Pimaroni Audio Pirate HAT w LCD
Started by Gmeader




8 posts in this topic
Gmeader

 
04-02-21, 17:40 -
#1
The Pimaroni Audio Pirate looks like the perfect hardware to make a samplerbox.

It includes a high fidelity DAC, a color LCD and 4 buttons.
Stick this on any Raspi and you are done.
Now we just need the UI software modifications so you can select patches with the buttons and view a menu of patches on the LCD. 
Pimoroni Pirate Audio: 3.5mm Line-out for Raspberry PiPimoroni Pirate Audio: 3.5mm Line-out for Raspberry Pi $25
Plug Pirate Audio Line-out for Raspberry Pi into your hi-fi amp or powered speakers, then sit back, relax, and soak in the rich, digital audio. It has a high-quality I2S DAC, high-res color display, and squishy playback control buttons.
This board is perfect for upgrading an existing hi-fi amp and speakers, or a set of powered monitors, with digital audio from local audio files (MP3, FLAC, etc.) or from streaming services like Spotify. The DAC on Pirate Audio Line-out gives you crisp 24-bit / 192KHz digital audio through its 3.5mm stereo jack.
Pirate Audio is a range of all-in-one audio boards for Raspberry Pi, with high-quality digital audio, beautifully-crisp IPS displays for album art, tactile buttons for playback control, and the custom Pirate Audio software and installer to make setting it all up a breeze. No soldering required, just plug it right in to make fun audio projects come to life.
Features:
Line-level digital audio (24-bit / 192KHz) over I2S
PCM5100A DAC chip (datasheet)
3.5mm stereo jack
1.3" IPS color LCD (240x240px) (ST7789 driver)
Four tactile buttons
Mini HAT-format board
Fully-assembled
Compatible with all 40-pin header Raspberry Pi models
Pirate Audio software
Dimensions: 65 x 30.5 x 9.5mm
Works with any Raspberry Pi computer, including the original Pi 1, B+, Pi 2, Pi 3, Pi 4, and Pi 
http://adafruit.com/product/4452
hansehv

168 posts 17 threads Joined: Dec 2020
04-02-21, 22:56 -
#2
(04-02-21, 17:40)Gmeader Wrote: Now we just need the UI software modifications so you can select patches with the buttons and view a menu of patches on the LCD. 

Hi Gmeader,
Thanks.

I won't go this direction as I don't think the buttons are practical on stage, but I'm available for helping to integrate this as an available option.
So I made some observations after first (quick) investigation that may be helpful.

For the audio the /boot/config.txt needs:
Code:
dtoverlay=hifiberry-dac
gpio=25=op,dh
dtparam=audio=off

The display needs a driver:
Code:
pip install st7789
and perhaps some dependencies, see git docs (only install required, some are already present in some way..).
A specific module needs to be written (the OLED.py can serve as an example) and attached into the samplerbox.py and configuration.txt.

From pimoroni forum:
Quote:The buttons on Pirate Audio are connected to pins 5, 6, 16 and 20, corresponding to buttons A, B, X and Y respectively.
This makes it possible to use the samplerbox builtin menu.
This post was last modified: 04-02-21, 22:58 by hansehv.
Guest

 
06-02-21, 04:35 -
#3
Thanks!  I have an Audio Pirate on order. Ill try to make these modes and see if i can get it working.
baldur

2 posts 0 threads Joined: Apr 2021
14-04-21, 19:11 -
#4
Looking into this it seems that the luma.lcd drivers support the ST7789 display (see https://luma-lcd.readthedocs.io/en/lates...olor-model)

That means that the OLED.py could be an excellent template since luma.oled and luma.lcd APIs share similarities.
baldur

2 posts 0 threads Joined: Apr 2021
25-04-21, 12:20 -
#5
(14-04-21, 19:11)baldur Wrote: Looking into this it seems that the luma.lcd drivers support the ST7789 display (see https://luma-lcd.readthedocs.io/en/lates...olor-model)

That means that the OLED.py could be an excellent template since luma.oled and luma.lcd APIs share similarities.

I've created a PIM_LCD.py module which I've tested on the hardware. Both the display and buttons work. I've opened a pull request to the original GitHub repo.

If anyone wishes to browse it on my github see the feature/LCDs branch https://github.com/bldrvnlw/SamplerBox/t...ature/LCDs.

In the end I just used the Pimoroni drivers (from https://pypi.org/project/ST7789/) not the luma as I originally suggested.

Thanks Hans for this project - it's just wat I needed for a personal low-cost practice sampler box! Smile
gmeader

5 posts 2 threads Joined: Aug 2021
Big Grin  20-08-21, 00:20 -
#6
I successfully got SamplerBox running on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ with a Pimaroni Audio Pirate HAT.
Thanks so much for adding support for Audio Pirate into the downloadable image!

I thoroughly documented the exact steps I used to get it working. See this website  http://chromakinetics.com/samplerbox/
It was fairly easy, as the info on homspace is comprehensive.
My website assumes you know almost nothing except how to use your computer/laptop.
This post was last modified: 20-08-21, 00:23 by gmeader.
gmeader

5 posts 2 threads Joined: Aug 2021
02-09-21, 00:56 -
#7
(20-08-21, 00:20)gmeader Wrote: Here's a photo of the Pimaroni Audio Pirate HAT running Samplerbox, with a modification to add another line to the LCD screen.
   

I thoroughly documented the exact steps I used to get it working. See this website  http://chromakinetics.com/samplerbox/
This post was last modified: 02-09-21, 00:58 by gmeader.
hansehv

168 posts 17 threads Joined: Dec 2020
03-09-21, 21:43 -
#8
(20-08-21, 00:20)gmeader Wrote: Here's a photo of the Pimaroni Audio Pirate HAT running Samplerbox, with a modification to add another line to the LCD screen.

Thanks!
The modification is on GitHub will also be included in next distribution.
This post was last modified: 03-09-21, 21:44 by hansehv.
mdejoode

5 posts 2 threads Joined: Sep 2021
25-09-21, 12:24 -
#9
Hi Gmeader, I ordered the pirate audio line out with display, it's working really well on my pi zero! I've also added a UPS lite battery pack for pi zero (it's connected under the pi zero), so now I have a really small and portable samplerbox! I use this with a Arturia Keystep. See the photo. 

[Image: IMG-20210925-141902355.jpg]