Remote volume controls

[escfac42]

Hi everyone,
I've been a happy Moode user for 4 years now.
I got to setup a new audio system for the restaurant I'm working at.

- Speaker : wall-mounted active speaker (JBL 306p mkii)
- the rPi Zero W will be attached to the back of thethe speaker, with a dedicated I2S or USB DAC
- we don't want to play local music files, just Spotify Connect, AirPlay or Bluetooth. Both from the work Windows PC or our personnal phones.

The trick is : we want a fast way to turned down the volume when clients come. Since we'll use both the PC and the phones, we need a volume knob that is both physical and applied to whatever the source is.

Do you think this HiFiBerry remote control and its USB dongle will do the job ?

I know it may seem a noob question. Especially considering my long experience with Moode. But I think it's also an occasion for me to see what are the alternatives to that (USB rotary encoders if such thing exist?)

Thank you all !

[TheOldPresbyope]

At various times I have used

• the Drok USB hardwired volume control
  
• the FLIRC USB receiver with various IR remotes
  
• a USB/BT adapter with a Bluetooth remote: I used a Satechi remote but I'm sure there are others
  

Depending on the route you choose, there are various things which may need to be done in software but they all worked for me.

Regards,
Kent

ETA- it's even possible I've used the HiFiBerry remote---it looks very familiar to me.

[MRamone]

Hello,
Does anyone know of a bluetooth volume knob (just the knob, not "remote like") that is currently available? Or even better, is it possible to make the Surface Dial work with moodeaudio?
Thanks!

[TheOldPresbyope]

@MRamone

It would seem both the Microsoft Surface Dial and the Griffin PowerMate with Bluetooth have been discontinued. Don’t know of any other off hand but an enterprising hacker could make one out of a USB knob like the Drok plus common DIY items (not me, at least not any time soon. Too many unfinished projects already!)

These are HID devices so I expect it would take only hours or maybe a weekend to get them working with moOde. 

Regards,
Kent

ETA My first Google search may have lied about the Dial. I see it still listed in the Microsoft Store. Yikes, USD 100.

[MRamone]

That would be fantastic.
It is still possible to buy the surface dial where I live, but was just to explain in few words what sort of device I mean, anything similar would work.
I find it surprising that these things aren't more common. Am I the only one that finds annoying having to reach out for the phone or computer to change the volume? Maybe I am too lazy

[escfac42]

Thanks, I'll look into those options even though they don't perfectly match my request.

[TheOldPresbyope]

Thanks, I'll look into those options even though they don't perfectly match my request.

Oh, yeah, your original post

- we don't want to play local music files, just Spotify Connect, AirPlay or Bluetooth.

Trouble ahead. To quote Tim from a slightly different context in another thread, "it's the client that controls volume for the renderers including Bluetooth, Airplay and Spotify." Here, "client" means the source app/device.

Do you think this HiFiBerry remote control and its USB dongle will do the job ?

So, for "local music tracks" (including Radio stations), you might have a look at my old Instruction Guide for info on using USB-based remote control devices. Haven't used any such lately but I believe it is still correct. I used a FLIRC dongle but the HiFiBerry dongle should do. 

Regards,
Kent

[MRamone]

@MRamone

It would seem both the Microsoft Surface Dial and the Griffin PowerMate with Bluetooth have been discontinued. Don’t know of any other off hand but an enterprising hacker could make one out of a USB knob like the Drok plus common DIY items (not me, at least not any time soon. Too many unfinished projects already!)

These are HID devices so I expect it would take only hours or maybe a weekend to get them working with moOde. 

Regards,
Kent

ETA My first Google search may have lied about the Dial. I see it still listed in the Microsoft Store. Yikes, USD 100.

Hello, i have now a surface dial to play with. Could you point me in the direction of some instructions/sources of information to try to make it work with moode if you know any, even if not specific for the dial? So far i wasn't even able to pair it with my pi running moode....

[TheOldPresbyope]

@MRamone

Sorry, I managed to overlook your most recent post. I'm backed up at the moment* but I'll try to help if you get lost in the following.

I don't know any details about the Microsoft Surface Dial but I assume it supports some basic gestures such as rotate right, rotate left, press, press and hold, or such. We just need to determine what message it sends for each gesture and map them to moOde.

I covered the basics of determining the messages and mapping them in Using FLIRC and other USB input devices... but that HowTo assumed the device is already connected and recognized by the OS (and triggerhappy). 

To get there using a remote Bluetooth device and the Pi's onboard Bluetooth controller, you'll have to work from the command line. If you ply your favorite search engine with a phrase like "linux connect bluetooth device from command line" you'll come across instructions using tools like hcitool and bluetoothctl, both of which are already present in moOdeOS. Some scripting may be required to tie it all together for automation but first learn the basics.

As a quick test, I enabled the triggerhappy daemon by enabling the USB Volume Knob feature in moOde and then connected a Logitech K380 Bluetooth keyboard to moOde using bluetoothctl. I found that the keyboard's predefined mute/volume up/volume down buttons worked with moOde's existing triggerhappy configuration but its previous/play-stop/next buttons did not. I'd have to follow my own HowTo above to map them.

Good luck.

Regards,
Kent

* I'm busy studying up on the FIRST Robotic Competition 2022 because I've just been asked to step in as a mentor to an local inexperienced high school team after being away from FRC for years. There's a lot to catch up on.

[MRamone]

Thanks a lot and no worries, your mentoring tasks are way more important and seem more fun!
Will do as you say, so far I have tried both bluetoothctl and hcitool and both detect my tv but not the dial... (the dial works fine with my computer though). Will continue trying and in the meantime read the instructions that you refer to.
Cheers and have fun!