Two RPI/Moode Server Questions

[tourtelot]

Hi all-

Back from an automatic "lifetime ban" decided because (?) by the auto spam filter.  I have no idea but Tim set me right and got me back on. 

Thanks, Tim!

I have my RPI/Moode music server built up and it works so far just like it should.  A 1TB SSD USB  with a lot of music; shows up in the library just like it should.  RPI 4B, Hifi+ HAT and POE HAT.  One cable from my POE switch, good to go.

Two questions, on technical and one philosophical.

Number 1:  The little fan on the POE HAT screams like a Banshee.  Heat sinks in place on the RPI.  Experience on turning the fan off?  Does the RPI just shut down if it gets too hot or does it blow up?  If I keep the fan, I would like to put a resistor in-line with the V+ side of the fan and reduce it's speed by, maybe, half.  Experience (and a resistor value) on this?

Number 2:  I like the idea of this little music server but as it will be installed in the same location as the rest of my stereo rig, I already have a whole house music system using a MBP, wired ethernet and Airfoil server.  If I need to use (or at least can use) the MBP to control the RPI/Moode server, what do I gain from having the RPI server in my rig?  Better sound?  More convenience?  Cool factor?  Or would it be, in my case, a redundant setup and since I haven't seen a way to connect the RPI/Moode server to Airfoil, I would lose my whole house audio (well, without more RPIs and more work).  Why should I employ the, no doubt cool, RPI/Moode server at all?

I can stream Audirvana Studio and because of that,, Qobuz, but not as thoroughly or as easily as I can with what I have running on my MBP.  Both MBP and the RPI are attached to a Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital D to A, the MBP via USB and the RPI/Moode via ADAT fiber.

Thanks for thoughts on the above.

D.

[Tim Curtis]

#1 - The fan on a Pi PoE board is to cool its power supply and keep it from over heating. Reducing fan speed would be pretty risky IMO. The Raspberry Pi itself has thermal limiting built in and will reduce processor frequency to help prevent over-temp condition. Theres plenty of info on this at raspberrypi.org

#2 - moOde would prolly be redundant to what you have already and would not provide comparable Qobuz support. It's really a matter of whether you want to get into the Linux audio space and see what's possible with projects like ours.

ETA: PoE HAT
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/announc...i-poe-hat/

[tourtelot]

Thanks.  I could be totally wrong about this but that little (noisy) fan seems purpose-built (and pointed right at) to cool the RPI processor.

Since this is an experiment anyway am going to play a radio station all night without running the fan and see if it's still running in the AM.  I'll get back on that.

BTW, the 15.7W of POE from the little Netgear GS108PEv.3 switch seems to have no issues running the RPI, the Hifi+ and the PoE HAT.  All in, I guess they draw about 12W.

D.

[TheOldPresbyope]

@tourtelot

When I plug “pi poe hat fan noise” into my favorite search engine I get back a ton of hits that relate various (and often redundant) fixes.

Regards,
Kent

[tourtelot]

Yep Kent.  I get it.  I was being a bit lazy, I confess, and looking for some body with a "number".

Well, happy to say, I can now be that guy.  I put a 25 ohm 1W resistor in line with the V+ and now the fan still spins along happily but can't be heard at more than a few inches away.  This hasn't been stress tested I will admit and it may be different on anyone else's fan but it can certainly be a starting point.

Now that I have a nicely packaged, very functional music server, that might be the end of my RPI experiment.  I'm just not sure how it fits into my music play back world.

Thanks to all for all the help.

D.