[SOLVED] Rpi 3+ with MoOde - multiple issues with MoOde.

[rahul.shial]

Can anyone suggest a good portable battery pack to use with my setup so that I can use it on campgrounds?

My setup - Raspberry Pi 3+, 7 inch touch screen, MoOde Player, separate bluetooth speaker.

Regards

A 7" touch screen is quite power hungry if you run it permanently. You probably need to look into converting the DC power of your vehicle of choice into the the needed DC voltage/voltages (or if the touch screen works with 5VDC look into getting a 6V bike battery and a step-down buck converter).

Hi,

I picked up the PocketJuice 12000 mAh battery, and the pi works with it. Though it keeps showing the lightning bolt to say that power is low. It ran for a good 8+ hours. So overall I am good. Now I have a proper portable radio which I can take along on camping or picnics.

[Rinaldi]

Hi, I have been using Moode for some time with my DAC (iFi iDAC2) using the USB output along with an external USB powered HD. I discovered that the usb output damaged the dac because of low current, and now I received the dac with a new board and am afraid the same problem will occur.

If you connect the "Max USB Current 2x" will the idac2 work correctly without risk ??

I tried to change the "Max USB Current 2x" but I did not find the option, and as I have no ability with linux I do not know how to make the change through the command line.
Could someone help me with this question ??

I use a RPi 3B+ and a common 5V / 2.5A power supply.

[Tim Curtis]

The "USB current 2x" setting will only appear for older Pi models for example Pi-1B and 2B that default to 600mA total USB peripheral current draw and support the setting to enable it to be doubled to 1.2A. The newer Pi models for example 3b and 3B+ already default to 1.2A.

Here are the official power specs for all Pi models.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentatio.../#pi-power

[DRONE7]

@Rinaldi 
your dac does not have a dedicated power supply and relies on the RPI supply which appears to be insufficient to run both the Pi and DAC.

Here is how to supply your DAC with an external power source using a simple cable modification...
https://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/221_diy_usb_e.html

[Rinaldi]

Many thanks for the response Tim.

You clarified my doubt well, but eventually created another doubt ...

If idac2 power is the USB standard (0.5A) then it was not the low current that damaged the board, the high current of 1.2A of the RPi USB output may have been the cause to damage the dac ???

I want to buy an Uptone USB Regen to power the dac, but it would not be now, and until then I would use it directly in the RPi, but it seems that I will have to use only in the notebook.

[TheOldPresbyope]

@Rinaldi

I'm having trouble understanding your diagnosis:

I discovered that the usb output damaged the dac because of low current, and now I received the dac with a new board and am afraid the same problem will occur.

How did you discover the cause was "low current"?

Looking through the IFI website, I found a single reference to the supply requirements of your DAC: "Power consumption: <1.5W". Since the input voltage is nominally 5V DC, the current demand must therefore be <300mA DC. That's well within the capability of even early RPi models.

In any case, I'm dubious that "low current" caused the iDAC2 to fail. I can't figure out what specifically would fail due to current starvation. Based on my own experience, I'd be suspicious mundane causes such as voltage spikes or grounding issues between the RPI/iDAC2/amplifier.

If you connect the "Max USB Current 2x" will the idac2 work correctly without risk ??

That's the rub. If the actual cause hasn't been identified, then the risk still exists.

Good luck.

Regards,
Kent

[POST EDIT] Oops, I didn't see your latest post until after I replied.

You ask

the high current of 1.2A of the RPi USB output may have been the cause to damage the dac ???

No. The 1.2A number is the maximum which can be drawn safely through the RPi USB lines. The actual draw is dependent on your iDAC2, which as I showed above, should be less than 300mA (0.3A) according to IFI spec.

[Rinaldi]

@TheOldPresbyope, please read my last message.
The diagnosis was through conversation with experienced friends and the support of iFi.

[Tim Curtis]

Many thanks for the response Tim.

You clarified my doubt well, but eventually created another doubt ...

If idac2 power is the USB standard (0.5A) then it was not the low current that damaged the board, the high current of 1.2A of the RPi USB output may have been the cause to damage the dac ???

I want to buy an Uptone USB Regen to power the dac, but it would not be now, and until then I would use it directly in the RPi, but it seems that I will have to use only in the notebook.

Your device will only use as much current as it needs. The 1.2A current specification for the Pi-3B+ represents the total current availability across all 4 USB ports. For example, if your device is rated at 0.5A max current draw and its the only device connected  it could draw up to 0.5A from the 1.2A total leaving 0.7A available to other USB devices.

[Rinaldi]

Many thanks for the answer again Tim

You clarified very well on this topic, I confess that I had no concept of this data because I imagined that the RPIs would have the USB outputs equal to PCs / notebooks.

I think I'll have to work for a dac with my own food.

[CallMeMike]

Many thanks for the response Tim.

You clarified my doubt well, but eventually created another doubt ...

If idac2 power is the USB standard (0.5A) then it was not the low current that damaged the board, the high current of 1.2A of the RPi USB output may have been the cause to damage the dac ???

I want to buy an Uptone USB Regen to power the dac, but it would not be now, and until then I would use it directly in the RPi, but it seems that I will have to use only in the notebook.

A suggestion, if I may... Before you dish out on an Uptone USB Regen (plus a good PSU, not the usual wallwart) and consdering that you already own an iFi product (iDAC2) you may want to consider other solutions, a 'sound cleaner' (iDefender3.0)[/url] with its own largely-appreciated PSU ([url=https://ifi-audio.com/products/ipower/]iPower).

For pricing and a possible source:
- iDefender on AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/Audio-iDefender3-...B01N3XKOLG
- iPower on AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/iPower-Supply-Int...1-fkmrnull