and have moOde support AptX (for lossless bluetooth) - think a user has done it (but I have an iPhone, so can't use AptX anyway).

 

[Focux]

wow this looks good man

any chance it may work with apple music?

using iphone x and macbook pro here

 

[dennistdk]

wow this looks good man

any chance it may work with apple music?

using iphone x and macbook pro here

Well - it supports Airplay, so you can easily stream to it from an Apple device. If that was what you meant?